Ahead of Sunderland’s trip to the MKM Stadium, we sit down with Baz Cooper, Hull City correspondent with the Hull Daily Mail, to get all the insight on Sunday’s opponents.
F1879: Hull have won three, drawn three and lost three. As a result, it’s difficult from the outside looking in to get a handle on how their season may play out. However, as someone who is closer to the team and based on performances thus far, how do you see the campaign going for the Tigers?
BC: The first month of the season was basically a write-off, largely due to the lack of transfer business earlier in the summer. As many as 14 new players arrived after the club’s final friendly of the summer at Reading the week before the season started, so the rest of August was a mess because players were coming in every other day. That made it difficult for the new manager. They remain the classic work in progress given all those new arrivals, but the international break came at a good time to get a lot of their new players bedded in. I still feel like this season will be one of transition from where they were a year ago.
F1879: Now the dust has settled, what do supporters make of Liam Rosenior’s sacking in the summer? At the time one fan called it an “Awful, awful decision” and another exclaimed, “What on earth are they doing!?” Has that position softened? What’s the current mood music on the terraces?
BC: It remains mixed. There is support for Tim Walter, and supporters want him to do well, of course, but there remain questions about the long-term viability of his cavalier approach, and those questions are entirely reasonable based on what we’ve seen so far. There have been three good wins, but equally, there has been plenty to be concerned about, particularly the ease at which opposition teams create chances.
Any bringing up of Liam Rosenior can sometimes be met with angst, but naturally, people will look at what he did last season and still wonder why the owner didn’t try to work through his issues and build on last term. Ultimately, that decision has been made, it isn’t being undone and everyone needs to move on and hope Walter can deliver the exciting brand of winning football Acun Ilicali (the owner) wants to see.
F1879: Current head coach Tim Walter reportedly has a style of play that is attacking, with high intensity and possession based. The stats would suggest that as Hull City are currently fifth for average possession across the Championship, Walter is indeed having an impact. Are there any other signs of his style on the pitch bearing fruit?
BC: Absolutely there are. Their style is unique, to say the least, with defenders popping up all over the place. At QPR, Cody Drameh was on the edge of the box and played in Lewie Coyle who crossed for Chris Bedia to score. And that wasn’t the first occasion those two defenders – Coyle and Drameh – had combined in that area.
What impressed me at Stoke City – their first win of the season – was the way in which they responded to going a goal down, and then after equalising, didn’t sit back, they went for it and ended up winning 3-1.
Their attacking play is promising, there’s plenty to be excited about going forward, but the concern remains just how easy they are to attack at the other end.
F1879: The stats also show that Hull City are sixth in the league for shots on goal. Yet are ninth for actual goals scored suggesting perhaps a lack of that clinical edge in front of goal. Is there more to it or is that simple?
BC: The lack of clinical edge is an entirely fair criticism, and in fact, Walter himself has raised it on more than one occasion. The Tigers were out in Turkey last week for a training camp and during that, they beat Super Lig side Alanyaspor 2-0. In truth, it should have been five or six, so they are quite profligate in front of goal, and need to sharpen up, but I expect that to come as the season wears on.
F1879: What formation/tactics do you think Walter will use against Sunderland?
BC: Walter is wedded to his 4-3-3 formation, and the variables within that system but as basic level, it will be a 4-3-3.
F1879: Who do you think will be in Hull’s starting XI?
BC: Good question. Much will depend on Oscar Zambrano, Liam Millar and Kasey Palmer all coming back from international duty unscathed. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Charlie Hughes given a first start, and possibly, Joao Pedro up front.
F1879: Who have been the standout players so far this season for Hull and which ones should Sunderland be most concerned about?
BC:The two wingers – Liam Millar on the left and Mohamed Belloumi off the right. Both have looked really good, both have assists and goals to their names. If City are to win on Sunday, they’ll need both of those to impact the game in a positive way.
F1879: Which Sunderland player do you think Hull fans will be most concerned about going into match?
BC: I’d probably say Dennis Cirkin or Romaine Mundle. The latter has looked good in these early weeks, and wingers are just great to watch aren’t they? Jack who?
F1879: Which Hull player do you think Sunderland should be most worried about?
BC: As I mentioned above, Millar and Belloumi.
F1879: Where do you predict Sunderland and Hull will finish in the league?
BC: Ahh! I hate predictions, especially at this early stage.I think Sunderland will go close to making the top six, while City will be around 12th.
F1879: What is your score prediction for the clash against the Black Cats?
BC: Given City’s need to recover from the Norwich hammering and Sunderland’s away defeats so far, I’m going to go with a Tigers win by the odd goal, 2-1 The caveat being that this is the Championship and anything can happen.
Thanks to Baz. Follow him on X.
