The Tigers Roar Again!

What a week its been for Hull City. On paper three home games to Wolves, Chelsea and Manchester City could only realistically yield a point or maybe three with a bit of luck against Wolves. Hull, who have lost there way in recent times following a sensational start to life in the Premier League, produced some of that old spirit and once again lit up the league with three mammoth performances which saw them undefeated throughout the three matches capped off by a deserved win over big spending Manchester City.

In August 2008 little known Hull lined up for there first game in the Premier League. Widely regarded as having the worst squad in the league by far, they produced a fine performance to beat Fulham 2-1 on the opening day. Hull had arrived. The famous spirit then kicked in as they went unbeaten through September and towards the end of November. During this astonishing giant killing run they disposed of Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, West Brom and most famously of all Arsenal on that special evening at The Emirates Stadium. Who can forget the scenes of euphoria from Hull's travelling fans after Geovanni let fly. They were every bodies second favorite team. Even when they were 4-0 down at Old Trafford they came fighting back and gave United an almighty scare.

On boxing day however the wheels came off the Hull City Juggernaut as they crash heavily. 4-0 down at Half Time Phil Brown performed the now infamous half time team talk on the pitch. Since that day the Hull spirit seemed to fade. They only one twice in the league since then and they went the best part of 3 months and the end of the season without a win.

On a dramatic last day of the season Hull survived JUST thanks to a Damien Duff own goal that sent Newcastle down to the championship. Who could forget Phil Brown celebrating on the pitch and whole ground chanting 'cheer up Alan Shearer!'

The 2009/2010 season looked more promising. A whole host of new signings including Stephen Hunt from Reading however following a shocking start to the season which included losing every single game in September Hull were a club in crisis. Chairman Paul Duffen resigned amid fierce criticism of the clubs finances and Adam Pearson took over. Following defeat to Burnley it was reported the the club had sacked Phil Brown, reports that were eventually quashed, however it was obvious the he was clinging on for dear life. A huge win over Stoke lifted the pressure as Hull then went throughout November unbeaten which included the game that would turn there season around. Away to Manchester City. Trailing 1-0 Jimmy Bullard scored a late penalty however his celebration proved almost as crucial as the goal as Hull finally put the ghost of Eastlands to bed after he sat a group of players down and pointed in the same way Phil Brown had done 12 months ago.

Despite a small dip the Hull spirit is well and truly back. Typified by a battling draw to Wolves and Chelsea followed by the performance of the season as Hull dominated City to win comfortably. Hull now have their ability to mix it with the best and hang on in games.

Hull's recent success has been largely down to goalkeeper Boaz Myhill who time and again has pulled of the crucial save at the crucial time as well as earning a point almost on his own again Tottenham with a series of world class saves to earn Hull a point.

If Hull want to stay up they need to beat the teams in and around them however if they keep picking up points against the big boys the give themselves a great chance. Good Luck Hull!

Introducing Back Of The Net

With the first ever BOTN post there is only one place to start.

John Terry and his affair which has left his Wife, Wayne Bride and his country in turmoil. An England captain needs to be whiter than white. Somebody who all look up to. A role Model. Before last week Terry was all of those things. A seemingly perfect England captain. His perfect world has now come crashing down due to greed, selfishness and a lust to squeeze every last drop of revenue out of the England Captaincy. Did he not once think of the consequences of his actions and what about what he is putting his wife through? Is pain and suffering he has the mark of an England captain?

Look what he has done to his family and two children. Would you want to come home and see your father has done that. He's an insult to Bobby Moore and Billy Wright. John Terry was not proud to be England captain, all he was interested in was the privileges that came with it and he has abused those captain privileges. He has disgraced the England captaincy and all he has done is try and sell himself to gain sponsorship and more money. You should be proud to be England captain, honoured and if you gave captaincy to Rooney, there you would find and player worth to call himself England Captain. The mere fact that the affair was with the lover of his colleague and close friend Wayne Bridge just adds insult to injury and rubs salt into the very open wound.

To find out about Terry the footballer all you have to do is type his name into a Google Images. There you will see and all action leader, a motivator and an icon. On the pitch Terry can rarely be faulted however all of these off the field allegations have cast a shadow over his football. Even on the field however there were a number of issues with his captaincy. Can John Terry change the game? Can he grab a game by the scruff of the neck and win a game almost on his own? When backs are against the wall will he stand up and be counted? The answer to all three questions is no. He is just another player.

Terry also has form on the scandal front. In November 2005 Terry was accused of cheating on partner Toni Poole in a public car park. Jenny Barker said the star sent her saucy texts after she asked for his autograph and later 'met' with her in his Bentley. In March 2008 Terry as England's captain rejected a 50p an hour public car park yards away in favour of dumping his black Bentley in a spot for disabled drivers outside Pizza Express in Esher, Surrey. The £60 fine was nothing to a player on £135,000 a week and who had earned £1,600 in the time it took him to eat his dough balls and a Hot 'n' Spicy.In December 2009 he sold private access to himself and Chelsea Football Club through hushed £10,000 deals. This included personal tours of Chelsea's 5 star training facility in Cobham.

He may well be 'Mr Chelsea' however he is no longer 'Mr England.' If indeed he ever was.