Birmingham City v Everton Preview
After the win in midweek at crisis club Portsmouth – we return to St Andrews to face an Everton side who appear to be improving week by week.
With key players like Arteta returning, Everton have gone on a decent run. Landon Donovan has been another player who has made a big impact. He is on loan from David Beckham’s previous USA club – LA Galaxy. Galaxy have insisted that his loan won’t be extended and so he is due to return to the States after our game. David Moyes has said he would like the player to stay, and there is a slight chance, as the American players are threatening strike action meaning Donovan could stay.
The Blues once again have pretty much a full strength side available with Parnaby and Phillips the only non long term injured to be doubtful.
On the forum we have been saying the last few games that Benitez needed to start, and there is no doubt that Jerome looks a better player alongside Chucho, so after our confident win in midweek, I’m hopeful that McLeish will start with the same forward line. Bowyer and Larsson are also available again.
This of course will be the 3rd time we have played the Blues from Liverpool this season. Earlier in the season we ran away giggling like school kids from Goodison Park, when we had one shot on goal and stole a point from Everton.
Our next visit however was more convincing. We knocked them out of the FA cup with a 1st half performance that was probably one of our best of the season.
As I have said, since then Everton have improved and are now only two points behind us. They have won 7 of their last 10 PL games. However, we have only lost 3 in our last 19 PL matches and are unbeaten in 10 home games.
I think it is fair to say that Everton are a stronger side, and will be confident after their thrashing of Hull last week, however I think this contest will be a tight one but I do think that Everton will shade it. I just think they have the momentum and although we have won the last two league games, we will be narrowly beaten by the other Blues.
Prediction Blues 1 v 2 Blues
Blues Play the Balancing Game
Here is another article by Dale.
You’re Alex McLeish. You have players like Michael, Gardner, Phillips and young Jake Jarvis at your disposal. You have guided your team to premier league safety with ten games still to play. What’s your next move?
The man himself has reiterated his desire to push as high up the table as possible before the end of the season. He has been quoted as setting 51 points as a new target. But with a team of regulars approaching their 35th game of the season legs and minds will inevitably start to tire. Or will they? With this in mind, does McLeish opt to introduce the likes of Michael and Gardner on a regular basis and try to draft in some fringe players to see out the season and give some invaluable experience to the young lads. Or does he maintain the stance of consistency and stick with his strongest team. The key to this is balancing both.
Nobody can deny the effort, desire and commitment the team has put in this year and the proof is in the pudding. 43 points with ten games to spare. This must have taken its toll, physically and mentally, especially on the starting 11 who went 13 games unchanged. But with the summer on the horizon, and possible transfer targets keeping a close eye on us, does McLeish look to make one last charge up the table and field his strongest team for the remaining games. Personally, I would like to see us finish as high as possible, making Blues a more attractive prospect for would-be signings. A top half finish would be an amazing achievement and in the position we are currently in, looks a certain possibility. Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool all travel to St.Andrews in the coming weeks along with away ties to Manchester City and The Vile so it is no foregone conclusion that a finish in the top 10 is guaranteed.
I believe McLeish is the type of manager with ambition and desire at the heart of his thoughts and will go for broke! He will start to implement one or two players into the team but the fundamentals of the starting 11 will remain. With this, the character and spirit of the team will rub off on the players coming in, rather than change the essence of the team with one or two with the winning mentality. A lot of what will happen depends on the players and if they fancy the fight now the war is over. Each individual player will react differently but I think we have enough “troops and winners” in our side to finish the season with a flourish.
McLeish now has a nice dilemma on his hands and the forthcoming weeks will tell us a bit more about the stern Scotsman and his ambitions for the club.
Dale Moon
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH vs BIRMINGHAM CITY (REFRAIN)
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s report from Tuesday night.
I went straight from work to Will’s place where I met his wife Julie for the first time. I introduced myself and said that yes, I really was the serial killer she thought I was given that Will had met me originally via the blog and therefore the internet. She thinks I’m joking so that’s all right then! 
Chris, Will’s brother had travelled down from Warwickshire for the game and to have a round of golf in the afternoon whilst muggings had to work. We set off for the short journey south to Portsmouth and managed to grab a pie and a hot drink in the ground. Will still cannot get over the fact that I hate Bovril and I settled instead for tea. We found our place in the stands and hoped we didn’t play like we did at the weekend.
What a difference from the events of Saturday? This was an impressive win following what must have been a bitterly disappointing defeat to the same team just three days earlier. Blues made four changes to the Saturday line up with Michel starting in place of Bowyer, Benitez was restored to the starting line up with McFadden demoted to the bench. Out also went Larsson who was replaced by Gardner and Fergusson took over from the rested Stephen Carr as captain, his place in the side being taken by Parnaby. The side had a better balance to it and as was the case at the weekend Blues dominated proceedings from the off with the essential difference that we looked dangerous going forward with Chucho adding that bit of spice that resulted in an early opener for Cameron Jerome in the 14th minute. A lovely touch through to the striker from his partner on the edge of the area gave Jerome the opening which he drilled low just inside the far post to send the assembled throng of noses wild with delight. Not only were we ahead but we were playing some slick flowing football in the middle of the park orchestrated by Michel who looked sure of touch, poised on the ball with an ability to pick a pass that always seemed to be delivered to the feet of a team mate! The stuff of dreams for a Blues side playing on this occasion in the white kit with the red penguin stripe down the front rather than the black strip that was still in the wash from Saturday. Portsmouth for their part were second best in the opening period and were opened up again when Benitez found himself one on one with David James in the middle of the goal with either side to choose to deliver the ball into. He chooses to dribble round the keeper only to be tackled by Hreidarsson. The frustrations of the travelling faithful were tangible as heads went into hands and expletives abounded. Nevertheless, within minutes the little Ecuadorian had made amends when a clever little back heel split the Pompey defence for Jerome to stroke the ball under the body of the diving James for 2 – 0. This score on 42 minutes was the least that Blues deserved and it could have been more such was the superiority that Blues held over their hapless opponents.
The second half was more one of containment of what Portsmouth had to offer which wasn’t a great deal to be honest and Blues should have added to their tally when Fahey delivered a cross too far in front of Jerome having carved Pompey open again. Dann missed a very presentable chance from fifteen yards placing his effort over the bar instead of the top corner and McFadden who came on late for the tiring Benitez almost caught James napping with a fierce shot towards the near post. Despite giving the eyes, James was equal to the save. The Pompey keeper was given a hard time by the noses behind him especially as he mimed the scooping out of a ball from the net just prior to the second half starting. We gave back with interest but the banter did descend somewhat into obscene chants about activities of his England team mate John Terry and what he may have done with James’ wife, sister, mother etc. We also sang ‘we’ll meet again’ and ‘we’ll never play you again,’ ‘Pay up Pompey!’ and many many more but my favourite of the evening was to the tune of the Conga ‘Let’s all have a whip round!’ Chris turned to me and said “Yow know why we know all the words of all these songs don’t ya?” “Why?” I said, “Cos we’ve ‘eard em sung to us so many times!” 
The only blemish of the evening was allowing Portsmouth a consolation goal in the 92nd minute when Kanu, a late Pompey substitute netted an inswinging cross to give us all a nervy last couple of minutes and Pompey, hope their performance did not merit. Fortunately, Blues held on comfortably enough but the margin should have been far greater than it was.
This was a very good win in the circumstances but before getting carried away with hyperbole, the quality of the opposition has to be taken into account. Portsmouth are bottom of the league for a reason and that is that they have lost 19 of their 28 games to date. They were outplayed by Blues last night which makes the loss to them on Saturday all the more frustrating. As I said in my last report, we lost it rather than them winning it with poor team selection and tactics in contrast to this game when the balance was correct, the ball moved slicker and the tempo was higher and we got in amongst them. I am still concerned that we still at times gave the home team too much space to play out wide especially in the first half and improvement will be needed against a resurgent and continually improving Everton who visit St Andrews on Saturday. We will pay heavily if this area is not tightened up on. There were things nevertheless to be encouraged about especially the performances of Michel, Gardner and Benitez. Jerome was also as excellent as he was awful on Saturday and took his goals well. It was sad to see Parnaby who had had a good game to the point where he limped off injured have to leave the field prematurely. He was ably replaced by Tainio.
Alex McCleish has intimated that we do not have enough firepower to challenge for a Europa League spot and I agree. Whilst the league standing may suggest we are in with a shout I think the realistic view is that we are not good enough yet but I am happy to be proved wrong. We have ten games left and before last night McCleish had set a target of 51 points or a point a game for the remaining fixtures. This may sound cautious but with away games at Sunderland, Blackburn, Manchester City, Vile and Bolton and at home fixtures against Everton, Arsenal, Liverpool, Hull and Burnley, I simply think he’s being realistic. Any more than 51 will be a bonus but I suspect whatever we finish up with will not be enough for a place in Europe. The facts remain that we need a centre forward who can deliver 15 goals minimum, fast wide men and a cover at full back down both flanks. Then and only then may we be able to compete.
KRO SOTV
Post Portsmouth Musings!
As you can imagine, after Saturday’s game – the forum was full of disappointment, pointed comments and suggestions of how we could have won.
Here is a hotch potch of those thoughts and some of my added comments.
I’m of the opinion that straight after the game is not the time to analyse, hence a 24 hour wait! Emotions run high and the taste of defeat is raw. So hopefully some of these thoughts are a bit more reasoned today.
The first thought begins like this.
I can’t remember being as gutted about a Blues result for a long, long time. More than the disappointment or anger of watching a linesman and referee make a human error, I’m bitter and twisted over the fact that at least three Portsmouth players saw that the ball had crossed the line and yet, did not speak up. I was angry with Keith Fahey last week when I believed that he cheated to gain us a win over Wigan.
But this week, I’m absolutely furious over the fact that David James – a man who is almost forty – could not find the strength inside to be honest with a referee and say that he had conceded. I know that these days, the game and winning is more important than honestly and integrity and as I watched, I felt myself falling out of love with the game just a little bit more. It’s not about people, honesty and emotion any longer. It’s about cheating, misdirection and who can do what to get the best over his opponent whilst baring following the spirit or rules of the game.
Just… meh, can’t remember being this bitterly disappointed for a long time and just wanted to express absolute anger at a player and a man who would, I hoped, have been a bit more honest.
I totally understood this point, but when you look at the replays it is understandable why it was missed. I don’t particularly blame James, it’s not his job to give the decisions.
HOWEVER I do agree that footballers SHOULD be able to say to the referee – no I didn’t touch the ball, yes it was hand ball, the ball was over the line. It SHOULD happen, but it won’t – yes I know it is fanciful, but at least some of the feelings of injustice would be removed for fans, after all that is the biggest barrier we have to climb! 
(Oh and before you get cross, read the 3rd point – but not before the 2nd point!)
The second point.
The country got the result it wanted so who are we to have a moan about it? Some of the coverage has literally made me feel sick to the stomach. At half time, Blues were great value, playing well, etc, etc. By full time, Portsmouth ‘fully deserved the win’ and their loan players ’showed that they cared as much as any Portsmouth fan does.’ Gah, the stuff you could lose your lunch to.
The club I love has been reduced to a footnote in the season of a club who has pulled the wool over the eyes of the footballing public and media with lies and deceit. They’ve financially mismanaged themselves and apparently, this makes them ‘deserve it’ and ‘earn that little bit of luck’. Why? Because they can’t manage and haven’t played very well this season?
Now I totally agree with this. I don’t have an axe to grind with Portsmouth fans, for them this must be a hideous situation – but action should have been taken by the FA or Premier League. We were relegated when Portsmouth’s administration, (excuse the pun), bought big and kept them up. Since then they won the FA cup – however have been racking up the debts. Any other business would not have continued, they just can’t support the large wages and relatively lower gates. The sums don’t add up.
In effect, they have taken advantage of other sides by playing players they couldn’t afford to pay which brings the whole Premier League and FA cup into disrepute. If the FA and / or the Premier League had stepped in earlier, this mess may well have been avoided.
Right, before you jump down my throat saying it is sour grapes, read the next point!
I felt we didn’t deserve to win, although we were never really stretched in the first half, in the second we needed to step up, and to do that we had to offer more in wide areas. Fahey was very poor and Larsson had an off day. I thought Chucho actually looked interesting wide on the left and I hope Gardner starts on the right next game. If we aren’t going for width, why not play 4-3-1-2 with McFadden behind a front two.
Totally agree. Although we were well in charge in the first half with possession and defence, we never really looked like scoring either. We didn’t come out of the changing room until 75 minutes were on the clock and it was too late by then. Portsmouth played well for 15-20 minutes and scored twice, as a result deserved to go through.
I really don’t understand why Chucho and Jerome didn’t start. I appreciate that Alex has tried to keep an unchanged side wherever possible, and that is a positive – however the performance against Wigan was lethargic and I think that Benitez would have bought some life up front. Fahey will become a very good player IMO, but he been poor for a few games now and should be rested.
So it is now all about whether we finish 7-14th, perhaps a little disappointing in that we aren’t playing for something – but at least we know we are going to be playing in the division again next year and with some new faces at the club – maybe we could do EVEN better!
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH v BIRMINGHAM CITY
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Players, Reports By Bazza
I had to re-type this, the tear stains on the original prevented me from copying it straight over. 
Over to Bazza:
I have found it very difficult even the day after to find the heart and energy to write my report on this game such is the sense of disappointment that I am sure is shared by every Blues fan this morning. Fratton Park is a simple train journey for me even though it still takes an hour and a half. Having arrived at Fratton station and walked to the ground I met ‘Sandwich’ Bill and Alan in the disabled car park who had travelled down from Birmingham after an early start. We must thank the football authorities at this point for putting our game on early despite the length of journey for the away side and their fans when the Fulham-Spurs tie would have been better suited; reminds me of the time when we reached a semi-final against Leeds and the match was played on a ‘neutral’ ground at Hillsborough!
Anyway, moving on Alan and Bill are some of the most long suffering noses I know and I have seen them many times before at away games. Alan, as he usually is, was smoking a fag in the back of the car and as he flicked the ash the slight breeze kept taking it onto Bill’s lap sitting in the front passenger seat with the door open. “Hey!” Bill kept saying flicking the ash off himself “watch what yow’er doin!”
After about the sixth time of asking Bill stood up protesting still but onto the deaf ears of Alan who simply lit up another having seconds before put the last one out. Both these boys are professionals when it comes to smoking which they continued to do whilst we reminisced about previous games against Pompey. “At least they got a roof on the away stand nowadays,” lamented Bill. We had all been at the game about 12 years ago when it rained incessantly and we all got soaked through to the skin. Four cigarettes later (Alan won the gold medal for smoking in the Olympics in 1964 ) it was time to walk round the other side of the ground to our seats. Pompey may have invested in a roof for the old open stand and over-invested in players they couldn’t afford but the investment stopped short at the toilets which remain pretty basic and have been so all the time I’ve been going to Fratton Park. As they say in these parts avoid the heads unless you’ve got to.
Well I’ve put off talking about the game for long enough so here goes; I thought Portsmouth would fly at us and we would have a torrid first twenty minutes. Apart from a weak shot from Belhadj in the first minute they offered very little and in fact Blues were the better side in the first half controlling the midfield in a calm composed manner but offering little threat. Jerome had a snap shot following good set up work from McFadden and Bowyer which was well saved by David James.
McCleish had started with the same formation as for the Fulham and Wigan games which surprised me as it hadn’t really worked at Fulham when the opposition scored our only goal and against Wigan we only won because we were given a dodgy penalty. Despite this I believe that with a half decent striker we would have gone into the break 2 – 0 to the good. As it was it was 0 – 0 and although we hadn’t made our overall dominance count there was little to complain about. I felt we were more than a match for anything they had to offer and would snatch the necessary winner at some stage purely by the law of averages.
Those hopes were dashed in three second half minutes when a lucky deflection led to a toe poked effort towards Hart who having appeared to grasp it, had it kicked out of his hands by Scott Dann challenging for the ball simultaneously. The ball flicked up off Hart’s leg to present Piquionne with a tap in from inches out that my arthritic granny could have scored to give Portsmouth the lead against the run of play and on the basis of their performance so far, one they scarcely deserved.
However, how typical this is of Blues. Failing to score when you are on top has cost and will continue to cost them which make their position in the Premier League all the more remarkable having scored only 26 goals all season. Blues were shaken and found themselves two down before they had cleared their heads. Piquionne twisted Roger Johnson inside out when the defender got isolated and a fine cross shot was buried into the bottom corner; oh for a striker of this quality! On came Kevin Phillips and Chucho for Fahey and McFadden and latterly Gardner for Larsson, a change that was made at least 45 minutes too late in my view, in an attempt to salvage the tie.
Ten minutes from the end a corner from Larsson was powerfully headed down towards the bottom corner by Roger Johnson only to be brilliantly saved by James. The rebound was headed in by Ridgewell at the far post but despite the ball being clearly over the line the assistant referee failed in his duty of actually watching what was going on and allowed James to claw the ball back from a foot behind the post. Television evidence shows clearly that the goal should have been awarded; it wasn’t and with that decision went Birmingham’s last chance of Wembley glory.
I rang Will after the game on the train home to get his take on the game from the television perspective. He made several valid observations that the formation meant the team was unbalanced as McFadden is not a centre-forward and Fahey is not a winger. Double Agent Ridgewell was our best player and provided the only width which says it all and I agree wholeheartedly. Larsson was truly dreadful both in the persistent way he kept turning in field instead of staying out wide and as for his set piece deliveries, enough said. Jerome was shocking in thought and movement and gave one of the worst performances I have seen from him. He normally at least works hard despite having the touch of a rapist and other shortcomings but this was a lacklustre performance and we saw little of his much lauded pace. Benitez when he came on showed nice touches but it was too late by then. Phillips and Gardner were introduced too late to have any impact. McFadden held onto the ball too long when well placed and the final ball from midfield generally especially to the players in wide positions was too often badly weighted or misdirected.
Portsmouth didn’t win this game; Birmingham lost it. They have themselves and themselves only to blame. This is such a shame given the season we have all enjoyed to date. One of the highlights was the win at Everton and although I wasn’t present for that one our first half performance was outstanding by all accounts. That day we went with McFadden and Chucho up front together. This may be an option to consider next week if McCleish is going to insist on playing McFadden as a centre-forward. Jerome was so poor it may be time to rest him. The same goes for Larsson; Gardner must be given his chance although he is better suited to a more central role and I really want to see Michel get some game time.
The needs of the squad were brutally exposed if further evidence was needed; two decent strikers and fast specialist wide players. Then and only then we may start offering a threat and win these big games when they present themselves. It has been 54 years since Birmingham last contested a FA Cup Final; it’s 55 now!
KRO SOTV
-
Partners
-
Polls
Loading ...
-
Recent Posts
- Birmingham City v Everton Brief Post Match Thoughts
- Birmingham City v Everton Preview
- Blues Play the Balancing Game
- VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH vs BIRMINGHAM CITY (REFRAIN)
- St Andrews Tannoy Sytem – Give Your Feedback
- Post Portsmouth Musings!
- Who’s going to be the top marksman?
- VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH v BIRMINGHAM CITY
- Nail Biting Blues!
- Portsmouth v Birmingham City – FA Cup preview
-
Other Stuff
