Hull City are one of the most perplexing teams in the Championship at the moment.
Since being relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016/17 season, Tigers fans haven’t had too much to get excited about, only finishing higher than 13th place on one occasion.
This occasion was the 2023/24 season, where Liam Rosenior absolutely transformed the club, taking them from 20th when he arrived, all the way up to 7th, narrowly missing out on the play off places by only three points.
Despite this vast improvement and signing a new contract mid-season, Rosenior was dismissed.
This decision certainly raised some eyebrows, but some were understanding of it given the quality of some of the players at his disposal, such as loan stars Liam Delap and Tyler Morton.
Former Stuttgart and Hamburg boss Tim Walter was bought in to try and build on what Rosenior had left behind.
Unfortunately, with last season’s impressive loanees no longer at the club, combined with some of their best players being sold, Walter couldn’t even make it to December before being sacked.
Reading manager Ruben Selles was then brought in to try and save the club who, at this point, were firmly in the midst of a relegation battle.
And amazingly, he pulled it off, staying up on the final day of the season on goal difference after a draw away against Portsmouth.
Despite achieving the very thing that he was brought in to do, Selles was sacked at the end of the season, much to the confusion of fans.
Sergej Jakirovic has now got the job for the start of the 2025/26 season, so how will he fare?
The Background And Style Of Play Of Sergej Jakirovic
Born in 1976, the Bosnian came through the ranks at Croatian side NK Neretva Metkovic before making his senior debut for the club in 1995.
The defensive midfielder would enjoy a playing career spanning two decades before retiring. In terms of his managerial pedigree, it is difficult to judge.
He started his managerial career in the second division of Croatia ahead of the 2017/18 season.
His highest profile job to date is by far and away Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb, whom he managed for the 2023/24 season but was dismissed at the start of the following season after a 9-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League league phase.
Additionally, he has managed in Turkey, Slovenia and his native Bosnia.
Notably he doesn’t stay at one club for very long.
Of the seven teams he has been in charge of to date, the most games he has managed is 77, with him managing two sides for less than twenty games each.
This implies that this is not the man for the job if Hull are looking for a long-term appointment.
In terms of his style of play, Jakirovic favours an attacking, energetic approach, with a high, intense press.
This is not too dissimilar from the attacking style of Tim Walter, and we know how that went.
Incomings/Outgoings At Hull City
Perhaps his preferred style is why veteran forward Joao Pedro was allowed to leave club, despite only recently having his contract extended.
One player the club is seemingly keen on is promising midfielder Oscar Zambrano.
The Ecuadorian midfielder joined Hull on loan at the start of last season with an option to make the move permanent.
However, after only eight appearances, he was handed a doping ban, which won’t be up until later this year.
This is certainly one to keep an eye on.
He is clearly a player with a lot of potential but bringing him back into the squad mid-season after a long time away is certainly a risk.
Other incomings include midfielder Gustavo Puerta’s loan deal being made permanent and experienced centre back Semi Ajayi on a free transfer from West Brom.
Former Bristol City and Charlton Athletic manager Dean Holden has also just joined the club as assistant head coach. He has also worked in Turkey previously.
Our Thoughts
Time and time again we must question why Hull continue to keep taking these seemingly unnecessary risks even when they have very capable managers at their disposal.
Liam Rosenior, currently the manager of Strasbourg, has taken the French side from a 13th place finish last season under Patrick Viera, to 7th and therefore Conference League football with the youngest squad and average starting XI in the recorded history of Europe’s top five leagues.
Ruben Selles has been chosen to replace Chris Wilder at Sheffield United, after the Blades failed to return to the Premier League last season.
Meanwhile Tim Walter hasn’t had a job since being relieved of his duties at Hull.
Perhaps it is a risk that will pay off. We’ve seen the likes of Marti Cifuentes and other relative unknowns in this league have moderate success.
On the other hand, Sergej Jakirovic has never managed in the Championship before, and his appointment is seemingly a repeat of what Hull tried to do last season which didn’t work.
So how will Jakirovic fair in his first season in the Championship?
One thing for sure is that he will have to do very well, as ‘good’ seemingly isn’t good enough for Hull’s higher ups these days.
