Dare he?

Irrespective of the half time score at Eastlands later today, I want Phil Brown to hold his team talk on the pitch again.

He won't, but it's a cracking thought nonetheless. His alfresco lecture on Boxing Day has received so much unwarranted attention that it'd be a fantastic one in the eye for the national media who have, as ever, chosen one bit of wood and obscured all the trees with it for nearly 12 months now.

At the very least, it'd be nice to believe that the players might all sit in a circle in celebration if and when the Tigers score a goal today.

That's more doable, though under the new regime of Adam Pearson which dictates that individuals within the club should stop looking foolish, again it's unlikely.

It's Myhill versus Duke - again

Boaz Myhill needs to come back into the Hull City team this weekend.

It's always a pity to tell Matt Duke that yet another period of sturdy deputising must come to an end, but it's also always necessary.

Myhill's hamstring injury, suffered in the last seconds of the turgid goalless draw against Portsmouth, has kept him out for the subsequent four games. Hull City have lost just one of those games and, more to the point, won two. But the victories have come via a policy to thrill in attack in order to protect a rearguard that isn't absolutely watertight. While much can be said about the back four and where it could be altered, ultimately a defence of any description can only do so much before its confidence in the goalkeeper behind it has to take over.

And Duke simply does not inspire the same confidence as Myhill. Duke is fine - indeed, the club and supporters should feel grateful that such an able stand-in is around to wear the gloves when absolutely necessary - but he simply isn't as good as Myhill. He fumbles the ball more, his shot-stopping is not as emphatic and, most oddly, his catching above a crowd of players has looked decidedly suspect, even though he has some height advantage over Myhill.

Myhill and Duke have been the senior goalkeepers at Hull City for a long time now. They have been through much together, not least two promotions and Premier League survival. Recently, spoiled members of the Tiger Nation have taken it upon themselves to scorn Myhill, even though his only absolute weakness, obvious to the naked eye, is his distribution; and as long as he doesn't miskick the ball to an opposing striker every time he needs to clear his lines, its hardly the most serious of goalkeeping flaws. Duke chooses to fling the ball to the flanks a lot more, which gets cheers from the crowd and, on the rare occasions Myhill does this, earns cheers of a more ironic nature from the same people. Ultimately, however, a goalkeeper is there to save shots, catch dangerous crosses and position himself ideally in accordance with the movement of the ball. Myhill is simply far better at this stuff than Duke.

Duke kept goal for ten Premier League games last season and though at times he performed well (saving a penalty at West Ham United on his Premier League debut springs to mind) ultimately Phil Brown realised that in the slump of form the Tigers were suffering, he needed his best people on the park, and Myhill returned after one Duke howler too many at Middlesbrough. Duke has not been eccentric or awful in this short spell of games, but he has dropped a cross too many already and with Myhill fit again, his return to the side at Manchester City is simply essential.

14: Hull City 3 - 2 Everton - 25/11/2009

And the thrills continue. To conclusively outplay one of the great club sides of Europe to the tune of a three-goal lead at the break, and then use the last 25 minutes for an effective rearguard as they threatened to level up made for one of the finest matches at the KC Stadium in a long time.

Everton's route back into the game was wholly down to one Hull City player's capacity to panic or lose concentration. Kamil Zayatte will feel bad today. But he shouldn't, given that his qualities still made a telling contribution to a City victory, with his indiscretions ultimately proving harmless.

Phil Brown had one big decision to make about Jimmy Bullard, and make it he did. He left him out. It was patiently explained afterwards that after ten months out, it was a lot to ask Bullard to do his scampering act for another 90 minutes and essentially put in three big shifts in eight days. He'll be back when the Tigers go to Manchester City this weekend.

George Boateng returned, and Dean Marney was given more of the ball. Geovanni was back, both necessarily and predictably, a decision made easier by Craig Fagan's late withdrawal with shoulder trouble. Paul McShane made his return to the defence to replace the banned Bernard Mendy.

Everton have whopping injury troubles but this should be less of an issue when one scans the team they were still capable of fielding at the KC. Quality players. And the Tigers made them look decidedly ordinary.

The opening goal after ten minutes was started and finished by the magnificent Stephen Hunt. Ignoring Geovanni's overlap, the Irishman clipped a cross towards Jozy Altidore at the far post, and the heavy American shrugged off two defenders to batter a vicious shot right at Tim Howard, his international colleague. Hunt, following up his own pass, got to the rebound first to steer in the shot. And the Tigers had no cause to look back.

Richard Garcia climbed well to head an Andy Dawson cross back into the danger area and Geovanni controlled the loose ball before hitting a shot right into Howard's midriff. Then the Brazilian was fouled 25 yards out, and Dawson bent in simply the best free kick anyone will see this season for 2-0.

There were just 20 minutes gone, and this was dreamland. The two flank pairings were combining excellently, especially Hunt and Dawson on the left, while Boateng was the rock we know he is and Marney, feeling the influence of Bullard even in his absence, was finding room and time to spray the ball around with genuine aplomb. The third goal, unbelievably, was imminent, as Hunt strayed to the right flank and guided a ball into Marney's path and the shot, via Tim Cahill's shin, coasted into the net. Marney's reaction at scoring his first goal in 18 months suggested that he has had many a sleepless night of worry. No more.

Remarkably, it nearly became four when Hunt swung in one of his vicious free kicks and Zayatte's long leg only just failed to make a meaningful connection from merely four yards. Altidore, still desperate for his first Premier League goal, bullied his way into space on the right edge of the box but hit the shot a little too high.

The half time whistle sounded and the response mixed hearty applause with looks of sheer bewilderment. Given that the Tigers had never scored three goals at home in the Premier League until the weekend, and now done so twice in four days (and in the first half of each game in doing so) such looks and such applause was more than merited.

Of course, there is always the nagging doubt that such illustrious opponents will react in the way their fans would expect. Everton did just that upon the restart, although their comeback was, in the end, gifted to them by the bonkers Zayatte.

The Guinean star is a super footballer. Strong in the air, brave as they come and, for a defender, in possession of real touch and composure on the ball. But he also has a devil on his shoulders that makes him commit howlers usually reserved for the parks on a Sunday.

A largely directionless cross from Johnny Heitinga was ripe for Zayatte's sumptuous clearing boot to send far away from danger, but instead he miskicked it behind him, over Matt Duke's head and in via the post. Oddly, the trajectory of the ball and its deflection was not dissimilar to Bullard's free kick against West Ham United.

So, it's 3-1 and there's a glimmer for the visitors. This became a proper glare when Zayatte chopped into Louis Saha as the Frenchman shaped to shoot, and was lucky to see only a yellow card. Saha sent Duke in the wrong direction from the penalty spot and now there were 25 minutes for the Tigers to hang on.

As important as City's first half domination was the way the Tigers killed the next 15 minutes of the game, and Everton's control of the ball produced next to nothing in terms of real opportunity. Boateng was at the helm of this, reminding us of just how useful a good, fuss-free holding player can be when opposition enthusiasm needs to be dampened down.

Garcia had a good chance to re-create a two goal advantage when he chested down Anthony Gardner's free kick, worked his way inside and hit a tremendous drive goalwards on which Howard risked the structure of his fingers to keep out. McShane then went on a totally curious run down his flank, displaying abilities to maintain total control of the ball while weaving in and out of players that we assumed never existed. The final ball didn't quite drop for Altidore.

As the game wandered into its final ten minutes, Everton began to squeeze City tighter and tighter but achieved little. Cahill shot high from a long way out, the kind of chance a team defending a slender lead is happy to see created. City threw on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink for the marvellous Altidore, and then Nick Barmby and Kevin Kilbane replaced Garcia and Geovanni respectively. The two former Evertonians shored things up even more, and all Everton had left was a Leighton Baines free kick late in injury time which the England wannabe could only hit into the wall.

So, another three points. Statistics ahoy - the 14 points acquired at home has already surpassed the whole of last season's tally at the KC. In three consecutive home matches City have scored eight goals, and now the Tigers are unbeaten in the last five. The fortress at home that Brown has always wanted, with half an eye cast enviously towards Stoke on Trent, seems to be on schedule for construction.

Only one more game at the KC before Christmas, with Blackburn Rovers turning up in just under three weeks, and trips to Manchester City and Aston Villa beckon next. Frankly, the way the Tigers are playing, one hopes for their sakes that both of those teams don't make any blithe assumptions about little Hull City. If they do, they're in for a shock.

Hull City: Duke, McShane, Dawson, Zayatte, Gardner, Marney, Boateng, Hunt, Garcia (Barmby 75), Geovanni (Kilbane 87), Altidore (Vennegoor of Hesselink 75). Subs not used: Myhill, Mouyokolo, Cairney, Ghilas.

Everton: Howard, Neill, Baines, Distin, Yobo, Heitinga, Pienaar, Cahill, Rodwell (Jo 60), Yakubu (Gosling 46), Saha. Subs not used: Nash, Hibbert, Baxter, Duffy, Coleman.

McShane warned

A fresh opportunity has been presented to Paul McShane tonight. He starts the game because of Bernard Mendy's one-match ban, and he needs to use it to remind everyone of the player he can be.

McShane was brutally superb when he came to the KC on loan last season. The spell didn't last as long as it should have done once Sunderland realised one of their players was helping a direct relegation rival and hoiked him back to Wearside, but for the period he was occupying the Tigers' right back spot, he was effective and excellent and we all wanted him back soon.

His return became more urgent once Sam Ricketts had his summer fallout with Phil Brown and signed for Bolton Wanderers in a huff, but we didn't - or couldn't - get McShane until the dreaded deal to sell off the London-born family silver to Sunderland was completed. McShane was not a makeweight or a condition of Michael Turner's departure, but he did return to us, quite cheaply too, within the same week.

And, well, it hasn't gone well for him. Not helped by being given the captaincy as a mere token by Brown when his second debut for us (and Turner's first for Sunderland) came at the Stadium of Light, the red-haired full back has flattered to deceive. He tackles for fun, which is his main strength - but it is more his saviour right now, as positionally and in possession he has been unremittingly awful.

Sunderland fans did warn us about this, of course. Their beef with him was that he was an aggressor who couldn't actually play much football, and he was prone to brainstorms. There was an own goal against West Bromwich Albion which Mackems use as the main stick with which to beat McShane. For the Tigers, he scored an own goal at Arsenal but, well, there was no blame attached and the subsequent reaction of the team removed any remaining stigma from McShane's person.

His stooping, looping header at Liverpool last season (and strange double-fingered celebration) was one of the most memorable goals of the campaign, but it was just his simple brand of uncompromising defending that endeared the Tiger Nation to him. That element of controlled clogging still remains within this season's McShane, but control in other areas has been absent.

Brown shook up the side with substitutions when the Tigers were chasing the game at Burnley and McShane was taken off. He responded by throwing his drinks bottle angrily across the shale area near the dugout and even though Brown didn't see it, there is no hiding place when the cameras are around. McShane has not started a game since - until tonight.

Mendy hasn't an ounce of McShane's defensive ability, and lacks greatly in common sense when playing at right back. But he is dynamite going forward, unlike McShane. A hybrid of the two would be almost ideal, which is possibly why another right back may yet be in Brown's sights when January comes round. In the meantime, with Mendy in his suit and tie on the sidelines, McShane's mission to regain form and faith gets underway against Everton tonight. He needs to grab it.

Keep on keeping on

So, the next hurdle in the one-man rescue mission currently being undertaken by Jimmy Bullard will, hopefully, be leapt tomorrow night.

Hull City are at home to Everton and it will show us if Bullard is fit enough to play a full 90 minutes in midweek after a strenuous weekend match.

The gut instinct here is that he is, simply because he hasn't looked completely shattered after either the Stoke City victory, or the draw three days ago against West Ham United. The fortnight's break after Stoke will also have helped him too and maybe City can force two big displays from him while making sure there is enough cotton wool for him in between.

It's not just the Everton game we have to consider, of course; the Tigers go to Manchester City on Saturday and with the (very) recent history of fixtures and events at Eastlands, every important player needs to be available to Phil Brown.

The ideal scenario is that City, buoyed by recent upturns in form and fortune, get into a winning position against an off-message, injury-hit Everton and Bullard can be sacrificed with 20 minutes to go. However, in a tighter match, there needs to be enough in Bullard's tank to get him through the full match.

Bullard mustn't overdo it, but only Bullard himself can decide just how much work he is able to put in. Judging by the gleeful, high-speed way he dashed to the bench in celebration of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's 91st minute winning goal against Stoke, he is in a physical position to run himself into the ground for the cause, and if he can last a frenetic 90 minutes against Stoke after barely no football for ten months, then he can probably manage a second 90 against Everton merely four days after doing the full shift against West Ham.

His natural enthusiasm and burning desire to make up for lost time will also aid his cause to keep playing. And that is very handy - and very timely.

Show us your Marney

And so the debate about the enigma of Dean Marney takes a new twist.

Very quietly, Marney has worked his way towards senior status in the Tigers squad, with this his fourth season at the club and yet still he has not convinced the majority of Hull City supporters.

Marney isn't a figure of out-and-out hate at all; but he does frustrate and bemuse vast quantities of the Tiger Nation. Yet now, with Jimmy Bullard finally fit to take on the creative responsibilities previously laid at Marney's door, there could be a breakthrough for the talented ex-Spurs player.

The workrate of Marney has always been his saviour. Once it became apparent that the famous goal he scored as a teenager for Tottenham Hotspur against Everton was more of a rod for his back than a sign of things to come, his energy became his main contribution to the team's cause.

Yet with his running and eternal willingness to take the ball came a disappointing lack of accuracy, sometimes with his passing but almost always with his shooting.

Marney hasn't scored a goal for the Tigers for 18 months. And that was a penalty. He has only really come close to a Premier League goal twice since promotion - when he hit the post at, of all places, Tottenham in October last year; and when he put a one-on-one chance inches wide at Chelsea in the New Year.

For as long as Marney had to fill a role of craft as well as graft, the Tiger Nation ended up being disappointed by his achievements. Rarely is his effort questioned, regularly is his effectiveness. He has supporters on his back at times, yet for 90 per cent of a match he is collecting the ball, playing it simple and maintaining possession. It's when he shoots from distance or tries a slightly ambitious ball that he comes unstuck, and with the patience for which all tunnel-visioned fans are not renowned, the previous good work means nothing and the one bad effort incurs all their venom.

And so enter Bullard.

Once again, the return of this fantastic footballer seems to have galvanised team-mates on both a collective and individual basis. The wide players have someone able to feed them on the overlap; Geovanni can spread his runs without having to drop back; the centre forwards can feed off good slide rule passes and balls from deep with their back to goal.

And Marney can concentrate on what he does best. Against West Ham United, he did just that.

With Bullard now doing the resourceful stuff, Marney's role as an energiser and a bit of hard-running glue that links midfield to attack can flourish. He is good at this, and every team needs someone of this ilk.

Marney still got a fair bit of the ball and yes, sometimes a harder pass didn't quite make it, and there was one shot in the first half that flew its usual few feet wide. But the player's confidence - aided by his recall after Seyi Olofinjana came back from international duty with a sore hamstring - seemed to have grown and flowered, thanks entirely to the presence of Bullard alongside him.

The brilliance of Bullard might just be the catalyst for Marney's long-awaited growth into the midfield battler role. Every team needs one, and for a while when City were beating all and sundry in the autumn of 2008, Marney was doing just that. As long as he keeps the passes simple and the shooting to a minimum (or, preferably, spends hours and hours on distant shooting practice after training each day) then he would appear to be Bullard's best available partner right now.

13: Hull City 3 - 3 West Ham United - 21/11/2009

This was one of the craziest games for a long time. Early on, Phil Brown looked doomed, then his players dragged him from the mess before the break before clinging on to a point after going down to ten men. Entertaining, compelling stuff, yet one suspects neither manager will be happy.

West Ham United, below City in the table, were two up in the first quarter of an hour and will be both livid and bewildered by their inability to hang on to that lead. But from that emerges a story of players really feeling for their manager, and though the 3-2 lead the Tigers acquired by the interval was improbable, it detailed the utter commitment felt by the players and Brown should be proud and flattered by that.

He made one change thanks to Seyi Olofinjana's hamstring injury, preferring the industry and distributive skills of Dean Marney to the slightly more one-dimensional spoiling habits of George Boateng. Otherwise, it was as you were, meaning Geovanni had to be content with the bench while the argument continued between the need to accommodate your form player (and top scorer) and the necessity to keep a winning team together.

Valon Behrami had the first chance, putting an eight yard effort straight into Matt Duke's hands after a sluggish Tigers defence allowed too much space for a Hammers attack down the left. That chance was good; the next one was as spacious and, this time, taken well. Andy Dawson deflected a Carlton Cole shot out for a corner, from which a criminally unmarked Guillermo Franco headed in at the near post.

It was a shock, but City found a response. Jimmy Bullard volleyed goalwards from a cleared Stephen Hunt corner and after the drive was blocked, Jozy Altidore and Craig Fagan both had stabs at goal which were deflected and sent wide respectively. It was a cluster of chances that needed through one avenue to find the net, as the visitors were two up shortly afterwards.

Franco, wide and deep on the left, sent a speculative cross to the edge of the area where Jack Collison managed to get a head on it, and the looping ball foxed Duke entirely, arching over the advanced keeper's head and into the net. Unsurprisingly, the well-stocked away end went potty with this goal and Brown, frankly, was out of a job.

But something changed, and Brown helped by keeping his nerve and not making any tactical switches to try to alleviate the situation. The players maintained their composure and, after Richard Garcia's header from Marney's cross was pushed out by Robert Green, the game became a little tepid. Then, finally, City got back into it via the slice of fortune that a team usually doesn't get when it is really necessary.

A free kick was forced at an angle which Bullard chose to drive at goal. The ball hit one defender and spun into the ground before looping high over most of the throng of players, flicking another head and dropping into the West Ham net at the far corner. It was a comical free kick, with the extra touches making the effort go almost into slow motion, but those deflections took it to the one area Green couldn't reach, and City were back in it. Bullard's first goal for the club, assuming he has enough gall to claim it, and the first by an Englishman for the Tigers this season.

Marney then had a shot from distance which, as Marney shots do, flew wide; then the same player chipped a smartly angled ball to Altidore but Green smothered the chance at the American's feet. Bullard aimed a gorgeous ball to the overlapping Bernard Mendy which released the Frenchman with perfection, but Matthew Upson got across to block as he shaped to shoot.

Both centre backs then aimed headers wide from set-pieces - Kamil Zayatte from Bullard's free kick, then Anthony Gardner from Hunt's corner - before the anticipated equaliser arrived. Mendy won the free kick that Hunt swerved in deliciously, and Zayatte got goalside of his marker to thunder a near post volleyt home.

It's 2-2 and Brown seems secure again. There's work to be done still, but to be lvel after sucj a chronic beginning was satisfying enough as the break approached. However, we didn't reckon without Upson getting too friendly on Fagan's shoulders just inside the area and referee Mark Clattenburg giving a probably correct but certainly soft penalty. Bullard slammed home the kick, City's first for more than a year, and the half time whistle shrilled with City 3-2 to the good, having been 2-0 down, and the Tiger Nation making sure the stunned West Ham support were well aware of how they had rather spoiled a winning position.

The second half was made into a West Ham show within fewer than ten minutes after Mendy, dashing across to cover for the prostrate Zayatte, was a fraction too late with his tackle on the advancing Scott Parker and was rightly shown a red card. Junior Stanislas wasted the free kick but the dynamics of the game had evidently changed. Brown slung on Paul McShane for Garcia to make sure the hole in the defence vacated by a gutted Mendy was filled properly, and the Hammers took on a larger share of the possession.

Duke held at the second attempt a shot from Stanislas which took the keeper a bit by surprise, before Franco was scandalously allowed to stay on the park after chopping down Altidore when already on a booking, even though Clattenburg gave a free kick. West Ham forced a corner within a minute and Manuel Da Costa swiped in a far post shot after lame covering presented him with the chance; and quickly Franco was subbed, as if his manager knew he was playing with fire.

So, 3-3 and now the visitors looked more likely to win again. Brown took off the tiring but impressive Altidore - the lad is getting there but just needs a goal - and sent on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. But with Fagan forced wide by Mendy's dismissal, the Dutchman was alone at the top and given little opportunity to make an impact.

Gardner nearly let sub Luis Jimenez in when unaware of danger on the edge of his own box, and was lucky not to be punished as the shot hit the side netting. Brown let Geovanni loose in the final stages, withdrawing Hunt, but the Brazilian could do little as West Ham continued to put the squeeze on the Tigers, sensing victory was a real possibility. Cole headed a Julien Faubert cross over, then Collison's header via the same source was palmed away by Duke, who then was able to scramble to his feet and collect. The four minutes of added time petered out, with Geovanni trying one ridiculously long-range free kick which cannoned off a well assembled West Ham wall.

So, a 3-3 draw and everyone was exhausted. It wasn't a win but the nature of the comeback and the resilience shown upon losing a man showed all, but especially Adam Pearson, that there was life in Brown's regime yet. Draws are rarely pleasing, but given the calamitous start to the game and the disadvantage caused by Mendy's red card, it was a draw worth taking. And, of course, the madness was entertaining madness. Everton's visit on Wednesday night may not be so kindly, and Brown has big decisions to make yet again.

Hull City: Duke, Mendy, Dawson, Zayatte, Gardner, Marney, Bullard, Garcia (McShane 57), Hunt (Geovanni 85), Altidore (Vennegoor of Hesslink 73), Fagan. Subs not used: Myhill, Kilbane, Boateng, Barmby.

West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Gabbidon, Upson, Da Costa, Parker, Stanislas, Behrami (Hines 60), Collison, Franco (Jimenez 70), Cole. Subs not used: Kurucz, Spector, Ilunga, Kovac, Nouble.

Geovanni for the bench?

As we return to Premier League action this weekend with West Ham United's visit to the KC, only one real team selection issue seems to be on everyone's mind.

Will there be room for both Geovanni and Jimmy Bullard in the Hull City team?

The simple answer has to be yes, but it would also be neither a surprise nor a great injustice if Phil Brown opts to maintain the attacking line-up that began the victory against Stoke City, and therefore the superskilled Brazilian ends up on the bench.

This would be roaringly harsh on Geovanni, who missed the Stoke game through a suspension meticulously timed with Bullard's long-awaited full debut for the Tigers. We lost one sparkling imp of creativity but gained another.

And this is where the dilemma grasps the manager. Bullard can do all of Geovanni's visionary stuff and more. It's hard to separate the two of them as mercurial talents, so maybe the prospect of two of them - especially in what is essentially an early-season relegation six-pointer - starting the game seems a little far-fetched.

However, although Geovanni's last game was in an unusually deep position, he is best suited to being further forward than Bullard, playing as a schemer and roamer behind a main centre forward. If Brown were to maintain Geovanni's licence to do as he pleases but try to keep the Brazilian further forward, there should be a place for him.

Bullard's inclusion is a no-brainer. Yet because of this, Geovanni's role is somehow threatened. And yet you could look back to January, when Bullard signed on the dotted line, and simply lick your lips at the prospect of the two of them playing together. Such a likelihood seems a little more unsure now.

Aside from the compatibility of the two, the question would also arise as to which of Craig Fagan and Jozy Altidore would need to make way, especially as both played their best games of the season and, by definition in Altidore's case, his best game for the club so far. To drop either, even when informed that it's to accommodate City's finest performer of the season so far, would be a riotous injustice. Fagan's relationship with his manager is already strained, whereas Altidore's continued need to come to terms with the English game and build his confidence can only be achieved through selection from the start. We can rule out Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink - seven minutes on the park doesn't earn him the right to replace either striker, even though he did score the winning goal against Stoke during that brief time on show.

Brown probably has to make one change, as Seyi Olofinjana returned from duty with Nigeria with a tight hamstring. It could herald a remarkable return for George Boateng, who was turning down a loan to a Championship club a mere three weeks ago, or the prospect of Dean Marney's energy, industry, heart and total paucity of end product accompanying Bullard down the middle.

Of the gutted Irish trio, two aren't in the starting XI right now anyway, and although other Premier League managers claim they will assess their Irish squad members' "mental state" before deciding whether to pick their charges who performed in Paris, somehow it doesn't seem feasible that a character like Stephen Hunt will have allowed the upset that to affect his club focus. He'll play.

The big question is about Geovanni though. Keep him off the teamsheet and the best player in City's side through the season is suddenly in danger of being frozen out after just one match of absence. But reinstate him and the two performers most in danger of losing out find themselves wondering what on earth they have to do in order to play football for Hull City.

We're sure that Brown is somehow relishing the niceness of the problem, as it's not often so many form players are available at once. His man-management talents need to be right on the button to get through this one. It's all that Bullard bloke's fault - and thank goodness for that.

Tigers in SA

No serving Hull City player has ever played at a World Cup finals. However, in these highfalutin, cosmopolitan times, a chance has come for a member of the current squad to make history.

The countries represented regularly by Richard Garcia, Kamel Ghilas and Seyi Olofinjana have all qualified. The presence of Australia, Algeria and Nigeria in next summer's finals gives one of these chaps, depending on selection and the order of fixtures, the chance to go on the club's record books forever.

And it really is about time. Until elevation to the Premier League, City's international involvement was restricted to players representing the home countries that rarely achieved anything - Wales and Northern Ireland have especially had their share of City stars over the years - and the odd colony, minuscule island group or Commonwealth nation.

It could have been more next summer but for the chronic bad luck suffered by the Republic of Ireland, robbing Kevin Kilbane, Paul McShane and Stephen Hunt of an opportunity. Other members of the City squad could go depending on an upsurge in their club form or, in the case of Jozy Altidore, a rubberstamping of a long term future at the KC.

Meanwhile, it's up to the players whose nations have qualified to make sure they stay fit and on form, but, initially, only for their club. The last thing we need is Olofinjana ducking out of 50-50s against Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City in case it ruins his World Cup dream...

As good as your last game

Every game currently feels like it could be Phil Brown's last in charge. With another struggler visiting the KC Stadium this weekend, it represents another opportunity for the beleaguered but battle-hardened City boss to prolong his welcome.

This blog called for Brown's head recently but is open to a rethink thanks to the new circumstances. Those circumstances can be summed up by three surnames - Duffen, Pearson and Bullard. They have, actively or passively, contributed to Brown's current status of a "wait and see" manager.

Had Paul Duffen still been here, Brown's future would have been rock solid but City would not have played against Stoke City as they did, as Brown would have been able to maintain his stand-off with a number of senior players and select the same old same old.

Adam Pearson's arrival and the instant, consequent rumours around Brown's future removed that safety net with quite a swish. Brown immediately picked a squad for the Stoke game that contained two of his three enemies within the playing staff. But, of course, he also got to pick Jimmy Bullard.

And ultimately, winning matches will be Brown's only saviour in the long term, and City look capable of doing that only if Bullard is fit and playing a part. It is a remarkable thing to conclude when the player has managed just one 90-minute performance thus far, but the evidence of that performance was concrete. City are a different side with him pressing the buttons. The win against Stoke was achieved rather late but still entirely on merit.

Duffen is still bleating in the press about his self-proclaimed achievements at the KC rather than acknowledging that he is now part of the club's history and moving on. Pearson, Brown and Bullard, however, are very much with the club, and the performances of one will largely dictate the actions of another in establishing the future of third. It feels almost like a soap opera, with the next edition against West Ham United this weekend.