Hull City find themselves in the Premier League relegation zone and were outplayed by a distinctly average Middlesbrough team last night.
Mike Phelan was given the unenviable job of steering a sinking ship in the summer. Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant took a job at Hull City which Steve Bruce felt obliged to part with in the summer, despite having guided the Tigers to promotion to the Premier League, a highly unusual occurrence to say the least.
In the most disastrous pre-season preparation for a campaign in Premier League history, Hull’s recruitment was a joke, as was their search for a new manager. As a result, Mike Phelan started the season with just 13 fit senior players. It is a threadbare squad currently decimated by injuries. Moses Odubajo, Alex Bruce, Will Keane, Shaun Maloney and Abel Hernandez are all sidelined, whilst Dieumerci Mbokani is suspended following his thoughtlessness in Hull’s EFL Cup tie with Newcastle.
And that is just the on-field issues Mike Phelan has to contend with. Off the pitch, Hull City are even more of a mess. The ongoing refusal to use the club’s name despite the supporters and the FA’s clear rejection of a name change in both 2014 and 2015, a new membership scheme which has scrapped concessions and the seemingly disingenuous attempts to sell the club have divided and driven away an enormous chunk of Hull City’s fan base.
There are a myriad of on and off field problems at Hull City
In all of this, Mike Phelan, just like Steve Bruce, is a firefighter. It is he who is asked to justify the fact that a season ticket for an 83-year-old, a 33-year-old and a 3-year-old all cost the same at the KCOM Stadium, despite the fact that one quietly suspects he is just as perplexed by the Allams membership scheme as the rest of us.
Clearly then, Mike Phelan has been handed a job no Premier League manager would envy, and it is for that reason that one is reluctant to criticise him. Yet it is difficult not to question the tactics of a man who is now routinely setting his team up to play like a fourth tier or non-league team who has drawn a Premier League team in a cup game.
Hull City’s 10 men behind the ball and only attack once you’re losing approach simply is not conducive to ever standing a chance in this league. No other top flight team, not even Burnley, would travel to a clear fellow relegation candidate such as Middlesbrough and set up as negatively as Phelan did last night.
Mike Phelan has to mix things up to keep Hull City in the Premier League
Entirely outplayed in the first half and having shown zero ambition or adventure, Phelan was presumably content with what he had seen from his players, as they continued in a similar vein until eventually and inevitably falling behind to a Gaston Ramirez header in the 60th minute.
As has been made abundantly clear, one must have a great deal of sympathy for Mike Phelan. His current available squad doesn’t boast a single natural right-back, only one actual winger and just one striker, who has scored 7 goals in 45 league games outside of Norway. It is for that reason that the former Manchester United man is forced to play players out of position in virtually any system he opts to play.
Robert Snodgrass is surely the major reason why Phelan hasn’t switched to a 3-5-2 formation which Steve Bruce enjoyed much success with during his time in East Yorkshire. His trio of capable centre-backs, lack of full-backs and lack of wingers would all be complemented by such an alteration, but Phelan is noticeably reluctant to make the change.
Robert Snodgrass’ form could be preventing a switch to 3-5-2
If he is to persist with a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation, then he simply has to find an alternative to play on the left side of midfield. Ryan Mason hasn’t looked like a £3 million player, let alone a £13 million record signing in black and amber, and being pushed out wide clearly isn’t doing him any favours.
Ultimately though, whatever setup Phelan chooses to adopt, he has to instil more belief and ambition in his Hull City team. Waiting to concede before making any attempt to keep hold of the ball, get out of your own half and mount a notable attack is an approach destined to get the Tigers relegated.
Perhaps most frustratingly of all, Hull do carve out opportunities when they ‘have a go’, so to speak. Even last night when they were truly abysmal at the Riverside, Hull still created three gilt-edged chances and should have taken at least one. It was a similar story against Newcastle in the EFL Cup, waiting until Mo Diame gave the visitors the lead before venturing forward and immediately finding an equaliser through Robert Snodgrass.
Hull City have one of the weakest squads in the Premier League, and certainly rank lowest when it comes to squad depth. However, Mike Phelan’s bus parking really is giving the team no chance in games. The Premier League is rife with mediocre and subpar teams this season, and Phelan has to give his players some belief and ambition if they are to mount a serious survival challenge.
Hull City’s vice chairman Ehab Allam
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