Hull City are staring down the abyss of relegation from the Championship after a truly horrific run of form since late January which reached its nadir in midweek as they were embarrassed 8-0 by Wigan Athletic.
The Tigers, who have former Hammers Reece Burke and Martin Samuelsen on their books, were 7-0 down at half time after a catastrophic implosion in the first 45 minutes to Paul Cook’s side.
Hull have been in freefall since New Year’s Day, winning just once since the turn of the year as they have gone from potential play-off contenders to the bottom three in seven months.
One of the main reasons the Tigers have struggled is that they lost two of their key players to other clubs in the January transfer window. Kamil Grosicki joined West Bromwich Albion for a fee believed to be £800,000 after a three year stay at the KCOM.
The other was the departure of Jarrod Bowen, who headed to West Ham for a fee believed to be £25million on January transfer deadline day. After a confusing day in the capital, not knowing where Bowen was at one stage when he was supposed to be on a train to Kings Cross, a deal for the forward was eventually sealed.
Bowen appeared 29 times for Hull this season before he left the club. He netted 16 times and bagged six assists. Throughout his career on Humberside, he scored 54 goals and had 16 assists.
When Bowen left the Tigers, they had won 11 of their 29 games, drawn six, lost 12, scored 41 goals and conceded 38 as they sait in 14th place, six points off the playoff places in the Championship and very much in with a shout.
Since Bowen’s departure though, Hull’s season has absolutely nosedived. Their record since then stands at played 15, won one, drawn three, lost 11. Grant McCann’s side have scored just 16 goals and conceded a massive 45.
For the Hammers, Bowen has scored once, on his first start, against Southampton and has helped himself to three assists in ten appearances in claret and blue.
The Tigers have plunged into the bottom three in the standings in the second tier after securing just six points since the end of January. They aren’t down yet though as they sit two points off safety with Charlton Athletic hovering just above them and just two games to go.
Hull face another side in the drop zone, Luton Town, this weekend in a potentially massive game at the wrong end of the table.
