"Lot of variables" - Tim Walter given Hull City backing despite winless start | OneFootball

The Tigers are still without a victory after their first five matches of the Championship season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Defeat to Sheffield United on Friday night means that Hull City are still searching for their first competitive win of the Tim Walter era.

Having been tasked with replacing Liam Rosenior in the summer, the 48-year-old has struggled to rediscover the form that saw the Tigers narrowly miss out on the play-off places last season, with just three draws to show for their efforts so far.

After sharing the spoils against Bristol City, Plymouth Argyle and Millwall to begin the campaign, defeats to Leeds United and the Blades leave the Humberside outfit in the bottom three in the early stages of the season, with only Portsmouth and Cardiff City the other sides yet to secure a win.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Hull City fan pundit Ant Northgraves on is views of the current goings on at the MKM Stadium, and whether the German should be starting to feel the heat.

Acun Ilicali blamed for poor Hull City start after summer transfer business

While Walter has been unable to see his side claim all three points from any of their opening five Championship matches this season, the finger of blame doesn’t lie solely at his door.

The former Hamburg boss has been given the unenviable task of trying to rebuild the City squad over the course of the summer, with a number of top players leaving Humberside before the 24/25 campaign got underway.

With defensive rock Jacob Greaves leaving for Everton, winger Jadon Philogene returning to former side Aston Villa, and Ozan Tufan joining Trabzonspor, the Tigers were already left trying to replace three of their key stars from the previous campaign.

That has led to as many as 16 players joining the club since the end of the previous campaign, and Northgraves believes it is this lack of squad identity that has hampered his side in the early proceedings of the current campaign.

The Tigers fan said: “It is very early into the season and I think it is harsh to axe him after five games. That would be far too early.

“There are a lot of variables that have gone as to why the start of the season has been so poor, and I think a lot of the responsibility has to go on the owner as well.

“The transfer business that the club did was far too late, we let really good players go without really having any replacements lined up to come in.

“We didn’t focus the transfer strategy on goalscorers, considering we lost all of our goalscorers in the summer.

“When we got the big money for Jacob Greaves, Jadon Philogene and Ozan Tufan, we should have then gone out and used that money on a consistent goalscorer, and then filled out the rest of the team around him, but we didn’t.

“The transfer business was done too late, and because of that we had already played competitive games, and now we have to wait for players to acclimatise to the league and to the culture, the style of play, and the players around them.

“We had 16 new players to bed in and a lot of them had never played together, so he has inherited a mess and had his hands tied, so he has to have time.”

Tim Walter needs to get Hull City results sooner rather than later

Despite the obvious hurdles that Walter has had to overcome since making the move to Humberside, results will need to turn around before too long or City could find themselves with a big decision to make before too long.

With just two goals scored in those opening five games, Northgraves’ goalscorer claims aren’t without their reasons, with captain Lewie Coyle the only player to score from outfield play this season.

A trip to managerless Stoke City is on the cards this weekend, before key clashes with Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers, as Walter faces some future-defining encounters in the weeks to come, with a trip to Norwich City the final match before the next international break.

With major moments against clubs that have also struggled to start the season coming up, Northgraves believes the next month will decide what the club decides to do going forward.

He continued: “If it gets towards the next International break and we have still not won, or we are still in the bottom three, then you would probably imagine that the voices of discontent get loud enough that Acun Ilicali will consider it.

“But the longer it goes on without him getting a win, the more pressure he is under.”