Wow, what a day, with a huge win for the Tigers coming at the end of another tumultuous week. Late winning goals are always special, but particularly when they come against Stoke, a horrible club that I detest. The sight of their fans trudging out of the KC with two minutes to go with live long in my heart. Take that Pulis!

I’m really pleased for Phil Brown, who must have had a nightmarish week. His ally Paul Duffen gone, the Tigers boss faced some heart-to-heart meetings with returning Tigers chairman Adam Pearson, who would only assure him that he would take charge of Sunday’s game at Stoke, suggesting the axe was about to drop. Brownie desperately needed a result, and got one thanks to Vennegoor of Hesselink’s injury-time winner.

Phil Brown’s plight became even more desperate on Saturday thanks to referee Mike Jones, who kindly decided that Burnley should get the three points in the Turf Moor clash. Can I just say now, I hate blaming referees for Hull City losing games. It is pathetically lazy, sloppy way to excuse bad performances.

I can only remember three occasions when I genuinely thought the referee ‘robbed’ the Tigers of points, the first in 2000 (I think) when Uriah Rennie awarded a last-minute winner to Torquay after Eifion Williams had kicked the ball out of Paul Musselwhite’s hands. The second was away to Scunny in I think 2003, when Steve Mclean was awarded a ridiculous non- penalty. The third occurred on Saturday, as Mike Jones served up a performance of ineptitude far scarier than anything seen on the streets of Burnley on Halloween night.

Well, what a few days for Hull City fans. From a lacklustre performance in a shocking game of football, to revelations about the lateness of everyone’s favourite Tigers twitterer, leading to reports of the club facing financial troubles, Paul Duffen coming down with the flu just as everyone wanted an interview with him, and eventually the shock rumours that the Tigers chairman, and or manager may have left the club to be replaced with fan’s hero Adam Pearson.... Phew, let’s go through it chronologically.

It’s not often I agree with Phil Thompson, but his slating of Saturday’s game against Portsmouth was spot on. It was shocking stuff, as two very poor sides failed to string more than three passes together. I truly pity anyone who went of their way to watch that encounter, and the fans showed their first genuine show of dissent against Tigers boss Phil Brown, treating him to renditions of “you don’t know what you’re doing.” I am an advocate of keeping Brown in the job, and I still think he can keep us up, but performances have to be better than Saturday’s effort, starting with a very winnable, although still tricky trip to the fun loving utopia of Burnley

First off, sorry guys for being a bit slow with this week’s blog. A mixture of depression over a woeful performance at Fulham, and work meant I’ve struggled to get half an hour to collect my thoughts. At least writing it this late in the week gives me a chance to look forward to a huge game at the weekend against Portsmouth, because let’s face it – there was very little to talk about regarding Monday night’s game.

I feel sorry for those of you who witnessed your first Hull City game of the season on Monday. That really wasn’t reminiscent of how City have played for most of the season. While we’ve been disappointing overall, the Tigers hadn’t yet sunk to the depths on the game at Craven Cottage, which saw a horribly negative City side go through the motions without even having a shot on target. It was a truly depressing performance, reminiscent of poor displays away to West Ham, Wigan and Everton last season, where the hosts were allowed to stroll to an easy victory without really breaking a sweat.

Just thought I’d stick a quick report from last night’s reserve game against Bolton, which saw the return of City’s £5 million signing Jimmy Bullard. JB played the first 45 minutes of the game, scoring with a cracker from 25 yards with his final touch of the half (there should be a vid on Youtube, it’s really worth a look). Bullard did everything you would expect in what really amounted to a glorified training session, pulling the strings comfortably and getting plenty of time on the ball. He also rode several challenges and strung up quickly after getting clattered, both of which were good to see.

Some other first teamers also got a run out. Steven Muyokolo and Liam Cooper were partners at centre half. Cooper did well, despite the side’s 2-1 defeat, but Myokolo still looked a little naïve for me. I’d be surprised if he plays many games this season. Craig Fagan looked lively in an appearance that may well be his last in a City shirt. I’m sure all City fans will join me in hoping he can resolve his personal issues with Phil Brown. He has been a terrific servant for this club.

Anyhoo, Q+A time again . . . .

The sigh of relief was palpable at around 4.55pm at the KC Stadium on Saturday. A much-needed win was Hull City’s, after a battling performance giving the home side a 2-1 win against Wigan.

The biggest sigh surely came from Phil Brown. The Tigers boss has received more than his fair share of criticism in recent weeks, with a section of the City support calling for the manager’s head. Paul Duffen publicly backed the manager, before questioning the sanity of Hull City’s fans. Good PR Mr Duffen.

So, a tumultuous week for the Tigers manager. But after delighting the national media with tales of rescuing a potential suicide victim, Brownie took a risk of his own, selecting another new captain in Nick Barmby, and playing Kamil Zayatte in a midfield holding role. The new formation worked well, and Zayatte offered both protection to the back four, and a physical presence in both penalty areas, as well as crafting the winning goal for the excellent Geovanni.

Hi thanks for leaving me some more questions. Hopefully you’ll find my answers interesting. I’m not arrogant enough to think you’re all desperate to ask me a question you understand, but I just thought this might be an interesting way to generate some debate about the things you guys are thinking about, as well as giving me a chance to preview the Wigan game this weekend. Here goes . . . .

Garreth asked:
How many more games should Brown get to prove himself after failing to win Wolves or BC who are meant to be part of our mini league?
TC: A writer for the local newspaper this week claimed that Brown should remain manager of City even if we go down, which I thought was interesting. I think by the end of November we’ll have a good idea whether Brown can take this team on into the New Year with a reasonable chance of staying up. That would give him six matches to show an improvement in performances and results, against teams we can expect to be picking up points from. I thought the draw against Wolves was a good result in fairness, but the shocking performance against Birmingham really grew opposition to Brown’s tenure as manager. If the performances show an improvement, I think Brown will keep his job, as the Chairman seems to be very much behind Brownie.

A full-blown relegation battle is starting to look ever more on the cards, as City were hammered 6-1 at Anfield on Saturday. An equaliser from Geovanni provided only temporary joy for the 3,000 strong away following, who watched helpless as their side disintegrated in the second half, with the home side almost scoring at will.

But in truth, this really wasn’t that bad a city performance. Occasionally shambolic defending overshadowed some good attacking play, and City looked more of a threat going forward than they have for some weeks. Geo in particular looked eager for the ball, and capped a good display with a cracking volley to equalise. The real key to the game came with the third goal, scored by Torres just after half, and the third consecutive away game in which City have conceded a sloppy goal minutes after the re-start. The second goal also had a whiff of ‘seen it all before’ about it. Liam Cooper stepped up to play offside, and Ibrahima Sonko dropped back, playing the brilliant Fernando Torres on-side for simple finish. This naivety in defence needs to be eradicated, and quickly, if the Tigers are to have any chance of survival.

This week’s blog entry seemed to generate a few questions, so I thought I’d answer them seeing as I had a spare minute or two. Those of you who’ve asked me questions in the past, I’ve kind of ignored them because they’re probably a bit old now. Sorry if this looks a bit self-indulgent, but it’s my blog, my opinion, so you might as well hear it. If you’ve got a question, feel free to stick it in the comments section and I’ll try to do a regular midweek blog Q+A styleee thing. Here goes!

Garreth Ellyard went to the trouble of asking quite a few, so I’ll look at his first:

(1) Do you think anyone else would keep their job after 2 wins in 28 games (not including pre season) so why should Brown?

TC: I see what you mean, but I think seasons should be viewed separately where possible. I think we should judge him on this season’s games, which apart from Saturday against Birmingham, had been reasonable in my opinion.

Boos filled the air as Phil Dowd signalled the end of another disappointing showing from Hull City. Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Birmingham sent shock-waves around East Yorkshire, and gave new ammunition to a vocal minority of anti-Brown activists.

While the dissenting voices are surely premature, their sentiments are starting to have an air of reason. Brown's men started slowly, and never really found their rhythm at any stage of what was in reality a very winnable game. Like the game against Bolton, this game was one from the mini league of teams who are likely to be in the relegation mix-up at the end of the season. That City seemed to lack a real desire, more than a lack of quality, is a real cause for concern.