Hull City: Grant McCann was unable to justify six-figure loan as Kamil Grosicki replacement | OneFootball

Marcus Maddison's short-term stint at the MKM Stadium was disastrous

Hull City's overreliance on Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki during the first half of the 2019/20 campaign had been well-documented, with both wingers accumulating a total of 34 goal contributions by the time Deadline Day rolled around in January.

During Grant McCann's opening months in charge, Hull had shown promising signs under the head coach they acquired from Doncaster Rovers in June 2019 following Nigel Adkins' departure, and remained on the coattails of the play-offs into the New Year, before disaster struck.

Even prior to the current England international and West Ham captain's £22m move to the London Stadium and Grosicki's departure to promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion for a reported fee of just £800,000, Hull's form had started to take a hit, losing three Championship matches on the spin and dropping to 14th place in the process.

And, whilst there was understandable negativity surrounding the MKM Stadium, which would only intensify in the coming weeks, there was some form of initial excitement as McCann utilised his former Peterborough United connections to strike an initial loan agreement which brought Marcus Maddison into the second tier for the first time in his career.

However, as City continued to plummet down the table, the Northern Irishman wouldn't be able to justify the six-figure sum paid for the temporary switch.

Marcus Maddison's form prior to joining Hull City

Maddison had become one of League One's standout performers during a lengthy spell at London Road, after joining Posh in August 2014 from non-league Gateshead FC.

The signs of his talent were there straight away as he won the League One Young Player of the Month award two months later after a run of five goal contributions in as many games, before bursting into life from the 2015/16 season onwards.

During the campaign, the playmaker would register 12 goals and 16 assists in all, with half of those coming in the final three months of the campaign, before managing to go one better on his assist numbers in 16/17 during McCann's first season in charge, which saw Posh slap a £1.5m price tag on his services amid interest from Charlton Athletic.

Despite the fact Maddison's creative spark and Jack Marriott's creative juices continued to flow, McCann would be sacked in February 2018, although the Durham-born man would accumulate a staggering 35 goal contributions across the season.

Such form would continue into Maddison's final full season in Cambridgeshire with 10 goals and 23 assists, which sparked interest from the Tigers after McCann's appointment following play-off heartbreak in League One with Doncaster, alongside rumours of a switch to Sunderland.

However, a summer move failed to materialise and Maddison would score nine and lay on a further six goals in his final 22 league appearances for Peterborough, before Hull were able to fend off interest from the likes of Charlton and Birmingham City in the winter of 2020.

Despite racking up 53 goals and 76 assists in the third tier, which generated a source of excitement for City fans - regardless of the overall feeling of continued frustration towards the Allam family for the timing of Bowen and Grosicki's respective departures - the man who was signed to replace the Polish international on the left-hand side would also go on to be a major flop in Black and Amber.

The attacking midfielder played 32 minutes of a 5-1 defeat against Brentford the day after his loan was confirmed, before starting his first game for the club in a 1-1 draw with Reading the following week.

Maddison's only bright spark in a spell that began a downward spiral came in a dramatic 4-4 draw with Swansea City in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with his powerful effort giving Hull a 2-1 lead after 51 minutes, before chaos went on to ensue at the MKM that night.

The then-26-year-old would only start one more encounter under McCann, and came in for criticism from supporters after praising Leeds United's support during a 4-0 rout at the MKM, before being named as an unused substitute in a 5-1 away thrashing by Stoke City prior to the COVID-19 lockdown break, with Hull in a perilous position above the bottom three at the time, before succumbing to relegation as the division's bottom side after 'project restart'.

Maddison's career and personal life has since nosedived, with the midfielder eventually joining Charlton in the summer of 2020 after Hull decided not to pursue a permanent deal for the out-of-contract midfielder at London Road.

However, he would make just nine appearances at the Valley, before joining Bolton Wanderers on loan as Ian Evatt's side went on to secure an immediate promotion out of League Two, although the midfielder would take the bizarre course of action to end his professional career at half-time during a 2-1 victory over Harrogate Town in April 2021. Spells at Spalding United and Darlington in non-league followed, before the 33-year-old was jailed last summer.

After showing so much ability during his Peterborough days, there was hope that the playmaker could help fill the void left by Grosicki, and to an extent Bowen, but it just did not work out.