The Playmaker

Alexander Hleb. Or Aleksandr, like the meerkat off that over-played advert. However you spell it, he's still the same player: impeccably, undoubtedly talented. An attacking midfielder who lacks pace which he more than makes up for in skill, vision and overall talent. He has a somewhat lazy persona; with the smallest shin-pads, if any, and socks rolled down as if he were playing in the park. He saunters about the pitch as he pleases but it's what he does with the ball that is most enjoyable to watch. You look to someone like Hleb to change a game; to play that pass no one else can see; to have that eye for the perfect through ball or the most delicate of shots into the net.

Unfortunately we've not seen much of this. What promised to be a good loan and a nice bit of business for the club on the final day of the Summer transfer window has petered out into a short, but sweet, stint for the Belarusian. His unfortunate injuries picked up throughout the course of the 2010/11 season have hindered his chance to show Blues what he is really about, and shorten his opportunities at showcasing himself on the big stage of the Premier League once again in hope of being rescued from his unfruitful time at Barcelona.


We have seen glimpses of what he is capable of. His goal against MK Dons in the Carling Cup was one of the first signs, as was that brilliant run against Fulham, his only Premier League goal against Blackpool, and then there was his great performance in the first half against Sheffield Wednesday before he was cruelly tackled and subsequently injured again showed us that the 29 year old still has a lot left to offer to any club.

And his substitute performance providing the second goal of the game against Sunderland again conveyed just why McLeish decided to get him in on loan: Hleb's choice to pass the ball to Craig Gardner in acres of space instead of going for glory himself highlight two characteristics of the finely-finished player he is: unselfish with great vision.

But it's his attitude, I suppose, has got in the way of him progressing and becoming a Blues favourite, as has unfortunately his lack of game time due to injury. We always knew it would be a one season loan affair, and he knew it too, despite him now talking like he's just decided over the past few weeks that our style of play leaves much to be desired.


He says he won't be staying because, at Blues, "you need to just fight and run, not too much passing" which is something I will take as a compliment seeing as at our club, in a relegation battle, fight is exactly what you want. After all, it won us the Carling Cup over Arsenal, did it not? It appears, in that case, that although Hleb wants to be at a club who always play the passing game, it takes a lot more than just pretty football to win trophies. Manchester United, although passing it about superbly, have players who "fight" and never give up - and this is why they win games; win trophies.

The reason Hleb is so overwhelmed with this idea of "fight" and "run" is because he's never had to do it before. He's played for Arsenal, he's played in the Champions League for Stuttgart, he's played for Barcelona - and the last one speaks for itself. But realistically, if he goes back to Barcelona and wants to play, or if he really wants this dream move back to Arsenal, fighting is exactly what he is going to have to do, whether he likes it or not.

In any case, surely if Hleb wanted to go to a club surrounded by players of his own ilk, then snubbing Liverpool, Benfica and Spurs for battling Blues was the wrong move for him. Did he come in the quest of first team football? Has he got a crystal ball and could see what future riches lay ahead in the form of a shiny gold Carling Cup Winners medal? Whatever it was, he came to Blues and now despite stating he has no future in the second city, he has vowed to give 100% in whatever part he plays in the remaining fixtures.


People are understandably miffed - for want of a better word - about his comments, but he was simply asked a question and he answered it, maybe more brutally than we would have liked, but he answered it. For his honesty, I admire him. Some of his comments could be misconstrued, especially if you read The Mirror, but he clearly has enjoyed his time here. Firstly, he admitted it: "I am happy and I am enjoying my time here, everything is good here" and secondly you only have to look how he acted when we won the Carling Cup - against his beloved Arsenal - if that's a man that doesn't like us, then I must be missing something here. Obviously the bottom line is he won't stay here next season. The jist of what he said is basically; thanks for the "different experience" and some game time. And of course the Carling Cup medal.

Personally, I like him. I'm not sure how he won me over, probably that cheeky smile and his footballing ability. Along with the fact, or realization, that he is exactly the type of player we need if we want to move forward. At Blues what we need, along with our fighters, our battlers and our players with the never say die attitude, is a few players like Hleb. We've seen that, even when fit, we often have to change our side to accommodate Hleb, when in an ideal world a player of his stature should be able to fit in alongside someone else with the same unpredictable and exciting talent. Players like him, along with the '110% every game' players we already have are what we need to continue going forward as a club.

Clearly he is a good player but if he thinks Arsenal would welcome in back with open arms he might want to take a look at their midfield before he calls up his best mate Fabregas to ask for a favour. Moving to Barcelona was the wrong career choice. He probably should have stayed at Arsenal. But mistakes are always made in football.

Nevertheless, after all that has been said, I'm sure he'll look back at possibly his last stint in the Premier League with fond memories, and walk away from Birmingham with a Carling Cup Winners medal in his back pocket. Fight and running can't be all bad then, eh, Alex?

Footnote: I wrote this because of Hleb's latest interview and wanted to break down what he had said more for myself than anything else. The articles in the Birmingham Mail and The Guardian cover Hleb's interview fully and make for much better reading than the shortened down and edited version in The Mirror. If anyone is interested to read any more about Hleb I suggest reading here or here.

We seem to like the cups...

So we're 90 minutes from Wembley again after the comfortable victory against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this afternoon. 3-0 in the end but really it could and should have been more. Easy this cup lark, isn't it?!

An early break to kill the game almost instantly was just what a needed against a Sheffield Wednesday side that has been poor of late and not won since way back in December. Capitalising on this was Jean Beausejour who scored his first goal in a Blues shirt after just five minutes of the match, side-footing the ball expertly into the net.

It was clear soon after that we were the team in control. Early goals are always vital to a teams performance as we witnessed earlier on in the week, on Tuesday against Newcastle. Fahey and Hleb created a good partnership and understanding in midfield together; both staking a claim for inclusion in the Wembley squad next Sunday.


The second goal of the afternoon came curtsy of a brilliant through ball by the man I just mentioned Hleb, who passed the ball to Martins on the left. He ran like a train through the defence and slid the ball into the back of the net with only eleven minutes off the game gone. The famous back flips were unveiled and Blues were now in cruise control to sail onto victory and through to the quarter finals.

Hleb really was showing his Premier League quality, as were the rest of the team, but it was especially unfortunate to see Alexander unfairly tackled and taken off through injury after only 20 minutes of play. Bentley came on as a substitute for him, which is a big indication of how far we have come if we can take Hleb off and bring Bentley on in an F.A Cup fifth round tie against Sheffield Wednesday! Albeit that both of them are on loan...

Blues had a handful of chances in the rest of the half, with Fahey's excellent free kick being palmed away, and the most clear cut chance being when Bowyer picked up the ball on the left and drove in a shot which seemed to him Cameron Jerome, who was unable to get control of the ball before it bounced passed the post. And Blues went in at half time with a comfortable two goal lead in a game they were dominating.


The second half started like the first, and Blues made a substitution which saw Phillips come on in place of Jerome. The game was all but over just 10 minutes later. A corner from Fahey was driven into the box almost on the goal line, where Bowyer seemed to come behind the keeper - much to the surprise of the Wednesday players! - and guide the ball into the path of David Murphy who fired in from close range.

Obafemi Martins almost got a brace after a smart Bentley run and a great cross clipped Martins on his heal and somehow managed to go just over the bar! But Blues were already in the driving seat and the miss wasn't too costly.


Although the away side piled on a late spell of pressure, they never really threatened Colin Doyle who seemed comfortable and assured all game and did everything that was asked of him. In fact, all the players played really well today and it was a great game to watch. Stephen Carr hardly ran all game but he didn't need to; Parnaby and Johnson were a solid partnership in defence and Murphy also had a good game with a goal to his name too. The midfield of Bowyer, Bentley, Fahey and Beausejour controlled the game with Fahey again playing a great central role as he did in the previous round against Coventry City.

Roger Johnson was substituted for Jordon Mutch near the end of the game, much to the disappointment of the centre half (we all know what he's like!) It's great to see a player so determined not to be substituted, but he's a player we need for the final and a silly injury or a stupid sending off was not something we wanted.

So, it was a comfortable win against quite a poor Sheffield Wednesday side. We didn't pick up too many threatening injuries and hopefully Hleb will be fit for the bench for the final next Sunday. All that's left to say now is well done today Blues, and I'll see you all at Wembley!

Full Time: Birmingham City 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday

The Masters of the Comeback

The game seemed like a real anti-climax at first. It's not that not any of us wanted to lose, it's just that the game seemed like it didn't matter as much as everything else going on, i.e. a relegation battle in the league and trip to Wembley in the Carling Cup. Nevertheless, McLeish fielded quite an attacking team, showing he was determined to win the tie and keep up Blues' good record in both domestic cups this season.

Surprisingly we started the better side, which isn't something we see too often. Just a few minutes in and Bentley bombed down the left hand side and whipped in a ball which Zigic met and headed agonisingly wide. Kevin Phillips, getting a rare start, also came very close to giving Blues the lead; but it was the away side who drew first blood in the tie. Marlon King picked up the ball on the right and with Ridgewell lying on the floor with a head injury, he was unmarked and able to have a great shot on goal which sailed past the Blues keeper Doyle and sent the 6,000 travelling Coventry fans crazy.

The Championship side found their feet in the game then, and began to take more control in the tie despite Blues still posing that great attacking threat with Bentley and Beausejour running the wings. Coventry's second of the game came thanks to a McSheffrey corner, a strong Richard Wood header and some questionable Blues defending.

But even at 2-0 down you felt that Blues were going to at least take the tie to a replay. It's just the Blues way. And Bentley brought the home side right back into it when 25 yards out he unleashed an unstoppable shot that looped over the head of goalkeeper Westwood and stunned the rest of the Coventry team. Half time, 2-1, and game most definitely on.


The turn of the half saw Blues completely go for it. You sensed an equaliser straight away, and it almost came courtesy of Beausejour; after a signature ball into the box by Bentley, all Beausejour had to do was head it in from a few yards out, but the ball skimmed off his head and went agonisingly wide of the post. However, this didn't stop Blues, and with 67 minutes gone of the game Nikola Zigic did some superb battling on the right hand side and was able to get the ball to Hleb before being knocked to the floor. Hleb took the ball on and crossed into the area and his pin-point ball found Parnaby who was on hand to equalise for the home side; finishing off a really good move by Blues.


On the up now, Blues just kept on attacking. Kevin Phillips had numerous shots on target throughout the game yet couldn't find the back of the net... that was until the 74th minute when he popped up with the winning goal. After being denied by Westwood, Blues won a corner, and when the ball landed at Phillips' feet in the area, you could have put money on him finishing: and he did. 3-2 Blues, and try as they might the Coventry players just couldn't find a way back.

Hleb had a great game in midfield and although he over did it at times, his attacking play was brilliant and he was a great asset to the side today. As was evergreen Kevin Phillips, who even managed to play the whole ninety minutes, getting into key positions and then popping up with the winning goal as well. The whole team seemed very assured today, and despite going two goals down never really looked like they were in trouble. In the end, it could have been 4 or 5-2; It was a great team performance second half. Well done Blues.

Full Time: Birmingham City 3-2 Coventry City

Observations

There's one thing you don't want to do when you go to Old Trafford, and that's concede inside the first five minutes. Unfortunately for Blues, we did just that, and that's when you know the next 90 minutes will be even more of an uphill struggle than you expected.

It may have been a different story had we not conceded so early. Yes, we still would have lost. I don't think many teams go to United expecting it to be easy or to get all three points, you can hope, but the reality is it probably isn't going to happen. But conceding so early on gave United the rest of the game to score even more, which of course they did. Two nil, then three nil before half time. And couple more after to take the grand total up to five before they decided they didn't want any more.

But enough about the cockneys, lets talk about Blues. The team with passion, fight drive, desire... that has gone missing this season. We knew it would be hard, we knew we'd be in a relegation battle, but were it not for the fact we were in a Carlin Cup semi final and on the verge of Wembley, I think many a Bluenose would be searching for the rope. No, I'm joking. We've been through all this shite before and we knew we'd have to go through it again. It's part and parcel of being a Bluenose and we wouldn't have it any other way... although once in a while it'd be nice to have a little change.


Now, onto what I actually wanted to talk about in this rather lengthy blog post. Just a few observations from the match. So, number one: we miss Scott Dann. I think everyone knew we'd miss him, but not how much we would. Although Johnson has a gob on him, Dann comands the back line throuhout the game and that's what we miss. In the past two games the defence sometimes look worried, confused and un-organised. Also, Scott Dann's replacement. We have a perfectly good experienced centre back on the bench in Jiranek who we brought in as cover should one of our centre backs get injured. Yet we're using Ridgewell instead, who is much better at left back than he is a centre back, even though by trade he's a centre back. And we're playing Murphy on the left who is a good left back but not as good as Ridgewell. This might confuse you, but I know what I'm getting at: play Jiranek in the centre. We bought him for this.

Next observation; Hleb. He is a fantastic player and some of the football he plays makes me want to shed tears of joy. However; what we need right now is players who will fight for absolutely everything; track back whenever needed; and run like someone has just shoved a rocket up their arse to help out a team mate. Hleb doesn't do that. Hleb will give everything going forward, but tracking back, his body language seems to say 'my job is to attack, someone else can do the defending job.' He is without doubt a brilliant player, but in a relegation battle he might not be someone we need. Just a thought.

Staying on the subject of classy midfielders, lets talk about David Bentley. He's great, isn't he? It's such a shame he's cup tied because we could do with him on Wednesday. His speed, skill and trickery; along with his excellent crossing and distance-shooting is just what we need. A bit of creativity to get us our of trouble. Something different. He offers you all of this and I just want to thank Spurs for letting us have him on loan! Brilliant.


Observation number three: I thought Jordon Mutch had a good début today. It must have been tough for him being thrown in at the deep end and being handed the task of keeping world class players at bay, but credit to him he did well, and he is a player we need to keep hold of because he will be big.

This Larsson fiasco is getting a bit silly now, isn't it? Revelations in the paper coming out that he was told he could go, told he had to stay, told this, that and the other, and it's all quite confusing and makes my head hurt. What is clear though, is that he doesn't want to be here any more. You saw that when he came on. He was okay, he will still work for us when we play him, but he won't put that heart in that he did before. He doesn't love us any more and a lot of the fans don't like him either. I'm not sure what's gone on, but I think we should let it die down now, because he's probably going to be here until the end of the season.

Although we lost 5-0, it doesn't really feel like it. I think if I had been lsitening or watching at home it would have been more painful, but when you're actually at the game it doesn't feel quite as bad. The Blues fans were excellent today. Humorous as ever and in full voice, it made me proud to be a bluenose. And 5-0 down, I looked around Old Trafford and it made me think how happy I am to support Blues instead of a team like United. Sure, we don't win everything, well, anything. We're in a relgatation battle. We'll never win the Premier League. But shit me, I have so much fun supporting this team. At 5-0 up, United fans were leaving. Leaving!! Christ, we're winning 2-0 and the whole ground stays to applaud the players off the pitch. 5-0, fuck me, we'd be partying all night long. I guess that's why I like supporting a smaller club.

And we certainly know how to have a laugh. The Norwich chants were brilliant, as was the look on the United fans' faces when we were cheering corners and singing "we're gonna win the league" - I wouldn't swap that for anything. This is what it's like to be City, and I for one absolutely love this club.

So, forget this game. It was coming, we all knew it, but the 1,800 blues there yesterday: we all had fun, didn't we? And this is to all blues fans now: we're all looking forward to Wednesday, aren't we? Forget losing 5-0 to a great team (who I haven't really praised throughout this - United were brilliant yesterday. Period.) Lets look forward to Wednesday. We're 90 minutes from Wembley, lets do this.

Full Time: Manchester United 5-0 Birmingham City

Half time

It could have been worse. I mean it really, really could have been worse. It could have been all over in the first half with the amount of possession and chances West Ham had, and considering how poor we played and how little we created, we were lucky to go in at half time only 1-0 down.

It wasn't a tragic first half performance, not at all, but not one you'd expect in the first leg of a Carling Cup semi-final. We played 4-5-1 which was frustrating but understandable. McLeish likes to contain and then go for it, which I do understand but then again on the flip side of things maybe we should have just gone for it and went 4-4-2 with Jerome and Derbyshire starting; with Jerome's pace and Derbyshire's knack for finding the back of the net, surely we couldn't have gone wrong?

In the past our defence has been rock solid. Last season a lot of teams struggled to get past out back five, but this season it's not been as good. The first goal we conceded highlighted this. The ball should have been cleared, Ridgewell probably should have been alert, and maybe Foster shouldn't have been beaten at his near post.


But there's no use dwelling on what could have been. In the second half Blues gave us the performance we'd all paid our money to travel down to London to see. God only knows what Alex said to them in the dressing room at half time but it certainly worked; we came out a different team and really took it to West Ham.

Blues started the half incredibly brightly and Larsson, who seems to be staying at Blues now, had a great game down the right with Carr and they both ran West Ham ragged. Hleb also had a good game, dancing through the defence whenever he pleased but my only criticism of him is that sometimes he tries to do too much. Other than that, he honestly is a joy to watch.

With free kicks, corners and crosses and most of all possession all in favour of Blues, it really was only a matter of time before the equaliser came. I cannot tell you how much relief and elation was felt amongst the travelling Blues fans at that header from Ridgewell all but broke the back of the net, and for the next 15 minutes the noise coming from the away end was terrific. It was brilliant to be part of it.


We really should have clinched a winner, especially after Obinna was sent off, but yet again our lack of clinical finishing was what let us down. That, and poor defending - which was what led to both the goals... and of course that blunder by Foster which we don't want to mention.

In a perfect world we would have grabbed an equaliser with the amount of chances we had after West Ham, pretty undeservedly, went ahead again. But it wasn't to be, and now we have to win at St. Andrews to stand a chance of getting to Wembley. It can be done, of course it can: we have a brilliant home record and West Ham have a pretty shambolic away record. It won't be easy, but then again, when is it ever easy supporting Blues?

Full Time: West Ham 2-1 Birmingham City

We've just won away

I'm sorry if this isn't coherent or long or what have you, but we, Birmingham City Football Club, just won away. It's an important event in the life of a Bluenose seeing as our last away win came all the way back in march 2010 at Portsmouth. And boy did we need this win, because it has pushed us up to 15th in the League and not out of danger, but above it for now.

The diamond that caught Ian Holloway out when we played them at St. Andrews came back to haunt him and from the off Blues had numerous chances to go ahead, with Derbyshire inches away from latching onto a good ball placed temptingly across the goal mouth. Cameron Jerome also had a couple of good chances, and it was clear we had come here to fight and to, most importantly, win.

The attack-minded formation was working for McLeish's men against a side that love to attack, but unfortunately for them this means they get caught on the break easier. With that in mind, Blues could have easily been winning from minute one, and throughout the first half we had the bulk of the possession and the bulk of the chances; and the opener for the away side came after 24 minutes. Defender Stephen Crainey made an awful mistake which gave Hleb the perfect opportunity to take the ball from right under the nose of the defender and run a few yards before calmly looping the ball over the head of Richard Kingson. After being under fire of some Blues fans after his, shall we say, misunderstood comments prior to the Arsenal match; but I think it's safe to say all was forgotten when he scored and reeled off in celebration with a big smile on his face.



Blues continued to dominate much of the first half, and while Blackpool threatened, the defence and Ben Foster - who had an excellent game - did enough to stop the home side from equalising, and went into the break a goal to the good and most importantly, half way to an important three points in this season's relegation battle.

It was clear as soon as the second half started what Holloway had said in his half time team talk: score a goal. And that's just what Blackpool set out to do. Now it was Blues on the back foot and Blackpool on the up. Ben Foster earned his wages in this half saving a wave of shots that came his way, the most impressive of the lot probably being from Charlie Adam's 20 yard effort was palmed away by the Blues number one, who has been saviour for his team so many times this season most if not all of us have lost count.

After a wave of Blackpool attacks it was Blues' turn to counter. Larsson, who ha been substituted on moments before, fed the ball through to Cameron Jerome, who dinked the ball over Kingson but was denied only by the post: will the man ever score?! This miss prooved to be vital though, as just minutes later the resiliant Blues back-line were eventually beaten, but as just as determined Blackpool strike-force. With 68 minutes on the clock, Gary Taylor-Fletcher nodded down a cross into the Blackpool box which fell to ex-Blue DJ Campbell, who volleyed past Ben Foster and unto the net. Although it was a knock for Blues, the only thing that made it easier to watch was the muted celebration from the man who helped us to promotion in 06/07; a great sign of respect from a great little player.


With the goal to boost their confidence, Blackpool were now in search of a winner, however the open nature of the game made it hard to see just which team was going to come out on top. It was exciting end to end stuff, and a joy for any natural to watch; but it was hearts in mouths time for both Blackpool and Blues fans as the game edged closer to full time. And, thankfully for us, it was Blues who came out winners. Beausejour's cross was nodded across the box by Roger Johnson, and Scott Dann controlled and finished almost Kevin Phillips-like, sending the travelling fans and the rest of the team into a frenzy!

First away with on the season; first double of the season; and most importantly, three points to add to the total and to help us climb up the table ever so slightly. We're not out of the mire by a long way yet, but this game could really give us the boost we need. Well done Blues.

Full Time: Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham City

The negatives outweight the positives, so why am I still smiling?

You might as well laugh. It's either that or cry. I honestly don't get how we can play well in the first half and then look like we can't even be bothered in the second. We looked tired and even uninterested at times, and that's just not like us at all - especially not at home.

We did start well and the crowd really made the place intimidating, but a seemingly dodgy (I haven't seen replays but that's what it looked like) free-kick gave Arsenal the lead after just 12 minutes, which really knocked us. In all fairness the first half wasn't even bad, Cameron Jerome ran the line brilliantly and won everything in the air; the last two games he has been an improved player, we just need to find a partner for him and hopefully one will come in the January transfer window.

However much you hear Blues fans moan about today, you can;t take anything away from Arsenal. As much a it hurts me to say this - and believe me, it hurts a lot - big, big credit to Arsenal because they were superb and really cut us open quite a bit, which teams like Manchester United and Chelsea didn't do in their games at St. Andrews recently. Nasri annoys the hell out of me but he is a brilliant player, no doubt about it and will be a contender for player of the season indefinitely. The rest of the team are great as well; great counter attacks, won the midfield battle and their closing down is brilliant. When a blue shirt had the ball they'd get three men on him until they won the ball. When a red shirt had the ball, we might as well have stepped aside and offered him a free passage through on goal for all the work we were doing. We didn't turn up today and it has been coming.


I think from a Blues point of view; the less said about the second half, the better. Absolutely nothing would work when we tried, and that wasn't very often. They all looked like they'd been out on Broad Street the night before and were feeling the effects of the day after. It really was horrible to watch and it was so un-Blues like I was starting to wonder who these eleven strangers on the pitch were - I didn';t recognise a single one of them.

There has been a lot of talk about exactly what has gone wrong at Blues this season. We do have enough to stay up, and there certainly are teams in this division who are worse than us. A lot blame the manager for everything. I'm a fan that's firmly on the keep McLeish bandwagon, because to put it plainly, lose him and we are fecked. Even more fecked than we are at the moment and at 19 points from 19 games that is suitably fecked. But why oh why do we bring Zigic on so late into the game, why oh why did we get Derbyshire on loan if he is never given a chance let alone a start, and what dear Lord above is the point of bringing Kevin Phillips on with 5 minutes to go. We've done that a lot: it doesn't work, it really doesn't. Alex, I love you, but you need to change something.

However, he needs investment. We need to get those two or three quality players in January that will keep us up, but the only way we are going to secure the services of the likes of Robbie Keane is to be able to pay their wages or the fee if they are permanent. I honestly don't care how we do it, but we were told we had 40 million to spend in last January's transfer window and we haven';t even spent half of that in a year, so Carson; put your money where your mouth is and lets keep this club up.


Apart from those little moans, I can't really say much else about today. We were outclassed by a much better team and I guess it's taught us a lesson that we can';t just keep expecting to do well at home; we can't keep thinking we are going to get these draws against top clubs; and most of all we can't go on not creating chances but expecting to get something out of the game. Chances make goals and goals win games, and without the midfield giving the strike force anything, we could have Drogba and Anelka playing for us and we still wouldn't score.

Just one more thing: Hleb. That interview. To be fair on him, the ESPN (also known as Arsenal and Liverpool TV) swayed him to what she (rather, they) wanted him to say. But it doesn't make the situation any better. He stated he'd rather be at Arsenal than here, and he said that "Birmingham cannot play like Arsenal" and mumbled something about Manchester and "other teams." I honestly do not care if he would rather be back at Arsenal or not, but disrespecting the team you're at now, not the brightest thing to do. It wasn't even the biggest insult he could have made. I agree we can't really play like Arsenal, but why say it?! The whole interview was Arsenal. It was like he didn't even care about Blues. And now he has angry Brummies and a few confused players on his case... good luck mate! Want your plane back to Barca now, or wait until May so your "best friend Cesc Fabregas" can go with you. Hmm.

It's not slit your wrists time yet, but if this is an insight into what 2011 holds for Blues, then it's going to be a bloody long year! Chins up, look onto the next game. No point looking back now.

Full Time: Birmingham City 0-3 Arsenal

A point in London

Who would have thunked it. It's not that we always play bad against London teams, it's that we never get rewarded. Time and time again we play London teams and come back to Birmingham empty handed, but today we finally picked up a point in the Big Smoke, and on the first half performance and the second half defending it was a deserved one at that.

It took us just 19 minutes to break the deadlock; against the run of play too. Alexander Hleb showed his real class for probably the first time this season, and broke from the half way line on a solo-run and unselfishly fed the ball to Seb Larsson who expertly found the back of the net. I have not yet seen this goal but apparently Hleb's run was absolutely magnificent.


The goal really stunned the home fans, and Blues went marginally on top then for the rest of the first half. Ben Foster and his defence were superb and their positioning was excellent as ever; Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, who have been talked up big time for England call-ups this week, dealing with everything in the air that came their way - surely just another reason to add to the list of why Fabio should take notice of them. Blues dealt with the onslaught of Fulham attacks well, and fought back with a few attacks of our own, none of which came to any avail. With Zigic dropped to the bench to make way for Hleb, Cameron Jerome was having to lead the line on his own, and didn't get too many sniffs of a goal himself as the game went on.

The second half started just as the first half with Fulham the brighter team. The two teams are relatively easily matched on paper, but with Fulham's good home form at Craven Cottage - disregarding last weeks heavy loss against Man City - and the fact that they were 1-0 down, they had an incentive to play better in the season half and to go on to find the equaliser: which they eventually found in the 53rd minute.


Blues failed to clear a Fulham corner and Clint Dempsey was there to put it into the back of the net to make it 1-1. It got a little worse for the away side some time after too, as Hleb, who had just hit his form and got back to full fitness, picked up an injury that led him to be stretchered off the pitch. Zigic filled the gap Hleb left and Blues went 4-4-2, but it was very much backs against the wall stuff as Fulham continued a barrage of attacks. It didn't go all Fulham's way in the second half though, as we still had a handful of attacks, with a penalty claim being turned down by referee Howard Webb after Jerome was brought down, and the corner following that being hit against the crossbar by Scott Dann.

Blues kept their heads though and defended till the death. - something which we have just come to take as normality with Blues. They coped with everything Fulham threw at them, and went on to pick up a well deserved point to move them up to 14th in the table - one place above their bitter rivals from 'up the road'.

A point in London? Well, it's more than we got in all our games down there last season!

Full Time: Fulham 1-1 Birmingham City

A well deserved point

Us and Man City. We're quite similar, really, if you think about it - obviously not including the money or the fame - but we are similar. Both Blues and Man City fans have had to endure years upon years of disappointment, albeit with the moments of success, like Blues' brilliant season in 2009/10. Both teams are seemingly 'inferior' to their nearest but certainly not dearest neighbours in Manchester United and Aston Villa respectively. We are both seen as the noisy neighbours. We are both seen as smaller clubs in terms of our rivals. We've both not won or even done much in the last few years. But now Man City have the money and the big stars, you'd think the gap between us and them would be a big one. Not on this afternoons game. No way.

In all fairness, I wasn't expecting much. Last time I went there was last season and we lost 5-1, and their team is better now, with even bigger stars like Yaya Toure to boast about. Fortunately for us, not only did we play brilliantly, Man City just simply didn't. I would have bitten your arm off at the start of the game for a point, now I'm thinking we could maybe have even cheekily snached all three.

The first half was your average really, especially upon viewing Blues' previous few performances. Man City got the ball, tried to pass it into the net, and the defence dealt with it. Repeat a few times, then add in a couple of snail-paced Blues attacks and you have your first half. Oh, and add in a cheating little Argentinian, and you definitely have today's first half.


If an impressive new ground means that it turns into a complete library, then I am quite content with little St. Andrews, thank you very much. It was pretty dire for 40 odd thousand, and when a travelling support of around 1,000 that you're mocking for coming 'in a taxi' are out singing you, well, you look pretty stupid singing about their support being crap, really.

The second half was backs to the wall type stuff from Blues. A real brilliant performance from the back five, especially Roger Johnson who is still to be called up to the England squad, and God only knows why as well. Carlos Tevez who? Roger had a field day defending against him. The midfield kept calm and did try to attack, but we ended up just passing it around a bit before losing the ball. Jerome and Zigic ran a fair bit, won a few headers; but you couldn't really see us scoring.

And that was pretty much it really. Hleb came on to inject a little bit of class for the away side, and he really is a joy to watch when he plays against the more passing teams of the division, like Man City today, because he gets the ball. He's so intelligent and perfect, it's just the fact the rest of our team aren't. They're good, good players. But not as technically able as Mr. Hleb.


Of course, this match report can't go without a mention for one Joe Hart. He played his part brilliantly today and he loved every minute of it! Being sung to by the away fans more than he was by the home fans; laughing and smiling as he tried to concentrate on the game; making a mistake and being serenaded with 'England's number two!' and then coming over to applaud us at the end. He is a class, class goalkeeper and I wish him all the best. He really is a Blues legend, and we both still have love for each other. I had tears in my eyes at the end of the game when him and Dave Watson, the man who has helped to further his career, shared a hug. It was a brilliant moment.

A resilient, great away performance from Blues today at one of the hardest places to pick up points from in the Premier League. And how do we get rewarded? A lace in the bottom three! But, the league finishes in May not November, and the target now is to make sure we're not here come the end of the season. And I've got faith that we will be a few places above the drop zone by then - or 17th, I'm not fussed!

Full Time: Manchester City 0-0 Birmingham City

What a comeba... almost

It's the 'summarising-points-because-it's-tuesday-night-and-i'm-tired-(and weary)-blog-post' ...

1. Up until we came back - again - we were very poor indeed. We were simply not good enough. We weren't at the races. We were playing at 10 miles per hour and Stoke at 90. It was too similar to Saturday in that we let the opposition come on to us way too much. Last season we showed how well we play when we take control of the game and get a hold of the ball. We need to do that again.

2. We only get the belief when we go 2-0 down. Why?! Two goals down, especially away from home, is a mountain to climb! We may as well start to game two goals down the way were going - it started off as a light hearted joke last season against Everton when we got it back to 2-2. But then we did it again, and the more we do it, the less 'good' the comeback feels and the more serious the problem becomes.


3. Criticise Keith Fahey all you like, but when he came on he changed the game. He came on, sporting a nice little moustache, and was assertive, quick, and passed the ball around well. He got into great positions and his goal was as perfect as you like. The way he controlled it to the way he finished it was sublime - great way to score his first Premier League goal, too bad he couldn't celebrate it like he deserved to! Now give the guy a break.

4. Dave (aka Beausejour) was ineffective tonight. After what we've seen of him so far he does look promising, but he was off the pace tonight and needs to learn he doesn't have as much time on the ball in the Premier League. He will be a great player, I think most can see that, we just need to teach him how to be a great Premier League player.

5. We seem to have a knack of rounding off good goalkeepers and making them into great ones. Ben Foster was on top form tonight - and he needed to be - he puts his heart on his sleeve and gets stuck in there, much like the defence in front of him. He shows no fear in going to collect the ball, and although some of his kicks tonight and one time where he made the wrong decision and Fuller nearly scored, he was brilliant, and kept us in the game first half and at the start of the second half as well.


6. Craig Gardner. Where do I start with him? He had some brilliant shots tonight, namely the free-kick and the shot that was tipped over the bar just after we had got it back to 2-2. He shows something in the centre of midfield that Hleb doesn't show, and that's a real fight. It's all well and good Hleb doing the little flicks and tricks and the 'perfect passes' but when it comes down to it, sometimes you need someone who will just get their head down and drive forward on his own, and like Hleb, he can also pull off moments of magic where you just stand and stare in admiration. Thank you Aston Villa.

7. Credit has to go to Ricardo Fuller and his 100th goal in British football. It was a lovely solo run and a brilliant strike to finish it off. He is a well-rounded striker and a brilliant shooter of the ball, and you could do nothing but admire the goal he scored today. I almost applauded it but then I remembered he had just scored it against my team.


8. Pulis got what he wanted, then. I'd say Clattenburg had a decent game, but when Stoke called it, they got it. I'll say not much more on the matter other than managers do effect referees decisions, it's just normally the Wengers and Fergusons of this world that are the ones affecting them.

9. You can dress it up which ever way you like, but we certainly are in a relegation battle this season. No unbeaten runs, no 'invincibles', and unlike last season, no dead certs to g down. There are more than a handful of teams that could face the drop this season, and unfortunately it looks like we're one of them; but that doesn't mean we haven't got enough to beat the drop.

10. Well Blues, you did it again, although this time it didn't quite work. The next few games are extremely tough, but nothing is impossible in football. Nothing.

Full Time: Stoke City 3-2 Birmingham City

That's more like it

A much more spirited Blues performance and a much better crowd saw Birmingham come out winners today against a lively Blackpool side – scoring two and even keeping a clean sheet, setting the players up nicely for their next league game: the derby with those up the road.

Playing Blackpool, you know what to expect: a team that will come at you; a team full of little battlers; and a manager with his heart on his sleeve. But, you don't know how they're going to play. That's the thing. It's like us last season – no one knew our style of play, so it took teams a while to figure us out, and figure out how to beat us. It's like that this season with Blackpool, and combine that with the amount of passion and drive Ian Holloway forces upon his players, they have been a tough test for many teams already this season – just asked Liverpool.

As it was, Blues played brilliantly today. Every single one of them. Ben Foster is improving every game, much like Joe Hart did under goalkeeping coach Dave Watson. The back four were as solid as... a very solid thing. As always. How Roger Johnson, at 27, is still yet to be called up to England is a mystery. Liam Ridgewell played great again as well, with a goal on the score sheet and a great performance to his name too. Him and Stephen Carr, well, I've not seen them play so far up the pitch all season.

It wasn't so much 4-4-2, well, that was the intentional formation. But the tactics we played meant that Ferguson – who had his best game so far this season for Blues – played just behind the midfield and did his brilliant job of sweeping the loose balls up. Fahey played a more central role, and had a good few chances and a much better game than his previous few. Seb Larsson and Alex Hleb also had good games, with Hleb, like Fahey, having one of his better games in a Blues shirt – until he went off injured, that is.

Moan about him as much as you like, but one thing you cannot fault Garry O'Connor for is his work rate. Call him fat, call him whatever, but he will run for you all day long; he will win headers all day long; he will make runs and chase down the ball. All. Day. Long. And he had a good game today, I was willing him to score Blues' third just to shut the haters and the moaners up.

Zigic seems to have found his feet in the Premier League, and with another goal today it proves he can cut it in this league. He's now playing with confidence, winning balls in the air and picking out good passes. He's not the fastest of players, but he'll get into the right positions for you, and him and O'Connor seem like a good partnership.

The difference between this game and our last home game against Everton, was confidence. The Arsenal game, although we lost, seemed to have given these players a bit of a boost. The 20 yard passes are now being pulled off. The balls across the park are actually reaching the players. The neat one-touch football we played last season is being introduced back into our game. And the crowd can see this too. The atmosphere today was great; the fans got behind every single player,. And it gave the Blues team even more drive and confidence to go on and score more and create more.

Last season we lost to Arsenal in October, won our next home game with Ridgewell being first goalscorer and went on that amazing unbeaten run. This season we lost to Arsenal... in October... won our next home game... with Ridgewell being first on the score sheet. I'm not saying we will replicate what we did last year, but if that's not a coincidence, I don't know what is.

Full Time: Birmingham City 2-0 Blackpool

Craig Gardner: Five Minute Man... and the rest

Hleb must have wondered what he’d got himself in to at the weekend when he saw his new side lose 3-1 to relegation candidates and local rivals West Brom. The same could be said again when he walked out onto a pitch of just over 9,000 at St. Andrews last night, being used to crowds of much over 80,000 back in Spain.

At least the score didn’t replicate that of Saturdays, though, as Blues ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over their League 1 opposition MK Dons.

That ‘it’s going to be a long night’ feeling was felt by most in the opening ten minutes. That changed abruptly when Michel pulled up with a knee injury and was replaced by Craig Gardner.

That one man won the game for Blues, and rightly got Man of the Match. As soon as he came on, the game picked up pace, and three goals were scored in quick succession; Gardner fed a great ball to Beausejour who found Hleb who in turn calmly and brilliantly found the back of the net.

The second Blues goal came just minutes later, and it was Zigic who got his first goal in a Blues shirt, and it was Beausjour who provided the cross – who had a superb home debut.

Gardner got a well deserved goal of his own, again just moments later, with one of his trademark long-range shots. Within the space of five minutes, Craig Grdner had effectively won the game for Blues.

MK Dons would have been forgiven for rolling over and letting Blues walk all over them, but credit to them as they were resilient through out, and prevented ahy more Blues goals being scored in the second half, even with chances galore from players such as Derbyshire, Zigic and debutant Jiranek.

The Dons got a small consolation near the end of the game as Wlbraham slotted home with ten minutes left. However a consolation was all it was, as the home team went on to be 3-1 winners on the night, and book themselves a place in the last sixteen of the Carling Cup – where it starts to get exciting!

All the Blues players had a great game; particularly impressing were Hleb – it’s brilliant seeing him in a Blues shirt! Beausejour – he is already proving to be a great winger, even if it was only against lower league opposition. Fahey – who I thought had a good game in his favoured position of centre-midfield. Murphy – who now back from injury has played important parts in both the cup games so far, and of corse the man of the moment Craig Gardner – I think seeing him to us was the best thing Villa have ever done for us.

Full Time: Birmingham City 3-1 Milton Keynes Dons