Currently, the Premier League's four Champions League slots are occupied by Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Hull City.
Wait, what? Don't you mean Manchester United?
Nope. Hull City sits in third place in the Premier League right now after an unprecedented streak of great form to begin their inaugural campaign in England's top flight.
Hull won their first ever Premier League contest with a 2-1 result over Fulham at home. A draw away to Blackburn was then followed by a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Wigan. After the Wigan result, many people, myself included, wondered if Hull's first two games were lucky victories or if the Wigan matchup was just an unfortunate hiccup.
Hull has since proved their doubters wrong. Ever since that Wigan matchup on Aug. 30, Hull has not lost a game in the Premier League.
It's not as if these four straight games without defeat have come against bottom tier teams, either. Sure, Hull captured six points against two teams that currently occupy seats in the relegation zone in Newcastle and Tottenham.
But the Tigers also managed a draw against a club that could challenge for a UEFA cup slot in Everton. Even more surprising was Hull's 2-1 victory over Arsenal, in which Hull was responsible for all three goals.
Hull is not a club with a previous resume in the top flight to fall back upon. In fact, their seven matches in the Premier League this campaign have been the only seven top-flight matches in their history.
Prior to this season, their best finish in the league was twice finishing in third place in the second division. Their greatest cup achievement was reaching the semifinals in the 1930 FA Cup.
This team has not approached the current season like newcomers without any major silverware. Aside from the Wigan match, Hull have come out like they are Premier League veterans. They haven't backed down from any opponent yet, despite much of their roster not having any top-flight experience.
They've been led by Geovanni, the former Manchester City, Benfica, and Barcelona midfielder. He's already managed three goals for the Tigers, scoring against Arsenal and Tottenham in spectacular fashion from distance. Hull have smartly placed a large price tag on his services, hoping to ward off interest from other clubs.
Aside from Geovanni, there is not a lot of other top-flight experience on the books. Dean Windass, George Boateng, Daniel Cousin, Marlon King, and Stelios Giannakopoulos are the most notable of the rest of the roster.
This team, with a mixture of experience and youth, has sent a message to the rest of the Premier League that they are not to be taken lightly. As Arsenal learned, if one of the Top Four has an off-day against Hull, they could find themselves going home without a single point to show for their efforts.
Hull has also shown that the 2008-2009 Premier League season will not necessarily play out by the same script as it has in the past. Some members of the Top Four may find themselves adrift of the Champions League spots if they struggle to find form at times during the season.
Manchester United currently sit in eighth position, outside of any European slot. Granted, the season is young but there are a finite number of games in which to move up.
The Tigers have seen their opportunity to make some noise and have seized it without a second though. Teams with storied histories and plenty of silverware are staring up at Hull this season, wondering what is happening at the KC Stadium.
The teams ahead of Hull are having to watch their back because Arsenal showed that it is not impossible for a perennial Champions League team to lose to a newly-promoted side.
Hull have shaken up the established order of the Premier League, and it's been quite exciting to watch so far. How far can they take their success this season?
34 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jeff Harbert 9 months ago
Good article. Credit to Hull they've done brilliant so far (barring the loss to Wigan) but they will soon find themselves falling down the table. I do expect them to avoid relegation though.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks, Jeff. You're probably right that they won't be able to keep this torrid pace up, but this great start shows that they'll be around next year.
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Shyam Parthasarathi 9 months ago
Yeah, they've done well - but, they'll soon find out that the EPL is not that easy to get results in.. Arsenal and Tottenham were both very poor against Hull, but credit to them - they took their chances and got the 3 points from both those games..
There always seems to be one promoted side that is a surprise package, and this season it is Hull...
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks, Shyam. The mark of a good team is finishing when you have the chance. So far Hull have done that very well.
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Yoosof Farah 9 months ago
good article joe. hull city have done surprisingly well this season, and long may it continue..
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks Yoosof. Who knows, perhaps this great start may help them attract some talent in January.
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Eric Gomez 9 months ago
Well, I do think that their surprising performance merits an article, I mean, I've long joked that the Premier League should just be a four-team affair for years, and this certainly spices things up.
However, it's a long, long season. Most of these big clubs can survive odd spells like these because they have the individual talent, the resources (for January's trading window) and the roster depth to maintain themselves in top spots.
How will Hull deal with injuries, reinforced teams in January and away matches against bigger clubs?
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Joe G 9 months ago
All great points, Eric. I think you're right about the January transfer window being pivotal. They aren't going to be able to rely on just Geovanni to keep them near the top for the entire season.
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Michelle Alves 9 months ago
Nice article Joe, Hull city have been surprising this season, lets see how it goes in the next few months
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks Michelle. I was a bit shocked and upset when they beat Arsenal, but if they take down Chelski at the end of October all will be well :)
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Hedon Tiger Tiger 9 months ago
As a life-long Hull City fan, I am astonished and delighted by the way my team is being applauded all over the planet and am pretty bewildered by all these marvellous comments. After 35 years of not many up's and plenty of downs (10 years ago today we were at the bottom of division 4 and nearly out of business), the play-off final success has brought to us Hull City fans a time when we can do little but pinch ourselves in amazement at what Phil Brown and his management team and of course, the team itself has done for us! Beating some of the most respected teams in the Prem is truly, well, stunning!!! Agree with Yoosof - bring on West Ham at home next week.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Ahh, I was hoping to hear from some big Hull City fans! Congrats mate, enjoy their success!
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gary fowler 9 months ago
hull city are playing well we are proud of our team and we wellcome all to the kc
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks Gary. So far it's been a very unwelcome place for visiting clubs.
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Ian Mailloux 9 months ago
I am completely stunned by Hull's performance so far this year. Normally, the promoted teams struggle greatly, as Stoke is this year. However, Hull came prepared and has been off to a great start. Well done Tigers, I look forward to seeing how the season plays out.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Yep, I didn't think Hull would be doing anywhere near this well. I think in the EPL preview I did with Jeff Harbert, we both had them picked to finish in or near the relegation zone.
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Thomas 9 months ago
Hull has been fantastic so far. I think that they'll stay great all season. However, I dont think they'll be in the top half of the table, but safely in the middle.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks, Thomas. Mid-table would still be a fantastic achievement for any newly promoted club, but Hull haven't quite realized that they weren't supposed to play this well.
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Ray Jackson 9 months ago
I don't know about "unprecedented". I remember George Burley's Ipswich and Paul Jewell's Wigan both doing something similar in the last ten years. Still, I always enjoy watching a promoted team really putting on a show. Well done Hull and good luck for the rest of the season.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks Ray. I remember Wigan's excellent first season, but they experienced let-down immediately with the 1-0 loss to Chelsea (although it was a VERY late winner.) Paul Jewell had that squad playing great football, but not at the level Hull is right now.
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T G 9 months ago
A nice rticle and some good points and i love your optimism. I too have greatly enjoyed the beginning to the premiership season and bleive it is the most evenly matched in years, which even as a chelsea fan i love to see - i would much prefer it if 5 or 6 teams were competing for the title and not just two.
However i think that believing the big four will be broken is a bit of a stretch. Yes Man Utd are 8th but with a game in hand and remember they have played Liverpool and Chelsea already. The top four will be the same as every year and that is a shame, mainly because the supposed teams to challenge them have not improved enough, in fact some have got worse: Everton, Tottenham, Portsmouth?? only Villa have improved and Chelsea showed they are still a long way off.
Yes hull are there at the moment and i would love for them to finish in even the top 6 - but it is unlikely, especially as is normally the case they get a couple of key injuries.
Call me pesimistic (and i know i am) but the only levelling of the playing field this season is throughout the whole of the premiership - so whilst the big four will have a tougher time against the likes of Hull, Stoke, West Ham and others they still will not be penetrated!!
Prediction Man Utd - Chelsea - Liverpool - Arsenal - HULL !!!!!
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Joe G 9 months ago
Thanks, T. I don't think you're being pessimistic, I think you're being realistic. The big four have been successful for a long time for a reason: great coaching, great players, loads of money, etc. It will take several season for somebody to upset the established order, but we may be seeing the beginnings of that. It'd be exciting to see another Blackburn claim the title.
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Maire Ofeire 9 months ago
I say fair play to Hull but I think they will fall away soon (although hopefully they'll beat the other top 3 before doing so :-) ) having said that I expect them to be playing premier league football next year
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Joe G 9 months ago
Reading, Sunderland and Wigan have all showed that newly promoted teams are more than capable of staying afloat for another season. Hull is definitely following their example.
Thanks for stopping by, Maire!
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Maire Ofeire 9 months ago
I think Sunderland are slightly different to Hull in that they had buckets of money and are a yo-yo club and know what the Premiership is all about whilst this is Hull doing it for the first-time, all the more impressive for me.
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Benjamin Rogers 9 months ago
What a run for Hull, two seasons ago they were beating my local team Colchester United and now they are beating my pride and joy team Arsenal.
Cant see them ending with a europian place, because there are too many contenders for the top spots (1-7).
However they wont get religated and should finish around 10th.
My real worry for hull is next season, Remember Ipswitch they had the same kind of run acouple of seasons ago, ther next season they went down. The europian spots are too hard to handle strait away.
One game and step at a time and they will survive and flurrish.
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Joe G 9 months ago
"My real worry for hull is next season"
Ah yes, the infamous "Sophomore Slump." Reading went through it as well. Hull should take a look at what Roy Keane is doing with Sunderland and try to follow his model if they want extended survival.
Thanks for stopping by, Ben.
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T G 9 months ago
Joe says "It'd be exciting to see another Blackburn claim the title" sorry to correct you Joe but Blackburns was hardly a fairytale - they bought the title with Jack Walkers millions, they were the first of the big money owned clubs - of course chelsea did it years later to better effect.....
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Joe G 8 months ago
They did have Alan Shearer and company, but when Walker came in, Blackburn wasn't even a top-flight club. Once they did finally make the top flight, they had Eric Cantona's Manchester United to contend with. I know that they weren't the fairy tale story that Hull is this season, but they hardly had an easy road to the title either.
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Matt Hornshaw 8 months ago
A very considered article and good comments made. However, I do contend those of you who are confident that the Tigers will plummet. On what basis and evidence do you base these assumptions? Giovanni is not our leader, we have a certain Mr Ashbee who has captained us in all 4 divisions and seems not to receive the plaudits that others do; he has been immense against regular international midfielders. There again we have 'keeper Myhill and left back Dawson, both been with us since League 2 and both performing to their potential with European sides looking into the capture of Myhill. Michael Turner, the most solid and consistent centre back this season in the Premier League, and still only 24; surely an England prospect if ever there was one?! Craig Fagan, literally waltzing his way through defences until an assault by a thug broke his leg; yes an influential player cut down by injury, but we seem to have coped?! Dean Marney, ex Spurs centre midfield running the legs off Fabregas, again only 24. One thing that is noticable is that all 6 of these players ar British and have a number of years service with the club. These are solid dependable players who have the club ethos instilled in them and who have been used to scrapping in the lower divisions but, are Premier class. The club have brought in new players this year to add this ethos, and the club have a 15 year plan, with no debt, yes no debt! We are not in the position of, let's say Derby, who allegedly had major financial issues and a Board with no idea on how to allegedly plan or run a business. We are a solid, well run club managed and guided by a very professional, able and accomplished team. The playing staff are not overpaid prima donnas, they are a tight knit, well oiled machine coached by a knowledgable, professional, workaholic coaching team. True, we may not finish in 3rd place come May, but where is the evidence that we may not?!
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Joe G 8 months ago
Thanks Matt, you make a load of good points. I think there's a lot of doubt surrounding their ability to sustain this form because of the experience factor. As talented as some of the youngsters are, they haven't had to face the rigors of a 38 game Premiership season yet. I personally voted for them to finish in the top half, but just missing a European slot.
If they are as financially stable as you say, that bodes well for them to build on this success though and become a fixture in the top-flight.
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Matt Hornshaw 8 months ago
Cheers Joe. Looking through the team that hammered (sorry getting a bit carried away there), beat Arsenal: from the starting 11, 5 have played in the Premier League before this season, 1 played in the Scottish Prem for Rangers and 1 played for one of the top sides in Switzerland (OK not a hotbed of European talent I grant you!). 11 of the full 18 are playing, or have played, at international level and we still have at least 6 ex Premier League, including 3 ex internationals players, not included in that 18. It could be that, as one very highly regarded ex pro once said "you can't win anything with kids!", when Man Utd won the EPL with their ex youth team, that the younger players may struggle later in the season. Having not watched much EPL before this season (unfortunately I am the Tigers through and through!) I must admit the game, when watched live at the ground, is amazingly quick and physical; athletes abound! And, yes, it has been an eyeopener and yes it is worrying that burnout may occur. But until that time I still fear for Man Utd, Chelsea et al when they come up against the mighty Tigers! Yours, in massive optimism, Matt.
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Darren Hatfield 8 months ago
Im a hull city fan but thanks to matt lol ive got nothing to say apart from
CITY TILL I DIE
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Joe G 8 months ago
Cheers Darren, congrats on the successful run to start the season. I'll be rooting for your Tigers when they face Man U and Chelsea.
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