FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

LASTSEASON

CHAMPIONSHIP3rdFACUPThirdRound

LEAGUECUPSecondRoundTOPSCORERKemarRoofe(15)

LASTSEASON

CHAMPIONSHIP 13th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP

Second Round TOP SCORER Jarrod Bowen (above right, 22)

FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 51

HULL CITY LEEDS UnITED

SEASOn PREVIEW

FFTVERDICT

16

TH FFT VERDICT

2

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Nigel Adkins did an excellent job

in moving Hull from bottom of the

table to play-off contention last

term, so his departure was a blow.

Grant McCann lacks experience in

the Championship but impressed

at Doncaster, guiding Rovers to the

League One play-offs last season.

Last season ended agonisingly,

but where there’s Marcelo Bielsa,

there’s hope for Leeds. While the

Argentine remains at Elland Road,

the West Yorkshire club can be

confident of launching another

automatic promotion push – and

finally get over the line this time.

The big talking point among the fans

is the inevitable loss of the manager

and key players. With the parachute

payments gone the budget must be

cut, so it’s the end for star performers

like Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki

and those out of contract like Fraizer

Campbell and David Marshall.

This season will be different because

we’ll struggle to overachieve again.

We’re in for a very tough campaign.

I won’t be happy unless the Allams

sell the club.

Our most underrated player is Eric

Lichaj [below]: versatile, experienced

and personable.

Look out for Max Sheaf. The tall and

elegant midfielder made his league

debut on the last day of last season.

The best away ground is Craven

Cottage. A proper ground in a great

location on the river. Superb boozers

along the way, too.

The best away fans are probably

Leeds’, for all their faults!

The opposition player I secretly

admire is Leeds’ Pablo Hernandez.

Even at his age, we’d love a player like

that to replace our outgoing wingers.

The pantomime villain will be

Pontus Jansson. He’s odious anyway,

and his poor sportsmanship for Leeds

against Aston Villa last season won’t

have helped his cause.

Our best celebrity fan is Brassed Off

director Mark Herman. He likes to put

Tigers references in his films.

Save the date for Leeds away on

December 10. It was tasty last term:

we left with a very impressive win.

The best club social media account

is @HullCityKits – geeks with a brilliant

eye for detail.

The best thing about the matchday

experience at Hull is the leg room.

The owners have killed attendances.

The signature local dish is a pattie:

potato and sage, battered and deep

fried. Especially great in a butty.

Our key player will be Reece Burke,

a promising centre-half who is going

to be key given the player turnover.

If manager Grant McCann left, he

should be replaced by Garry Monk.

We’ll finish 21st. I hope.

This season will be different because

hopefully at least some senior players

won’t get injured. At times last year,

our substitutes’ bench was comprised

entirely of actual children.

I won’t be happy unless I finally stop

supporting Leeds United.

Our most underrated player is young

winger Jack Clarke – our fans possibly

expected too much too soon from him.

Look out for midfield scamp Jamie

Shackleton. He has a chant to the

tune of Baby Shark. Don’t Google it.

The best away ground is Craven

Cottage: the ‘neutral stand’ becomes

another away stand. Fulham obliged

us by being relegated last term, which

is downright civil of them.

Our best celebrity fan is Game of

Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,

who got a US talk show audience to

chant the name of manager Marcelo

Bielsa [below] in April.

The one change I’d make to the club

would be to remove whatever

motivates fans of other sides to insist

that we’re their hated rivals, against

all credible evidence and geographical

common sense.

The best club social media account

is @TheSquareBall – the long-running

fanzine is so immaculately presented,

it may actually be better than the club

it’s dedicated to.

The signature local dish is Graveleys

Fish & Chips right outside Elland Road,

but I should also mention the ground’s

infamous Meal Deal 1 – literally a pint

and some crisps.

The other recommendation for away

fans is please complain incoherently

on your club’s fan TV channel about

any imagined slight you can conceive

of, because it does cheer us all up as

the season draws on.

Our key player will be the Spanish

wizard Pablo Hernandez [above],

again. He’s one of those players who’s

always looked old, so hopefully that

will offset the fact he’s now 34. Even

in his advanced years, it’s a little bit

preposterous that he’s playing at this

level, given his sheer ability.

We’ll finish in around May or June

of next year.

FAn FILE

RICK SKELTON

@HullCityLive

FAn FILE

TOMMY DAVIES

@tommy_lufc