The Tigers must find a solution to give them much-needed safety and security
Hull City’s midfield struggles have been apparent all season, despite the Tigers bringing in no fewer than three new signings in the summer.
John Lundstram, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Darko Gyabi were all signed during a difficult window with the club working under restrictions imposed on them by the EFL, while Eliot Matazo continues to recover from ACL surgery.
The reality is, City have not been able to find a solution at the base of their midfield to give them the platform and protection to be the force Sergej Jakirovic wants them to be.
Make no mistake about it, the Tigers have enjoyed a very good start to the season and it’s a world away from where they were last season, but Friday night’s 4-1 thrashing by Middlesbrough exposed the weaknesses that have been there throughout.
Lundstram was signed as the midfield general, a player to boss the engine room and dictate games. We saw it in flashes early on in the campaign, and then he missed nine games through injury before coming back at Stoke City last Saturday.
The ex-Sheffield United man has now broken down again and is facing at least the next two weeks out with a knee injury, meaning he’s going to miss at least the next two or three games. He’s already missed half the season.
Amir Hadziahmetovic is another who has shown flashes, but often the speed of the Championship is catching him out, and his performance against Boro was tepid at best.
Gyabi remains a young player with potential, but is moved about. Sometimes playing deeper, sometimes playing further forward and cannot get any momentum or consistency.
That’s left Regan Slater isolated and often doing the work of more than one, covering spaces that are too large. Matt Crooks has been utilised deeper, and perhaps that’s a stopgap for now to have him sitting deep and protecting.
We’ve seen Jakirovic often haul players off at the break in the middle of the park, clearly unhappy with what he’s seen, and it shows there’s a major issue there.
Seventy-four per cent of all chances created against City come through the middle of the pitch, and it’s obviously an area opposition are exploiting, and so far, the holes have not been filled.
While Jean Michael Seri was far from perfect, he’s the type of player the Tigers are missing. Somebody in the number six position to sit and protect, break up play and do the ugly work.
Perhaps a deal can be struck to sign Oscar Zambrano from Maribor, which would make sense given the restrictions the Tigers are working under, and he could be that player with the mobility to get around the pitch, but provide that much-needed shield.
Matazo will be back, but it’s perhaps unreasonable to expect him to be fully fit and back into the swing of things until the Spring, so City would be wise to seek other alternatives.
One heavy defeat should not detract from what’s been a really encouraging opening to the season. City could have gone third with a win over Boro, so all is not lost, and there should not be mass panic, even though the warning signs have been there for a while.
The stats back up just how open City are, and solving that issue in the middle of the park will have a major impact on the chance creation against Jakirovic’s side, and take some pressure off the back five, who are woefully exposed time and time again.
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