I seriously implore anyone who has a spare five minutes to watch a compilation of Rory Delap throw-in-assists. It's a human feat akin to Usain Bolt's record 100 metres sprint or Felix Baumgartner sky diving 39km through the air, nobody understands how they do it and next to no one will ever be able to replicate it.
Within the beautiful game, Delap is the only outfielder known more for having the ball in his hands than at his feet, able to turn throw-ins into essentially a corner, launching the ball with a pinpoint accuracy that most NFL quarterbacks would be envious of. It was a skill that left opposing defenders feeling frustrated and a few teams certainly a bit hard done by as they ventured home having fallen victim to his specialty. It was the exact kind of trick up the sleeve gimmick that kept a team like Stoke swimming with the Premier League big boys for ten consecutive years.
Arsene Wenger went as far as to call for the introduction of kick-ins to curb what he called "a little bit of an unfair advantage," suggesting Delap "is using a strength that is usually not a strength in football." The unique talents of Delap optimised that era of Stoke City leading to the side being dubbed a 'rugby team'. This came from those who felt their game featuring a mix of long balls, harsh challenges and the aforementioned throw-ins was not deserving of being in the same sport as the far more visually pleasing football gracing pitches across Europe's top leagues.
Rory Delap taking one of his signature throw-ins versus Arsenal resulting in a goal and a 2-1 win for Stoke (ESPN)
During this time, Stoke arguably specialised in a very particular kind of player. Across their decade of top flight football (especially those years under the management of Tony Pulis), the Potters thrived off having players certainly good enough to play at the highest level but never exceptional enough to be poached by a bigger club. Ryan Shawcross, Jonathan Walters and Glen Whelan were all stalwarts at the Britannia but the idea of any of them leaving to chase European glory with the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea was laughable to say the least.
It was disgraced broadcaster turned Qatari shill, Andy Gray who summed up the collective feeling towards Stoke during an on air debate about the Ballon D'or award. Could he do it on "a cold night at the Britannia Stadium", was Gray's questioning regarding Lionel Messi, a man now rightfully lauded as the best to ever grace the game
Gray discounted Messi as one of the game's best simply because “Barcelona have never played at the likes of Stoke and Blackburn”, the same sentiment as suggesting that Tom Hanks doesn't deserve an Oscar because he's never appeared in an episode of EastEnders.
Whilst tongue in cheek in its nature, it said more about the reputation that Stoke had cultivated rather than that of the Argentinian. How would the greatest of all time cope when met with the 6 foot 3 figure of Shawcross towering over him or Glenn Whelan ready to protect his goal by hook or by crook. Obviously, Messi could probably put a hatful past Stoke with his eyes closed, but the idea was that even the very best find the Britannia a difficult place to grind out a result.
Ryan Shawcross was a defender known for his rough challenges in particular this injury inducing one of Aaron Ramsay (The Sun)
Despite currently languishing within the bottom half of the Championship, it can be said that Stoke have managed to maintain their rough persona. This season has seen them take significant home scalps against high fliers Sheffield United and Luton Town proving that there is still some truth in the old adages from the Premier League era. Even today, a trip to Stoke is rarely regarded as an automatic three points, even for a team on the rise like Hull City.
For a County famous for Spitfires and The Smiler, the Tiger’s trip to Staffordshire proved largely uneventful. A drab 0-0 affair with little in the way of entertainment for either side left many Hull fans, still on high after successive home victories, with a bad taste in their mouths. Despite the somewhat disappointing result, talk of small sections of the away following booing their side at full time suggests the need to remind some seemingly forgetful fans of the importance of a draw away from home, needless to say against a side who walked over Hull in the reverse fixture.
Casting your mind back to September, a Shota Arveladze led Hull side found themselves deservingly trounced by Stoke in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat for the home side. This game came in the middle of what ended up being a torrid five game losing streak for the Tigers, shipping 13 goals whilst only finding the net themselves once. With this in mind, a scoreless draw away from home is not a not a sign of Rosenior's success starting to falter, but rather a further testament to just how strong this Hull resurgence has been over the last few months.
Stoke celebrate scoring during September's 3-0 defeat of Hull (Hull Live)
Before Rosenior touched down in East Yorkshire, Hull had only managed one clean sheet all season with the Tiger's faithful having to wait 280 days to see a game without conceding on home turf. Under Rosenior, the success has been clear with the new look black and amber side managing to keep their goal intact on six of the thirteen occasions that they have turned out with their new boss at the helm. This feat is the joint best during this period alongside league leaders Burnley, a far cry from the Hull side previously on track for their worst defensive season since 1955/56.
Whilst the goalless draw against Stoke left plenty to be desired, you'd be remiss for not giving the Tiger's defensive paring their rightful plaudits. Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin have lined up together for each of the last eight league games, only conceding four goals as the Tigers climbed well away from the drop zone.
The two appear to have firmly grasped Rosenior's style of football, with many of the collective groans that came from playing the ball out of the back now being solely reserved for the keeper as opposed to the entire defensive line. Of the 85 passes played by both centre backs during the game, around 80% of them were forwards progressive passes out of the defence. This essentially means that Hull are playing out the back far more effectively as they are able to move the ball up the pitch quicker rather than wasting time playing the ball amongst themselves and placing the defence and keeper under unnecessary pressure.
Whilst the on the ball qualities of Matt Ingram are still somewhat questionable, you'd be hard pressed to find a nervy Hull fan when either of the central defenders are in possession. A joint pass completion rate of 80% for Jones and McLoughlin as well as neither player being dispossessed shows how far Hull have come from the heart in mouth moments emblematic of the early days of Rosenior's reign.
It's not just on the ball were the pair excelled, with both defenders boasting a 100% tackle success rate and not committing a single foul in the process, it was arguably a perfect performance for the two Hull men.
Obviously, you can sing the praises of your defenders all day but if nothing's happening at the other, it's not a lot of use. Veteran defender Phil Jagielka put in an expectedly astute performance marshalling Tiger's talisman Oscar Estupinan, whilst the perhaps undersized Aaron Connolly struggled for space behind a regimented five man Potter's defence.
Usual Hull standout, Jean Michaël Seri, was also kept quiet by the physical Stoke side with on loan midfielder, William Smallbone, showing that he had more in common with N'Golo Kanté than the obvious absence of hair by covering every blade of grass and making life hell for the Ivorian in the process. Dispossessed on three occasions and failing to make a single key pass, it was clear that the magic that had transformed Seri from an overpaid flop to a fan favourite was missing on this occasion.
William Smallbone going up against Jean Michaël Seri during Saturday's 0-0 draw (Stoke Sentinel)
Going off this assessment, it is more than acceptable for some fans to walk away from the shamelessly named Bet 365 Stadium feeling a bit sour about what they had just witnessed. Despite this, it is certainly not Hull's worst performance this season or for that matter their worst performance against Stoke this season. Maybe we've all been spoiled on the back to back victories and general good feeling around the club as of recent, but I don't think booing a hard fought 0-0 draw is the way to go about showing your frustrations, especially at a ground you haven't won at in seventeen years.
A saying that has graced every level of the game from Sunday league to the Premiership suggests that 'winning at home and drawing away', will always be enough to get you over the line come the end of the season. Whilst this is not an accurate philosophy to base your football off, it adds to the idea that a draw on the road is never a reason for scalding your team at full time, even if it is as boredom inducing as Hull's most recent outing.
Tuesday night sees Hull once again travel South to face a Norwich side undergoing a similar revolution to that currently occurring in East Yorkshire, with the appointment of David Wagner taking the Canaries on a surge towards the playoff places. This fixture will be earmarked as a decisive outing for Hull with a result for the Tigers being a true statement of intent for Rosenior's men, showing them to be genuine playoff hopefuls rather than simply going through a post World Cup purple patch.
Whilst Hull do not possess the beyond human ball launching talents of Rory Delap to fluke them to victory on Tuesday night, the fact that they avoided defeat on a 'cold afternoon at the Bet 365 Stadium', suggests that at least by the metrics of a distasteful ex pundit, the Tigers are a side destined to continue their emphatic rise up the Championship table.
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