Parkin To Regain First-Team Place

Hull City’s leading scorer Jon Parkin faces a battle to get back into the Tigers starting line-up.

Despite scoring seven goals so far this season, the big striker found himself on the bench against Leicester City having recovered from a six week lay-off due to an ankle injury.

Caretaker manager Phil Brown decided to stick with his three man forward line, this time using Craig Fagan, Michael Bridges and Nicky Forster in place of the injured Stephen McPhee and Nick Barmby.

However, only Craig Fagan managed to produce any sort of performance as City succumbed to a 2-1 home defeat. City reverted back to long ball tactics and these didn’t work against the physical presence of the Leicester backline.

With Bridges and Forster appearing to struggle, Jon Parkin was introduced to make a difference. Parkin was gifted one opportunity to equalize but struck his shot straight at the keeper from eight yards. The big striker failed to make any further impact as the game fizzled out to another home defeat.

In our recent poll, we asked you when he should return. Seventeen percent of you said straight away whilst fifty-three said we should stick with what we are currently using for a little longer. Thirty percent said he shouldn’t return.

The final percentage is surprisingly high, especially as the striker is the club’s top scorer. One possible reason would be Parkin`s failure to fit into the new 4-3-3 formation, which relies on the strikers direct running and work rate. Parkin’s lack of mobility compared to Nick Barmby or Stephen McPhee make him a contender for the bench rather than the first-team.

Parkin’s emergence in the Tigers front-line may also revert the team back to long ball tactics, as knocking the ball long to Parkin’s head seems the easy option. However, for a big man, Parkin is more comfortable with the ball at his feet than at his head. With the crucial Burnley game only days away, Phil Brown must decide which strikers to use as City must look to take all three points.