on august 10, 2009, hull city announced that they were successful in obtaining a work permit for altidore. altidore made his debut for hull on august 22, 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute against bolton. he provided the assist for kamel ghilas to score the only goal in a 1–0 home victory at the kc stadium. on august 25, 2009, altidore scored his first goal for hull in a 3–1 win over southend united in the second round of the league cup. altidore was popular with supporters but struggled to make a lasting impact with the tigers as his finishing was often found wanting, however he did manage to score his first and only premier league goal in the 2–1 home win over manchester city on february 6. on april 24, in an important game for hull city's premier league survival, he was dismissed for violent conduct after a spat with sunderland's alan hutton who was also sent off. hull city lost 1–0 and were all but relegated from the top flight.