Hull City Manager Grant McCann has explained what many fans saw as a shocking call to drop midfielder Kevin Stewart. The 26-year-old player has thus far been a fixture in the Tigers’ Championship season. McCann actually believes that Stewart will eventually benefit from his upsetting omission from his team’s 2-1 win Away to Nottingham Forest F.C. He previously started each one of the 12 Championship matches City has played, making his mark on the midfielder position with several impressive performances.
Although his usual high standards dipped somewhat in the games which saw Hull City defeated by Huddersfield and QPR, McCann’s decision to include Leonardo Da Silva Lopes instead of him took many by surprise. The team’s ensuing win vindicated the manager’s call, and he said that he thinks a rest for Stewart will work in his favour eventually.
McCann Full of Surprises
Another startling call from McCann was the decision to include Jordy de Wijs, the Dutchman who plays centre for the team. He’s been plagued by trouble with his ankle ligaments recently, and the trip to Nottingham Forest was initially thought to be too soon for him to be included in the event. But he was drafted back into the heart of the team’s defences, and there were initially fears that the decision to recall him had backfired when he got withdrawn just 25 minutes into the game. McCann has let it be known, however, that this move was simply a precautionary measure. The player was cramping up, likely due to de Wijs not training much over recent weeks because of his ankle issues.
FA Confirms Lengthy Ban for Magennis
The Football Association has confirmed that Hull City’s Josh Magennis will be prohibited from taking part four games after he received his second red card of the season. The forward from Northern Ireland was dismissed on the 23rd of October at the City Ground, after his team’s triumphant Nottingham Forest match. Maybe he’ll spend his off time playing blackjack in a real online casino? He’ll be off long enough to master it!
Hull’s In a Bit of a Fix
Magennis went from hero to zero as he followed up the third goal of the season with a red card handed to him after he had made an ugly late challenge on NF midfielder Ben Watson. The rest of City hung on, scoring three stirring points during the match’s final 22 minutes, but Magennis’ red card leaves his team in a bit of a fix for the next few weeks.
Magennis’ antics would usually result in only a three-game suspension, but his August Millwall dismissal has ensured that another match has been added to his ban. He will now miss out on the November 24 trip to Middlesbrough, along with match-ups against West Brom, Fulham, and Derby County. He’ll only be seen on the playing field again when City has its home game against Preston North End on the 27th of November.
McCann will be forced to choose between Norbert Balogh and Tom Eaves in the meantime.