We are back!
Hull City AFC’s return to the Championship also marks the return of fans in competitive matches. Its been 517 days since a crowd of 23,216 saw a dismal showing from any City fan’s perspective in a 5-1 battering by Stoke City.
However, there is much more cause for optimism heading into our return in the second tier. Albeit a restricted transfer window, the signings made have certainly signalled shrewd business, as well as the pending (we can hope) return of a Hull City hero. It will be interesting to see how these new players bed in and whether they will start, with Andy Cannon and Ryan Longman in particular impressing in friendlies., as well as George Moncur being the only signing so far with plenty of Championship knowhow.
It was also good to see Tom Eaves impressing in the pre-season against Manchester United’s U23’s , and hopefully his confidence from that game will translate into the league campaign. Hopefully Josh Magennis will continue his prolific goal scoring form, after finding it difficult in the 19/20 Championship season.
Some of these players certainly have points to prove in regards to whether they can cut it in the second tier. However their performances in League One last season will hopefully give them the belief and fearlessness to kick on and make this season a successful one too. Undoubtedly it will be tough, but the players and manager certainly deserve the trust of the supporters ,after showing great resilience from February onwards to deliver our first league title in 55 years.
With 1,500+ travelling to Deepdale it will be fantastic for some players who have only experienced empty away ends to get a great reception after what they achieved last season.
Our opponents Preston have often had the Indian sign over us when it comes to fixtures at Deepdale in recent times but this could well be a perfect opportunity to get off to a good start, judging by some Preston fans’ lack of optimism ahead of tomorrow’s game.
I spoke to North End fan and fellow journalist Josh Knowles to get his thoughts ahead of the game.
“We’ve not had the greatest of windows, mainly signing players we had on loan last season and are still yet to bolster with any real attacking quality after Izzy Brown’s unfortunate injury.”
“Defensively I think we will be strong this year but can’t see us being involved in many high scoring games, especially whilst playing a 3-5-2 which if playing with out and out full backs at wing back, can limit creativity in my opinion.”
“As for Saturday, I would hope we could get off to a good start with it being the first time infront of home fans after pre season didn’t exactly go to plan. I’ll go with a 2-0 north end win.”
You can follow Josh on Twitter @JKnowlesSport
My Prediction: Preston North End 1-2 Hull City (Docherty & Eaves)
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