Here is Dale’s latest article for us.

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Personally, I’d have them defend the country against anything. You could launch all the artillery and nuclear missiles known to man at the fantastic four and yet they would still see off every single attack (apart from a whipped free kick from Pedersen and a tap in from Nelson but we’ll let them have that one!). No, I am not talking about the fictional American comic hero’s but the four ordinary men who stand in the face of the premier leagues finest and prepare for war week in and week out. These are the men who Gordon Brown should really have employed!

Step forward Carr, Dann, Johnson and Ridgewell. Together these four men have safe guarded slender leads through sheer grit, nastiness and the astounding ability to jump above all others (including Christophe Samba). The no thrills backline that McLeish has assembled has provided a super-solid platform for the McFadden’s, Bowyers and Jerome’s to go and snatch three points off the opposition. What impresses me most about the back four is the consistency in which it functions. Week in week out Scotty “The Man” Dann and Roger “The Beast” Johnson have taken more hits than a German porn site and yet still they seem to defy human capabilities and withstand everything that it thrown at them.

Their bodies are flung in the way of pile driver like shots and must sting like a good’n but in a perverted twisted way, these two seem to enjoy it! A perverse sense of satisfaction is felt as an opposing striker drills a screamer into their midriff. The aftermath, a pile of bodies grounded on the edge of the box. But sure enough they get up, dust themselves down and prepare for the next onslaught. As a fan, there is nothing more uplifting to see two of the most heroic centre halves putting everything on the line for the good of the team. Risking life and limb some might say! Some teams may opt for the aerial attack, but like two anti aircraft missiles, Dann and Johnson are deployed and clear the area with dominating force. This is the reason why Blues have held on to single goal leads, we have learnt our lesson from the heartbreak of White Hart Lane in late august and scrap, scratch and scrape our way across the finish line.

And to the right, the captain, to steady the ship with his cool, calm and shiney head. Have you ever had a Carr as reliable as Stephen Carr? Arguably the signing of the season, the ex-Tottenham and Newcastle right back has rejuvenated what looked to be a career that was over. Carr has slot in perfectly and as long as those little Irish legs keep plugging away he has cemented his place as one of the first on the team sheet. Carr looks composed on the ball, has the ability to play balls down the channel, make opposition defenders turn. He shows sparks of a Brazilian right back, bombing up and down the flank! And it works! He backs up Seb Larsson time after time and whips a ball in for Benitez to slot in the bottom corner! (Shock he was offside!!!) Stephen “Mr. Reliable” Carr strikes me as a passionate but controlled right back with decent ability with the ball and at the tender age of 33 has impressed me more than most.

Onto our final member of the exclusive ministry of defence, Liam “The Convert” Ridgewell. Yes I was sceptical; he’s got one of those faces but credit to him. After overcoming a broken leg he’s returned as a makeshift left back and has not once looked out of place. Apart from a good roasting off Glenn Johnson against Liverpool, Ridgewell has done well in a position that’s not his most natural. He too has an eye for a ball down the line and looks to support going forward. In some ways Ridgewell has staked a claim for a permanent place at left back, making it hard for McLeish to change a winning side. He loves a tackle and crashed into Walcott with fair but cataclysmic force. This typifies what the back four are all about.

Another special mention to Joe Hart who has also been inspirational in recent games, pulling off saves that looked goal bound and being a major contribution to our superb defensive record.

Birmingham’s back four – lacked premiership experience they said. Yet I find myself reading page after page about the fantastic four and their heroic premier league adventures and I think I speak for all Blues fans when I say – Well done M.O.D and long may it continue!