Premier League club, Hull City, have confirmed that Phil Brown has been relieved of all duties as the club’s manager.

Brown was struggling to keep Hull in a competitive position in the Premier League table and it seems the time has come for the side to move on in a last bid attempt to try and prevent relegation.

Brown had managed the club for a long period of time and had seen the club survive in the Premier League when many people expected them to go down last time around.

A statement read: “Hull City AFC confirms that Phil Brown has been relieved of his managerial duties at the club and has been placed on gardening leave with immediate effect. Brian Horton and Steve Parkin will take charge of first-team duties until further notice.”

“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Phil for the major success achieved during a period of four seasons in charge at the club and wish him every success for the future.”

“Promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and retention of our status on the last day of the 2009 season are unique events in the history of Hull City AFC and both were achieved under Phil’s stewardship during a period which will never be forgotten by all connected with the club.”

“However, retention of Premier League status is paramount and the board believes that a change in managerial direction is the correct option at this time. The club will complete supporters up-to-date in respect of any managerial appointment but, in the meantime, Brian Horton and Steve Parkin will prepare the team for our important game at Portsmouth next Saturday.”

Hull are a club that has a very big fan base and is unfortunate to be struggling in the Premier League. However, this is just the way of the world as many newly promoted clubs often see off relegation and then get relegated in the very next season. Just ask Reading.

The search for a permanent manager has already started and it may be some time before a new appointment is made. This is because the club want to get the next decision right and they may have already accepted the fact that relegation is a certainty.

This means a new boss may be better served if he comes in after the current season and looks to build Hull back up as a club. A number of players could leave as they have previously said that Brown is the only reason they were there in the first place.

The club just need to sit back for a little bit and then move onto the next manager who should be able to guide them in the right direction. Once they have done this they can come back at the Premier League in a much stronger and exciting fashion, which will impress and deceive many.

You’ve got to hand it to Alex Ferguson, the man knows how to do business when it comes to selling players. No, I’m not talking about Cristiano Ronaldo’s inevitable £80m move to Real Madrid, I’m talking about Fraizer Campbell’s potential £6m move to Hull City.

What exactly has this young striker done to warrant a £6m price tag? Tigers fans will be quick to point out the 15 Championship goals he netted for them whilst on loan at the KC stadium in their promotion winning season of 07/08. The key word here is “Championship.”

There’s a world of difference between the top two divisions, and realistically Hull City need a striker who is capable of close to 15 Premier League goals if they are to stand a chance of beating the drop next year.

Phil Brown’s men were brought back down to earth in the second half of last season as their dreamland period of overachieving came abruptly to an end come the turn of the year.

Brown can’t have too much of a transfer budget at his disposal, and using the majority of it to buy a striker who has only ever scored 1 Premier League goal is a risk I’m not sure will come off.





It may seem like buttons compared to the Ronaldo deal, but Ferguson will be laughing all the way to the bank with his £6m on top of the staggering figure Madrid look set to pay for the Portuguese forward.

Some might say that Campbell was not given the opportunity to show what he can do at Tottenham, but ask any Spurs fan and they’ll tell you he wasn’t good enough to merit a run in the side.

I’m fond of Hull so I hope I’m proved wrong, but I can’t see the England U21 international hitting double figures next season and unless they invest in the rest of the team to provide him with service, I feel they’re doomed.

So who else could the Yorkshire club set their sights on instead of Campbell? Well, Kevin Doyle is on the market and would command a similar fee. The Irishman has two full seasons experience in the Premier League with Reading, hitting 19 goals in the process. He surely would have broken the 20-goal barrier had his second season not been marred by injury as the Royals sunk back down to the Championship.

Doyle has proved his ability at the top however, unlike Campbell, and really should seem the more attractive option for Brown. The other aspect is that he is a proven Championship goalscorer with 37 over his two seasons in that division. So, should Hull land Doyle and he is unable to save them from the Premiership’s drop, they’ll know they can rely on him to lead their firing line in a bid to come back up.

Another option for Hull could be…dare I say it…Michael Owen. The former England international has been cruelly written off by many as finished. Am I alone in thinking he still has a lot to offer? With Aston Villa and Everton mulling over a decision whether to take him on or not, the opportunity for Hull, or indeed any other clubs expecting to fight relegation, is there for the taking.

The 29-year-old must be rueing the day he left Liverpool for Real Madrid as his career has spiralled toward the scrapheap and his best days are almost certainly behind him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do a job.

I don’t blame the bigger clubs for looking twice at him, but it’s the lower clubs who could be missing out on a bargain. He comes on a free and is reportedly already resigned to taking a massive pay cut.

If Hull could persuade him to sign a two year £40k a week deal it would cost the club just over £4m. To me that represents better value than a £6m for someone who has played just 12 Premier League games, despite the age difference.

Other options include Jason Scotland and Ross McCormack who each netted more goals than Campbell did in his sole season in the Championship. However, neither boast Premiership experience and if they command a similar price tag it would represent just as much of a gamble as Campbell seems.

The last time Fergusons offloaded an unwanted striker for £6m was his sale of forgotten man Alan Smith. During Man Utd’s ‘transitional’ phase, which included the flop signings of Eric Djemba-Djemba and Brazilian Kleberson, Ferguson attempted to change Smith’s position from striker to midfielder.

Whilst the former England international always tried his best in a Man Utd shirt, which the fans at least appreciated, it wasn’t good enough. Upon returning to his natural striking role he rather embarrassingly forgot where the net was and his career has plunged into a crisis ever since.

Despite netting just 7 Premier League goals in over 60 games for Man Utd, Smith still managed to conjure up a £6m price tag upon his move to the professional’s graveyard that is Newcastle United.

The now 28-year-old Smith still awaits his first Newcastle league goal after two full seasons at St. James’ Park. Smith must now ply his trade in the Championship with Newcastle as it looks unlikely that any Premier League outfit will give him another chance at the top. To be fair, he hardly warrants one.

How Ferguson managed to scrape £6m out of Newcastle for a player he scuppered so much that no one even knows what position he is anymore is beyond me. But again, you have to credit his shrewd business in selling unwanted players, he has a history of pulling off a deal which favours United rather than the buying club.

Kieran Richardson, who played just 41 games in 5 years at Old Trafford somehow amassed a £5.5m transfer fee. There are too many examples in which to get through, but the point is I fear Campbell is the next in line and cannot live up to his price tag, I fear he could end up playing his best days in the Championship.

D-Day has nearly arrived for Newcastle United and Hull City, as both teams will fight to avoid relegation on Sunday. Newcastle face a tricky tie against Aston Villa while Hull will take on the once again crowned Premier League champions, Manchester United.

Sunday looks set to be the biggest day the Premier League has ever seen, as the stakes have never been higher. Relegation could mean millions while survival from the jaws of defeat could mean consolidation for either of the clubs.

Preparation is not going as planned for Newcastle who have both first choice full backs out of action. Habib Beye and Jose Enrique are both carrying injuries, which means they are highly doubtful to play any part in the bid for Newcastle’s survival.

Michael Owen is looking to pass a late fitness test and Alan Smith has now fully recovered from a thigh injury. Sebastian Bassong and Joey Barton are both still suspended.

Aston Villa could name key player Ashley Young in their starting line up who has been struggling with a calf problem. Right back, Luke Young, will not play, which could mean that James Milner has to take a step back from midfield and fill in the position.

The likely outcome for the match will be a draw. Newcastle will get stuck in from the very first blow of the whistle but Aston Villa could prove to be too high quality opposition.

For Hull City’s game with United, Kamil Zayatte and Bernard Mendy could play after missing out last week, hence they have been given time and space to fully recover. Caleb Folan could start as Manucho is not allowed to play against the club he is on loan from.

Who Sir Alex Ferguson will play to wear the red shirt of United is a mystery. However, it is highly unlikely, owing to the amount of respect in the league, that United will field a reserve side. They should use a combination of raw youth and experienced players that would be capable of winning any football match.

Whoever comes out on Monday with their Premier League status in tact will be the team that simply wanted it more. Both sides will have to fight from the off and hope that should they both win, Sunderland slip up and end up with egg on their faces as they would then take the last spot back down to the Championship.

The managers are also likely to play a big part in proceedings. On the one hand Phil Brown of Hull City is a lot more experienced than Alan Shearer. He will have a very deliberate game plan in mind of how to defend against United and then counter. A point would be a good result for Hull but it would mean that they are then hoping that results go their way.

Alan Shearer has the advantage of guaranteed inspiration. He is a Newcastle legend and should have no problems at all in getting his pre-match message across to the players. A betting man would steer clear of this weekend but it is why we love the game so much.

UEFA has started disciplinary action against Chelsea following the club’s actions at the end of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona a couple of weeks ago.

It appears that the club, along with players Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba, will have to answer for their behaviour after the match on May 6th, and will then be dealt with on June 17th.

For anybody who’s not familiar with the events, Chelsea went tumbling out of the Champions League after Barcelona scored in injury time on their only shot of the game to go through to the finals on the away goals rule. Neither team was happy with Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, who was brutal throughout the match. Ovrebo sent off Barcelona’s Eric Abidal and then proceeded to turned away several legitimate penalty claims from Chelsea, including a handball in the box on the last kick of the game.

The players’ frustration got them better of them understandably when the final whistle blew as they surrounded Ovrebo to argue and Drogba swore into the television cameras to say Ovrebo’s performance was a disgrace.

Bosingwa was charged because after the game he said: ”I don’t know if he’s a referee or a thief. I don’t have any words to describe that man that was on the pitch. We have nothing against Barcelona’s goal but the penalties that he didn’t give us and his way of managing the game weren’t right at all. This referee should never referee a game again. What happened was a disgrace. It was a well contested game but the referee came to spoil our game,”

Bosingwa retracted those comments the next day though.

Drogba might be suspended for about five games for telling the truth, will probably be handed a stiff fine. The club itself will also face a substantial financial penalty.

In other Chelsea news, England midfielder Frank Lampard has become the first Chelsea player to win the club’s Player of the Year award for a third time. Lampard also won it in 2004 and 2005. Michael Essien’s left-foot volley at home to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, was voted Chelsea’s Goal of the Season by supporters.

England left-back Ashley Cole won the Samsung Players’ Player of the Year. The Young Player of the Year award was presented to English youngster Michael Mancienne, who turned 21 and made his Chelsea first-team debut this season. Mancienne’s a defender and an England Under-21 regular. He also received a call-up to the senior squad during the season.

Back to the  disciplinary front, the English  Football Association said that Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas won’t face  any action over an alleged of spitting incident where Hull City’s assistant manager Brian Horton was supposedly spat at following an FA Cup tie with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on March 17.

Fabregas was injured for the match, but joined his team mates on the pitch at the final whistle. Hull manager Phil Brown accused him of spitting during a TV interview after the game. Fabregas denied the incident and the FA have let it drop as there is no evidence that it ever took place.

In off field news, Everton has signed defenders Phil Jagielka and Joseph Yobo to new five-year contracts with the club.

Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips will miss England’s World Cup qualifying games against Kazakhstan, and Andorra on June 6th and 10th due to a knee injury. Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing will also miss the games as he’s out for the next three months because of a foot operation. Goalkeeper David James of Portsmouth is also out of action for the games.

Manchester United have been given permission by the Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, to field a weakened team in their Premier League match this weekend against Hull City.

United will have one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League final and will not want to risk injury to any of their big name stars ahead of such an important game. The news will not be welcomed by Newcastle United and Sunderland who were both hoping a full strength United side would give them a better chance of Premier League survival by beating Hull out of sight.

In a match where Hull simply must win in order to stay up, a weakened United side could be no match for the determination and aggression on display and if Hull get something from the game then the finger will be pointed at both Sir Alex Ferguson and the Premier League.

Scudamore said: “You can’t alter the fact they’ve won the league and they’ve got the most significant game the following Wednesday against Barcelona. You have to be realistic: they’ve got a squad, and therefore you can’t argue that they deploy the benefit of that squad in a game on Sunday.”

“They are the most professional of professional football clubs. Sir Alex Ferguson’s going to put a team out that he intends to win that game on Sunday.”

It’s a fair enough point when you consider the players that have stepped in at various points for United during the season in order to get them impressive victories. Let it not be forgotten that United nearly beat Everton in an FA Cup semi-final with a side that would not have looked out of place in a reserves game.

The reason this news is so significant is because there is so much hanging on the relegation battle. Whoever goes down could see their finances hit by losing any where in the region of £30-£60 million, a figure that could dent the immediate future of any club.

The elevn players that trot out for United will win comfortaby if they all click and play as well as they can do, this is for the simple reason that even the majority of fringe players in the United squad are probably better than Hull’s first team. Ferguson will be criticised whichever side he picks, there is no doubt about that. He won’t want Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney or any other of his big name stars getting hurt in what is a meaningless match for them.

Whatever happens remains to be seen but Ferguson is a man who is old and wise enough to respect that circumstances of other clubs. He will not put out a side of youngsters just to protect his better players, he will pick a side to win the match and will jump up and down on the sideline in order to get them to do so.

Hull will no doubt be bouyed by the fact that they will not face a full strength United side, but it will still be a hard game and massive proposition for them.

Another huge English Premier League weekend kicks off on Saturday (April 25th) with the biggest games being league leaders Manchester United taking on ninth-place Tottenham Hotspur at old Trafford. Liverpool will be hoping United slip up while they travel over to 16th place Hull, who are only three points above the relegation zone. Liverpool will again be without their injury-prone skipper Steven Gerrard. Third-place Chelsea, who seem to be out of the title race now, will visit seventh-place West Ham in a London derby.

At the other end of the table, last place West Brom are at home to 16th spot Sunderland, second-last Newcastle, who are fighting to survive in the EPL take on 14th place Portsmouth in a huge match on Monday, 18th place Middlesbrough will have their hands full in London when they play Arsenal on Sunday, and 17th place Blackburn will try to keep afloat by taking on 11th place Wigan in Manchester.

There’s quite a bit of news of the pitch in England too as Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi has been banned from driving for 15 months for drinking and driving. The 21-year-old was stopped in London on Jan. 24th. His teammate Frank Lampard got into a heated on-air argument with a radio DJ as Lampard was being criticized on air about his personal life. Lampard phoned the station and went at it with the DJ in a 15-minute rant.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been charged with improper conduct by the FA over a spitting incident during a fifth round FA Cup tie with hull at the Emirates Stadium on March 17th. Fabregas allegedly spit at Hull’s assistant manager Brian Horton after the game in which Fabregas didn’t even dress for. Hull manager Phil Brown was also charged for his tirade at referee mike riley in the same game. Brown and Fabregas have until May 12 to respond to the charges.

The pitch at Wembley is to be dug up again and replaced after the sorry state it was in for last weekend’s FA Cup semi finals. The multi-purpose venue hasn’t had a good pitch since it opened two years ago, so a different type of turf will be used this time to see if it does the trick.

Over in Italy, Inter Milan striker Adriano got his wish as the club ripped up his contract. Brazilian international Adriano failed to return to Italy after a World Cup qualifier for Brazil earlier this month and the 27-year-old, who has suffered personal problems in the last few years said he wanted to take a break from football.

In France, Marseille captain Lorik Cana received a one-game ban after being sent off following a battle with Lorient’s Arnaud Le Lan in last weekend’s Ligue 1 match. The two players went at it on the pitch after arguing over a throw-in in the 88th minute of the game. Cana will now miss the league leader’s visit to Lille on Sunday.

In Spain seventh-place Atletico Madrid’s European hopes for next season were damaged yesterday (April 23rd) as they were hammered 5-1 at Racing Santander in the Primera Division.