From BBC: Hull's United States striker Jozy Altidore, who has Haitian roots, on ending his Premier League duck at the 18th attempt: "It feels good but I wasn't really worried about not scoring, I am just worried about keeping Hull up and the important thing is we got the three points today - I think it was well deserved. I'd like to dedicate my goal to Haiti and I hope there are better things ahead over there and that they can smile to see one of their own doing well."
He still needs to get a better first touch at times. Other than that perfect. I love how in the 43min he tracked back and helped out on defence. Its towards the end of the half and City is holding up possession for a little while looking to score. The ball is cleared by Hull to mid field. Then Jozy puts pressure on the ball, all the way back to the 18, to help keep City off the score sheet and turn possession over. Giving no momentum to City going into the half.
Couldn't be more happy waking up and seeing that Jozy scored his first Prem goal !!! He has looked great the past few days and I think this goal is going to raise his confidence, making him a force to be reckoned with. Well done Jozy !
FTR, Sometimes as little as 33 will get you in on goal difference, but it's usually 34 or 35 that's necessary.
From Hull's web site http://www.hullcityafc.net/page/NewsDetail/0,,10338~1957384,00.html "...It was another terrific display from the Tigers as they made it five points from their three home games this week...." "...The Tigers made a bright start with the front pairing of Altidore and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink causing problems...." "...Altidore was causing all kinds of problems for the visiting back four, Dedrycj Boyata becoming the second player to be booked for bringing down the American international...." "...The Tigers, and Altidore, got the goal they deserved in the 31st minute. Boateng's ball to the edge of the box was held up well by Vennegoor of Hesselink before being played into the path of Altidore, who produced a sublime finish from 18 yards to bag his first ever Premier League goal...." "...The Tigers' first change saw Altidore leave to a standing ovation as Amr Zaki took his place...." I love reading that he got a standing ovation.
I like the pairing of JVOH and Altidore with Zaki coming on late for one of them. Zaki is a nut job, but I've liked what I saw from him as a late sub. I only wonder if his ego can continue to handle being a sub. I'm sure he thought he would quickly displace one of the current starters, likely Altidore. Obviously though, Brown would be a fool to mess with this lineup. As great as Jozy's goal was it was also a great assist by JVOH. I feel strongly that having a partner to work with is really critical to Jozy's success.
if he continues playing tough and tidy he will certainly get the anntennaes up on some bigger EPL clubs, and Villareal may start anticipating his return to Spain. For me the latter is best for the long haul.
exactly, there has been some poor, poor teams in the lower half of the table for three or four years now. Yet asside from the top three in the championship, im not sure anyone else would do better (who is to say they would at all though). Put it this way, if Hull play this way the rest of the year there is no reason they should not be safe. getting bullard back will be a huge bonus
To me, the lateral movement that gave him the opportunity to shoot was at least as impressive as the finish. Still expectedly inconsistent as a young striker earning his stripes - his work rate and movement off the ball are improving dramatically. Once he improves his touch and gauges game speed a bit better to beat defenders, he will be a force.
Ehh...methinks we may tend to overestimate his performances through the USMNT lens. There's no doubt he has been solid and is making progress which are great signs for the looming summer tourney. He still has a ton to work on (e.g. way too easily dispossessed for my liking, especially if he will be playing more of a hold-up role) but that's to be expected at his age/experience level. He's improving which is the most important thing and, hey, I'm a fan too!
Without appealing to goal differential, a team needed 35 pts 08/09 37 pts 07/08 38 pts 06/07 37 pts 05/06 35 pts 04/05 34 pts 03/04 43 pts 02/03 37 pts 01/02 to avoid relegation. The median and mode are 37 points. By that reckoning, they need 13 pts in the next 13 games, which is pretty much the rate you need from the beginning of the season to avoid relegation. This might seem a little dark for a 14th place team, but they've played a game or two more than everyone under them, and everyone beneath them except Portsmouth could catch them or pass them with a win. Of course, if they keep playing like they've been playing lately, they'll be fine.
While I don't disagree that people on these boards have a tendency to overestimate the performances of 'nats abroad, I don't see how anyone who has watched the last three Hull matches could disagree with the statement that Jozy has been a "force" in those matches. Hull has taken five points and looked, much, much better than earlier in the season. He's scored a goal, earned a penalty, drawn a ton of fouls which have led to dangerous set plays... Does he have a lot to work on, you bet, but he certainly has been a "force" the past three matches. You don't have to be a 'nats fan to have observed this.
Agreed in general but I have watched most of JA's last three matches, and he has made a difference. No doubt about that.
Exactly. I want to see a little more culture in his game. He's already proven that he can stand up to physical play. Hull really only needs to be mediocre the rest of the way in order to stay up. I'm sure by their standards, that would be great. It's only a point per game to get 37 for the season. Two or 3 more wins makes the job much easier. For the bottom feeders, scoring goals is usually the trick; but having a young striker get hot will certainly help in that department.
I'm not sure we overestimate American performances so much as we tend to sensationalize them to both ends of the spectrum. Because we watch and scrutinize every American touch and involvement so much more closely than others do, we have a tendency to put much more weight on each one. Thus we do overrate good performances, but we also tend to underrate average or poor performances. In short, we give a lot more 8s than others would, but we also give a lot more 4s and 3s, when the truth is the vast majority of performances really sit in the 5-7 range. That said, he has received two 7s and an 8 in the past three matches from SkySports. So if we're overly-impressed we're not the only ones.
No, 34 could have been enough to keep you up 5 times in the last 8 years. Semantics, I know, but you don't need one more point than the next worst team to stay up, you need the same number of points and to win the tiebreaker. This is the same list the other poster did, but with GD: 2008/9: 34 2007/8: 36 2006/7: 38 2005/6: 34 2004/5: 33 2003/4: 33 2002/3: 33 2001/2: 42 Average: 35.375
I didn't watch much of the match, but what I did see from Jozy I thought looked good and promising for the US as June approaches.
Maybe one of you guys could explain to me the difference between mean, median, mode, and range. Thanks in advance! Before you can score a second goal you must score the first!
I think it's more appropriate to look at the point total for the team that finishes 17th. If you do that, 34 or 35 points were enough to keep you safe in only 2 of 8 seasons. 08/9: 35 (Hull) 07/8: 36 (Fulham) 06/7: 38 (Wigan) 05/6: 38 (Portsmouth) 04/5: 34 (West Brom) 03/4: 39 (Everton) 02/3: 44 (Bolton) 01/2: 40 (Sunderland)