Hull City were the third team to be relegated from the Premier League last weekend, as the Tigers were hammered 4-0 at Crystal Palace.
In truth, the writing was on the wall the previous weekend when Marco Silva’s side somehow lost 2-0 against the atrocious Sunderland at home.
The fans deserved better and so did their Portuguese boss. Silva was hired in January on an 18-month deal.
The former Olympiakos boss was brought in as a firefighter fight. However, courtesy of the club’s owners was not supplied with a hose.
A record of 21 points from 17 Premier League games does not seem fantastic on the face of things. However, Silva was fighting with his hands tied behind his back, yet the Tigers still had a chance of survival with two games to go. That was a testament to the job that Silva did on Humberside.
Entered in a club in an almighty mess
In reality, both Silva and his predecessor Mike Phelan were handed thankless tasks. The Tigers squad was paper thin at the start of the campaign. They also had an injury list that would have made the personnel in the local A and E blush.
I felt sorry for Phelan when he was sacked. He made a decent start at the club before the lack of true quality shone through in his squad and the club’s owners decided to sack the former Manchester United assistant.
Silva arrived in January and attempted to strengthen the squad. Unfortunately, to do so he had to sell two of the Tigers better players in winger Robert Snodgrass and midfielder Jake Livermore.
The players the Portuguese boss was able to bring in were bargain basement signings. He had to beg, borrow and steal from other clubs. The fact that two of the clubs main signings Oumar Niasse and Lazar Markovic were Everton and Liverpool flops. That tells you the sort of players he was dealing with.
To be fair to the pair they enjoyed decent spells on Humberside. I highly doubt any of the clubs loan players will be hurrying to commit their future to the club anytime soon.
Talent has shone through
Marco Silva has been a winner for much of his short managerial career. The 39-year-old has impressed in most of his jobs. Relegation with the Tigers should not blemish a big reputation and an obvious managerial talent.
The Portuguese boss has shown he has got what it takes to manage in the top-flight, despite Hull’s relegation. If he would have been appointed at the start of the season and had the same ratio of points the Tigers would have been comfortably safe by now.
When Silva arrived Sky Sports so called ‘experts’ Paul Merson and Phil Thompson asked question marks over the Portuguese’s appointment. He had no Premier League experience, but he has shown enough to be handed another opportunity in the English top-flight.
Looks unlikely to stay
Marco Silva has recently stated that he will hold talks about his future with the club’s board next week. That talk could be very short and to the point. It may well also consist of the words ‘I am out of here’.
The Hull owners have proven to be a major obstacle in Hull having a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League. If Silva leaves, then they will probably be a major obstacle in the club challenging for promotion.
Silva arrived in England having had success with Estoril and Sporting in his own country and then in Greece with Olympiakos. He deserves better than to be managing in the Championship next season. I am sure most Hull fans would wish him the best of luck if he does decide to leave.
The likes of West Ham, Watford and in particular Southampton have been linked with summer moves for Silva. The highly-rated boss has a relegation clause in his 18-month contract, which means he is free to leave this summer.
Hull round their Premier League campaign off at the weekend when they host high-flying Tottenham at the KCOM Stadium, in a game they are odds of 15/4 to win. For me, it is likely to be Silva’s last game in charge of the toothless Tigers.
The team from Humberside were relegated by decisions made far before the mid-season arrival of Silva. In the end, though, as talented as Silva is, even he could not keep up the motley crew at his disposal.
