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39 min: Hadziahmetovic does well to send away Millar but James stands tall. He’s not a player easily beaten on physique.
38 min: Hull go on the counter, Hirakawa attacking at speed, only for Hato to do well in making the interception. Caicedo’s radar is ropey as he tries to find James, but they misread each other. Chelsea doing what they do too often, going right off the boil.
36 min: Garnacho has a dig, and the shot is blocked. Good organisation, Hull are being, well, Tigerish, in defence.
34 min: Andrey Santos stabs a ball forward but Hull’s defenders are reading the Chelsea’s forwards movement for the moment.
32 min: Simon Lane gets in touch: “Chelsea fan here, the way things are going I’m praying for more snow so the game gets called off. There’s no way we can defend this badly and miss chances like that without living to regret it.”
Hull have stuck to their task. Chelsea’s current form is shown by Liam Delap shanking a clearance into the Hull skyline. Has he put the wrong boots on?
30 min: Alan Shearer on the BBC comms, was incandescent with rage that Delap didn’t follow the ball in from that Phillips mistake.
29 min: Liam Delap is having a tough few minutes. Looked such a talent at Ipswich, and against Chelsea, too. The step up has not been easy, though he is a) young and b) has had untimely injuries.
27 min: Good chances at both ends, mostly via opponents’ errors. Liam Rosenior has taken off his glasses which reflects the visibility on offer.
25 min: Ian Maddison gets in touch: “Brazil have had Ronaldo and now they have Spoonaldo.”
Mark Cassidy gets in touch: “17th minute: What, in the sweet name of Jesus, is a pearling pass. Good Lord!”
It means it’s a good pass, Mark. It’s a metaphor. As Elvis Costello had it: “Diving for dear life, when we could be diving for pearls.”
24 min: The snow is coming down, and Liam Delap at least sees the funny side. A joke is shared with Paddy McNair.
22 min: Oh my, how do Chelsea not score? Liam Phillips, the Hull keeper, drops a rick, and that means an open goal for Liam Delap. The goal gapes but Delap deliberates and somehow the ball is cleared. That was poor from Delap, who had done the good work in blocking the kick, and he must have thought the ball was in. And yet…
21 min: Neto dithers as he sets off for goal, and is robbed by Slater. The two clash afterwards, and the ref has to stop them being so silly.
20 min: Tim Smith gets in touch: “Absolutely loving those comedy “shin” pads that Lewis Koumas is wearing. I mean, really, what’s the point? I know they are probably still mandated, but when they get this minuscule, surely the rule needs a looking at?”
18 min: This is more open than Liam Rosenior will be happy with. And the weather is rotten. Giles down the left has been the Hull danger man.
17 min: Chelsea open up Hull. Estevao controls a pearling pass from Caicedo, takes it down, turns and blams over. A bad miss. And worse, it’s started snowing in Hull.
16 min: Hull chance, Giles whips the ball in, and McCarthy goes close.
15 min: Acun Ilıcalı, Hull’s owner, looks on. He’s in a big coat, an expensive one. No t-shirt for him, like Evangelos Marinakis.
13 min: John Egan, of Ireland, and Paddy McNair, of Northern Ireland, are both having to be on their mettle. Both have plenty of experience. There was a time when McNair was a big prospect at Manchester United; he’s had a decent career, mind.
11 min: Chelsea assume full control of the ball. Estevao gets the ball in the box but his backheel finds a Tiger shirt…..and Koumas comes away, only to lose possession. Reece James dithers, and how close were Hull to scoring? Liam Miller digs the ball from the byline and Koumas cannot make the right connection. Cup football, end to end, marvellous.
9 min: Garnacho has a huge chance, but Phillips makes a fine save. Neto should score on the rebound, Caicedo set that up. Egan clears hurriedly. A let-off for Hull.
7 min: Liam Rosenior chews gum frantically, Not quite with Fergie fervour, but top-end mastication nonetheless. Hull are at least getting up the field.
5 min: Caicedo lays up Neto, in space, but the shot flies over.
4 min: Good noise from both sets of fans. Garnacho, who has much to prove, is another to make a leftward run. He gets the ball back eventually but his pass is poor.
2 min: Promising signs for Hull as Koumas shows off his skills down the left, and Coyle’s header loops up and lands in Robert Sanchez’s hands. Jason Koumas, Lewis’s dad, was such a talent, one of the great enigmas.
We're underway...
1 min: Good blast of Elvis before kick-off. And we begin with a long goalkeeper punt and a reminder of no VAR. More of a Sun Sessions than Las Vegas man here.
The players take to the field at MKM Stadium. It used to be the KC, and the wind can rattle through the place.
Hull have been a considerable talent school in recent years: Harry Maguire, Jarrod Bowen, Andy Robertson and lately Keane Lewis-Potter have all carved decent careers in the Premier League. Tom Cairney, too.
Liam Rosenior has FA Cup heritage, and played in this Wembley final classic in 2014. City were unlucky in this game, very unlucky.
Joe Pearson gets in touch: “You mentioned how Hull is clearly prioritizing their position in the Championship, rather than this FA Cup tie. I wonder which Championship team is going to send out the weaker side in the other match today between Wrexham and Ipswich. An all ball-boys 22 perhaps?”
The answer is five changes for Wrexham, and 10 for Ipswich.
Seven changes for Chelsea with Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro all stepping down. It still looks a pretty strong team though how cohesive will the starting team be?
Six changes, and with some regret for Hull, with the EFL a clear priority. Not much magic in a selection that drops Ivor Pandur, Charlie Hughes, John Lundstram, Joe Gelhardt, Oli McBurnie and Kyle Joseph.
But let’s see.
Liam Rosenior’s ties to Hull City run deep, as he told the BBC this week: “I’ve got an emotional family connection with the club through my grandma. I used to go up there when I was a little boy. I’m talking four or five years old on summer holidays all the way through. Without that football club, I wouldn’t be here now.
“She was a season ticket holder. She got to see me play there. Sadly she passed away pretty much a year to the day before I joined Hull as manager.”
Now, how does he pronounce the word “soap”?
First thing to say is that Hadziahmetovic will be tonight’s copy and paste player.
The teams
Hull: Phillips, Coyle, Egan, McNair, McCarthy, Giles, Hadziahmetovic, Slater, Hirakawa, Koumas, Millar. Subs: Pandur, Lunstram, Jacob, Drameh, Gerhardt, Joseph, Famewo, Dowell, Tinsdale
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Sarr, Hato, Caicedo, Santos, Neto, Estevao, Garnacho, Delap. Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Gusto, Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Fernandez, Derry, Joao Pedro, Mheuka
Last time out for Chelsea showed the slackness that has cost them this season.
Will Unwin
Will Unwin dug into Rosenior’s time at Hull.
Rosenior was popular at Hull, appreciated for his hard work as a player and for bringing back hope as a coach after a downturn. Many think he was harshly treated when sacked by the owner, Acun Ilicali, less than two years ago but it inadvertently sent Rosenior upwards.
Preamble
To Hull and back and all that, a familiar journey for Liam Rosenior, well thought of as Tigers manager until he was relieved of his duties in May 2024. The East Yorkshire/Humberside club – choose your local governmenr act – of Kingston upon Hull are riding high in the Championship, fourth place going into this weekend. Sergej Jakirović’s team took only one point from their last two matches or else they might be yet higher in the promotion hunt. He’s the third manager since Rosenior ar a club where turmoil is almost as frequent as it has been at Chelsea. Rosenior’s current team had a Tuesday wobble against Leeds, and that vast squad will be reached into, even if they have eight days off after this tie. Let’s see if the North Sea wind is an ill one or not for the Blues.
Kick-off at 7.45pm UK time: Join me.
