Tomorrow afternoon sees our first away game in the league, and like last Saturday’s opener at the Alexandra Stadium, we face a recently-relegated team from the Championship last season as we travel to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull City.
Last Season:
Last season saw Hull start the season a little slowly with one win in the opening 7 games before a run of 5 wins in 8 saw them climb the table. They would be inconsistent throughout the autumn months but would sit in 8th place heading into the final 20 games following a 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on New Year’s Day. The sales of key players Kamil Grosicki and Jarred Bowen on the final day of the January transfer window would see them win just one of the remaining games and be relegated, finishing bottom of the league.
They would go out of the Carabao Cup on penalties to Preston North End in the 2nd Round after defeating Tranmere Rovers in the first and would go out of the FA Cup in the 4th Round at Chelsea after defeating Rotherham United in the previous round.
This season:
They have played 4 games so far this season, a 2-0 win at Gillingham last Saturday in the league, winning by penalties against both Sunderland and Leeds United in the Carabao Cup (setting up a trip to West Ham United in midweek) but lost 2-1 in their EFL Trophy game against Leicester City’s Under-21s in a group that also contains League 2 clubs Grimsby Town and Harrogate Town.
Transfers:
Hull have made 8 signings in total, all permanent deals, with defenders Festus Arthur, Lewie Coyle, Josh Emmanuel and Alfie Jones joining from Stockport County, Fleetwood Town, Bolton Wanderers and Southampton respectively, midfielders Richard Smallwood (Blackburn Rovers, he was also appointed their club captain) and Greg Docherty (Rangers) would join as would wide men Mallik Wilks from Barnsley and Thomas Mayer from Austria Lustenau.
They let 12 players leave the KCOM Stadium in the summer, including former Alex loanees Stephen Kingsley and Kevin Stewart.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 10
Hull Wins: 23
Draws: 7
Biggest Alex Win: 5-1 at Boothferry Park in December 1996 (FA Cup)
Biggest Hull Win: 7-1 at Boothferry Park in October 1994
Last Meeting:
Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Hull City, 15th August 2007
Michael Bridges gave the visitors the lead a minute before the break before Richard Garcia would double the lead 10 minutes after the break. The third was added with 20 minutes to play with Stephen McPhee getting the goal.
Alex: Williams; Woodards, Baudet, McCready, Jones; Moore (Carrington 75), Roberts, Schumacher (Bopp 71), Rix; Miller, Pope
Hull: Duke; Doyle, Brown (Ricketts 75), Turner, Delaney; Elliott, Garcia (Marney 76), Featherstone, Livermore; Bridges (Ashbee 84), McPhee
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: n/a
Defenders: Neil Franklin, Stephen Kingsley, Jon Otsemobor, Shaun Smith, Matt Wicks
Midfielders: Peter Cook, Stuart Green, Jake Livermore, Nick Powell, Kevin Stewart, Simon Walton
Forwards: Dele Adebola, Clive Colbridge, Alan Daley, Clayton Donaldson, Johnny Linaker, Alan Livingstone, John Moore, Les Robson, Paul Tait, Jimmy Walsh, Jonathan Walters, Billy Whitehurst, Harry Wilson
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Ben Toner the referee, Geoffrey Liddle and Daniel Woodward are his assistants with Declan Ford the fourth official. Here are the Crewe games that have been refereed by Toner in the previous 5 years:
- Crewe Alexandra 1-2 Chesterfield (3rd October 2015) – Fox
- Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Rochdale (6th February 2016) – Haber, Inman
- Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Mansfield Town (1st October 2016) – Dagnall
- Accrington Stanley 3-2 Crewe Alexandra (8th April 2017) – Cooke, Dagnall
- Crewe Alexandra 0-5 Carlisle United (23rd September 2017)
- Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Exeter City (5th October 2019) – Anene
Opposition View:
I asked Hull supporters Luke Flanagan and Richard Walker for their thoughts going into the game and looking at the season ahead.
How would you describe last season for the Tigers?
LF: In a word, embarrassing. Much will be made of the decision to sell both Grosicki and Bowen in January when we were 8th in the table, but some of the defeats after January were just beyond belief at times.
RW: Pitiful. After sitting 9th on New Years Day and looking like we had a decent chance at a playoff push, it all fell apart after the sales of Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki at the end of the transfer window. Belief dried up completely and we tumbled down the table, coming in for heavy defeats to Brentford, Leeds, Stoke and Wigan. By the end of the season, we looked well off the pace and were deservedly relegated having won only once in 21 league fixtures.
LF: I think the only player we can expect not to feature is Tom Eaves. He was injured against Sunderland, but our form without him has improved dramatically. Against Leeds, McCann actually played Mallik Wilks down the middle of a three and he had his best game in a City shirt since coming here. Keane Lewis-Potter was withdrawn at half time against Leeds, but I think that was more to rest him for the weekend game.
RW: Tom Eaves won’t play. He was injured in the League Cup game at Sunderland and will be out for four weeks. This may not be a good thing for Crewe though, as Josh Magennis, Keane Lewis-Potter and Malik Wilks have all played in the number 9 role in the three games since Eaves’ injury, and each has scored. Last season’s first-choice goalkeeper George Long has also missed the first three games of the season but is close to a return. That probably won’t matter though, as Matt Ingram has been excellent up to now. He kept clean sheets against Sunderland and Gillingham, and came up big in the penalty shoot out victories against Sunderland and Leeds. I expect him to continue in goal.
What is the position that you think needs strengthening before the transfer window shuts?
LF: If we are to strengthen any area it would be either Central Striker or a midfielder. Wilks was excellent and should he replicate that form this season, we may not need anyone else. If Smallwood got injured I think we would need someone else of his experience to be able to settle the team down and break up play – but we do have several midfielders who can do that and have been playing well, so we may not sign anyone!
RW: Before the League Cup victory against Leeds on Wednesday night, most City fans would have said centre forward as we looked a little light there following the injury to Eaves, but Wilks lead the line brilliantly. Against two inexperienced centre backs, he had one of his best games in a City shirt since joining from Barnsley. It may be too much to expect him to play that well against more experienced players though, so I’d still like to see another centre forward come in. I also think we need another senior centre midfielder to provide us with a little bit of depth. We’ve got some exciting academy graduates who could deputise for Honeyman, Smallwood, Docherty or Batty if needed, but with the number of games we have in this compacted season, we’re bound to need more experienced players in that area.
What would be the team that you would pick for the game if you were in charge?
LF: Personally, I would go with: Matt Ingram; Josh Emmanuel, Jordi De Wijs, Reece Burke, Brandon Fleming; Richie Smallwood, Greg Docherty, George Honeyman; Keane Lewis-Potter, Josh Magennis and Mallik Wilks. So many players who played on Tuesday against Leeds played so well, though – so I wouldn’t like to be McCann making the decisions!
RW: Ingram would start in goal after his good start to the season. Josh Emmanuel would start at right-back. He’s been very impressive in his two starts so far, although Lewie Coyle played well in his debut against Leeds too. Reece Burke and Jordy de Wijs are our first choice centre-halves and should be much too good for this division, even if they were as culpable as anyone for our slide last season, and Brandon Fleming would continue at left-back. In midfield, we looked well balanced against Gillingham so I would continue with Richie Smallwood at the base and George Honeyman and Greg Docherty ahead of him. Up front is where the biggest decisions will need to be made as a case can be made for any of our forwards to start. I’ll say that we’ll remain unchanged from the win at Gillingham though and go with Magennis through the middle and Lewis-Potter and Wilks either side of him in a 4-3-3 formation.
Who is the danger man for yourselves?
LF: Both Mallik Wilkes and KLP are our main goal threats. The interesting thing is any of the front three that played on Wednesday night against Leeds are able to play down the middle, so it makes for a fluidity going forward. Docherty is a threat from midfield too. I’ve been very impressed with him.
RW: As I’ve said already, Malik Wilks was very sharp against Leeds. He scored the opener and probably should have had more. Keane Lewis-Potter has also started the season brightly, with 2 goals in 4 appearances. Another player that has caught the eye early on is Greg Docherty. He came in from Rangers in the summer, and has impressed me with his direct running. He looks to get forward at every opportunity.
What would be a successful season for Hull this term?
LF: Originally I said playoffs were a distant dream and mid-table would be acceptable – but after recent developments playoffs should be a minimum. As long as we keep the squad fit then I will keep fingers crossed of having a good season.
RW: Promotion has to be the aim, whether that’s achieved automatically or through the playoffs. The longer we’re outside the Championship, the more difficult it will be for us to get back there, especially with the introduction of the salary cap.
