Hull City’s start to life under Tim Walter hasn’t gone as planned, with the Tigers sitting in the lowest regions of the midtable after a quarter of the season.
The off-season saw major changes in the dugout and on the pitch, with players who had impressed under Liam Rosenior being sold or, in some cases, returning to their Premier League clubs.
Jacob Greaves joined Jaden Philogene, Tyler Morton, Fabio Carvalho, and Liam Delap at Portman Road as Ipswich Town began their first Premier League season in 22 years.
And, now that enough time has elapsed to assess their respective starts to the new season, Football League World asked one of our Hull City fan experts, Ryan Frankish, if the Tigers miss the services of their native centre-back.
Hull City have struggled defensively since Jacob Greaves’ departure
Despite the additions made to City’s backline in the summer, including the signing of the impressive Charlie Hughes from Wigan Athletic for £3.5 million to replace Greaves, Frankish believes that both parties have struggled since the £15 million+ fee that saw him join the Premier League after being named to the Championship’s Team of the Season. “I think, missing Jacob Greaves is an absolute no-brainer, because we’re evidently leaking goals,” he told me.
“Short answer: Yes (Hull is missing Greaves); lengthy answer: It always happens, doesn’t it? “I think it’s about how you progress, and I think we did well with Charlie Hughes,” our fan commentator continued.
“It would’ve been good to keep Greaves. And I’m sure Greaves is probably counting his chickens when Ipswich is getting stuffed every week. I do not know.”
“It’s looking like a tough season for him as it has been for us,” Frankish said. “I think he looks more-than comfortable in the Premier League.”
The story will unfold just as it should. However, the transition (to living without each other) has not been perfect for either party.” “The short answer is, yes, I think we do miss Greaves, that’s evident in how disjointed we look.”
| Hull City’s Defensive Numbers – 24/25 | Total |
|---|---|
| Clean Sheets | 1 |
| Goals Conceded per Game | 1.3 |
| Saves per Game | 3.1 |
| Errors leading to Shot | 7 |
| Errors leading to Goal | 3 |
| All Stats as per Sofascore (Correct as of 06/11/24) | |
Jacob Greaves’ start to life in the Premier League
You’d be hard-pressed to find a City fan who didn’t wish Greaves luck in his top-flight debut with the Tractor Boys, and no one was surprised when the defender delivered a standout individual performance against Liverpool on the first day of the season.
Greaves and Ipswich’s best defensive performance of the season thus far resulted in their sole clean sheet of the season against Brighton on September 14th, with Kieran McKenna’s side struggling at the start of the campaign, remaining winless after ten games.
Furthermore, Greaves’ last appearance was on October 5th, in a 4-1 away loss to West Ham United at the London Stadium, a week after his attempt to play out of the back against Aston Villa resulted in Morgan Rogers’ equaliser at Portman Road.
Since then, McKenna has chosen to use Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess alongside each other or Dara O’Shea, leaving Greaves on the bench in the three games following the October international break.
However, the former Tiger still has plenty of time to improve his game in East Anglia, and the fact that he is under contract for the next five years demonstrates the potential that many believe he possesses.
Leave a Reply