May 07

Stephen Hunt: relegated Hull will sell me to cut wage bill

• Winger has agreement to leave relegated club
• Wolves, Newcastle and West Brom said to be keen

The Hull winger Stephen Hunt has admitted he does not expect to be playing at the KC Stadium next season.

The Republic of Ireland international is Hull’s most saleable asset despite a foot injury that could keep him out for the whole summer. Hull rejected a £5m bid from Wolves in January but Hunt revealed he struck an agreement with chairman Adam Pearson that he would be allowed to leave if the club failed to stay in the Premier League.

Their relegation was confirmed on Monday and financial troubles mean Hull must slash their wage bill in preparation for Championship football.

With Hunt, whose contract runs until 2013, among their highest earners, a sale would appear to be in both parties’ interests and Wolves, Newcastle and West Brom are all thought to be tempted.

The 28-year-old said: “I presume the club will want to sell me in terms of the overall financial structure. I didn’t want to go. If we had stayed up I’d have been happy to stay ay Hull but we’re not in the Premier League now and they may need to sell me.

“If I do move on, it will be with a clear conscience. In January we had an agreement that they would sell me due to the financial situation that would arise from relegation.

“The chairman has been very good to me. He said once I gave my all for Hull he’d have no problem in honouring that agreement for me to go. I have done that, I have done well for Hull. Unfortunately, I haven’t delivered as much as I’d like because we’ve been relegated.”

Hunt, who joined from Reading for an undisclosed fee last summer, also revealed Hull are prepared to accept less than the £5m Wolves offered in January. “The club say they will be willing to sell me at a reduction of the price they’d have got for me in January,” he added. “I have no idea what that reduction will be and if a club will come up with the money. All I can do is concentrate on getting fit.”

Hull CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

Apr 26

Hull can ‘trade through’ financial woes, says Russell Bartlett

• ‘We face a tough period but I am confident,’ says Hull’s owner
• Club aims to offload players and lower wage bill for the drop

The Hull City owner, Russell Bartlett, says the club can “trade through” their current financial difficulties. The cash-strapped Tigers, £35m in debt, face an uncertain future due to their impending relegation from the Premier League.

A player fire sale and a major restructure is now likely over the summer as City seek to readjust for life in the Championship. There have been reports the club could go into administration and the chairman, Adam Pearson, has admitted entering into a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement is a possibility. Both options would incur a 10-point penalty next season.

The board are due to meet today to discuss the crisis but Bartlett believes another route can be found. Bartlett told the Hull Daily Mail: “We face a tough period to trade through the transitional period and readjust the business to life in the Championship, but I am confident we can do that. We are presently preparing plans to trade through and within that process to significantly lower the wage bill and potentially to restructure other liabilities.”

Hull were issued a stark warning by their auditors earlier this season that, with their current liabilities, relegation could seriously threaten their ability to continue as a going concern. Demotion from the top flight after a two-year stay was all but confirmed on Saturday as Hull were beaten 1-0 by Sunderland at the KC Stadium. Hull are now six points adrift of 17th-placed West Ham with just two games remaining and a hugely inferior goal difference.

Pearson has already made a number of cuts since returning to Hull for a second term last November but his priority will now be to offload a number of high-earning players. Pearson largely failed in his attempts to attract interest in several fringe players in the January transfer window, but notably turned down bids for key player Stephen Hunt.

That stance may now change and other senior players such as Jimmy Bullard, Geovanni, Anthony Gardner, Kamil Zayatte and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink are likely to be put in the shop window.

The situation is a far cry from last summer when the former chairman Paul Duffen and ex-manager Phil Brown spoke openly of their attempts to sign the likes of Michael Owen and Bobby Zamora. Pearson made some forthright remarks last week about the financial recklessness of Duffen’s tenure, particularly after winning promotion to the Premier League in 2008.

But he also raised the possibility of reinstating Brown as manager. Brown was relieved of his duties last month and replaced by Iain Dowie but remains on gardening leave. With Dowie only on a short-term deal, it could be the cheapest option.

Hull CityBusinessPremier LeagueChampionshipPhil BrownIain Dowieguardian.co.uk

Apr 23

Squad sheets: Hull City v Sunderland

Hull’s relegation from the Premier League will effectively be sealed with defeat, if it is coupled with a West Ham win over Wigan, because of their vastly inferior goal difference. The latest effort to avert the catastrophic financial consequences of the drop must be carried out with limited striking resources – Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink ruled out following his midweek head injury. Sunderland will field two of the players who delivered top-flight football to Hull for the first time in their history two years ago – defender Michael Turner and striker Fraizer Campbell – as they seek elusive back-to-back league wins. Richard Gibson

Venue KC Stadium, Saturday 3pm

Tickets £28-33 (01482 505600)

Last season Hull 1 Sunderland 4

Referee P Walton

This season’s matches 24 Y60, R4, 2.67 cards per game

Odds Hull 13-10 Sunderland 9-4 Draw 12-5

Hull

Subs from Myhill, Mouyokolo, Kilbane, Cairney, Ghilas, Olofinjana, Barmby, Cooper, Altidore

Doubtful Mouyokolo (knee)

Injured Vennegoor of Hesselink (concussion, 3 May), Marney (ankle, 9 May), Zayatte (knee, 9 May), Ashbee (knee, Aug), Garcia (knee, Aug), Hunt (foot, Aug)

Suspended None

Form guide LDLLWL

Disciplinary record Y65 R5

Leading scorer Hunt 6

Sunderland

Subs from Carson, Fulop, Bardsley, Kilgallon, Da Silva, Mensah, Meyler, Cattermole, Zenden, Benjani, Liddle

Doubtful Cana (groin), Cattermole (calf), Mensah (hamstring)

Injured McCartney (hamstring, Aug), Reid (hamstring, Aug)

Suspended None

Form guide WLWLDW

Disciplinary record Y74 R6

Leading scorer Bent 23

Match pointers

• Sunderland have won their last five meetings with Hull, scoring 12 goals in the process

• Hull have let in 18 goals in the last 10 minutes of games – six more than any other side

• Sunderland have played 55 times since they last won two consecutive top-flight games

• Kamil Zayatte scored at both ends when these sides met at Sunderland earlier this season and also scored an own goal at the KC Stadium in 2008-09

• Fraizer Campbell has scored four goals in his last eight appearances after failing to find the net in his first 20 games for Sunderland

Premier LeagueHull CitySunderlandguardian.co.uk

Num	Team	PTS	G	GD
1	Arsenal	0	0	0
2	Aston Villa	0	0	0
3	Birmingham City	0	0	0
4	Blackburn Rovers	0	0	0
5	Blackpool	0	0	0
6	Bolton Wanderers	0	0	0
7	Chelsea	0	0	0
8	Everton	0	0	0
9	Fulham	0	0	0
10	Liverpool	0	0	0
11	Manchester City	0	0	0
12	Manchester United	0	0	0
13	Newcastle United	0	0	0
14	Stoke City	0	0	0
15	Sunderland	0	0	0
16	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0	0
17	West Bromwich Albion	0	0	0
18	West Ham United	0	0	0
19	Wigan Athletic	0	0	0
20	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	0	0

Watch Hull

Stephen Hunt: relegated Hull will sell me to cut wage bill

Hull can ‘trade through’ financial woes, says Russell Bartlett

Squad sheets: Hull City v Sunderland

Next Match - Last Result

Last game

Next game

Advertise

Transfers

Hull City

Premiership Table

Categories

Recent Posts

Tag Cloud