Editing Sam Ricketts (section)

===Hull City===
[[File:Sam Ricketts Hull City v. Newcastle United 2.png|thumb|right|100px|Ricketts playing for Hull City in 2009]]
After 103 appearances in total for Swansea, Ricketts moved to [[EFL Championship|Championship]] club [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] on 14 July 2006 on a three-year contract. Hull triggered his release clause by paying £300,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/5168774.stm |title=Ricketts completes move to Hull |publisher=BBC Sport |date=15 July 2006}}</ref> He started every minute of Hull's first ten games but sustained a broken cheekbone in the tenth game – a win against [[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] – that required an operation, thereby ruling him out for several weeks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/5365482.stm |title=Ricketts faces cheekbone surgery |publisher=BBC Sport |date=20 September 2006}}</ref> He made 45 appearances during the season, and scored his only goal for Hull on 31 March 2007, in a 4–0 home win over [[Southend United F.C.|Southend United]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/6490979.stm |title=Hull 4–0 Southend |publisher=BBC Sport |date=31 March 2007}}</ref>

The defender was part of the Hull team that won promotion to the [[Premier League]] for the first time in the club's history at the end of the 2007–08 season; he played in their [[EFL Championship play-offs|Championship play-off final]] victory over [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]].<ref name=2008POF>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7416502.stm |title=Bristol City 0–1 Hull: Report |first=Phil |last=McNulty |publisher=BBC Sport |date=24 May 2008 |access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref> Hull manager [[Phil Brown (footballer, born 1959)|Phil Brown]] had stated in advance of this that he wanted to extend Ricketts' contract due to his performances.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hull to offer Ricketts new deal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7339348.stm |publisher=BBC Sport |date=9 April 2008}}</ref>

Ricketts made 29 league appearances for the Tigers in their inaugural top-flight campaign, as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season.<ref name=sb0809/> Following this, he entered into talks regarding a new deal with the club, but had been linked to other Premier League clubs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hull hopeful of keeping Ricketts |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/8127217.stm |publisher=BBC Sport |date=1 July 2009}}</ref>