Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
It may only be the 4th week of the season but this game already has the air of a six pointer about it. When the fixture computer did it’s work back in June but sets of fans would have looked at this one as a winnable game. I would have said both managers but Steve Bruce is long gone now as Mike Phelan has been left to pick up the slack at Hull.
And what a job he is doing, he has just been awarded the manager of the month award for August and you have to say deservedly so. With all the going on’s in the background and foreground for that matter, no one gave Hull a chance of getting a point let alone six so it’s testament to their fantastic work that Phelan has done since becoming caretaker manager.
Six points was very nearly seven as they held out Manchester United for 89 minutes only for Marcus Rashford to tap home a late winner in the driving Hull rain. That result was incredibly harsh on Hull and especially captain Curtis Davies who was absolutely heroic in his performance. Unfortunately for him and Hull the performance didn’t get rewarded with the result.
Phelan is yet to be rewarded with a permanent contract and the possibility of that has edged a step further away as the deal to sell the club has fallen through. The best thing Phelan and his side can do is put all that off the pitch noise behind them and just focus on what at this point has been a very good job in hand.
They travel to a Burnley side who were well outclassed by a Chelsea side that look back to their title winning best of 2015. Sean Dyche’s men were undone by Eden Hazard after just three minutes and from that point never even got a foothold in the game.
After their fantastic home win against Liverpool it would have disappointing for Sean Dyche to see such a marked downturn in performance. That said it was a game that no-one really gave them a hope of winning so with the international break now fully out of the way that defeat can be disposed off with the full focus on getting a second home win of the season.
It’s Turf Moor where they are going to need to pick up the majority of their points if they are to have any hope of beating the drop and not having a third one season Premier League stint in a row. You can’t fault Burnley’s desire but you look at that squad and it still screams a Championship side.
On paper there’s very little to split these sides maybe Hull have the overall edge in terms of quality but I think Burnley will be able to put their home advantage to good use. I think the manager of the month curse will strike Mike Phelan as both points play out a draw and have to make do with a share of the points.
