Watch out Manchester United, here come Hull City!

Filed in archive Championship 2007-08 on May 25, 2008

What a fantastic performance it was by hull City. Phil Brown's side, in the bottom tier of English football just four years ago, beat Bristol City 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday to claim their place with football's elite next season. A game worth sixty million pounds was worth so much more than that to Brown, the players and the fans.

Hull City have never before been to the top division and only a few years ago they were locked out of their ground by the bailiffs as the club looked to be on it's last legs. They have performed miracles at the club and they thoroughly deserve their chance in the big time.

The fact is that Hull City may well have an experience similar to the one endured by Derby County this season, but that should not matter at this moment. The celebrations will go on for many days to come and so they should. Local boy and local legend Dean Windass scored the goal that won promotion. It was a fine goal, created by the young and exciting Fraizer Campbell on loan from Manchester United, and finished in great style by the thirty-nine year old striker.

If you had tried to write a script for the final, it wouldn't have been far away from the reality.

Whilst the players and fans will be celebrating, Phil Brown and his board of directors will be looking to see how they can avoid 'doing a Derby'. How much money can they spend without bankrupting the club if they were to go straight back down. It's a tough time, and one that has proved too much for many clubs entering the Premiership.

The club is well run and Phil Brown is a 'canny' manager. They have a great ground, some fine young players and a wonderful fan base. I've just a suspicion that they might just be able to survive in the big league. It'll be tough, but I think they've got everything in place to give it a good go.

Well done to Hull City, commiserations to Bristol City. Both teams should be very proud of their achievements but both teams will have a very hard season ahead of them. It may prove even harder for Bristol City to mount another promotion challenge than it will for Hull City to survive in the Premier League.