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Hull City returned to the Championship at the first time of asking in a memorable campaign that saw Grant McCann turn opinion on Humberside. As his players lifted the club’s first title since 1966, football has ‘come home’ for the Tigers fan base after a cataclysmic start to Project Restart.
Weathering the storm of a toxic backlash following relegation from the Championship, the Hull City fanbase would accept nothing less than promotion at the first attempt. Any slight deviation away from that would incur the wrath and question McCann’s credentials to see the job through as the season progressed.
Come May, the Allam family’s decision to stand by their man and provide him with the resources to rebuild the squad was fully justified, as City were crowned champions.
Transfers and their impact
Following the manner of their capitulation and subsequent relegation, the challenge was to rebuild a squad that had seen the key departures of Grosicki, Bowen, Irvine and Lichaj. City’s summer transfer business had been shrewd. The capture of the experienced Richie Smallwood from Blackburn Rovers, Hull-born Lewie Coyle (Fleetwood Town), versatile youngster Alfie Jones (Southampton) and midfielders Greg Docherty from Glasgow Rangers and Regan Slater (Sheffield United loan) all added much-needed character to a side that was relegated on a whimper.
Character aside, they all possessed the quality needed for a promotion charge and the decision to sign Mallik Wilks, on a permanent deal from Barnsley, was another key acquisition as he finished the season’s top scorer.
Five key moments/games
Pre-season August 2020
Adopting a new approach and bedding in a number of new faces was a bold move for City’s management team under the circumstances. If any club needed a longer summer break to lighten the mood, many would have been hard pushed to find one more so than City. With so much to do in such little time, the plan would have to be perfectly executed.
As McCann would later reflect upon, the decision to take his squad away to Edinburgh was pivotal to laying the season’s foundations and vital to team bonding. There was to be no down in the doldrums start to life in League One as City’s new-look side chalked up an opening day win at Gillingham and backed it up with victories over Crewe, Northampton Town and Plymouth Argyle. A penalty shootout win over rivals Leeds United in the EFL Cup also provided an early taste of success for the squad.
Keane Lewis-Potter contract resolution – January 2021
As contract talks appeared to be stalling before Christmas, McCann took the youngster out of the starting line up as performances were being affected on the pitch. Having signed a new deal in mid-January, KLP returned to the fold with the full backing of his manager to come through a barren spell in front of goal. The 20-year-old repaid the faith with a further eight goals and five assists, finishing the season in excellent form.
Richie Smallwood injury – February 2021
With the squad struggling for consistency to mount a serious title challenge, the injury to skipper Smallwood was a major blow to McCann. Originally assessed to be out for the season, his teammates didn’t shirk their responsibilities and stepped up to the plate in his absence.
Alfie Jones came into midfield and seized the opportunity. Described as a ‘Rolls Royce’ by his manager, Jones was an ideal foil for Docherty and Honeyman. As Jones then slotted into centre half following Reece Burke’s injury, Sheffield United loanee Regan Slater was next to slot into the holding role. If Jones was the Roller, then Slater would be one of those new hybrid-electric models. Sleek, quiet and unassuming, Slater got the job done with supreme efficiency.
Wigan Athletic 5-0 (A) – February 2021
With City’s forwards coming under pressure for their lack of goals, they well and truly lit the blue touch paper at Wigan. A hat-trick from Mallik Wilks and goals from Josh Magennis and Keane Lewis-Potter went some way to righting a humiliating 8-0 defeat in their last visit to the DW Stadium. It was the catalyst to a run in front of goal, which would see City’s combined strike force (including Tom Eaves and Gavin Whyte) go on to bag a further 23 goals in 17 games.
Ipswich Town 0-1 (H) – February 2021
The home defeat to Ipswich Town after excellent performances at Wigan and Doncaster (first half) proved to be a line in the sand moment of the season. Falling behind to James Norwood’s 15th-minute strike, the Tigers couldn’t find a response and failed to score for the third consecutive game at the KCOM. Losing to a side that was struggling for form themselves appeared symptomatic of City’s season.
Consistency needed to be found, and from that point onwards, the Tigers looked a more stable and professional outfit. The message was clear from McCann – focus on the next game, your own performances and results will look after themselves. The call was needed as Hull went on a 14 game unbeaten run and never looked back from that point.
Key player(s)
Lewie Coyle – one would have to feel a little sorry for teammate Josh Emmanuel, who up until Christmas was one of the top-performing right-backs in the division. Once Coyle got into the side, there was no way he was letting go of the jersey, but his performances would have to warrant it. He grew by the game with his tenacity in the tackle and ability to create goals at the other end.
A local boy skippering the side in Smallwood’s absence, there wouldn’t have been a prouder man on Humberside when City clinched promotion at Lincoln City. A 30-yard screamer against his former club Fleetwood Town in the Papa Johns Trophy was a moment to be savoured.
George Honeyman – Nominated for League One’s Player of the Season, Honeyman would have been a more than worthy winner of the accolade if it wasn’t for the competition of hot shots Johnson Clarke-Harris and Charlie Wyke. The former Sunderland man’s performances have taken his game to another level this season.
Whether it was creating from set-pieces with pinpoint deliveries, scoring goals, or general all-action displays, Honeyman provided the early season consistency that laid the platform for City’s success. He didn’t stop there and even played through a serious ankle injury to see the job through to the end.
Greg Docherty – Docherty grew from strength to strength as the season progressed. At times, he was on a one-man mission to ensure City’s promotion push wouldn’t be derailed. His ability to hunt the ball down and drive forwards makes him the quintessential box to box midfielder. He scored and had his hand in some crucial goals over the season and wasn’t far behind Honeyman in the best players in the division stakes.
Josh Magennis – The 30-year-old striker experienced somewhat of a coming of age season. Not only hitting the 19 goal mark, Grant McCann appointing him as part of his senior team to ‘look after the dressing room’ was an inspired choice.
Magennis had fully taken on the responsibility of rallying the squad, particularly in shepherding his underlings Mallik Wilks and Lewis-Potter. The press box could hear his voice booming across the pitch, demanding more from his teammates. This was all backed up with a terrific run of form as he returned for City’s run in over the Easter period from international duty to bag seven goals in their last nine games.
Season verdict
9/10 – It doesn’t get much better than winning the title. Despite City taking their time to put inconsistent performances behind them, the togetherness of the squad, management staff and owners was evident to see at the end of the season. A carefully managed job well done.
Hopes for next season
With a young, hungry squad and players that will be desperate to make an impression at Championship level – who knows how far momentum could take Hull? The step up will be a very different kettle of fish but with a few solid additions in the summer – a top-half finish should be the aspiration.
