Hull City debutant George Boyd was bright light on dark day at Bolton
IN THE thankless pursuit of positives from Hull City's disastrous afternoon at the Reebok Stadium, the eye was drawn primarily to the relentless backing of 1,500 travelling fans.
Their unwavering support made light of the defensive car crash they had watched unfold, but for the shell-shocked there was at least one cause for optimism.
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Breath of fresh air: George Boyd made his Hull City debut at Bolton
Saturday's trip to Bolton brought the debut of George Boyd.
Signed on an emergency loan from Peterborough 48 hours earlier, the playmaker was handed a 30-minute role to begin life as a Tiger off the substitutes' bench.
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Although the outcome could not be rescued, boss Steve Bruce called Boyd "a breath of fresh air" to liven up an otherwise flat City attack.
Gedo, a scorer in three consecutive games, and Robert Koren were anonymous figures for an hour, and the introduction of Boyd and Jay Simpson belatedly gave Bolton something to think about.
Boyd, in particular, demanded attention. A technically astute figure, he craved possession in dangerous areas to probe and examine the home side's defence.
None of his stylish contributions led to a lifeline, but City suddenly have a forward in their ranks with few thoughts in his mind other than to make things happen.
Boyd arrives with a proven pedigree in the Championship. Even in a struggling Peterborough side he has scored 15 goals in his last two seasons when used in a withdrawn attacking role similar to that often held at the KC by Koren.
The 27-year-old's talents were undeniable six days ago when he bid farewell to Peterborough in style. Three assists and a goal made him the star of the show as Posh beat Millwall 5-1 at the Den on the same night City dismantled Blackburn.
It was the Tigers' brilliance against Michael Appleton's side that convinced Bruce to stick with a winning formula heading to Bolton and the sole reason Boyd had to make do with a place on the bench.
Now comes the conundrum that will be debated all week.
If Boyd is to earn a first start when Birmingham arrive this Saturday, who is to make way?
Bruce ducked the question after the defeat to Bolton, preferring to extol the value of Boyd's versatility across the attacking line.
However, it seems as though either Koren or Corry Evans will be most fearful of their places.
Koren is the natural like-for-like option and Bruce showed no mercy when axing his erratic skipper for the visit of Charlton last weekend.
Evans is another to have fallen in and out of favour and his role could be filled by David Meyler in a re-jigged midfield accommodating both Koren and Boyd.
No matter, City have a fresh face capable of providing impetus for the final dozen fixtures.
7 Comments
by adolfo
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 8:46AM
“Koren has many times been the saviour of city, it is sad though how, after a couple of bad games, he is being jettisoned....I think more to the point that what ever has or is happening to Koren, it looks as though he has an internal problem not eligned to football, which he needs to sort out.....This is how he went at West Brom...his skill and application just deserted him, it was later suggested he had a poblem with the then manager,and playing in a different position from central midfield...which is happening once again”
by BigBillyBilly
Monday, February 25 2013, 11:59PM
“Must endorse wezzytiger,although I expect Robert Koren could jog home after a game,whilst you would be in more immediate need of a taxi if attempting the same.
Koren is not a spent force at all,but at 31 City needed someone to be creative between midfield and attack,and at 27 Boyd is ready to do that job for more than 1 season in the Premier League.Great signing,we're lucky to have him and with just a little luck he'll feel lucky too in 12 games time,and show Sky Sports just how good he is next season in the top tier.
While I wouldn't say I have every confidence,I do think Watford will now start to feel the pressure.We have every chance,and have had a really bad result which won't happen again between now and May.Here's hoping we win the scrap for automatic.”
by DeeGee13
Monday, February 25 2013, 9:20PM
“Sounds like the real deal, this guy.
Saturday's result hurt like hell, but some other teams have taken a right old pasting recently conceding 5 or 6; look at Millwall's as mentioned in this article, and they were at home!
Huddersfield let in 10 in 2 games.
It's behind us now; 3 points on Saturday hopefully.”
by wezzytiger
Monday, February 25 2013, 5:33PM
“Taxi for Koren......time for the boyd to link with Gedo........Koren has been anonymous for many games this season now at last someone who can do his role much much better with an end product. Boyd must start with Gedo in front of him OMG !!!!!!! all of a sudden i think we really have the options up front to smash one or two teams and sort our goal difference out.”
by verbalkint1
Monday, February 25 2013, 3:56PM
“should have being on far earlier, Koren was very poor again, hopefully SB will not play him up front anymore.”
by Sport_Trader
Monday, February 25 2013, 1:51PM
“Personally I'd rest Evans & Koren and bring in Fahti, even if only for an hour, and Boyd. Using Meyler as a defensive midfielder would be a complete waste as far as I can see.”
by Tiger_Adam
Monday, February 25 2013, 12:44PM
“Looked fantastic on a bad day, can't wait to see him play again oh well on wards and up wards UTT!”