Hull City v Boro. Friday 5 December. 20.00 live on Sky
From Hell, Hull, and Halifax, Good Lord, deliver us! I’d always assumed that this old Yorkshire phrase referred to both these grand old towns as being poverty-stricken pits of filth, evil and despair. It turns out these words form part of the so-called ‘Thieves’ Litany,’ uttered in Mediaeval Yorkshire as a leave-taking ‘prayer’ between two thieves as they parted. Another version(cf. https://www.yorkshirefolksong.net/song.cfm?songID=70 ) calls it ‘The Beggar’s Litany.’ Hell was greatly to be feared, of course, and both Hull (whose gaol had an evil reputation) and Halifax were historically known for being especially harsh to criminals. One account of Hull even stated that felons were drowned by being tied to gibbets in the Humber estuary at low tide and left to drown as the sea returned.
The city of Hull is much improved these days and is today very much holding its head above water as a growing tide of tourists visit. The football club is also on an upwards trajectory currently, if not exactly the crest of a wave, after several years of stormy weather. You may recall that previous owner Assem Allam tried to change the club’s name to Hull City Tigers, amongst many other barmy management decisions, causing major fan protests and disaffection over several seasons.
In 2023-24 they finished a very creditable 7th, one place and one point above Boro. It was therefore a huge surprise when the new owner, Turkish media tycoon, Acun Ilicali, sacked manager, Liam Rosenior, at the end of the season. Hull unsurprisingly plummeted last year, avoiding relegation only on goal difference, and going through 3 managers across the season. I therefore confidently predicted City would struggle again this year and I put them down in my bottom 3 in the COTS challenge. Once again I have proven just how useless I am at this prediction game!
Instead, City are doing well under new head coach, Sergej Jakirovic. No, me neither. He’s a Bosnian who has managed several clubs in Croatia (including taking Dinamo Zagreb to a league and cup double in 2023-24) before moving to Turkish side Kayserispor last year.
City currently sit in 8th place with 28 points. Their 30 goals scored is the second highest in the division after Coventry. Yet they have a zero goal difference, as their defensive record is equally startling, with their 30 goals conceded the worst of any side except Sheffield Wednesday! So for Boro this is very much a case of defending stoutly and then attacking with pace and vigour at every opportunity!
Their home form has been solid generally, with 5 home wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. They had good home wins against Southampton, Sheffield United and Leicester and they drew 2-2 with PNE. On the road they’ve won at Birmingham, Norwich, and last week, at Stoke. (Thanks for that, lads! Did us a big favour.)There are some big scalps in that lot, though. This is definitely a strong side that scores goals. Beware Boro.
You’ll no doubt be familiar with a few names: Boro favourite Matt Crooks, the wardrobe himself; Ryan Giles, who has 7 assists this year, so might be getting somewhere back to the form we hoped he’d repeat when Carrick brought him back; the ex Sheffield United trio of midfielder John Lundstram, defender John Egan, and striker Ollie McBurnie (6 goals so far) and back in training this week with a possible place on the subs’ bench mooted; ex-Leeds starlet, Joe Gelhardt, top scorer with 9; and ex Man Utd full-back, Brandon Williams.
Given that all of those bar Williams are hard-bitten lads who’ve done the hard yards with gritty Yorkshire clubs (Boro in Giles’s case), it’s something of a surprise that Hull have conceded so many goals. Perhaps they’re missing Alfie Jones? Anyway, it suggests that they are vulnerable if put under pressure. So let’s hole Hull beneath the water line!
Boro finally found a way to beat Derby on Tuesday in what was yet another magnificent display of grit, determination and team spirit. Whittaker looks a different player, at last, but we obviously need more goals from the rest of the forwards. I expect this to be a different challenge for Boro compared with Derby, whose low block was very difficult to break down. I’m sure Hull will attack us. That should open up space for us to exploit.
Defensively against the Rams we were far too open at first and we will need to be much more compact against Hull on Friday, especially if the team espouses Hellberg’s new high-line philosophy. Who knows how many defenders we will have fit? It seems likely that we will have to start with the same defence as against Derby. It was great to see Bangura back; let’s hope he is fit enough to start and ideally to play the full 90 minutes, but that might be too much of a stretch after so many months out of the team. Archie Baptiste may have to deputise at some point. He’s a big lad and certainly looked the part on Tuesday.
A point on Friday would be good enough to keep us in second spot, or third if Millwall win at Bristol City. I don’t think a draw would be a bad result.
So, colleagues, will our trip to Hull be the road to Hell, or will Boro give them one Hellberg of a beating? From Hull, Good Lord, deliver us three points!
I always look forward to your starters, Clive, and this had all of the qualities you bring to your writing. It is funny, interesting, stylishly written, well-researched and cleverly structured. I appreciate all of the work that has gone into this leader, but admire even more the way in which you have presented it so clearly and accessibly. Thanks, too, for bringing us all up to date with Hull's recent form. A great read that has kept me very well informed
Good stuff, Clive!
I think a point would be good away to Hull but I must be getting greedy in my old age. Three points would allow us the possibility of growing a gap between Boro and the 3rd placed team. We may, or may not, catch up with Coventry City but if we remain ahead of the rest it will be job done!
Great intro Clive. Should be another intriguing contest between a strong attack and a good defence(statistically). Hopefully our new "unknown" head coach will do as well as theirs has, without the leaky defence. I think that Geldhart can still be a Leeds starlet as he is only on loan at Hull. He is in rich form 7 in his last nine games, second in the goal scoring charts aided by Giles who is top of the assists with 7. They are also near the top of the Yellow card table with 41, and Matt Crooks has already had his first suspension and is now on seven yellows. We have 32 yellows, but worryingly 24 have been away from home, that's almost three per game. All in all I would be happy with a draw at this stage of the season. We were helped on Tuesday night by Ipswich's draw at Blackburn which their manager described as a poor performance. They scored a last minute equalizer.
Absolutely Fabulous Clive. Thank you for a good, informative and amusing read. I love when little bits of what others might call trivia are shared... the interesting history of Hell, Hull and Halifax in this case.
I have the reverse fixture on 29th December to open for and I had been keeping a weather eye out for our almost-local rivals from the East Riding. As you have observed, they really are defying many pre-season expectations and really doing quite well. You might say that is a bit like a team from the North Riding this season that we are all familiar with. You might even say that this is a kind of, "Well, who'd a thowt that" kind of fixture.
This will be a tough one and a great measure of where we are. I am hoping that 5 days will have been long enough for KH to get some effective new ideas into our foward line's heads. Like FD, my mind has been getting a little unhealthily ahead of itself, contemplating the erosion of the goal difference and points difference mountains separating us from Coventry. I will have to stop that.
Like you say, a point will be a good return for us on the night, but like FD I am also a little greedy and would love it if we can (again) entertain the nation on a Friday evening, not just with scintillating football, but with goals to take all three points.
CoB
A first rate starter, Clive, full of info and extremely entertaining - the quality of writing on here remains astonishingly high.
I’m hoping for a win on Friday - surely our striker(s) must score sometime.
Thank you Clive, a good read.
I think Ryan Giles is a good player, but a natural winger not a defender. Hopefully we can get into space behind him.
UTB
You never fail to deliver Clive and have produced another enjoyable, informative and amusing read; fingers crossed the Boro can deliver on Friday night as successfully as you have.
Friday night is our usual night to go out to dinner with friends so I will have to watch the match when we get back.
I am just a little concerned that many, self included, are thinking we could get three points on Friday when in fact a point would not be a bad result against a team which is free scoring.
On the injury front, I am beginning to wonder if those responsible for players rehabilitation are being a tad over cautious on when players can return to playing.
AV was telling us they needed to be cautious with AB’s return to playing and then he plays 90+ mins and looked as if he had never been away. Last season JH was supposedly not ready to return and yet played six games in a row when the team was short of defenders!
I just wonder if, perhaps, they need to be guided more by the player and when he says he feels ready to start; hopefully the current injury list will start to dwindle as we enter a busy period where we could do with a run of wins to, at least, cement our second spot. 😎
A great starter, Clive. As always. I really enjoyed reading it and now I know more about them.
I have often thought why they are called Hull and not Kingston. Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a port city and lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary.
But why Hull? Stockton-on-Tees in not called Tees. Beyond my thinking, I am afraid. But Dormo might know, might he not?
Anyway, a tough match to come. I have been to Kingston upon Hull with HalifaxP once to see Boro play. I think we won quite comfortably on that sunny day.
I hope for a similar result this week. Perhaps we have passed the slump in our form and Kim Hellberg will adjust the attach so, that we hit the form again. At least our new strikers have been long enough - I don't know what to do with Tommy Conway as a settled attacker - at the club and should start to gel into a dangerous goal scoring unit. Hopefully.
Now, about 40 % of the season is gone, and we are still second in the table. And this after a real slump in form. As a certain Mr Gill used to say, the table does not lie.
So a bit optimistic prediction of a 1-2 win for us. As Clive said, our strikers need to score for a change. Let's hope we have Ayling back in the starting eleven and perhaps Fry on the bench. Mind, Targett has played well, but perhaps we need to give a break to Bangura and Targett is needed on the left back position. Fingers crossed.
Up the Boro!
Lots of well-deserved tributes to Tom Stoppard, who died last week
No one has yet mentioned his almost entirely forgotten TV play, Professional Foul, broadcast in 1977 in BBC 2's Play of the Week series. The play is set in Prague and follows the character of Professor Anderson, a Cambridge ethics don, on a weekend visit to a philosophy colloquium. The only reason that the Prof has agreed to give a paper at the conference is that England are playing the Czechs, and he intends to absent himself from his academic colleagues by sloping off to the game.
For various reasons Anderson misses the match, returning frustrated to his hotel, where in a room adjacent to his own, British football journalists are filing their copy.
What follows is such a wittily accurate representation of its subject that I can recall many of its most memorable lines to this day. To get the full effect, each word should be relished and read slowly as the character does in order to communicate his copy accurately via a faulty telephone line.
" There'll be Czechs bouncing in the streets of Prague tonight [comma] as bankruptcy stares English football in the face [stop] New para
Make no mistake [comma] the four goal credit which these slick Slovaks netted this afternoon will keep them in the black through the second leg of this World Cup eliminator at Wembley next month New para
You can bank on it [stop] But for some first-class saving by third choice Jim Bart in the injury-jinxed English goal we would have been overdrawn by four more when the books were closed. New para
Maybe Napoleon was wrong when he said we were a nation of shopkeepers [stop] Today England looked to be a nation of goalkeepers as Davie, Petherbridge and Shell all made saves on the line [stop] Of our defenders only Crisp looked like he had a future outside of Madame Tussauds [that ends A, U, D, S] New Para
As with tragic opera [comma] things only got worse after the interval..." etc etc
Later on an English full-back who repeatedly falls for the same trick by the Czech winger is described as "Elephantine apart from his memory"
Bringing back some fragmented memories of one of Stoppard's minor and largely forgotten works is my own small tribute to a great writer. And I would have no forum for expressing it were it not for the existence of this highly literate football blog
The full play can be watched via Google
Wonderful, Len. Thank you.
And thank you, too, for your very kind words earlier about my starter. As with everybody else’s, they’re much appreciated.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the resurgence of the set piece in the game this season. Suddenly, corners have become more of an art form and Arsenal seem to have a full play list of options.
Harry Cane has talked about the England team having a playbook of set pieces in the same way that American Football teams have developed them. (He’s also suggested that he might have a career as a kicker after his football career ends).
Long throws have often been denigrated as somehow a less acceptable way of attacking, but they’re back with a vengeance. I watched the highlights of Boro’s win against Derby and noticed one of their long throws where the thrower’s foot was clearly over the touchline. The assistant referee was on the other side of the pitch so he couldn’t police the offence.
Given that so much scrutiny is given to ensure that the placement of the ball in the corner quadrant is correct, I’m amazed that someone hasn’t come up with a way of making sure that throw ins are legal.
Any thoughts anyone?
@lenmasterman Tom Stoppard’s works have somehow largely passed me by. I’m aware of Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead but have never seen it. Time for me to do some research I think. Thanks so much for your illuminating post.
@lenmasterman Tom Stoppard’s works have somehow largely passed me by. I’m aware of Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead but have never seen it. Time for me to do some research I think. Thanks so much for your illuminating post.
Take a look at SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Such a clever film and a brilliant (Oscar-winning) Tom Stoppard script. He was a great scriptwriter alongside his plays and other stuff.
@selwynoz Now that’s one that I have seen, but I’d forgotten it was one of Stoppard’s.
There's a nice story of Stoppard receiving a call from Steven Spielberg offering him a multi-million dollar contract to write the screenplay for his next film. Stoppard said he could not accept as he was under contract to the BBC.
Upon Spielberg expressing some credulity that Stoppard should turn down work on a major film in order to work in TV, he was told that actually it was for the radio
Clive
A great opener which is what we’ve come to expect from your posts. It always amazes me the knowledge that is brought to the fore in all these posts from this group. Varied they are, dull certainly not. Thanks again it’s appreciated, guess what I’m going for ?
BORO3
OFB
When i used to referee with Lines persons (taking into account that we had a female Lino for our last game ! ) I used to move closer to the touch line where the thrower was taking the throw to determine if a foot overstepped the line. I was quite particular about foul throws but have noticed in recent games that they appear to have become very sloppy. Not thrown from behind the head, or dropped down rather than thrown! Tut tut.
Perhaps we should have some old retired referees to sit on chairs on the line to see if throws are illegal!
Not that I’m looking for a job I hasten to say !
OFB
@original-fat-bob I think for run of the mill throw ins, close inspection is less crucial but for long throws it should definitely be policed in some way.
If your eyesight is now anywhere near mine, we’d be the least qualified to oversee the issue!
Many thanks Clive for another great and action-packed preview - I'm also just about keeping my head above water as I'm full on in my attempt to finish my bathroom renovation project (no there's no leaks from my plumbing) - so am looking forward to a Friday evening watching the Boro game that also leaves Saturday afternoon free to work.
Be interesting to see what Kim Hellberg has added in his first full week of training - I wonder if Bangura will keep his place if Fry is fit or will Targett revert to left-back?
btw I shortened your heading to just Hull City v Boro to keep the long title from repeating in the posts.
Referee tonight is Dean Whitestone who refereed our away win at Hull three years ago when Hull scored 2 own goals in our 3-1 win. Hopefully a repeat tonight.
Thanks, Clive, for a highly entertaining and informative opener. Having family connections to Hull (including my Dad having been posted at Spurn Head during the war) and having been more than impressed with recent visits to Hull, especially the Old Town, I'm contemplating submitting slogans for use by the Hull Tourist Board. My first attempt is "Hull. Not as bad as you'd think."
@jarkko - In reply to your query from 1.30pm on December 3rd:
A quick squint at Wikipedia tells us what we all know, that the name of the city is Kingston upon Hull. What would now be near the centre of the city was orignally a hamlet called Myton with an outlying area called Wyke. It isn't known whether Wyke comes from the Scandinavian word "Vik" meaning inlet or the Saxon word "Wic" meaning dwelling place or refuge. However, Wyke was on the bank of the River Hull where that river empties into the Humber estuary and this offered a safe haven from which goods could be exported and imported by ship.
In 1293 the then town of Wyke was bought from Meaux Abbey by King Edward I of England. Wikipedia gives what it describes as a "colourful background" to the King's acquisition and naming of the town, which comes from the "Guide to Hull" (1817) by J.C. Craggs. The King was in the region and Craggs says: "...the King and a hunting party started a hare which led them along the delightful banks of the River Hull to the hamlet of Wyke... (King Edward), charmed with the scene before him viewed with delight the advantageous situation of this hitherto neglected and obscure corner. He foresaw it might become subservient both to render the kingdom more secure against foreign invasion, and at the same time greatly to enforce its commerce."
Craggs goes on to say that the King bought the land from the Abbot of Meaux, had a manor built there for himself, issued proclamations ecouraging development within the town and bestowed on it the royal appellation "King's Town". From there we get Kingston upon Hull. In other words, it is the King's town on the River Hull (which could just as easily have been the King's town on the Humber). The citizens would probably tell you that Rugby League is Hull's pre-eminent sport. Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers are two of the BIG Rugby League teams whose successes over the years will make the "soccer" team from the city blush with embarrassment.
Obviously the town and then the city prospered as the centuries passed and it has a long and very proud history going back 800 years. One of Yorkshire's, and England's, great cities.
On reflection I have a feeling that I might have mentioned some of the history of Hull including William Wilberforce and the cream coloured telephone kiosks in a Match Preview for one of the Hull games a couple of seasons ago. But I won't break things by trying to open the vault to look at that again....
@lenmasterman - Your post at 7.21pm on 3rd December...
I have long admired Sir Tom Stoppard (he was knighted in 1997). There have, unsurprisingly, been a number of obituaries published following his death on 29th November aged 88 years. What a life he lived!
Born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, he escaped as a Jewish refugee before the Nazi invasion and he was educated at a boarding school in Darjeeling before moving with his family to the UK in 1946 after which he attended a school in Yorkshire, Pocklington School (in the East Riding and therefore not so far from Hull!). He became a British citizen after WW2. If he had been born French, he would have been lauded as an intellectual but that is a term that people in the UK shrink away from - maybe like "engineer" and a few others.
His list of plays is enormous and the quality of them is mountainously high. Apart from the Oscar he won for Best Original Screenplay ("Shakespeare in Love") he won 3 Laurence Olivier Awards (for excellence in professional London theatre) and 5 Tony Awards (for excellence in live Broadway theatre) and was involved in (sometimes un-credited) writing or re-writing scripts for a number of additional films, as well as writing for radio.
As to "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead", I acted as one of the two lead characters in what at the time I was told was the first amateur/school production of the play - within 4 years of its first being staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and 3 years of the play's debut at The Old Vic. It must have been one of the English teachers who decided on the play being performed on the school stage which, I must say, was very professionally kitted-out. Bearing in mind the tragic and philosphical themes in the script and the amount of wordplay involved, and despite the comedy in the piece, I wonder now whether I REALLY understood the play at that time in my adolescence. However I have seen it a number of times subsequently and can say it is one of my favourite plays. I am smiling now as I type this. I can remember using some of his lines in a speech I had to make.
"Autumnal -- nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day ... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it ... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses ... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth -- reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere, by repute. Yesterday was blue, like smoke."
Sir Tom will be missed.
I enjoyed that Dormo.
I’m just wondering if Burnt Umber is the actual colour of Hull’s shirts, or whether it will be the scorch marks we leave along the river as we exit tonight with all 3 points?
And, in case I forget, the dulcet tones of Maddo on BBC Tees reminds me that the Big Game is due to kick off in about 90 minutes. I have a sort of feeling ("that if we remove the ceiling...") despite Hull's free-scoring record in the recent past, despite the lengthy list of injured players and despite Hull having the home advantage, this might be the game where we start to get serious about Boro's ambitions. I will go for it - Hull 1-2 BORO. There! I've done it...
I remember the fils they made about HULL which I quite enjoyed
HULL DRIVERS which was,a film about lorry drivers I believe.
Then they made a war film
TO HULL AND BACK
But I only remember the outward journey not the return trip.
HELL IS FOR HEROES
I think this was about the Boro team
TO HELL AND BACK
A story about our supporters travels tonight
SO ALL IN ALL QUITE A FEW FILMS MADE ABOUT THIS CITY AND ALL WE HAVE TO SHOW IS THE AUF WIEDERSEHEN STORY ABOUT THE TRANSPORTER BRIDGE
OFB