Road Warriors or Nomadic Tigers?

Hull City Away Matches

With the international break over its back to business as usual which means the Tigers  were back at it with a similar theme; ineptitude in an away match. Dropping crucial points at current world beaters Brighton the general consensus was that we just weren’t good enough. Fast forward to an important win at Cardiff and things are looking a little more level. We can win on the road! Mo Diame is still magical! McGregor even likes the odd clean sheet and on the road no less. All lovely, all with a top 3 goal differential and resting in the playoff hunt (still so early in the year).

The important points I think to take:

Win now for the future: We’re all cringing at Michael Dawson, Robertson, and others potentially leaving in January. We beat off the early transfer scare, but who knows what the future brings. With rumors that Elmo WILL leave in January, the winning must be now. A strong first half of the Championship season could be enough to convince impactful players to ride it out for the duration, sign a new contract, and give it a full go. If we don’t go right back up, who could begrudge some other players leaving? But this allows us compensation instead of leaving on a free (Elmo), it shows immeasurable trust between Bruce and his players, and gives players who can succeed at the top level an out just in case.

Mo Diame: Who really even needs to pontificate the point? His goal was opportunistic, his assist glorious at Cardiff. There was talk of where he fits into the lineup, but this kind of performance shows the embarrassment of talent he possesses, and a natural inclination for our creative centerpiece.

Livermore: Pass judgment on your own time. Bruce’s honesty on the subject made me feel as good as could be about it. Most people deserve ONE second chance. Let’s hope Jake takes it, as it seems that the team is fully behind him.

Some quick thoughts:

I’m cheering for Norwich this season, mostly because of Robbie Brady, but also because I think that they are a good blueprint for how we should go about our business to get back to the big business in the Premier League.

I’m also going to be virulent and relentless in my hope for Sunderland and Newcastle to finally go down. I think most Toon fans are waiting for the bottom to drop, and Sunderland just manages to hang on every time all the time. Take your medicine!

I’m always conflicted on who to support in the Champions League. Do you support the teams from the league you love or do you root against them? When both Manchester teams lose, it’s hard to anything but smile. That’s my instant gut reaction.

And last but not least… everyone’s favorite Abel Hernandez. He’s scored again, and with a beautiful finish, with great effort on Diame’s too, kept out only by solid keeping. A new facet of this column will begin now, and we reflect on:

Abel Hernandez Watch

My roommate Rob is one of my biggest supporters in all of my artistic endeavors, and is thrilled that I mention him in my musings here. On the last go around, he tells me, “Aaron that was such a spot on piece of work”, but then there is an extremely long pause. “I just have one issue”.

Of course it was Abel Hernandez. A typical conversation between us so far this year on the subject goes something like this:

Me: I’m telling you, Abel is going to show you something.

Rob: He’s terrible.

Me: Lots of foreign players aren’t used to the English game. He came from Italy where trees grow faster than the ball play.

Rob: He’s terrible.

Me: Look at his effort, look at his goals so far; poacher goals, aggressive, and ugly. We need that!

Rob: Terrible.

You can see how this loops on for days. The talking point for me is this: so far so good. I like Abel with Aluko, and the finish against Cardiff was absolutely clinical.

Hey Rob! I scored!

Abel Watch 9-16-15 : Aaron 1 Rob 0 – Where do you lie?

see this article also at Tigerlink