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Hull |
The Club Hull claims to be the largest city in Europe never to have hosted top flight football and in one hundred years of trying to accomplish that goal, Hull City have never been closer than in 1909/10 when they finished 3 rd in the (old) Second Division on goal difference. Between then and now it's been a trail of financial crises and the lower leagues for Hull but maybe, just maybe, they are on the up. 2004 may only be a year of (probable) promotion to Division Two but it's something to celebrate, especially when you consider that only three years ago the club was fighting for its very existence and no one would have placed a bet on their being around to celebrate their centenary (which is this year). Now, with a spanking new stadium (financed by the flotation of Kingston-Upon-Hull City's Council own telecomms company, Kingston Communications and shared with rugby league side Hull FC), Peter Taylor's side have finally started to fulfil some of the expectations of their supporters, an average of 16,500 of whom have turned up this season. Hull have completely sold out of tickets for their final game of the season and the Kingston Communications Stadium could well see its biggest crowd ever (the ground holds 25,400 and the current record is 23,495 against Huddersfield a couple of weeks ago). That in itself will make the visit a daunting one for Rovers and we can be thankful that, for us, the game is about little more than pride (and the chance to do the double over Hull and poop their party accordingly). This weekend's results will determine how many points - if any - Hull need in order to secure promotion. If Hull beat Yeovil at Huish Park on Saturday then they will be up, if they draw and Torquay fail to beat Kidderminster then they'll also secure promotion and if they draw and Torquay win then they'll be as good as in Division Two (as Hull's goal difference is vastly superior to Torquay's). On the other hand, if Hull lose to Yeovil and Torquay beat Kidderminster then it will all come down to the final game… And apart from all of that, even if Hull are already promoted, they'll want to celebrate with their supporters on the last day of the season - and the best way to do that is with a win. The 2-1 win over Hull in November (613 away fans - where were the rest of the 24,000 going on Saturday?) was one of the few highlights under Graydon's reign this season. Rovers were inspired that day by Ryan Williams, on loan from Hull at the time, who put Rovers back on level terms in the first half before Junior Agogo scored the winner in the dying minutes. Hull boss Peter Taylor came under fire for allowing Williams to play in that game and he's learned from that mistake: John Anderson won't be allowed to take the field this time. Back in November it was an important win for Rovers, coming some six weeks after our previous victory at Darlington, against a Hull side who were second on the table. Five months on, there is still a big gap in league positions but there hasn't been much to choose between our recent form and Hull's so there's no guarantee of a rollover for the home side. |
Hull famously won the title of Britain's Crappest Town in an 'Idler' book published last year, which claims that the City - which, at 28.9%, has the lowest percentage of 5+ A-C GCSE grades in the country - "has more than it's fair share of social deprivation and tragedy". One correspondent, Finlay Coutts-Briton, told The Idler "The silent threat of violence hangs in the air, along with the smell from the chocolate factory. Chocolate factories, by the way, don't smell of chocolate, they smell of death. If the wind comes from the southeast the smell of Grimsby docks adds a fishy staleness to the odour." All in all not the greatest selling point. Add to that the words of Philip Larkin, who lived in Hull for most of his life, and you'd consider never venturing over the Humber Bridge:"I wish I could think of just one nice thing I could tell you about Hull, oh yes…it's very nice and flat for cycling." |
We haven't got a lot to say except 'watch your back'. Hull has never been the pleasantest place to visit and what with it a) being the last game of the season and b) following some hi-jinks at the Mem earlier this season, things could get lively. The best option is probably to head to town where there are a few decent real ale pubs to be found… |