Egyptian striker Amr Zaki has joined City on loan from Cairo based club Zamalek, according to his own website. Last year the 26 year old spent a season on loan at Wigan, a spell which yielded 11 goals in 26 appearances, including a brace at the Circle.

That deal ended in acrimony however after Zaki repeatedly failed to report back in good time following international duty for Egypt. Wigan chose not to take up their option to sign Zaki permanently and he returned to Zamalek. Portsmouth and Stoke have both been sniffing round Zaki, however it looks like City have smudged in to claim his signature on a temporary basis.

Despite yesterday’s fine point at Tottenham, City will end the weekend in the Premier League’s relegation places after Sunday’s results.

West Ham gained a surprise point from a goalless draw at Aston Villa this afternoon to overtake both the Tigers and Wolves, though Bolton’s 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal sees them stay in 19th. They do have two games in hand on City, though the first of these is against Arsenal in midweek. The Tigers are next in action against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford next Saturday.

Wolves currently sit just outside the bottom three in 17th, level on points with City and with a goal difference just one better. We meet them at the Circle on January 30th, which could also see Jimmy Bullard’s return to action. It’s horribly congested at the bottom of the table, but yesterday’s gutsy display at White Hart Lane offers room for hope.

The expected clear-out from the City squad started this afternoon with the news that Nathan Doyle is joining Barnsley on a free transfer.

Since signing for the Tigers in January 2007 Doyle has played just fourteen times in black and amber, mostly in Cup games. He did however score a goal on that memorable evening at the Circle when City hammered Watford 4-1 to make it to the Championship play-off final, and this appears to be a move that’ll suit a player who never really got a chance at City.

Doyle has already played eleven times for Barnsley this during a loan spell there, and he arrives at Oakwell having signed a two-and-a-half year contract. If only for his contribution to an unforgettable night twenty months ago, it’s hard not to wish him well.

With depressing predictability, Hull City’s game against Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend has been postponed after more severe wintry showers struck East Yorkshire over the last 24 hours.

The pitch was eminently playable thanks to the undersoil heating but the fresh, heavy and settling snow has caused chaos in surrounding streets and has also rendered the car parks and walkways in the immediate vicinity of the Circle as too hazardous for use.

It’s a disappointing turn of events timing-wise, as a Chelsea side not renowned for liking Antarctic temperatures and missing key players like Didier Drogba and Michael Essien to African Cup of Nations duty might have been weak enough for City to fancy their chances. Maybe. Perhaps.

Undoubtedly the game will be rescheduled as a midweek fixture before long. It’s the first City home game that has been lost to the weather since the move to the KC Stadium. The last at any venue was at Colchester United two seasons ago after Essex had a slight drop of rain.

City’s match at Manchester United has been confirmed as taking place on Saturday 23rd January. The match was originally scheduled for Tuesday 26th but was postponed earlier this week owing to the rearrangement of Man U’s League Cup tie against Man C, which fell victim to the continuing poor weather in the north. Kick-off at Old Trafford will be 3pm.

City’s match against Chelsea on Saturday seems certain to go ahead, the club have declared. The pitch is in fine condition owing to the undersoil heating, and although snow and ice presently cover the areas surrounding the stadium and freezing temperatures are forecast to continue, no further snow is likely tomorrow. An operation to clear paths and walkways near the Circle is already underway and the Sky cameras should still have a game to broadcast from East Yorkshire.

West Bromwich Albion defender Neil Clement, who had a short but effective loan spell with Hull City during the 2008 promotion campaign, has been forced to retire with a knee injury at the age of 31.

Clement played just five times for the Tigers before the Baggies, realising he was helping a promotion rival, reclaimed him as their own again, but for four of those games he partnered Michael Turner and therefore formed one half of arguably the most cultured defensive partnership in the club’s history.

Although his stay was brief, his presence when Wayne Brown was injured was a major factor in important and impressive wins over Southampton, Colchester and Leicester as City marched towards promotion via the play-offs, and for that the Tiger Nation thanks him and wishes him well.