Here is Bazza’s take on Saturday’s game.

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I had arranged to go up to this game with my mate Will who on this particular occasion had invited his cousin’s husband Kev along as he is a Hammers fan. We had arranged to all meet at my house at 10.30 am as a big crowd was expected and we needed to get on the road promptly said Will. We need to well organised to get a parking slot said Will. It was imperative that we weren’t late so that all eventualities including traffic hold ups were accounted for said Will. Well that was the theory anyway. I’ve come to realise that 10.30 am actually means 11.00 am and the plan had not taken into account Will’s office party the night before! I’d been up since the crack of sparrows in order to take the dog for a walk and so be back in plenty of time for setting off. Will called at 10.30 and said he was running a little late and did I by any chance have any Paracetamol? The sound of his voice told me everything I needed to know about the previous evening so I grabbed some Ibuprofen and some Paracetamol and said take these and drink this (orange juice) as he walked through the door. By the way readers Ibuprofen is an excellent cure for hangover headache and taken with a couple of Paracetamol as well sorts the problem in about an hour in most cases.

Kev appeared a few minutes after Will and we piled in Will’s car and headed north with Will already starting to feel better. We managed to avoid the long queue rubber necking at the accident that had closed the southbound M40 from the early hours. A transit van completely burned out and gutted taking the driver down with it sadly. The driver couldn’t have stood a chance and for a brief moment it put the game of football firmly in perspective. Someone’s family will be so diminished this Christmas and whoever they are my thoughts are with them.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and I took the opportunity to have a chat to Kev and get his perspective on our opponents, West Ham and the problems they are going through. It is interesting to note that the two clubs fortunes just now couldn’t be more different. Blues under new ownership are on the up, winning games, confidence running through the club, team and supporters whereas the opposite is the case with the Hammers. There has been a lot of speculation that our previous owners are among the suitors to take over but naturally they not only want to buy the club for well below its potential value but also want the sellers to take the debt away with them as they close the door. This is something that is unlikely to happen in my view but we watch that space. Kev was understandably gloomy about the immediate future but contended that West Ham have a talented squad despite their injury list which includes Carlton Cole who is developing into a feared and formidable striker and Dean Ashton whose career has been tragically cut short by a serious ankle injury at only 26. Even if such a player needed to be sold to help the club’s finances his value financially would not be inconsiderable were he to be fit. This sort of misfortune seems to befall clubs when they are down on their luck and it is an issue that they could have done without. Their problem ultimately is the same as what has caused the country such financial devastation, namely greed. The Icelandic board and associated banks underpinning West Ham have as we all now lost a vast fortune which has saddled this famous old club with debt of eye-watering proportions. The banks collectively took too many risks because of greed and the Tevez affair has only served to make matters worse because of the compensation package due to Sheffield United. Kev’s fear is that the best players will be sold off to reduce the wage bill and bring in short term cash to ease the balance sheet. None of this is going to help the club in its present predicament. Relegation will be a disaster for West Ham and the possibility of administration if a suitable buyer is not found unthinkable. I suspect the vultures are already circling around the club for its assets and its players as shown by Mr Sullivan’s fairly modest offer (some would say derisory but he is a businessman and there is the issue of beggars and choosers and all that). Having attempted to put the world to rights, we once again stopped by at Will’s brother’s pub The Oak in Baginton (not Kenilworth as I’d said in a previous post – my humblest apologies!) All except Will had a pint and we set off for the match.

McCleish had gone with the same team that had won at Wigan in the now familiar 4-4-2 formation. West Ham played with a lone striker in the form of Franco. I know that Zola has been getting stick for this from the Hammers’ faithful but it is difficult to see what else he could do with Cole out and the fact that the team had been leaking like a colander in defence. Certainly, they kept Blues quiet for most of the first half despite the obvious nerviness of their back four who treated the ball like it was a hot potato. Their midfield especially Scott Parker did try and knock the ball around and play the sort of football that West Ham has the reputation for. Unfortunately, they ran into the Blues defence which remained as solid as recent performances have shown.  Blues were limited to a dangerous flick on from a corner by McFadden that was well saved at the foot of the near post by Green and a header that Jerome squandered when beautifully set up by Ridgewell. The striker cleared the bar with his header from four yards instead of burying what was the best chance of the half. West Ham arguably had more worthwhile attempts in a dull and forgettable first half. There was a higher tempo and a bit more snap to the play in the second half but it was the visitors that started the brighter. It was typical of this game that we know as football that Blues should then snatch the lead on 49 minutes following a well worked breakaway. Jerome fed Chucho whose well weighted pass was met by Lee Bowyer first time as he drilled the ball into the bottom corner under Green’s body. The large crowd of over 28,000 went mad and the previously subdued atmosphere was lifted from its torpor. West Ham seemed to lose their impetus for a while and apart from Parker who was for me the best player on the pitch along with Bowyer, Diamanti was the only other threat to the Blues back line who nevertheless needed to be on their guard.

Blues should have put this game to bed when chances for Ridgewell who missed an absolute sitter from virtually under the crossbar volleying wide from less than a yard when merely passing wind would have resulted in a score. Cameron Jerome who had a mare then contrived to shoot wide with only Green to beat when put clean through. This profligacy resulted in Blues having to defend desperately in the last five minutes against a by now ten man West Ham as the kitchen sink and most of the furniture was thrown at our defence. Just before that Dyer had come on late on and clipped Hart’s far post with the keeper beaten following a defensive lapse which allowed the England midfielder to run at us driving into the area from thirty yards out. It was a beautiful curling effort that deserved a goal and Blues were very lucky to get away with it; they would have had only themselves to blame for missing gilt edged chances earlier. Noble was dismissed for a second booking which although a little harsh for the tackle on Benitez, the player can have no complaints when you consider that he talked himself into the book for the first one. Gianfranco Zola said afterwards that the referee had taken the day off and was understandably critical. However, this was Lee Mason he was talking about; the same numpty we had last season who awarded Sheffield United that ludicrous penalty and after Sheffield’s first goal was clearly offside but no matter the poor officiating worked in our favour for once. This reminds of a quote I saw recently by the French writer Jean Giraudoux; “Only the mediocre are always at their best!”

Blues saw out the final five minutes albeit desperately and the five extra of time added on a little more comfortably. However, it shouldn’t have been this way because this was a game Birmingham could and should have won comfortably. On balance they deserved the points but the win was not convincing and Blues will have to be a lot better and more clinical in their finishing against Blackburn on Tuesday if they are to continue this excellent run. West Ham are a far better side than their present position suggests and January will be a defining month for them I suspect. I hope for their sakes that the talked of fire sale does not materialise for if it does one has to fear for them.

From Birmingham’s perspective, I suppose that we have to be grateful that we won despite not playing at our best; don’t the pundits always say that that is the mark of a good side?