Premier League: Hull boss in danger of blue Christmas

Michael Lintorn
17 December 2014

Hull owner Assem Allam's patience is being tested by their form

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Is Steve Bruce at risk of football's equivalent of the stocking full of coal - a festive sacking?

"The KC Stadium was a fortress early in 2013/14, as Hull averaged 1.88 points a match. One victory, three draws and three losses this term have seen that figure drop to 0.86."

The 2014/15 Premier League has taught us many things: it is probably best to wait until after Christmas to use the word invincible, Merseyside clubs are too selfless to insist on successive exceptional campaigns and Alex Song is a pretty tidy midfielder.

However, the greatest discovery of all has been that the most interesting Sack Races are the ones in which nobody actually gets sacked.

No Premier League manager has exited since Tony Pulis walked out on Crystal Palace two days before the start of the season, and Betfair's Next Manager To Leave Position market has been captivating viewing as a result.

The two managers who were once odds-on - Alan Pardew and Harry Redknapp - are now 28.027/1 and 14.5 outsiders, and countless other former frontrunners like Sam Allardyce, Paul Lambert and Mauricio Pochettino have since drifted to double figures.

The current top three in the betting are West Brom's Alan Irvine at 2.915/8, Leicester's Nigel Pearson at 3.9 and Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers at 5.24/1. The compactness of the trio speaks volumes for the confusion that this rare period of patience from billionaires has generated.

With Irvine making it past the date that that Baggies gave up on Steve Clarke on last year and Pearson and Rodgers broadly retaining the backing of Leicester and Liverpool fans, there is potential for fourth favourite Steve Bruce to prove the value candidate at 9.617/2.

The likable Geordie excelled in his first two years in charge at Hull, guiding them to promotion, Premier League survival and an FA Cup final, but it is impossible to describe this season as anything other than a disappointment.

Despite considerable investment and squad-expanding with 11 additions, among them high-profile names such as Michael Dawson, Mohamed Diame, Hatem Ben Arfa and Abel Hernandez, they have won just two of their 16 Premier League games to rest two points from safety in 19th place.

The KC Stadium was a fortress in the first half of 2013/14, with four wins, three draws and one defeat averaging out at 1.88 points a match. One victory, three draws and three losses this term have seen that figure drop alarmingly to 0.86. That's the worst rate in the entire division.

The Europa League can't be used as an excuse either as they didn't even reach the group stage.

Does Bruce deserve the time to turn things around? Absolutely, yet that doesn't mean that he will receive that opportunity.

His boss Assem Allam is arguably the most unpredictable of all the owners currently confronted with a decision to make, and though he and Bruce have enjoyed a supportive relationship, they have always had the results to justify that mutual appreciation until now.

Allam has fulfilled his responsibility to his manager in building a competitive squad, and will question whether Bruce has done likewise if the Tigers don't beat Swansea this weekend - they are 3.052/1 outsiders - and spend Christmas in the relegation zone.

Hull are fourth favourites to go down at 2.982/1.

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