Our daily blog with the latest news, transfer rumours and gossip about Hull City in the Premier League.
Hull City are moving for French under-21 striker Paul-Georges Ntep de Madiba, the Daily Mail says today.
Steve Bruce sent scouts to watch the Auxerre man at the weekend, according to reports.
Despite securing ten signings this summer, Bruce has admitted he would like at least one more.
Ntep de Madiba, scored nine goals in 19 appearances last season, can play as a striker or attacking midfielder, and would cost in the region of £1.5m.
He already has two goals this season and featured for the under-21s as recently as last week.
Auxerre currently play in the French Ligue 2 but have a long record of developing top-class talent. Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc and Djibril Cissé are among the famous names who started their careers at the club. Arsenal's Bacary Sagna is another graduate.Huddlestone wants to be Hull City's first England man
City's record signing Tom Huddlestone is hoping to force himself back into the England set-up, the Daily Star reports.
His last appearance for the Three Lions came back in November against Sweden.
Should Huddlestone feature again for Roy Hodgson's side, he would become the first player ever to represent the senior England side while playing for the Tigers.
He said: "When I got back in the Tottenham team last season I played six or seven games and the England manager put me back in his squad.
"So if I can play regularly for Hull, do well and help the team do well, then I don't see why it can't happen again."Tigers buck trend for English starters
One league Hull City seem to be flying in is the proportion of Englishmen playing for top flight clubs.
A gloomy Guardian reports today that the opening weekend of the Premier League marked an all time low in terms of the number of English players beginning games at the start of a season.
Incredibly, two-thirds of starters were foreign nationals at the weekend, with just 74 English players in first elevens (33.6 per cent).
Compare that to August 1992, when 177 players, or 73.1 per cent, held English nationality.
City, however, are one of the clubs with an admirable number of home-grown players.
A quick look at the team shows six of the starting 11 were English (54 per cent) and 11 of the 18-man squad (61 per cent). Add George Boyd (remember he's officially a Scot now) and Allan McGregor and you have a squad that's 72 per cent British.
The Guardian argues the lack of Englishmen across the rest of the league highlights the problem Roy Hodgson faces when trying to put together a competitive England squad.
And it points out England now trails Spain's La Liga, Germany Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue One by some distance when it comes to showcasing indigenous talent.We'll stay up, say nine out of ten fans
A massive 92 per cent of Tigers supporters say their team will stay up this season.
We asked where Hull City would finish in the Premier League - and more than 1,400 people replied.
Only eight per cent say Bruce's side will finish in the bottom three. Instead, a majority of fans reckon City can finish between 13th and 16th.
Meanwhile, only four per cent of fans say defeat to Chelsea has dampened their optimism for the season ahead. Most supporters - 52 per cent - say they are more optimistic after the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, with 44 per cent feeling about the same.Poll results:Top half: .... 3.5%10th-12th: ... 3%13th-16th: ... 57%17th: ........ 28%18th: ........ 3.5%19th: ........ 3%20th: ........ 2%City 'outpassed' Chelsea
The reason for that optimism? City's second-half performance at Chelsea and the impact of Huddlestone and Jake Livermore.
While City were overrun in the first half at Stamford Bridge, analysis by Squawka.com shows they completed more passes than their star-studded opponents in the second half (216 to 181).
Most pundits acknowledge the Blues eased off after a stellar first half-hour - but the stats are encouraging nevertheless.August 19
Jose Mourinho grabbed all the headlines after a winning return for Chelsea yesterday, but what did the nationals make of City's performance of two halves?The Telegraph: Henry Winter thinks there is reason for optimism among City fans. He praised the new signings made by Steve Bruce: "Allan McGregor, a £1.5m signing from Besiktas, saved Frank Lampard's penalty and later brilliantly kept out Branislav Ivanovic's header. Ahmed Elmohamady, who was on loan at Hull last season but joined permanently for £2m from Sunderland in the summer, was tidy. Tom Huddlestone, a £5m midweek signing, and Jake Livermore, on loan, were lively substitutes."The Daily Mail: Perhaps a little harsh on City, considering their improved second-half performance. "Hull will have less difficult days than this in the top flight, but they did little to help themselves, giving possession away cheaply."The Independent: Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore brought quality to the City side as they rallied in the second half. The two new signings gave "a bit more stability and direction in midfield".The Daily Star's analysis was straight to the point: "Hull never looked like being able to spoil Mourinho's homecoming bash, and were brought back down to earth with a bump after their promotion party." The Daily Mirror was gushing in its praise of Chelsea, with City, "swept aside with dismissive ease", very much an afterthought. The Times: "The Hull manager knew that his side were always billed as the fall guys in Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge, and it was not difficult to see the positives in losing only 2-0 after being under non-stop bombardment in the first half."King Fut: The Egyptian football website named countryman Ahmed Elmohamady their man of the match. "He completed 58/64 passes (15/16 in the attacking third) and 4/4 tackles," it adds.
Finally, Gary Lineker praised City's performance on Twitter: "Despite this being a comfortable victory for Chelsea, Hull have shown enough to make me feel they could do reasonably well."Bruce would offer the Humber Bridge for Frank Lampard
Steve Bruce was able to put Chelsea's jaw-dropping performance in the opening half-hour into perspective and could be seen joking with Jose Mourinho on the touchline.
Mourinho later revealed how Bruce asked for Frank Lampard on loan and offered the Humber Bridge in exchange.Abramovich can't help dropping in
All eyes were on the Special One yesterday, but just to prove who's boss, Roman Abramovich decided to pay a visit to the dressing room for the first time before a Mourinho match.
Jose said: "It's the fifth season I've started with Chelsea. We had Mr Abramovich in the dressing room with us for the first time in those years before the match. It was a moment wishing everyone the best, the medical department and the players not selected."
Whatever he said, it seemed to have the desired effect ...Hull City player ratings
Here's our individual ratings for Hull City's players at Stamford Bridge.Allan McGREGOR ... 7: A Premier League debut that veered dramatically between good and bad. Conceded a penalty and a soft free-kick but a succession of saves, particularly to deny Ivanovic, kept it respectable. Ahmed ELMOHAMADY ... 6: A question mark was etched next to his name at right-back with defensive duties often catching him out in the first half. Made great strides, though, and caught the eye after break. James CHESTER ... 5: A Premier League baptism of fire. Never fully recovered from a nervous start to the game and found himself consistently dragged out of position by Chelsea's free-flowing attack. Curtis DAVIES ... 6: Badly exposed during parts of the first half as Chelsea ran riot but improved after the break with a far more assured effort. Came close to a debut goal for the Tigers with a second half header. Maynor FIGUEROA ... 6: Another of City's debutants and showed enough to confirm he will be a quality addition. No stranger to stages such as these and kept Chelsea's attacks down their right to a minimum. Robert KOREN ... 5: City's captain was anonymous for spells of the first half as Chelsea's young bucks ran wild but he was part of the revival. Faces a fight to hold down his place with the new arrivals. David MEYLER ... 5: Plenty of endeavour but not a Premier League return to savour. Chelsea's midfield were emphatically dominant in the first half and a booking ensured his game ended prematurely. Robbie BRADY ... 6: Like so many of his team-mates, a grim first half grew into an encouraging effort. A place in the midfield does not look his strongest position and improved when pushed forward. Sone ALUKO ... 5: Flashes of his quality were sporadic up against England's Ashley Cole and City's striker will know he is capable of much more. A big tick in the fitness box nonetheless. Danny GRAHAM ... 5: Played in a different postcode to some of his team-mates for periods of the contest. Isolated and under-serviced, his task of troubling Terry and Cahill was nigh on impossible. Yannick SAGBO ... 6: One of the few rays of light on a sobering afternoon for the Tigers. Displayed great strength with his back to goal and looks capable of quickly finding his feet in the English game. SUBS: Tom Huddlestone ... 6 - an encouraging cameo from the new record buy with good use of the ball. A certain starter next week; Jake Livermore ... 6 - another one to catch the eye and added energy to City's midfield; George Boyd ... 6 - no chances to be the hero.Juniors beaten for first time
Hull City Juniors suffered their first defeat of the season at home to Bradford City.
The Bantams ran out 3-1 winners at the Ideal Standard ground on Saturday.
City's goal came through a Devonte Morton header, from Max Clark's free kick.
A match report is available on City's official site. Bruce: Allam would be entitled to have us play in pink
Hull manager Steve Bruce believes owner Assem Allam is within his rights to make the team play in pink if he so chooses after the controversial name change to Hull City Tigers.
Speaking following the 2-0 Barclays Premier League loss at Chelsea, Bruce said: "I think the PR could've handled it a bit better. I am a traditionalist.
"(But) the money our guys put into Hull City, if he wants us to play in pink and wants to call us something else, then he's entitled to do it.
"I think he just wants to do away with the 'AFC'. Why, I'm not so sure, maybe it's a marketing thing in his department."
Asked whether supporters should have been consulted, Bruce added: "Of course.
"Last year Cardiff changed their colours and there was uproar. They get promoted and is there uproar now?
"You'd have to ask him the reason why. I'm a bit of a traditionalist and maybe there's a reason why.
"There's obviously a reason why, maybe he thinks Hull City Tigers is the way forward."
