Hull City’s fortunes turned full circle on Tuesday night, going from performing well with little reward, to pinching a scarcely deserved point with a hugely disappointing performance.

Some credit must go to the players, who stuck to their task in a largely forgettable game, and eventually crafted two goals through the excellent Stephen Hunt to wrestle a point back along the M62, and hand the horrible Gary Megson his P45.

The character shown to come back from two goals down cannot be discounted, irrespective of Megson’s tactical failings which allowed the Tigers back into the game, and such a result could well galvanise the team for the coming fixtures. Hard fought results like this usually do much for morale, particularly against a relegation rival, and confidence should be high for the visit of Chelsea a week on Saturday.

While the players’ attitude and efforts could not be questioned, Phil Brown’s decisions must be more closely scrutinised, as the team should never have been two goals down in the first place. Had the team been more carefully selected then three points were there for the taking against a poor Bolton outfit.

The selection of the same starting XI, just two days after a terrific effort against Man Utd was just baffling. I’m all for consistency of selection, but not when the fitness and effectiveness of the players is jeopardised. In the first half, the players looked tired, both mentally and physically, and Bolton took the lead without getting out of first gear.

I went to the game fully expecting at least three or four changes to the starting eleven, and particularly players like George Boateng (who struggles to play two games a week), Craig Fagan, Jozy Altidore and Richard Garcia, for whom there were all capable replacements available, and had ran themselves into the ground at the KC on Saturday.

As Brown made changes later in the game, City posed far more of a threat, wit the fresh bodies and minds of Barmby and Vennegoor of Hesselink key in the turnaround in performance. This is no criticism of Garcia or Altidore, who both did their best, but both were clearly shattered and struggled to make much impact.

We have a huge squad that needs reducing in January before the clubs gets into real financial trouble, but why aren’t we making best use of it in these instances when the extra cost could at least benefit the team?

Anyway rant over, but that was two points dropped really. As we approach the turn of the year, we’re not doing too badly, but will have some massive games in the coming months. There certainly won’t be any comfortable games in the latter part of the season, but the points are there to be had if the performances stay at the level of recent games.

Saturday sees an easing of the pressure, as the least inspiring tie we could have got in the FA Cup takes place. It should be a good chance to assess City’s youngsters, who will surely get a chance to impress. Phil Brown’s policy is usually to play an under-strength team, and it’s a shame we’ve had quite a tough draw this year, which will make it tricky to see City matching last season’s success of reaching the quarter finals.

What in truth could be the biggest part of our season will start in a few days time, and won’t involve a ball being kicked. How the club handles the January transfer window could largely decide how whether or not we stay in the Premier league, and I’ll hopefully blog on our movers and shakers next week.

What are your thoughts on the transfer window for Hull City? Who should stay/go? Any questions or thoughts would be very interesting.

Cheers,
TC.