Hull City: Next Season

Before I talk about how I think Hull should tackle the Premier League next season, I want to talk about our first season in the best league in the world.

There has been a lot of criticism of Phil Brown in the media, some of it justified some of it not, but at the end of the day the team he managed was better than three other teams over the whole season and that alone means Hull deserve to stay up.

Anyway, I think if Phil Brown makes a few good buys during the summer and the team can be re-energized after a dreadful ending to the season then Hull can push onto mid-table security and beyond.

Watching Hull this season was at times exciting and dreadful, sometimes at the same time, but it always seemed to me that about four or five players would bring the team together and make it look like a solid premier league side.

The Defense

The defence over the season has looked pretty solid throughout which seems an odd thing to say since we conceded so many goals. However, I think that we did have a decent defense and here's why. Our midfield. Such a poor display by the men in the middle meant that we didn't move the ball forward, didn't pressurise the opposition, and in consequence the defensive four were put under constant pressure by Premier League quality strikers and under such pressure I think any defence would have a hard time.

Next season we should build the defence around the man who's pictured above, Michael Turner, whose been top quality all season both on the ground and in the air. Next season he should be paired with Gardener who, if he can stay fit, is a very good defender and can lead the defence through experience. However, we have signed a new French defender who can provide cover if needed and, if he's good enough, partner Turner.

The real problem is the full backs who have looked a little stretched this season. Both Ricketts and Dawson have had their first seasons in the Premier League and unlike Turner have found it harder to adapt. So another full back should be signed to provide Premier League experience to these positions. Dawson has played the football over Ricketts which is remarkable since he came from League Two with Hull so I think a right back should be signed, but it doesn't really matter.

I will talk about the midfield and strike-force in another article as these are where most of the problems lie and I will also talk about the tanned one himself Phil Brown and why he does and doesn't deserve some of the criticisms he has been getting.