Who’s going to be the top marksman?
Well we are out of the cup and there’s still a quarter of the league season to go but goal scoring remains a problem. The failure to sign a striker in January could well be telling. It looks like whoever ends up our leading scorer this year will do so with under ten goals but who do you reckon that is going to be. The current standings including cup goals are,
Lee Bowyer 6
Cameron Jerome 5
Seb Larsson 4
James McFadden, Christian Benitez, Kevin Phillips, Liam Ridgewell 3
So while the total might not be great, who do you think will end up Blues top scorer. Vote in the poll on the right.
In our last poll only 15% correctly predicted that we wouldn’t get further than the quarter final with almost double that thinking we would win it. That’s what optimism does for you..
Beau Brummie’s Relegation Dog Fight Stops Here!
Here is Dale’s latest article, this week about us achieving the magical 40 point mark!
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Birmingham City have secured another season in the premier league! All seems a bit of an anti-climax though doesn’t it? No last day heroics, no depending on other clubs results and no pitch invasion to get at the owners of the club! Nevertheless, to have reached this points tally quickly and quietly, almost assassin like will be the much preferred method for most fans and I say this with a certain degree of certainty! I know it may seem a bit premature but my thoughts of reflection have begun on what has been nothing short of the most amazing season to date. Some may argue that such a remark is exaggerated and sensationalising a merely “successful” season but I urge to those who do, look at the facts. Birmingham City was hanging onto 16th place and looking over our shoulder at the gaping relegation zone ready to swallow us up! We lost four games on the bounce and won just one game in six. Fans began the “4-4-2” chant after a somewhat shambolic display at home to Bolton, patients were wearing thin towards Alex McLeish and all fans were geared up for the usual dog fight at the foot of the table!
But no such fight was needed and most defiantly was no managerial dismissal necessary! The team of “old boys” and “inexperienced championship players” has produced the leagues success story of the year. McLeish’s men have shown that organisation, spirit and a touch of Lee Bowyer is enough to surpass any expectations that a know-it-all pundit may place on such teams. A shared similarity of most players in this year’s squad is the need and determination to prove a point. If to nobody else but themselves. Joe Hart’s ability to emerge as a possible England keeper and challenge Shay Given as Man City’s number 1. Stephen Carr digging out his boots from under his bed after retirement and returning to have an outstanding season. Agent Ridgewell and his broken leg – enough said there! The two “Championship” centre halves that have been nothing short of colossal! Our two “Bad Lads” in the centre of the park. Their temperament? Age? Ability to play at this standard? I think all has been answered there by Bowyer and Ferguson.
Is it possible that the effects of the Italian match fixing scandal that propelled Canavaro and his pasta slurping team mates to the heights of World Cup glory in 2006 has been replicated right here in Brum? Controversy breeds Togetherness? Or is it simply that McLeish has assembled a squad of winners, troops who seek the adrenaline rush of the battlefield. One thing is for sure, nobody can deny the achievement that the gaffer at the helm of these over-achievers has brought this season. To take a team on a 15 game unbeaten run in any league in the world is an accomplishment to say the least. To do it with the Blues is a near miracle. Or is it? Are these signs to come, is this article outdated and has the tide changed somewhat down at St.Andrews? Has the fortune inside those Chinese cookies found its way to Small Heath and has that evasive F.A cup got out name written on it? Only time will tell but can I personally say congratulations to everybody connected with Birmingham City football club for a season that NOBODY anticipated.
Now let’s give the likes of Gardner and Michel some playing time, see how high up that league we can get and maybe, just maybe engrave our names on that F.A Cup. A Sight that even the most optimistic of fans never expect to witness. Congratulations and Keep Right On!
Dale Moon
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – WEST HAM UNITED vs BIRMINGHAM CITY
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
On a bitterly cold night at Upton Park, David Gold got his wish for his new team to triumph over his old employees but the result can hardly be described as a “whack.” Much has been said by the two Davids in the days leading up to this one. We are of course all well versed in the playground antics of our former owners but now that they have moved on to a ‘bigger’ club their musings have been brought to higher national attention; after all, West Ham are a club that registers on the wider media Richter scale than the ‘little’ team from Small Heath in the nation’s second city.
They fielded an attacking line up with Mido and the returning Carlton Cole up front aided and abetted by Scott Parker and Diamanti. Blues made some changes with Phillips, Fahey and Gardner coming into the starting line up making a diversion from the side that had done so well for us over the last three months. Blues settled into the game after an initial opening flurry from the hosts and Cameron Jerome had a chance following a nice move but placed his shot wide from eight yards. This was to prove costly. Phillips had a searing 25 yarder tipped over by Green; Diamanti tested Hart with a fierce shot from wide and Scott Dann made a brilliant block from Cole’s fierce shot on 32 minutes which probably represented their best chance of the half. The contest was fairly even with Blues in control for the most part after the early exchanges and the board had been put up for a minute of time added on when Scott Parker’s pacy scurrying run at the heart of our defence was brought to an abrupt end by Dann’s outstretched leg. This resulted in a free kick 25 yards out and a yellow card for Dann. I had a premonition as Diamanti lined up the kick. I remember he came very close with a similar effort at St Andrews in our meeting with the Hammers there and we were fortunate to escape as the ball took paint off the crossbar. This time however, we were not so lucky and the Italian’s beautiful curling strike flashed past the despairing Hart into the top corner for a lead West Ham didn’t deserve on the balance of play but it was a goal to grace any match and would have beaten any keeper in the land. It was to be the last kick of the half.
The second half presented very few chances for either side and West Ham were resolute and more solid in defence than they had been in the first and were clearly in no mood to allow their opportune lead to be nullified by their in-form opponents. Blues played some nice stuff in midfield with Fergusson imperious again and Gardner making frequent pacy runs down the right making the letter our best player by far on the night. However, Blues could not find the killer ball or opening to trouble the Hammers defence. Michel came on for the tiring Bowyer and on 67 minutes McFadden came on for Fahey in a clear attempt to freshen the impetus in search of the equaliser. Just as the first half free kick had been the telling moment of the first period, this innocuous replacement was to be the turning point of the second. McFadden had barely stepped onto the pitch when Ridgewell found himself facing two West Ham attackers on the overlap one of whom was Faubert who found himself at the by-line. McFadden, not yet in tune with the game, realised the danger too late to help his colleague and the result was a clipped cross from Faubert to the stooping Carlton Cole who cleverly got across Johnson to head into the bottom corner; 2 – 0 and game over. This was a pity for I am sure that five minutes later and the goal doesn’t get scored because the cross doesn’t come in because the cover would have been there; a very nice finish nevertheless. West Ham held on comfortably after that and a couple of half chances which fell to Phillips were snuffed out by the uncompromising defenders. Upson clearly handled at one point but it was one of those nights when nothing ran for us and decisions like that were never going to go the way of the boys in blue.
Blues did not play badly but were undone by two key moments especially the free kick in the first half. I think it would have been a different outcome had the score been 0 – 0 at half time as it should have been. A couple of West Ham fans told me after the game that Birmingham should have been 2 – 0 to the good before Diamanti scored. It would appear that our chances were better than they looked to me from the poor viewing position I had for the princely sum of £35 last night. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunities we created and they took two of the three they carved out during the game; the other was the block by Dann of Cole’s shot. That was the difference between the sides in what was a decent game and on that basis West Ham deserved their three points. Well done Hammers, Bravissimo Zola even if your Chairman thinks you are paid too much!
On the way back to Upton Park station with Will and his brother Chris who had travelled down from the Midlands to join us, Will asked; “Hey Baz, ‘ow do yow know if yow’ve got frost bite in yower feet?” I said “when yow take yower socks off, if yower toes come with them yow’ve got frost bite!” It was freezing cold in the stands and icy underfoot; probably as chilly as the relations between the respective boardrooms? A man walked past us in the queue with his two little girls who were wearing our colours and was overhead to say “Ah well sweetheart you can’t win every game you know.” Indeed you can’t and that is one of life’s lessons and so is the fact that there is always the next game (unless you’re a Portsmouth fan possibly. 
) Derby in the Cup; let’s not have a repeat of this disappointment there please Blues. West Ham are a decent side with good players and no disrespect to Derby County but such quality is not clearly visible in their squad. The Blue Army expects!
KRO SOTV
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM CITY vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s latest match report.
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No doubt everyone reading this will have already read a number of detailed accounts of the story of this match which of course ended in a very creditable 1 – 1 draw. However, the implications of this result run much deeper than the single point added to the 33 we had before the match. The strange thing about this game was that it was the first time for months that we as supporters of Small Heath Alliance had turned up to a game on the back of a defeat. Some of the pundits in the media seem pretty determined to talk up our demise before it has even happened. Mark “I think Liverpool will win 2 – 0” Lawrenson for instance has said that Birmingham could easily go on a long run of defeats just the same as they have been on a run of wins yadda yadda yadda! Liam Ridgewell’s equalizer just as the five minutes of time added on was being announced carried far greater importance than just the gaining of a point; it prevented back to back defeats and the sounds of early mumblings of “I told you so” from armchair experts like Lawro. This game also brought into sharp focus something that we have all known for a while; namely the need for a top quality striker.
In the car after the match, Alex McCleish came on the radio and announced that the Pavlyuchenko deal was “dead in the water.” I had thought that it was probably going ahead after the weekend following inevitable talks between the respective club representatives at St Andrews on Saturday. It was pretty clear that Spurs were never going to allow the Russian to join our ranks before the game for obvious reasons but a deal hammered out just before the deadline seemed to make sense. The announcement was disappointing to say the least unless it represented brinkmanship in calling Spurs’ bluff to get them to see reason and settle for a fee less than they paid 18 months ago but generous nevertheless for a 28 year old who has hardly played for them. At the time of writing however, it really does appear that the deal is really dead and all the other targets we’ve been hearing about for the last few weeks are unlikely to happen either. This is depressing given the two sitters missed by Chucho on Saturday plus the excellent chance that the normally reliable Bowyer missed in the first half.
I have kept telling myself that it is a matter of time before Chucho scores and he’ll then go on a run for us. After this game even I am beginning to lose patience with the mercurially talented Ecuadorian who propensity to shoot straight at the goalkeeper when well placed is becoming exasperating. Moreover, his best chance with the game only a few minutes old, was more a pass back than a shot! Contrast these gilt-edged opportunities with the smartly taken goal that Defoe scored on 69 minutes and there lies Birmingham’s problem. An attempted header by Crouch fortunately flicked off his brow to his strike partner who instinctively, quick as a flash, smashed the ball back across the goal from whence it had come into the bottom corner to give Spurs the lead their overall control had probably deserved. It was a top class finish but the irksome thing about it was that it was about the only thing Defoe had contributed all afternoon and the chance came from a throw in awarded to Spurs that rightfully should have been given the other way. Just after this set back Benitez wasted the second of his one on ones with Gomez and I thought I was going to be reporting on the second defeat in four days that is, of course until our makeshift left back popped up with a volley at the far post that most strikers would have been proud of. At least the last twenty minutes of the game provided some excitement with the delivery of the goals in what was a pretty poor quality game otherwise; Alan Hansen described this encounter as ‘a minger’ and he was spot on!
Harry Redknapp was naturally disappointed with the concession of the equalizing goal and he was right that Spurs did not defend the crosses from Carr and then McFadden well enough. He felt that this was two points dropped and Spurs deserved all three points in a game his team largely controlled. However, he doth protest a little too much; surprisingly Birmingham had 55% of the possession according to the MotD stats. Admittedly, Spurs did use their possession better, they were the better side for long periods, Bentley did run Ridgewell ragged, Bale gave Carr a busy afternoon on the other flank and Modric was all swagger and poise in the centre but Blues were resolute, stuck to the task and restricted Spurs to only two decent chances apart from the one that Defoe deftly converted. Modric missed by a whisker in the first half following good work by Bentley and Crouch missed a complete sitter when Defoe’s heavy touch when well placed presented him with Spurs’ best opening in the second half. However, despite Tottenham’s better play Blues had by far the better opportunities to score and should have won this game before half time. Harry Redknapp would do well to reflect on this rather than moan about the points that got away; there are better teams than Blues who will not be so profligate and the defensive frailties that Spurs clearly have mean that in my view they will not occupy the fourth place they crave come May. As for Blues, I sincerely hope that a new striker is secured before 5 pm today because otherwise I suspect the season will fizzle out into less than it could be which will be a shame after our best showing in the top flight for over fifty years.
KRO SOTV
A VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM CITY vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s match report from last night.
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I had an offer of a lift back from this game from my mate, Will who was up in the Midlands anyway on business. It made sense therefore to travel up to Birmingham on the train from work especially as the local roads are still not great and yet more poor weather, forecast. I caught the train from Guildford to Reading for the connection to New Street. It was good to be able to read the paper at leisure and the journey went without a hitch. A hot sausage roll and taxi from the station followed. The surprising thing was that the taxi dropped me easily right outside the Kop entrance on the Coventry Road a mere 10 minutes before the kick off. It was all too easy but never fear readers, the turnstiles’ staff came up trumps by complicating the entry to the ground meaning that I got in a few minutes late. I don’t think I missed much from the evidence of what I saw in the first half.
Blues fielded a full strength side whilst Forest made seven changes from the side that crushed the Baggies at the Hawthorns on Friday. It was just as well since the East Midlands side looked lively with neat passing and high tempo combined with quick pressure on the ball when not in possession which wasn’t that often to be honest. Blues looked sluggish and lack-lustre and too many passes went astray resulting in most of the play concentrated in the home side’s half. Camp in the Forest goal was in danger of dying from hypothermia, so little did he have to do. Joe Hart in contrast had to make at least two excellent saves to keep out McGoldrick and Tyson who in reality should have buried both chances. Blues allowed Forest far too much room to play their football and even our rock solid defence was showing signs of sloppiness and an air of the tie being a bit of a chore.
The teams went in goalless at half-time but if the score had been 2 – 0 or 3 – 0 to the men in red no-one in the home dressing room could have complained as Forest were by far the better side. The only thing that did strike me however, was how much energy the visitors had put into the half and I suspected that should the game stay all square deep into the second period that Forest would run out of fuel and they would certainly have nothing left should heaven forbid extra time be required.
Blues were livelier after the break and the contest became a little more even. A crowd of only 9,399 were still not treated to classic fare on a bitterly cold night however and when you consider that 1,700 of the frozen throng were Forest fans, the 22,000 who stayed away compared to Saturday didn’t miss a thing! It took one moment of class to settle this encounter on 61 minutes. A poor clearance from the Forest defence was seized upon by Barry Ferguson whose slick one-two with Chucho, who otherwise had a poor game, was finished beautifully by the Scottish international from 18 yards. His first time side footed effort curled round Camp into the keeper’s right hand bottom corner for an undeserved lead. Forest started to fade after this as Blues took more control of the game. As expected, their energy levels dropped and they were unable to press as efficiently as they had done. This gave Blues more space and time and their superior quality began to build on the established bridgehead. Blues then proceeded to miss several good chances; Jerome beat Camp when one on one but failed to impart enough pace on his shot allowing a retreating defender to clear his effort off the line. Camp saved brilliantly from Roger Johnson’s powerful header from a corner that looked destined for the net. Chucho who had a disappointing night shot weakly at Camp when well placed and Phillips who replaced him late on also failed to get hold of a similar effort. There were one or two breakaways that were squandered as a tired Forest side tried valiantly to bombard the Birmingham box only to have their efforts easily cleared. In truth Blues could have run out 3 – 0 or 4 – 0 with better finishing but this would have been extremely harsh on Forest who came to St Andrews and had a go. This game was not a classic and we have to be relieved that we got through it relatively unscathed without the inconvenience of extra time. Whether the prospect of a tough tie away at Everton will be worth it remains to be seen. One thing is for sure: Birmingham will have to play immeasurably better at Goodison Park if they are to break a winless record there stretching back 50 years. It is unlikely that Blues can or will play as poorly as last night and the watching David Moyes will know that. He won’t be losing sleep at the prospect of our visit though I suspect.
KRO SOTV
Birmingham City: Joe Hart 8, Stephen Carr 6, Lee Bowyer 5 (Keith Fahey 5, 63), Liam Ridgewell 6, Seb Larsson 7, Cameron Jerome 5, Chucho 5 (Kevin Phillips 5, 68), Barry Ferguson 8, Roger Johnson 7, Scott Dann 7, James McFadden 6 (Damien Johnson 6, 76).
Subs not used: Maik Taylor, Martin Taylor, Gary McSheffrey, Franck Queudrue, Damien Johnson.
Bookings Bowyer (45 + 1)
Goals: Ferguson (61)
Nottingham Forest: Lee Camp, James Perch, Luke Chambers, Wes Morgan, Lewis McGugan, Dele Adebola, Nathan Tyson, Gareth McCleary ( Paul Anderson, 81), Chris Cohen, David McGoldrick (Joe Garner, 67), Guy Moussi (Chris Gunter 73).
Subs not used: Paul Smith, Paul Anderson, Joe Garner, Radoslaw Majewski, Joel Lynch, Brendan Moloney.
Bookings: David McGoldrick (66)
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) 7
Assistant Referee (Tilton end) 5 Assistant Referee (Railway end) 7
Attendance: 9,399
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