Hull City heading for the Premier League under Liam Rosenior's guidance
When Liam Rosenior first took charge of Hull in November 2022, there was some external scepticism.
The rookie was unproven as a number one beyond a stint in Sky Bet League One with Derby as interim head coach. That resulted in 14 points from nine games.
The former full-back already had a relationship with supporters from his family ties to the club though - alongside five years as a player - and where he needed to, he soon won people over.
At Hull, Rosenior inherited the worst defence in the Sky Bet Championship, which had conceded 35 goals in 18 under Shota Arveladze, and briefly Andy Dawson. Yet, he immediately solidified the team.
Setting great foundations appeared to be an immediate priority, with players knowing their roles and responsibilities almost instantly after Rosenior's arrival.
They started doing the simple things well, both in and out of possession.
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In fact, the Tigers enjoyed the league’s fourth-best defensive record from Rosenior’s arrival onwards in 2022/23, with only runaway champions Burnley and play-off winners Luton losing fewer games in that time (Hull had six in 28).
Box-to-box midfielder Regan Slater was someone who benefitted significantly, as did his deep-lying playmaker partner Jean Michaël Seri. Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin forged such a strong centre-back pairing that it led to a top defender in Jacob Greaves being pushed to the left side of the back line.
Adding the stardust
The Tigers were missing a sprinkling of stardust to turn draws into wins though, with half their games under Rosenior last season ending in a share of the spoils.
That was largely because they didn’t have a fit, natural centre-forward.
For the current campaign, they’ve simply added the extra layer of quality that was missing last season, with Jaden Philogene, from Aston Villa, proving an inspired acquisition.
Philogene impressed on loan at Cardiff last season, as a traditional winger, but on Humberside he’s operating as an inside forward, and he’s relishing the extra freedom - well on his way to achieving double figures in both goals and assists.
He has already found the net six times while contributing a further five helpers.
If Hull don’t go up this season, they’ll either sell Philogene for an enormous, eight-figure fee that could make a big difference to their budget, or they’ll have the best player in England's second tier.
Striker Liam Delap and withdrawn forward Scott Twine have also impressed, after joining on loan from Man City and Burnley respectively: the former has five goals, while the latter has two in two and is himself threatening a purple patch.
Throw in this season’s stronger midfield competition, helped by the contributions of all-action Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton, and Hull look to have added well.
Tactical development
They’ve also evolved stylistically this season, implementing more of the possession-based game, as well as inventive use of their full-backs.
For instance, earlier in the season it was a case of Liam Coyle pushing up high and wide in possession from right-back, with Greaves, from left-back, tucking in to complete a back-three.
At half-time of the 2-2 draw at Swansea, with the team trailing by two, Christie came on for Sean McLoughlin to play at right-back, with Coyle switching to the left, and Greaves moving further inside.
Rather than assume Coyle’s remit, Christie became an inverted right-back operating in midfield when the team has the ball, and Coyle becoming a left centre-back, which can have two major influences.
Firstly, Seri having extra support from Christie in midfield gives Morton the freedom to make bold darts for goal, which can be hard for opponents to stop because of his running power.
Secondly, the in-possession presence of a third centre-back in Coyle can free up Greaves to become something of a roaming libero - the Championship’s answer to Franco Baresi.
Greaves’ ball-carrying qualities have been evident since his loan spell at Cheltenham in 2019/20, and he’s since become even more technically refined, so operating in the middle of a back-three in possession, with the freedom to break lines suits him to the ground.
Rosenior has been very quick to embrace ideas we’re seeing in the Premier League, which shows he’s always absorbing new tactical concepts, and applying them in a way that suit what he has at his disposal.
In fact, when Roberto de Zerbi leaves Brighton, there’s a world in which Rosenior will be sufficiently developed by that point to step up – his potential looks enormous.
For now, he’s doing a fantastic job at a club he’s adored, under a fantastic ownership regime led by Acun Ilıcalı, and within a strong structure overseen by Tan Kesler.
Hull and Rosenior could well be a Premier League proposition, and it may come sooner than we'd expect.
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