Hull City’s 2-2 draw with Cardiff, combined with Watford’s collapse against Leeds United means the Tigers have secured second place in the Championship and thus automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Hull City are promoted to the Premier League
Hull City have won promotion to the Premier League after a remarkable finale to the Championship season saw them edge out Watford for second place on the final day.
Alex Livesey
It had been a nervy finish for Steve Bruce’s men, who had the chance to wrap things up in the penultimate game before a shock 2-0 defeat to Barnsley, but they have managed to drag themselves over the line just in time to return to the Premier League.
Hull were last in the top flight in 2010 after achieving promotion in 2008, and their promotion also sees Steve Bruce return to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Sunderland. With a solid team in place, the Tigers will need to secure some more quality for their side to stay up - they may not have the financial muscle of Cardiff City, but they should have a decent chance of establishing themselves.
Hull City is one of two teams in the Premier League - Leicester City being the other, and Nigel Pearson being the key common factor - that has a sizeable chunk of recent graduates from Manchester United making up their team, with the likes of James Chester, Robbie Brady and Corry Evans all establishing themselves as key players.
One interesting feature of Hull’s promotion is that they will be one of few teams in the Premier League to play with three at the back if Steve Bruce sticks to the formation that earned them second place. Ahmed Elmohammady has been key at right wingback in that formation, so it will be interesting to see if Hull make a move to sign him, or any of their other Egyptian loanees permanently.
Being a Steve Bruce side, we can expect forays into the less well-charted corners of the transfer market such as Egypt and Central America, as well as a loan or two from Manchester United. Hull may represent something of a dark horse - they have a very solid side and a system that works and could afford to spend on a small number of players to elevate their side. They don’t have the finances that Cardiff or Watford do - but they probably need to spend far less than both of those sides too.
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