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..
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
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM CITY vs WOLVES
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s report on our dramatic win yesterday.
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This turned out to be a very sport filled weekend for me; much more than usual that is. I didn’t go to St Andrews much as I wished to, as I valued both my life and everything that I hold dear in the manhood department! I had on Saturday been invited to the England-Wales game at Twickenham with a prolonged and copiously liquid lunch beforehand by a mate of mine who happens to be a Viler! Despite that, Jeremy is a top bloke and I am very grateful to him that he was able to see past my lifelong affliction of being a Blues supporter. I’m delighted to say that England defeated Wales in their encounter in the Six Nations opener and I returned home happy not just because of the alcohol that I had consumed.
Mrs Bazza has become wise to Blues games being on the telly and had pointed this fact out to me in midweek. Her piercing stare told me that me saying that it wasn’t my intention to be away most of Sunday in Birmingham was probably a good and wholly safe answer! In all seriousness, I needed to spend some time at home and I was feeling a little tired and emotional on Sunday morning. I took the dog out for her walk to clear the head and settled down to watch the game.
Blues had the luxury of naming an unchanged line up for the 12th successive Premier League game, but recalled Phillips to the bench following his groin injury.
Blues started brightly and Ronald Zubar’s timely tackle prevented Lee Bowyer from opening the scoring after a couple of minutes before James McFadden’s drive was headed behind. Blues forced a series of corners in the first twenty minutes and Wolves looked in trouble with each delivery into the box. Cameron Jerome’s goal bound header was fortuitously headed clear by Michael Mancienne standing right in the centre of the goal where a defender would probably not have been expected where the keeper would normally be. Wolves rode their luck as they tried to ride out the pressure. Sebastian Larsson hit a rasping volley two yards over after 14 minutes before Hahnemann managed to smother at Jerome’s feet after Benitez’s knockdown.
Wolves began to settle after being under the cosh for the opening quarter of the game and Dave Jones registered their first effort, when his free-kick dipped over goalkeeper Joe Hart’s bar with 23 minutes gone. Doyle was then brought down just outside the area by Hart, who was cautioned, but Jarvis’ free-kick was easily cleared.
Wolves were showing confidence as they got into the game and Zubar should have put them ahead on the half-hour mark from Matt Jarvis’ corner but the defender planted his header wide with the goal gaping. Blues fashioned further good chances as Jerome fired at Hahnemann from an acute angle when he would undoubtedly have preferred to roll the ball square to Lee Bowyer coming in at pace. However, the midfielder wasn’t there having been deliberately tripped by Mancienne who should have been given a yellow card. This was one of the many decisions that Mr Probert and his assistants failed to spot. Scott Dann volleyed inches wide and it was inevitable that the missed chances by Blues would come back to haunt them.
Wolves took the lead three minutes before the break when Jarvis’ cross was deflected against the foot of the near post by Roger Johnson. Doyle was on hand to tap in the rebound from three yards for his sixth goal of the season. The score was against the run of play but Blues had paid for their continued inability to take the chances they keep creating in games. Blues should have had a penalty when Zubar shoved Liam Ridgewell in the back in first-half injury time.
Graham Souness at half time said that the reason the penalty wasn’t given was because the referee bottled it. He was right but I would just put it down to the general ineptitude of the officials who had given goal kicks instead of corners, corners instead of goal kicks, throw-ins the wrong way on too many occasions for so-called top flight professional referees.
Wolves started the second period the brighter buoyed by their score just before the break. It was a far more even contest but Wolves had the edge at this stage now they had a lead to defend. Benitez limped off after a tackle by Hahnemann to be replaced by Phillips as Blues struggled to break Wolves down, but they began to see more of the ball as Wolves began to defend deep. Nevertheless, Foley tested Hart from 18 yards before Adlene Guedioura unleashed a fierce 25-yard effort, which flew inches over with 13 minutes remaining.
It was difficult to see where a goal was coming from with only ten minutes to go when Barry Ferguson tossed a ball to the far post, which Craig Gardner who had come on for the jaded looking Larsson headed down for Phillips to tuck in at the near post. St Andrews and my living room were in raptures as the momentum swung in Blues favour.
One sensed that Blues could go on and win the game now and so it was to prove as Super Kev grabbed the winner five minutes from time when Stephen Carr was allowed to run from deep to tee up Phillips, who found the corner with a neat volley following an exquisite touch off his chest with six defenders around him. This was a truly class finish from the little maestro and Chucho would do well to learn from him as this was a salient lesson in how it should be done.
Blues were not at their best for this one but still showed enough resilience to pull off the win. Wolves did look the better side for twenty minutes or so of the second half but then wilted. Blues despite being under par deserved their victory.
Kevin Phillips stole the man of the match accolade in only half an hour and must be a candidate to start next week. Fergusson was once again the pick of the midfield. The defence was solid and a little unfortunate in the manner of conceding the goal.
As for Wolves, Doyle was by far their best player and troubled Johnson all afternoon. Jarvis was quick and presented a threat on the left and his cross for the goal was excellent which led to the telling deflection. Zubar had a good match going forward and was their most effective defender although he was fortunate not to concede a penalty when he blatantly pushed Ridgewell in the back.
Ward was truly awful and I can see why the Wolves fans think he is Mick McCarthy’s love child. He was arguably at fault for both our goals. Mancienne, I don’t rate and never have. He has played over one hundred games at senior level for QPR and Wolves on loan from Chelsea. He is supposedly a central defender who has latterly been used as a defensive midfielder. I have watched him in both positions and frankly he isn’t good enough at this level which is why I doubt we will see him breaking into the Chelsea side any time soon.
Apart from Doyle, Jarvis and Stearman when fit, Wolves have too many Championship players and that is why they are struggling for survival. I nevertheless hope that they do for the sake of Midlands’ football.
Blues: Hart 7 Carr 7 Johnson. R 6 Dann 7 Ridgewell 7 Larsson 5 Bowyer 6 Ferguson 8 McFadden 6 Benitez 5 Jerome 6
Subs: Fahey 7 Gardener 7 Phillips 9
Wolves: Hahnemann 5 Zubar 7 Craddock 6 Berra 5 Ward 4 Mancienne 4 Foley 6 Henry 6 Jones 5 Jarvis 7 Doyle 8
Subs: Guedioura 7 Surman n/a Ebanks-Blake n/a
Referee: Lee Probert 5
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM vs CHELSEA
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s match report.
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I hope that everyone had a good Christmas and didn’t overindulge to the point that you missed this match as I nearly did although not on the grounds of ill health. The family had spent the festivities in darkest Essex at the home of my wife’s sister whom I have to say, in total contrast to my beloved, loves football and has a depth of understanding as demonstrated by the fact that she is actually a qualified referee! She supports Ipswich Town (I suppose someone has to) and my brother-in-law barracks for Crystal Palace and I often sympathise with him about this fact.
On Boxing Day morning having dragged my two lads kicking and screaming into the pre-noon part of the day (a serious diversion for them) we set off towards home intending to call in very briefly at my father-in-law’s place near Sevenoaks in order to take him in a Christmas lunch which was plated up and would slip into the microwave. Things did not go to plan and despite all good intentions, we got caught in traffic on the A12 because of a metallic disagreement between three cars which of course everybody, us included, had to slow right down and have a good gawk at! The M25 was full of cars off to the sales near Dartford and I forlornly watched the time tick rapidly towards kick off time. The final straw was being told on the radio that there was a tail back of several miles from intersection 4 to 8 making any prospect of getting home and seeing any of the game, out of the question.
Ordinarily I would have gone to the match but logistically it was going to be impossible but I felt cheated nevertheless and my mood darkened by the minute. “Never mind, you can watch what happens on MotD tonight” said Mrs Bazza. (Forgive her, she doesn’t understand!) “Can we not watch it at Granddad’s?” said my eldest lad. “He doesn’t have ESPN” I replied gloomily but I thought I would try and see if I could get a single game subscription or find a pub. We arrived at my father-in-law’s place five minutes before kick off. He greeted us with a smile and said “Hurry up boys, the game is about to start!” He explained that there had been a special offer of two months subscription for half price and so he had taken it; there is a God!
I suspect all of you bothering to read this drivel will have seen the game so I won’t bore you further with a detailed description but like many if someone had offered me a draw prior to the game I would have taken it without hesitation. Yes, Benitez’s goal should have stood, no we can have no complaints as it was a very tight call and we got away with a far more clear cut decision at Everton last week, yes we rode our luck and yes Joe Hart had the game of his life but make no mistake whether you are a partisan, neutral or Chelsea fan, Birmingham thoroughly deserved their point for their endeavour and spirit alone. Man of the match, goalkeeper, Joe Hart was awesome between the sticks and will have done his Wold Cup aspirations no harm with this performance. His save from Sturridge was nothing short of fantastic without getting carried away with hyperbole. Once again Scott Dann and Roger Johnson aided by Stephen Carr and Ridgewell on the flanks kept the megastars of Chelsea largely quiet and the biggest threat came from Alex whose aerial power caused Blues problems from set pieces all afternoon. His thirty yard drive from a free kick crashed against the crossbar in the first half and was the closest the London club came to scoring although they did have several clear chances to win the game which they spurned. Blues could have nicked this game as well but it would have been highway robbery had they done so. Seb Larsson whipped a brilliant free kick over the wall into the postage stamp only for Cech, who had his moments too, to save brilliantly whacking his head against the post in keeping it out. Thankfully the Czech international recovered and was probably thankful of the skullcap that has become his trademark in preventing another serious head injury. By the same measure Chelsea did not deserve to win this game and a draw was a fair and honourable result; if nothing else the main quality that this present Blues side has restored to the faithful at St Andrews is pride and I for one am proud to be a bluenose.
Stoke City next, a tough, uncompromising, determined team who are a formidable proposition at the Britannia stadium. Avoid defeat and Blues will set a new record of 11 league games without defeat in the top flight; a record that has stood since 1906-07! Apparently, we still got relegated that season which is why the quest for 40 points has to be and remains the primary objective. As Jimmy Greaves used to say “Funny old game in’it?”
KRO SOTV
Class Half Year Report
It’s Christmas time… there’s no need to be afraid – or is there? A lot of school kids would have received a mid year report, so I thought it would be fitting to do one for the Blues.
Yes I know we are not QUITE at half way, but close enough!
Class Report 2009/10 Half Way Point
Teacher, Sorry Manager
Alex has really blossomed in the last few months and continues to improve. He has showed good promise of achieving even greater things.
He has helped the class to gel and to start performing as a, well, a team actually. He is often quietly spoken, however he usually is very supportive of the class – although particularly earlier in the year – he didn’t always appear to know where they were supposed to sit! He insisted having most of the class in the middle with only one seat at the front.
I’m pleased to say that he has now sorted that, and the class regularly sit in the same place – with two class members at the front bringing more balance to the class – causing them to achieve a lot more than they were before.
Alex has also expressed his willingness to integrate some new class members with the hope that they may inspire the existing class to even greater things. This is to be commended and encouraged.
Alex is also willing to talk to people who can be critical of the class. He is always gracious and courteous, and this is also to be commended.
We have high hopes that Alex can achieve great things, and this is made even better by the apparent support from the Governing Body.
Class Member Performances
There have been some notable achievements this year from class members. Firstly, the two new boys Dann and Johnson, who joined the class in the summer, and who sit at the back of the class, have really galvanised that part of the class. Prior to them joining, there were a number of class members who moved around causing disruption and to be honest affecting the over all performance of the class. I’m pleased to say that the new boys have caused this to stop and the overall performance of those sat at the back is probably the most pleasing and notable improvement of the whole class.
Added to Dann and Johnson’s efforts, Hart who is on a class swop for this academic year, has also helped. It should be noted though, that Hart does need to work on his communication, and his occasional insistence of running from the back of the class without letting the row in front of him know – is a cause for concern. It would be churlish however to just dwell on this minor negative, when the rest of the term his work has been excellent.
Other class members worthy of a mention, are the experienced lads Bowyer and Ferguson. They are experienced working in the centre of the class from other establishments, although both have had their problems – we have been willing to allow them to start with a clean sheet and they have not let us down.
Their willingness to work hard with the rest of the class has been an inspiration and has clearly motivated others to up their performance. Well done lads.
The other 2 lads who tend to sit either side of the class haven’t always appeared to have performed at their best. However I would like to say their recent willingness to pull their socks up and rise to the challenge laid to them by Bowyer and Ferguson, is noted. Well done Seb and Mac. If you continue with the same grit, determination and effort you have shown recently, your end of year report will be a good one. Well done and keep it going.
Before I give a general class report, I would like to mention the two lads who sit at the front. This can be a difficult role, especially if all the class action is happening behind you! Earlier in the year when there was just one place at the front, this was particularly noticeable with that person often being out of position and young Hart obviously feeling sorry for them and insisting that he bye-passed the rest of the class and only working with the one lad up front.
This has all changed, thanks to Alex spotting this problem and moving the class around and the two lads Jerome and Chucho, (where do class members get their nicknames from these days!), working together REALLY well. I would say that their willingness to work hard has had just as an important impact on the class as the two middle of the class lads. I know that Chucho is still learning the language, however he puts in lots of effort regardless of this barrier and the rest of the class really respect him for it.
General Class Report
So over all, your results in the first half of the year – are well above your predicted grades and you should all be really proud of yourselves. Doesn’t it feel better than having a “could try harder” that you got in the summer?
The thing is, you must not get complacent. You haven’t finished the year yet and you are bound to get some difficult times. From experience, I can say that you are bound to get illness in the class resulting in others coming into the class in their place. You MUST welcome them and continue to work hard even if your normal mates aren’t there. You will fail to achieve the results you expect to do well in, but don’t allow this to knock you – use it to spur you on to do better next time.
Class you are achieving over and above what is expected of you, please keep it going and I hope that we can be giving out awards in the summer.
Board of Governors
I want to give the new board of governors a mention. They have come in and given the place a real lift. The previous administrators had lost contact with the community and this did appear to affect overall performances. The new guys and provided real encouragement from the top to the bottom, including some social interaction which is to be commended.
Their willingness to build links with the community allowing people like myself to go in and assess and ask difficult questions, is a credit to their obvious desire to do well.
Kev Ball
Class Inspector
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