Hull City supporters made their feelings clear about Joe Cole as Manchester United suffered a shock defeat in their opening Premier League match of the season at the MKM Stadium.
The Tigers made a perfect beginning against the Red Devils, establishing a two-goal advantage before the interval through Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy, leaving the opposition looking completely bewildered. Numerous observers had forecast an immediate return to the Championship for Hull, with TNT Sports analyst and former Chelsea player Joe Cole among those expressing pessimism.
Cole even revealed he had declined to engage with his phone when the broadcaster requested he work on the match at the venue. When Hull established their two-goal cushion, the home crowd ensured Cole was reminded of his dismissive remarks.
Supporters sang in harmony shortly after Mendy’s strike doubled the advantage. Cole’s remarks had attracted significant criticism following his appearance on the Dressing Room podcast.
The former England international stated that Hull were finished and that he would be very surprised if they managed to avoid the drop, suggesting they had only secured promotion through fortune.
He noted that TNT Sports had approached him regarding the new campaign and had attempted to include the Hull fixture for the season opener, adding that he had set his phone to ignore such requests.
The remarks were widely viewed as lacking respect for the club. Hull’s manager Sergej Jakirovic was clearly unfazed by Cole’s assessment. Prior to kick-off, he expressed enthusiasm about the challenge ahead while acknowledging the substantial step up from the Championship. He recognised the quality of opponents, players and coaching staff they would face and noted he had reviewed all the predictions. However, he viewed this as strong motivation to disprove the doubters since they had nothing to fear. He emphasised that their previous season’s accomplishment was significant but irrelevant now, with their focus on progression and demonstrating their capacity to improve collectively.
He acknowledged that survival would require something remarkable, representing an even greater accomplishment than their promotion triumph if accomplished, with forty points required and the objective clearly defined.
Mendy’s strike would have been especially satisfying for Jakirovic and Hull’s hierarchy. The player arrived from Spanish club Rayo Vallecano for a fee of £21million. He met Regan Slater’s delivery with a headed finish to extend the advantage, after Ajayi had broken the deadlock by converting a rebound in the 17th minute.