Jordy, we missen je!

Given the recent results Hull City have been getting, I have often found myself confused during matches as to what is going wrong and where the main cause of our losses stems from. We can go from looking like a competent side for around fifteen to twenty minutes, such as the beginning of the second half at Huddersfield, to then conceding goal after goal. This is something that probably should not confuse me because it is City, but still does as the shift in momentum always seems to shift pretty quickly in our matches. Therefore, today I will be looking at three reasons as to why I think we lost at home to QPR starting very specifically and building to be broader, in an attempt to solve all of our problems. You can thank me later Grant McCann. 

1). Jordy de Wijs being out injured. 

     This is the most obvious one for me. As soon as I read the news on Friday that he had been ruled out for the match I knew we were in for some serious trouble and would most likely concede quite a few goals, which we did. The positive effect de Wijs has on the team has been highlighted before against both Swansea and Bristol City where he was forced to be subbed off and in both games the opposition scored two goals in quick succession. Seeing as he was going to be out for this whole match and not just one half I feared how many goals QPR could put past our defence without, in my opinion, our most vital player in that back four, and QPR confirmed my doubts by putting three past us. 

2). McCann’s reluctance to put Henriksen in the team. 

     Now, nobody truly understands this mystery, but ever since Henriksen’s armband was taken away and given to Lichaj (another mystery!) our manager and our Norwegian international have never really seemed to get along. In fact, the local media appear to be having their questions on this matter deflected too. However, to me it does seem that after the initial frustration of not being captain anymore and not wanting to be a part of the team, Henriksen has been making it quite clear that he is willing to play his part for the team and do what he can whilst he is still with us. And yet we have not seen him so much as on the bench and I really am starting to wonder the reason behind this. I can only imagine that it is something to do with McCann or another person of high authority, and their unwillingness to let go of this grudge they have about Henriksen just because of the friction between them when he was appointed manager. Having Henriksen back in the side would strengthen it in many ways, to start he would bring some leadership into the team. Not that I have anything against Lichaj, but I never really see him motivating the team on the pitch and we do not exactly seem to be reacting particularly well to conceding goals. I think this could be due to how low the team morale may drop when we do go down a goal or two. Also, Henriksen could help the team both defensively and attacking wise as last season we saw him go and help in defence and give us five at the back when we needed that extra support. He is much needed in the midfield at the moment, which is rather disorganised and never really seems to be there, probably not a sign of a good midfield, so some extra experience and talent there could really boost this aspect of City’s game. Overall I am still unsure as to why he is not in the team and I hope he will soon feature, or there is at least a good reason as to why is not playing, otherwise it is just a real waste of a talented player who could be helping us get these much needed home wins.

3). The low attendance at the KCOM.

Obviously this is quite a noticeable thing at the ground at the moment and of course I know the reasons for so few people attending matches, but instead of delving into that depressing topic, I am going to talk about the effect that it has on performances. When I remember the days of City at our best, at least in my lifetime, I think of Brady, Quinn and McShane securing us promotion in 2013 and at this time we still had our crowds. Due to the lack of atmosphere, I feel as though the players do not feel like they have anything to encourage them when they are at that deciding point in the game where one goal will win or lose you it. Yes I know this sounds naive because they should be able to gain enough motivation from their need to win, but everybody always talks about the fans being the twelfth man and how they help the team over the line. I can just envisage how much a full stadium would switch our results at home. This is because the players would just feel more positive in simple things like running down the wing, and with twenty thousand people cheering them on the likeliness of us getting a goal would dramatically increase because they would have that extra adrenaline running through them. I know for certain I would feel more confident in someone like Kamil if he had all of us behind him when he gets into the box. However, to see these high attendances there would have to be a pretty drastic change at the club, which I do not think is coming any time soon, but I hope we get to see the benefits of what I have just talked about against Derby, when the reduced prices will undoubtedly help to increase the size of the crowd. I have even managed to persuade some Liverpool and Man. City relatives to come and support the team, so I am desperate for us to get a win!