Magpie007

Odds on Championship: 5,000-1. Odds on relegation: 2-5.
Manager: Phil Brown (Since December 2006). Odds to be first boss out of a job: 7-1
Last season: 3rd in Championship, 75 points (play-off winners); FA Cup third round; Carling Cup third round

Ins: Peter Halmosi (Plymouth, £2m), George Boateng (Middlesbrough, £1m), Craig Fagan (Derby, £750,000), Tony Warner (Fulham, free), Bernard Mendy (Paris Saint-Germain, free), Geovanni (Manchester City, free), Anthony Gardner (Tottenham, loan).

Outs: Fraizer Campbell (Manchester United, end of loan), Michael Bridges (Carlisle, loan), Henrik Pedersen (Silkeborg IF, free), David Livermore (Brighton, free), Jay-Jay Okocha (released).

'With names like Juninho swirling around the KC Stadium, to add to the likes of Nick Barmby, there are higher hopes than last year's 21st. Prediction: 20th.'

This year, most pundits seem to be suggesting Hull will finish 19th, which could be mistaken for slow progress. But that quotation is from 12 months ago and is Setanta's verdict on City's chances in the Championship, as published in FourFourTwo's pre-season guide. The magazine's own prediction was the same, while the Tigers fans writing in When Saturday Comes's guide hoped 'the new regime can perform miracles. Mid-table?'

In 2007, Hull survived with a game to spare. No one expected, or probably even dreamt of, a miracle on the scale the next season brought, even if JayJay Okocha claimed that it was God who had told him to sign for City. Take a longer view and the miracle becomes more sustained: a team playing fourth-division football in 2003-04 is now in the first division. Only Swansea and Wimbledon have risen through the divisions faster, apparently.

So Hull have experience of overcoming the odds and expectations. But can they seriously hope for more than finishing ahead of Stoke and avoiding taking Derby's record? The answer is surely no.

Last season's Championship was a very strange division, with a marked reluctance on several teams' parts to push on when in strong positions. Promotion and play-off places changed hands frequently and the final points totals were significantly lower than those achieved in previous seasons. Hull came third with 75 points, nine fewer than Derby 12 months previously, six fewer than Watford in 2006, ten fewer than Ipswich in 2005.

Hull achieved what they did inspired in part by the goals of Fraizer Campbell. He is now back at Manchester United and despite Phil Brown's prayers will probably stay there. He scored 15 in the league; only Dean Windass also reached double figures.

At the back, Michael Turner was the rock, but in a defence that conceded one more than Derby the year before. Keeper Boaz Myhill will certainly be kept busy. None of the summer signings looks like they could change that, or even relieve pressure at the back by working wonders upfield.

Everyone at Hull knows it will be a struggle. Perhaps a favourable start to the season, with home fixtures against Fulham and Wigan in August, can keep the momentum going and maybe Blackburn is not too bad a place to visit as Paul Ince finds his feet in between those two games. But what really matters is that Hull remember where they came from.

In December 2002, Hull moved to the KC Stadium and at last the city had a venue at which you could imagine top-flight football. There can rarely have been a better advert for moving grounds, with promotion won in the first two full seasons and then again in the fifth.

It is amazing Hull are where they are and their progress generally is not a fluke, even if the last step was. The foundations for a sustained golden age for the Tigers is there, whatever happens this season - as long as everyone pulls together.

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srk.robs

Yes it was the ok season for Hull City. they need to improve in many aspects else they might not be able to show good results.