More than a few eyebrows were raised when Bryan Hughes was among the 18 names scribbled on the teamsheet against Wigan Athletic. Injury to George Boateng had allowed Dean Marney an early promotion to the starting XI and this meant there was room for one more central midfielder on the bench, and it was Hughes who got the nod.
An experienced campaigner, Hughes was nonetheless little better than average throughout the promotion campaign. He was viewed, correctly, as an astute and quality signing when Phil Brown snapped him up on a free after Charlton Athletic, freshly relegated and about to stain the Championship with levels of gamesmanship previously thought impossible, decided to free him.
With him came considerable experience of the big occasion, having played in major showpiece events for Birmingham City in the earlier part of the decade. A calm and calculating figure in the centre of the park, he was a ballplayer who could spread the play and dictate the pace of the game.
Unfortunately, he was largely underwhelming and, occasionally, embarrassing in his lack of application. There were moments when he ruled matches, but these were few and far between, and once Jay Jay Okocha had arrived his nose seemed to be pushed considerably from its joint.
Hughes spent some time on the left wing, fitting his square peg in the round hole after Phil Brown sought ways to cover for Henrik Pedersen's perennial injury troubles that didn't involve picking fallen hero Stuart Elliott.
For all this, Hughes' biggest problem was himself. When he did play - and knocks to Okocha and Pedersen allowed him opportunities aplenty - he rarely dominated a game in the way a chap of his pedigree and skill should have been able so to do. Yet the crowd supported him throughout, as if they were trying to appreciate that he was adapting, he was new, he was being moved around too much. Marney, a younger and brighter midfielder, was never afforded the same courtesy.
Hughes scored one goal for Hull City last season; the final goal in a 5-0 pummeling of Southampton at the KC which the goalkeeper should have saved. His only other moment of memorability stemmed from a sickening smack to the head he took in the game against Blackpool at home. He was stretchered off unconscious and had two weeks out. His return was welcome on health grounds more than for any other reason.
As if to prove he was merely a big-game player, Hughes had solid matches in all three of the play-off encounters, but was only picked in the first place because of an injury to the luckless Marney. Hughes certainly should have felt fortunate as he reached a nadir in the final Championship match at Ipswich, when he wandered round embarrassingly for 90 minutes, head in the clouds, and with City still having a half-chance of automatic promotion if they could secure a victory. Ipswich won 1-0.
Hughes now is below Boateng and Marney, not to mention the skipper Ian Ashbee, for a central midfield spot, and after his ineffectual showing in the second string at Swansea City in the Carling Cup the other week, should be further down behind Ryan France too. His appearance on the bench for the Wigan game was down to an injury suffered by France, whose display alongside Hughes in the centre of the park at the Liberty put the more experienced campaigner to shame.
Hughes ultimately didn't get on the pitch for the Wigan match, and one has to wonder whether he will again with any frequency. For all his class and heritage, Bryan Hughes seems to be one of those players who has missed the Hull City boat.
An experienced campaigner, Hughes was nonetheless little better than average throughout the promotion campaign. He was viewed, correctly, as an astute and quality signing when Phil Brown snapped him up on a free after Charlton Athletic, freshly relegated and about to stain the Championship with levels of gamesmanship previously thought impossible, decided to free him.
With him came considerable experience of the big occasion, having played in major showpiece events for Birmingham City in the earlier part of the decade. A calm and calculating figure in the centre of the park, he was a ballplayer who could spread the play and dictate the pace of the game.
Unfortunately, he was largely underwhelming and, occasionally, embarrassing in his lack of application. There were moments when he ruled matches, but these were few and far between, and once Jay Jay Okocha had arrived his nose seemed to be pushed considerably from its joint.
Hughes spent some time on the left wing, fitting his square peg in the round hole after Phil Brown sought ways to cover for Henrik Pedersen's perennial injury troubles that didn't involve picking fallen hero Stuart Elliott.
For all this, Hughes' biggest problem was himself. When he did play - and knocks to Okocha and Pedersen allowed him opportunities aplenty - he rarely dominated a game in the way a chap of his pedigree and skill should have been able so to do. Yet the crowd supported him throughout, as if they were trying to appreciate that he was adapting, he was new, he was being moved around too much. Marney, a younger and brighter midfielder, was never afforded the same courtesy.
Hughes scored one goal for Hull City last season; the final goal in a 5-0 pummeling of Southampton at the KC which the goalkeeper should have saved. His only other moment of memorability stemmed from a sickening smack to the head he took in the game against Blackpool at home. He was stretchered off unconscious and had two weeks out. His return was welcome on health grounds more than for any other reason.
As if to prove he was merely a big-game player, Hughes had solid matches in all three of the play-off encounters, but was only picked in the first place because of an injury to the luckless Marney. Hughes certainly should have felt fortunate as he reached a nadir in the final Championship match at Ipswich, when he wandered round embarrassingly for 90 minutes, head in the clouds, and with City still having a half-chance of automatic promotion if they could secure a victory. Ipswich won 1-0.
Hughes now is below Boateng and Marney, not to mention the skipper Ian Ashbee, for a central midfield spot, and after his ineffectual showing in the second string at Swansea City in the Carling Cup the other week, should be further down behind Ryan France too. His appearance on the bench for the Wigan game was down to an injury suffered by France, whose display alongside Hughes in the centre of the park at the Liberty put the more experienced campaigner to shame.
Hughes ultimately didn't get on the pitch for the Wigan match, and one has to wonder whether he will again with any frequency. For all his class and heritage, Bryan Hughes seems to be one of those players who has missed the Hull City boat.
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