Hull City and Poland star Kamil Grosicki comfortably won the PFA Premier League Fans Player of the Month award for April.
Three assists and one Player of the Month award suggests it was a very productive April for January arrival Kamil Grosicki – and it was, in many respects, but was he the best player in the Premier League? The pacy wide man received over 60,000 votes during voting for the award, roughly six times that of second place Roberto Firmino. Bizarrely, if you asked Hull City fans who their outstanding performer in April was, you would scarcely find a Tigers fan who would put forward the Pole.
That is no great criticism of Grosicki. In a month that brought three wins, one draw and two defeats for Hull City, seeing them climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since October, there have been a number of star performers. Harry Maguire, for one, has been outstanding. Partnering him at the back, Andrea Ranocchia has rarely put a foot wrong. Sam Clucas has really stepped up in midfield and on the opposite wing to Grosicki, Lazar Markovic has arguably been the more impressive of the two.
Grosicki celebrates scoring for Poland
The Player of the Month award then was largely the result of Grosicki asking for votes from his 75,000+ Twitter followers and the huge influx of votes which came in from Poland. However, does his very nomination alone suggest he is somewhat underrated by Hull City fans? Grosicki’s nomination alongside the likes of Eden Hazard and Dele Alli was most likely the result of his three assists for the month, which should really have been four, but for Lazar Markovic needing two attempts to score from Grosicki’s cross in Hull’s 4-2 win over Middlesbrough.
Grosicki assisted as many goals in the month of April as Robert Snodgrass managed in the first half of the season for the Tigers. He now has four assists to his name since his arrival in January, a tally matched only by Abel Hernandez, and one which suggests his final ball might not always be as wild as it seems. The winger is yet to score his first goal in black and amber, but came oh-so-close at the weekend when his free-kick crashed against Fraser Forster’s post.
Kamil Grosicki applauds the Hull City fans
The problem with Grosicki, without doubt, is his inconsistency. He is an explosive player, and that is why he has been used so effectively as an impact player coming on from the bench for much of his career. Despite chalking up the assists, his final ball is often lacking, both in terms of the creating and taking of chances. The winger may have scored goals throughout his career, nine last season in fact, but during his time at the KCOM Stadium, he has snatched at his chances, lashing shots high and wide.
This could merely be a confidence issue, and had one of his near misses found the back of the net, perhaps he would have taken future chances with a little more confidence. The simple fact for is that if Grosicki was ruthless in front of goal and capable of regular pinpoint deliveries, he would probably have 5 goals and 8-10 assists to his name since January, but he’d also probably be playing for Barcelona, not Hull City.
Hull City manager Marco Silva
For the budget Marco Silva is working with at Hull City, Grosicki is a fine recruit. He is incredibly frustrating and so raw, but he is also a match winner, and capable of becoming a real threat to any defence. Between them, Grosicki and Markovic need a couple of seasons of regular Premier League football to become properly rounded top flight players, but they already offer raw pace and an unpredictability to Hull City’s attacks that was so obviously lacking during the reigns of both Mike Phelan and Steve Bruce.
Grosicki’s wing partner at Hull City – Lazar Markovic
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