Hull 1 – 3 Man Utd
English Premier League News by Les Roopanarine : Manchester United edged an error-strewn encounter with Hull to close to within two points of leaders Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.
Wayne Rooney drew first blood for United on the stroke of half-time, but later made a calamitous back-pass which paved the way for a Hull penalty.
Craig Fagan levelled from the spot, but Rooney made amends when his low cross led to an Andy Dawson own goal.
Dimitar Berbatov then sealed the win after a pin-point pass from Rooney.
At a stage of the season when champions United traditionally begin to hit their stride, the victory closed the gap on Chelsea after they were held to a goalless draw at Birmingham on Saturday.
But for all Rooney’s influence, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men – who arrived on Humberside in wounded-animal mode after suffering two defeats in their previous three Premier League outings – were rarely at their best.
In fairness that had much to do with Hull, whose industry and commitment proved formidable obstacles despite some hairy moments for goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, most notably when he miscued a first-half clearance.
Having seen his team charged by the Football Association after last weekend’s mass confrontation at Arsenal, Phil Brown had looked to foster a siege mentality among his players in the build-up.
And his players clearly bought into the billing of unfairly-punished underdogs as they absorbed United’s strong start and were unlucky to be denied an early penalty.
Fagan found Richard Garcia with a precise through-ball, but as the Australia international raced into the area he was upended by a sliding tackle from Nemanja Vidic that prompted furious protests from Hull.
It was Alan Wiley, the referee whose fitness was questioned by Ferguson after United’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland earlier this season, who came to the visitors’ rescue.
Wiley saw nothing wrong with the challenge, but no sooner had he waved away the complaints than Hull were at United again, Seyi Olofinjana forcing a fine reflex save from Tomasz Kuszczak.
Another opportunity to open the scoring went begging when Olofinjana put Stephen Hunt through only for the Republic of Ireland midfielder to shoot wide.
As the misses mounted for Hull, the feeling grew that there would be a price to pay against a United side desperate to bounce back following last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham.
The return of a trio of defenders in Rafael da Silva, Vidic and Wes Brown provided a platform for United to go forward with greater confidence, and although their attacking fluency was never at its best, they nonetheless offered plenty of threat.
Giggs twice went close early on, volleying on to the roof of the net before rippling the side-netting with a free-kick, while Rooney and Rafael both forced acrobatic saves from Myhill.
The danger was clear and, sure enough, with the interval beckoning Darren Fletcher swung in a near-post cross from the right flank, Giggs deflected it to Rooney, and the lurking England man prodded home from close-range.
With the hour mark approaching, however, Rooney gifted Hull a reprieve, directing a woeful back-pass to Kuszczak which was intercepted by Fagan.
Da Silva bundled over Jozy Altidore from the resulting cross, and Fagan shot unerringly past Kuszczak to ensure that there would be no repeat of Geovanni’s missed spot kick against Arsenal last week.
Sensing the possibility of a win that would lift them clear of the relegation zone, Hull poured forward in search of a winner, but their enterprise was to prove their undoing.
With 17 minutes remaining, Giggs led a United counter-attack, slotting the ball through for Rooney to direct a low cross towards substitute Ji-Sung Park which the sliding Dawson could only direct into his own net.
And Rooney was once again at the heart of the action as United put the polish on their win with eight minutes remaining, directing a slide-rule pass through the legs of Anthony Gardner that enabled Berbatov to score with a tap-in.
Source: English Premier League News, Man Utd News, Wayne Rooney News at BBC Sports.
Hull City 3 – 2 Everton
Hull's Dawson (left) and Everton's Saha each scored for their sides
English Premier League News : Hull City held off an Everton fightback to earn a win which moves them level with their struggling opponents.
Stephen Hunt powered in a shot for the home side after Jozy Altidore’s effort had been parried by keeper Tim Howard.
Andy Dawson’s free-kick and a Dean Marney shot added to the lead but Hull’s Kamil Zayatte sliced a clearance into his own goal to give Everton hope.
Zayatte conceded a penalty which Louis Saha converted for the visitors but the Tigers clung on for victory.
Everton must have been on the end of a verbal bashing from manager David Moyes at half-time as they came out a different side after the break.
However, their efforts came too late to rescue a dire opening half as the home side were resolute enough to earn three points and leave the Toffees with only one win in 10 games.
Hull had gone into the match without Jimmy Bullard as boss Phil Brown decided to rest his star man so that the midfield playmaker could recover from a minor knock to his knee.
Bullard has had a major impact for the Tigers since his recovery from a lengthy spell out injured but Brown was taking the longer term view when leaving him out and the home side initially made light of his absence.
Hull went ahead after Everton defenders Sylvain Distin and Leighton Baines missed a deflected Hunt cross to allow Altidore to hammer a point-blank shot, which Howard did well to fend away.
But Hunt had drifted in from the left and, with the Toffees defence sleeping, pounced to lash in the loose ball from eight yards.
The goal lifted Hull, while having the reverse effect on the visitors and the Tigers capitalised by extending their lead through Dawson’s precise 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.
Everton had beaten Hull 4-0 at the KC Stadium in the Carling Cup earlier this season but were a different proposition this time around as they looked a team sapped of belief and confidence.
Too many of their passes were going astray, there was a lack of movement and, most unusually for the Merseysiders, they lacked fight.
A Baines corner was headed just over by Distin in a rare moment of threat from Everton but they soon found themselves further behind.
Distin inadvertently diverted a low cross to Marney and, symbolic of Everton’s fortunes, the Hull midfielder’s shot went in off Tim Cahill.
Everton belatedly showed the passion their play had been missing in the second half and they were rewarded when Zayatte swung at a Johnny Heitinga cross only to slice the ball into his own net.
Zayatte was also involved in Everton’s second goal as he was punished for a high challenge on Saha, who had expertly taken down a diagonal ball from Cahill in the box.
Saha dispatched the penalty with ease to set up a jittery finale for Hull.
Richard Garcia had a shot saved by Howard, while Cahill sent a long range strike over at the other end as more goals looked on the cards.
However, Hull had enough grit to hold Everton at arm’s length and notch their fourth home win of the Premier League season.
Source: English Premier League News, Hull, Everton at BBC Sport.
Ian Ashbee – Hull City AFC Captain
Ian Ashbee – Captain and Midfielder of Hull City AFC – English Premier League Football Club
Ian Ashbee (born 6 September 1976 in Birmingham) is an English professional footballer currently playing for Hull City. He previously played for Derby County and Cambridge United, and has also played in Iceland, on loan to IR Knattspyrnudeild.[1]
| Ian Ashbee | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian Ashbee | |
| Date of birth | 6 September 1976 (1976-09-06) (age 33) | |
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Hull City | |
Hull City
Purchased by manager Jan Mølby in June 2002 in League Two he suffered a nightmare start to his Hull career as he was sent off on his debut. This was, however, due to his no-nonsense approach on the pitch and he soon became a firm favourite with Tigers fans and management alike, with both Mølby and Peter Taylor making him Captain.
The goal he scored against Yeovil Town was the goal that promoted Hull to League One and he was also instrumental in the Tigers’ successful promotion campaign to the Football League Championship in the following season.
Ashbee was, however, cursed by an old injury in the subsequent Championship campaign, being diagnosed with an osteochondral defect, a degenerative bone condition in his femur. He underwent surgery that involved drilling fourteen holes in the bone to stimulate re-growth. He was warned by his doctor that this injury threatened not just his career, but his ability to even walk.[2] Ashbee was on crutches for four months and was ruled out for the majority of the 2005-06 season, nevertheless he remained a favourite amongst many Tigers fans, receiving a standing ovation at the last game of the season against Watford despite being sidelined.
He was also retained as captain by Hull City’s next manager, Phil Parkinson, and his replacement, Phil Brown. But with a poor team performance in their second season in The Championship, finishing just one place outside the relegation zone, Ashbee as captain received a large share of fans’ criticisms that were aimed at the team, despite the outgoing Chairman Adam Pearson suggesting him as a potential Player of the Season.
The 2007-08 season saw vastly improved performances from the team as a whole, culminating in the club reaching its first ever Wembley final, taking on Bristol City for a place in the Premier League, a game which they won 1-0. This means that Ashbee has captained City to promotion from the bottom division of the Football League to the top. Andy Dawson, Boaz Myhill and Ryan France are the other players to have helped take Hull up through the four divisions.[3] On 16 August 2008 Ashbee was captain of the Hull City side that won its first ever top-flight game 2–1 against Fulham, completing an achievement thought to be unique in English football: captaining the same team in all four divisions of the Football League, bottom to top.[4]
Towards the end of the 2008-09 season, in a fixture against Aston Villa on 4 May, Ashbee suffered another career-threatening injury, rupturing a posterior cruciate ligament in his knee. It was initially thought that he would return to action in the Autumn, however on 18 August 2009 it was reported that Ashbee required further surgery on the knee and would likely miss the entire 2009-10 season.[5][6]
Source: Ian Ashbee, Hull city Midfielder, Captaion of Hull City AFC, Hull City Association Football Club, English Premier League infomation at wikipedia.org
Hull City AFC Managers
Managers” class=”mw-headline”>
Managers of Hull City A.F.C. – English Premier League Football Club As of 3 October 2009. Source: English Premier League information at wikipedia.org
Name  |
Nat |
Managerial Tenure |
G |
W |
D |
L |
Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Ramster |  |
August 1904–April 1905 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00.00 |
| Ambrose Langley | |
April 1905–April 1913 | 318 | 143 | 67 | 108 | 44.96 |
| Harry Chapman | |
April 1913–September 1914 | 45 | 20 | 10 | 15 | 44.44 |
| Fred Stringer | |
September 1914–July 1916 | 43 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 51.16 |
| David Menzies | |
July 1916–June 1921 | 90 | 31 | 27 | 32 | 34.44 |
| Percy Lewis | |
July 1921–January 1923 | 71 | 27 | 18 | 26 | 38.02 |
| Billy McCracken |  |
February 1923–May 1931 | 375 | 134 | 104 | 137 | 35.73 |
| Haydn Green | |
May 1931–March 1934 | 123 | 61 | 24 | 38 | 49.59 |
| Jack Hill | |
March 1934–January 1936 | 77 | 24 | 15 | 38 | 31.16 |
| David Menzies | |
February 1936–October 1936 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 20.83 |
| Ernest Blackburn | |
December 1936–January 1946 | 117 | 50 | 31 | 36 | 42.73 |
| Frank Buckley | |
May 1946–March 1948 | 80 | 33 | 19 | 28 | 41.25 |
| Raich Carter | |
March 1948–September 1951 | 157 | 74 | 41 | 42 | 47.13 |
| Bob Jackson | |
June 1952–March 1955 | 123 | 42 | 26 | 55 | 34.14 |
| Bob Brocklebank | |
March 1955–May 1961 | 302 | 113 | 71 | 118 | 37.41 |
| Cliff Britton | |
July 1961–November 1969 | 406 | 170 | 101 | 135 | 41.87 |
| Terry Neill | |
June 1970–September 1974 | 174 | 61 | 55 | 58 | 35.05 |
| John Kaye | |
September 1974–October 1977 | 126 | 40 | 40 | 46 | 31.74 |
| Bobby Collins |  |
October 1977–February 1978 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 21.05 |
| Ken Houghton | |
April 1978–December 1979 | 72 | 23 | 22 | 27 | 31.94 |
| Mike Smith | |
December 1979–March 1982 | 99 | 27 | 29 | 43 | 27.27 |
| Bobby Brown | |
March 1982–June 1982 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 52.63 |
| Colin Appleton | |
June 1982–May 1984 | 91 | 47 | 29 | 15 | 51.64 |
| Brian Horton | |
June 1984–April 1988 | 195 | 77 | 58 | 60 | 39.48 |
| Eddie Gray | |
June 1988–May 1989 | 51 | 13 | 14 | 24 | 25.49 |
| Colin Appleton | |
May 1989–October 1989 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 6.25 |
| Stan Ternent | |
November 1989–January 1991 | 62 | 19 | 15 | 28 | 30.64 |
| Terry Dolan | |
January 1991–July 1997 | 322 | 99 | 96 | 127 | 30.74 |
| Mark Hateley | |
July 1997–November 1998 | 76 | 17 | 14 | 45 | 22.36 |
| Warren Joyce | |
November 1998–April 2000 | 86 | 33 | 25 | 28 | 38.37 |
| Billy Russell | |
April 2000–April 2000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 00.00 |
| Brian Little | |
April 2000–February 2002 | 97 | 41 | 28 | 28 | 42.26 |
| Billy Russell | |
February 2002–April 2002 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14.28 |
| Jan Mølby |  |
April 2002–October 2002 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 11.76 |
| Billy Russell | |
October 2002–October 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Peter Taylor | |
October 2002–June 2006 | 184 | 77 | 50 | 57 | 41.84 |
| Phil Parkinson | |
June 2006–December 2006 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 20.83 |
| Phil Brown | |
December 2006–Present | 135 | 49 | 32 | 54 | 36.30 |
Hull City AFC Players
Current Players – Hull City A.F.C – English Premier League Football Club As of 17 September 2009.
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Source: English Premier League Football club information at wikipedia.org