2013-12-03

This is Hull and East Riding -- Our daily blog with the latest news, transfer rumours and gossip about Hull City in the Premier League. Wenger warns his Gunners side With just over a day to go until City travel to North London to face the Premier League leaders, Arsenal have already come out saying they will have to be on their guard. Arsenal manager *Arsene Wenger* has warned the Gunners that the Tigers can repeat their win over Liverpool at the Emirates if they aren't careful. "Hull have done very well and they have nothing to lose when they come to us," Wenger said. "We have a warning from the Liverpool game. Hull are very dynamic going forward and on set-pieces they look strong as well" Meanwhile Wenger has questioned City chairman Assem Allam over his plans to change the name of the club to *Hull Tigers* The Frenchman sympathised with the fans following their chanting throughout the win over the Reds. "I don't see why it should happen. I don't know what has been happening exactly," he said. "Usually there's a tradition that is linked with the name of the club and overall the difference with the modern way of thinking is to combine tradition with forward thinking. "I don't think they (Arsenal fans) would react very well (if it happened to them) but I don't know why they want to change and I don't know the thinking behind it." Sagna misses out, but Chester returns On the team-news front, Arsenal's *Bacary Sagna* will miss the City clash with a hamstring injury, according to the Independent. Sagna is expected to be out for one match with Carl Jenkinson set to replace the French full-back. "I believe we will lose Sagna who has a slight hamstring problem and he should be out for tomorrow's game," Wenger said. "You expect when you play so many games with that much intensity that you will lose one or two players. "We have so many games that I always knew I'd have to make changes. Full-back is a demanding position." In good news for the Tigers, *James Chester* is set for his first appearance since September at the Emirates tomorrow. Chester has been out with a hamstring problem for over two months but has trained for the past fortnight and looks set to replace the suspended Curtis Davies. 'No to Hull Tigers' campaign gains more exposure The 'No to Hull Tigers' campaign looks to be gathering pace, with Express columnist Mick Dennis urging fans across the football world to sign the petition. Dennis says Allam deserves some gratitude, but talks candidly about the community spirit and value in the game. "Hull thrashed Liverpool on Sunday, for heaven's sake. Doesn't Allam deserve gratitude?" Dennis said. "Of course he does. But gratitude does not equal unthinking servitude. "It is time for the Premier League, the Football League and the FA to recognise that names, badges and kit colours are community assets too. "In the meantime, there is something all proper football folk can do. There is an online petition to sign at citytillwedie.com or change.org. "Come on, we can overwhelm Allam. We can persuade him that the title City is not "common", as he has said. It is anything but. It is about identity. It is about tradition. "It is about a century of history, about justifiable pride. And it is a hard-won, special title. It is not something to be discarded casually." With national backing, the petition's exposure has grown dramatically over the last few days. Tigers brew up a tasty bottled beer Stocking up on the lagers for Christmas? Anybody who wants to celebrate a possible double scalp against Liverpool and Arsenal can now do so, after members of the City Official Supporters' Club created its own bottled beer. Tigers' Pride has been produced by Great Newsome Brewery to mark a decade of the group, which is run by and represents the club's supporters. The name for the amber-coloured beer came following a request by the supporters' club to its members to come up with a suitable title for a commemorative beer. Is Hull Tigers really that bad? Check these out And finally, if you think Hull Tigers is bad, check out these frankly awful team-names which TalkSport has kindly compiled. I don't know which is the worst. First up, we have *FC Santa Claus AC*, who are two Finnish sides from the region of Lapland, Rovaniemen Reipas and Rovaniemen Lappi, They decided to join forces and name themselves after the wonderful Saint Nick. They play in their country's third tier. Next, there is *Semen Pedang*, an unlucky Indonesian side in a case of lost in translation. The club is owned by a cement company of the same name and this year reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup before being knocked out by East Bengal. The *Go Ahead Eagles* from Deventer in Holland already play in the Eredivisie. Former Arsenal and Barcelona star Marc Overmars started and ended his career with the club and was also a director there until 2012. *Dandy Town Hornets* have a brown and gold kit reminiscent of City, and the Bermudan side have enjoyed success in the Cingular Wireless Premier Division recently. Bradford City striker Nahki Wells is an alumni. And last but not least, the *King Faisal Babes*. No, it's not a women's squad, but this Ghanaian team are bankrolled by Alhaji Karim Gruzah but could soon cease to exist after the Premier League's sponsors, Globacom, failed to pay their outstanding arrears. Hull Tigers doesn't seem so bad now, does it?

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