Hull is for heroes as minnows thrive in Premier League

Ten years ago, Hull City were propping up the entire English football league with 91 other teams separating them from the summit of the top flight.

Incredibly, a decade later, the unfashionable team from the humble northern coastal town, are third in the Premier League, with only Chelsea and Liverpool above them. But it was a different story on October 9, 1998.

Then Hull were beaten 2-1 at home by Cardiff, a loss which left them a point adrift at the bottom of the old Third Division. Within weeks they had fallen nine points behind and relegation to the Conference was on the cards.

"It was pretty grim most of the time," former defender Ben Morley told the Press Association. "I think we were getting 4,000 at Boothferry Park (the club's old stadium).

"To have said we would be third in the Premier League 10 years from now would have been ludicrous."

Then manager Mark Hateley, the former England striker, was replaced by journeyman midfielder Warren Joyce who began engineering a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the embattled club.

They survived the drop that year but went close to folding in 2001 when they were locked out of Boothferry Park by former owner David Lloyd.

A boardroom takeover headed by Adam Pearson eventually eased their financial plight and the kickstart the club needed was delivered with the move to the council-owned KC Stadium in December 2002.

Three promotions followed and, with 25,000 sell-outs, the future is certainly looking bright.

"It is absolutely fantastic and they way things are going at the moment, they should make the most of it!" said Terry Dolan, who managed the club from 1991-97.

"One of the main differences is the new stadium, when they moved there things changed. The club is having the success now, and at least we kept the club going in those days."

Source: AFP