Ben Foster and his "indefinite" decision

Never far from controversy, the England team was hit with a slightly surprising blow earlier today when Ben Foster stated he would be taking a break from international duties to focus on his club career, sparking debate and splitting those who consider it an honor to play for your country and those who don't really see the big deal about it.

Ben Foster has been heavily involved in the England set-up this season after first team football at Birmingham City made him, in Capello's eyes, available for selection. However, after only playing once for England this season and the niggling injuries he has picked up whilst being on international duty, Ben decided to call it a day - for now anyway.

I don't see the problem with this. He said himself he was doing it to prolong his career and at 28 which is a prime age for goalkeepers I feel it's a good idea, and obviously not one he has suddenly made on his own with no thinking behind it. It is a great honor to earn an England cap, something which Ben himself knows and has made clear, so it can't have been an easy decision for the Lemmington-born shot stopper. But putting his career into perspective, he came to the conclusion that international games will be something he has to sacrifice for now, and I for one respect him for making that kind of decision.

With the added fact that no one looks to be dislodging Joe Hart from his number one position any time soon, the other side of the argument is those who consider him to be disrespecting England somewhat by turning down the chance to play for them - even if it is only as a bench warmer. I agree with this to an extent. Playing for England is a great honor and in this day and age it seems as if fans, mostly, and players too don't think of it in such a high regard as we once did. But at the end of the day it is the players’ decision. What Ben did was something to, in the long-run, extend his career. Are we begrudging a player a chance to play at the highest level for as long as possible, for a few games? When he isn't even the current England number one anyway?

He has not done anything bad, anything to harm his reputation, or to dishonor Fabio Capello et al. His decision was not out of malice, it was not because "I don't get games so what's the point of being there." The choice he made was to aid his career and I will stand by Ben Foster in this decision because he made it whilst thinking about not only himself, but Birmingham City too.

He is a player that hasn't played a full season of competitive matches for years, and after his first full season back in the Premier League, with the added pressure of two long cup runs, surely he deserves a break, especially with the fact he is slightly injury prone. Even if he is “only a goalkeeper” – which is one of the arguments some people seem to be making.

We shouldn't be the ones to begrudge Foster for doing something that will help his career in the long run, but in my opinion I believe that the honor the comes with playing for England should be respected more by the players who are lucky enough to be chosen.

The club before country argument will always be there, this has just added a bit of fuel to the fire, especially with the under 21 debate still ongoing.

Car Crash

When you concede in under ten minutes away from home it's always going to be a struggle, especially when it's against an in-form Liverpool side. And then when you go 2-0 down in 20 minutes, losing your goalkeeper in the process, you start to realise it might not be your day. By the time the fifth, and final, goal went in you really, really knew it wasn't our day.

The first by Maxi was handed to him on a plate when Foster failed to hold onto a fierce shot from Spearing and Liverpool went 1-0 up after just seven minutes of play. Never to be shot down though, and to their credit, Blues responded with a large amount of possession but, failing to do anything with it, were knocked back again when Liverpool went on a counter attack and after various blocks the ball eventually ended up in the back of the next courtesy of Dirk Kuyt, leaving Ben Foster in a heap on the floor. The England International played on for another 20 minutes to try and shake the knock off, but in the end had to be replaced by Colin Doyle just before half time.


Carr and Larsson did some good running down the wing in the first half but none of their crosses met anyone in the area, and all in all it was a thoroughly disappointing first half for Blues.

At the beginning of the second half Blues had a handful of chances, with Fahey coming close on a couple of occasions. But again, Blues failed to create with the possession they had and the travelling fans were willing them to just get the ball into the box - especially aiming this at Hleb who seemed to want to pass it into the net instead of shooting from a good possession - you don't play for Arsenal yet!

Liverpool struck again on 66 minutes with Maxi getting his second of the game. Suarez wasn't picked up and was able to loft a lovely ball into the area from the by-line and Maxi was on hand to make it 3-0 to the home side.


If the match wasn't over by then, just under ten minutes later it was. Suarez, again the creator, found Maxi in space and his pass struck the Argentinian. His first time shot was saved by Doyle, but he managed to get the rebound to complete his hat trick.

Blues were in search of a consolation, and with the away fans singing "we only want one goal!" substitutes Bentley and Phillips both produced saves from Reina, but neither could find a way past to Spaniard.

Joe Cole was on hand to pile yet more misery on Blues, scoring Liverpool's fifth goal in the 84th minute, with a shot that sneaked its way under Doyle in the Blues goal to complete a frustrating afternoon for the visiting side.


Conceding eight goals in the space of two goals and only scoring one - which was a penalty - does not making pretty reading (or watching!) but a win next Sunday against Wolves and all will be forgiven!

Full Time: Liverpool 5-0 Birmingham City

Safety almost secured

Blues moved one more step closer towards Premier League survival this afternoon after clinching a 2-0 win over a Sunderland side who continue their bad run of form. McLeish named an unchanged side meaning those who had battled against Blackburn and Bolton regained their place yet again, and deservedly so.

In front of a near enough sell out crowd the home side began the game brightly, with Jerome again looking incredibly lively in the first few minutes as he has done the previous two games. And he nearly got the opening goal when he was put clean through but his shot was saved by Sunderland keeper Mignolet.

Sunderland then began to get into the game and had more of the possession but failed to create. They almost got a break though when, on the edge of his box, Barry Ferguson uncharacteristically lost the ball but Ben Foster and Roger Johnson were both on hand to spare his blushes; the former making a great dive to scoop the ball away from the feet of a Sunderland player, and the latter making a goal line clearance when it looked inevitable that the away side would take the lead.

It was a nervy period for Blues and the crowd were getting anxious as the ball kept making its way back to Foster, but that was exactly what led to the first Blues goal: Foster cleared it high up field with one of his massive kicks; Jerome flicked the ball on superbly and Larsson ran on. Confusion between Mignolet and Bardsley allowed Larsson to sneak a foot in on the end of the box and the ball rolled into the back of the net - 1-0 to Blues and just the boost we needed.


The second half saw immediate Sunderland pressure but some very un-clinical finishing; some super Ben Foster saves and some last ditch defending saw that Blues maintained their one goal lead. Phillips, who struggled to get into the game, was substituted and Hleb filled the gap, and just five minutes later he provided the pass that set p the second goal. After some neat passing by Blues the ball fell to the feet of Hleb, who instead of running on found Gardner free on the edge of a box. Craig picked up the ball and hit hard with his left foot, which bounced in front of their Sunderland keeper and into the back of the net to give Blues a two-goal lead.


By then, you could tell it was Blues who would run out winners, and they saw the final fifteen minutes of the game out seemingly comfortably. Man of the match Larsson, on his 100th Premier League appearance, left the field to a standing ovation and a few chants of "sign him up" rang from the Tilton as the game came to a close.

It's not often we're the most clinical team, but today proved that goals win games and no matter how much possession you have or how many shots you have, it takes goals to win games and fortunately Blues were able to score two of them today.

Three points in the right direction, two goals scored and a clean sheet which will have done wonders for the back four and England's number one in goal. Well done Blues, another win should surely do it now!

Full Time: Birmingham City 2-0 Sunderland

Turning Heads

It was said by many that it would take someone big to replace the gaping hole left by Joe Hart after his phenomenal loan spell last season, but Alex McLeish can have no qualms about the man he chose to fill the gap that was vacated by the current England number one. After picking up his third consecutive Carling Cup medal last Sunday, Ben Foster can reflect upon his Summer transfer to Birmingham as, arguably, a career-defining move which has seen him go from bench warmer to first teamer in the blink of an eye.

As Ben walked up to collect his winners medal after the 2-1 win over Arsenal, he also received another accolade which he was more than happy to collect: his second Alan Hardaker Man of the Match trophy in three years. A remarkable achievement for any player, but for someone who was sitting on a bench this time last season, it should be deemed an even greater achievement. And as Foster waited to lift the trophy for his new club, England manager Fabio Capello congratulated him with a beaming smile, knowing that what he'd just witnessed was a performance by a player who deserves not only to be number one for his club; but maybe for his country as well.


That's not just to say the final was his only stand-out performance this term – not by a long shot. In the first home game of the season he pulled off a world class penalty save which sparked life into the rest of his team and they ran out 2-1 winners against Blackburn. Against West Ham he again argued his case for the number one spot with his national team, producing a number of saves to keep his team in the game – most notably his save from Carlton Cole where he palmed the shot onto the post, which then remarkably rolled across the line before being cleared by a defender. The game against Chelsea at St. Andrews notched up another notable performance for Foster, in which he produced save after save to deny some of the worlds best; with some equally brilliant saves himself. And the list goes on. Not even his unfortunate mistake in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final was enough to bring Ben Foster down this season, and it did nothing to detract away from the rest of the games he has played in this season; as his outstanding performances certainly outnumber his mistakes by a large margin.

After his move from Manchester United in his quest to seek regular first team football, Ben really hasn't put a foot wrong, and while the country looks to Joe Hart as the future of England goalkeeping; maybe it would be a better idea to look at the more experienced figure in Ben Foster.

Under the guidance of Dave Watson, Foster has undoubtedly improved in all areas this season. Like he did expertly with Joe Hart, Watson has carved Foster into the model goalkeeper but more easily than he crafted Hart who, being younger, had a few more rough edges to even out. Foster had those edges shaped a while ago whilst he was at Old Trafford, being coached by the best and playing for the best, in not only the Premier League but in the Champions League too.

His man of the match performance in the penalty shoot out of the 2009 Carling Cup Final – with a little help from his iPod – helped Foster reap the rewards from team mates, the media and many others in the world of football. However, he still couldn't cement a place in the starting line up for the Red Devils and a year on found himself at Wembley once more, again walking up the steps after victory – this time against Aston Villa – but with the difference this time being that he was an unused substitute in the 2-1 win.

After being left out of the World Cup squad after lack of first team football, the Leamington-Spa-born shot-stopper then realised that he needed to search for a move elsewhere in order to resurrect his career somewhat. Being just 27 – a baby in terms of goalkeepers – he was quickly snapped up for 5 million pounds by Alex McLeish from former manager Alex Ferguson, and neither Foster nor McLeish have looked back since.

Arguably, however, his career never needed resurrecting; simply because his undeniable talent never went away. This is justified by his performances throughout the season so far and after Sunday's magnificent Cup Final performance, it seems that five million for the England International was a bargain, and a great coop by Birmingham who have called on Foster to save them many-a-time so far this term.The only doubt in any one's minds about the England International was whether he could replicate the form that dipped a little in his last season at United, and it is safe to say he has proved all his critics wrong so far.

The keeper himself may try to brush some of these compliments aside, claiming that a lot has been down to the defenders in front of him, who “just love defending.” But the recognition for his solo performances he has received so far playing for Birmingham suggest otherwise, and try as he might, Ben Foster simply cannot deny himself the praise he has so rightly received.

His cool head, his willingness to go in for the ball in any situation, and his magnificent shot-stopping have turned more than a few heads this season, and after being named in all the England squads since the seemingly disastrous World Cup campaign in the Summer, he seems to have turned on of the most important heads: that of Fabio Capello's.

Performances such as Sunday's can only help his chances of claiming the coveted England number one spot, and with Joe Hart not fully living up to the standard he himself set last season, I have a feeling the number one spot is left open to the man who performs the hardest. But, even with tough competition from Hart, I can see Ben Foster turning out at Wembley as the number one for not just his club, but for his country too.

No bragging rights this time

This time last year if you offered me a point against the Villa I would have say ta very much and bit your hand off for it. As it's been this season, in the two league games we've played we've taken a point from each of them and I want more. Just like in the reverse fixture back in October; today, we could have won. 1-1 was probably a fair result in what was a hard fought contest in a game that was brilliant for the neutrals to watch, but Blues fans couldn't help coming out of that game feeling a little angry that we didn't get more than a point.

After his mistake midweek against West Ham you'd forgiven Ben Foster for being a bit cautious, but my life he started shakey. Trying to skill the Villa players instead of clearing it isn't the way to go Ben! In fact, the whole team started pretty shakily, and the first five minutes of the match felt like a lifetime.

We soon got over that start though and began to get into the game, but not quite on top. Villa hit the bar four or five times and we were lucky to get away with some slack defending. We did have chances of our own however, and the link-up play between Hleb and Bentley was brilliant at times, and Bentley's running down the wing with Carr was excellent.


Derbyshire had to run the line himself due to Jerome's absence through injury, and nearly made it 1-0 after Gardner's persistence allowed him to cross the ball, only for Derbyshire to miss kick, and the ball ran past him. This was the best chance of the half for Blues.

It was an end to end game and it was quite an open affair, but it took until the second half for the deadlock to be broken. Bentley's free kick was passed out to Gardner who had a shot on goal, which deflected around the box for a while until the outstretched leg of Roger Johnson fired it home for Blues, for the defender's first ever goal at St. Andrews (for the home side, anyway!)


The place erupted into song and Blues continued to keep possession and have chances on goal. It could have very nearly been two nil soon after when Derbyshire ran into the box but his shot was palmed just off the line by Friedel and there was no one in a Blues shirt in the box to pick up the ball for what would have been the easiest tap in ever.

Blues were later made to rue their missed chances with just 20 minutes left. Albrighton's cross into the box was cleared only as far as James Collins who had the easy task of firing it home for Villa, with a deflection off Ridgewell along the way. Blues lack of clinical finishing punished them, and after looking at picking up a vital three points, they had to do it all over again as the away side were back on level terms.

Both teams had chances to win it at the death. Delfouneso's rocket shot was saved by Foster and then hit the bar, and Zigic's header went through the hands of Friedel but then out of play - must to the relief of the travelling Villa supporters.

And that was that. Honours even in the third second city derby of the season, and a relegation battle still on hand for both teams. There's a long way to go yet.

Full Time: Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa

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

A little bit of luck and a lot of character

Handball? Maybe. Foul? Could have been. Offside? Possibly. Absolutely brilliant? Yes yes and yes again. Once again our never say die attitude and not knowing when to give up paid off, and we got a really, really big point tonight.

With the irony of Manchester United fans labelling us cheats, I've found it hard to construct thoughts into a proper blog post because I'm laughing so much. It really is brilliant isn't it; in fact if it was offside, it it was a foul and if it was handball, I'm glad. Actually, I hope it was all of them because it would make it even funnier. I think they call it karma...

I wouldn't say either team truly 'deserved' anything but really no one 'deserves' anything out of a game unless they play the other team off the park. Man United started well, which was to be expected; even as the home team you have to expect a team like United to come at you. But Blues didn't just gift United the ball and let them do what they pleased with it, those players actually fought for the ball and for each other, and didn't stop until the final whistle - something which was missing from the previous game against Wolves.


In fact, everything that was missing in the blip in the previous game was back again. The desire was clear in all the players and they stepped their game up a notch, like we always do when the big boys come to town. Ben Foster had a little something to prove after not having the best of times at Man United; and with a few good saves and a solid performance, he left the field with a smug smile on his face.

The Blues defence were again rock solid, and the only times they were torn apart were for Berbatov's goal and for a spell after United's goal when they had the stuffing knocked out of them a little. Other than that, it was akin to the shut out against Chelsea a few weeks ago, with Roger Johnson and Scott Dann winning plenty of balls in the air, coping well with an off the pace Wayne Rooney, and Ridgewell and Carr doing a superb job too.

The midfield really gave it their all, and Bluenose Craig Gardner could have even given his team the lead in the second half, when a short corner was played back to Bowyer, whose blocked shot found Gardner but he could only manage a shot straight at Van Der Sar. Barry Ferguson ran the show again and picked up man of the match, which is getting quite boring now actually! He drives the team forward and will pick out a pass no one else could see, as well as picking out the easy passes to keep the game flowing, in short, he's just brilliant. Jean Beausejour also known as Dave - for ease - got a start, and had a great game. He's someone we need: a player that can beat a man, a player with pace, and a player with a good cross on him, and hopefully last night gave him a bit of practise. I was impressed.


Although Berbatov's goal knocked it out of Blues a little, you can't fault their attitude. Heads dropped a little, but the desire was still there and those players kept on pushing until the final whistle, where they got a reward for all their hard graft; and we have Roger Johnson, Nikola Zigic, Lee Bowyer and a little bit of luck to thank for that.


Maybe it was handball, it could have been a foul leading up to the goal, and it probably was offside, but throughout the game I was thinking "are we ever going to get any luck?" and we may have go tit in the 89th minute... and about bloody time too.

With another big game against a top team Saturday, a repeat of this performance wouldn't go amiss, and after all; anything can happen at St. Andrews (maybe sometimes with a little bit of help from the officials).

Full Time: Birmingham Ciy 1-1 Manchester United

Birmingham City 1-0 Chelsea. I can't say it enough.

It's taken thirty years, but Birmingham City have finally managed to beat Chelsea. How? I will tell you how...

Ben Foster
I said it yesterday: Joe Hart had one of his best games in a Blues shirt against Chelsea last season; he really was brilliant. But Ben Foster today absolutely outshone him by a fair few hundred miles. You have to be alert when playing Chelsea, and he was totally on the ball all game, making so many saves I think we all lost count. He was outstanding. If Blues made a DVD of his saves from today's game I'm sure we'd all buy it. Someone buy the lad a pint and Blues, give him a bonus.



The Defence
Chelsea absolutely threw everything into the box, but we were happy to sit there and defend, to take a quote from Chris Kamara, like beavers. Nothing was getting past them today. Nothing. Even injuries and knocsk wouldn't keep Roger Johnson from running back onto the pitch to win yet another header and keep a clean sheet and all three points. All four of them were outstanding, and I can't fault a single one of them, nor can I thank them enough for how much passion they put into their game.



Determination
If I said Blues were the better team today, I'd be lying. But I am 100% telling the truth when I say they were the more determined team. They got their goal, and then they were determined to not concede for the rest of the match. It was magnificent to see every single one of those players give their all today. I haven't got a bad thing to say about any one, and I'm sure I speak for every Bluenose when I say that we are all beaming with pride at not only the performance, but the manner in which we played the game.



Larsson > Jerome > Bowyer > Goal
Obviously, the defining moment of the first half. Larsson gets the ball; whips it fiercley and expertly to the head of Jerome who knocks it down brilliantly into what seemed like an open space. Fair enough, I thought; great ball in, great knock down, just unlucky no one was there to pick it up. And then Lee Bowyer pops up out of no where and slots it beyond Petr Cech. It was unreal. It was amazing. And it was, not necessarily deserved, but it felt bloody brilliant all the same.



The 'Never Say Die' Attitude
We showed it numerous times last season, espeically throughout our unbeatable run of games; but this season, sometimes it seems to go missing slightly. But it's always there somewhere. Today, it was out in full force. None of those players wanted to lose, and all of them were prepared to put their bodies on the line for the cause. It was excellent. Foster and the defence dealt with everything expertly; the midfield kept everything ticking over - Fahey really seems to be growing in confidence now, Larsson runs and runs and will work for you all day long which is key in games against teams with Chelsea's calibre, and it was great to see Ferguson and Bowyer back in the middle together again. Jerome and Zigic ran the line brilliantly. Jerome, like always, ran his socks off; and Zigic had a great game too - he seems to be finding his feet well in the Premier League now: it's taken time, but I think he's finally there.



And that was it. Chelsea, credit to them, played well. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us and we simply dealt with it. it was a real team performance and every single one of those Blues players can hold their heads high knowing they did themselves, and the rest of Birmingham, proud today. Our last two games have been Manchester City away and Chelsea at home and we've picked up four points. Tell me: who thought, looking at those fixtures beforehand, that we'd get that many points out of these games?! Because I certainly didn't. I was looking for a point, maybe two, but we got four. We got four points out of two of the best sides in the division.

Normally when sides win games like this, they say 'I still can't believe it' but you know what? I can believe it. Because we defending like soldiers today, and we deserved to get something out of thios game, and the fact that it's three points is fantastic. I'm a very proud Bluenose right now.

Full Time: Birmingham City 1-0 Chelsea

'Typical England'

Sometimes watching England is like watching Blues... although, maybe that makes it worse. Seeing as these are world class players we are talking about that are playing for England.

Like Blues, England started slowly. Although we got a free kick in the first two minutes, we were slow. France passed the ball through us, and for the opening goal they had the ball for what seemed like ages before they finally found the back of Ben Foster's net - who was making his first appearance in over a year for England due to the absence of Joe Hart - through Karim Benzema and some suspect defending. Where was the blocking? The last ditch tackles? The closing down? Oh, that's right: at home with Roger Johnson.

The game somewhat evened out after that. The play calmed down a bit and England got on the ball more; although created little. Around the half hour mark though England got arguably their best chance so far, with Andy Carroll towering above the French defence to win a header, which fell to Gerrard who shot just over: that's more like it England! (The chances, not the shooting over. Although...) That man Carroll had a shot a few minutes later, but it was a tame one and straight at the goalkeeper.


With World Cup woes behind them and England seemingly in 'average mode' France continued to boss the half, and England's signature tactic seemed to be hoof the ball to the big man up front: France clear it. And repeat. Just like the Emile Heskey days...

Johnson and Young came on at half time in an attempt to inject some pace into the team, with Micah Richards also coming on and slotting into defence. The Manchester City combo of AJ and Richards worked almost instantly, with them linking up and Micah slotting a ball into the box, only for it to be cleared out of harms way by the French defence.

France's next goal was described as "a French masterpiece" - and that it was. Arsenal's Sagna ran down the wing and arrived at the six yard box to clip a perfectly timed ball into the air, which missed Nasri but found Valbuena who expertly slotted the ball home, with Ben Foster just looking on.


Almost surprisingly (I'm being sarcastic because England made me sad) England started to pass the ball about with a new-found confidence around the 60 minute mark. Adam Johnson won a free kick and Gerrard almost, almost headed it home; but was just a whisker away. Warnock and Bothroyd added further pace into the game when they were introduced. England stepped up a little, with a few chances going begging. Steven gerrard upped his game and had a handful of chances and made a good track back to help out the England defence. He unfortunately then had to be subbed off as he got injued, which paved the way for Peter Crouch tio come on and try and make an immediate impact... and didn't he just do that! Within seconds his tall frame was towering above the French defence to slot the ball home for England with just over 5 minutes left on the clock.

Unfortunately, that was all England could muster in the way of a comeback (not at all like Blues then!) I honestly don't think we're asking much: we're asking a team of extremely well-paid professional footballers who all ply their trade in the Premier League to play well.

And I thought watching Birmingham away from home was bad...

Full Time: England 1-2 France

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

The Kings of Comebacks

Contrary to what Match Of The Day lead you to believe, it wasn't actually West Ham Versus no one for the first 60 minutes. Although at times it did feel like that. It's true, we didn't get in the game until late on, but we were actually playing in the first half. Just what we were playing at though, I'm not too sure.

The performances in our last three games have been great. At Arsenal we were strong, and can take pride in the fact we almost got a point from there. Against Blackpool we were brilliant, the new formation worked and like Holloway said, we stopped Blackpool from playing their game. At Villa we were resilient, we played with passion and very almost clinched a victory. Today, against West Ham, we were poor. Nothing seemed to work; even what should have been the most talented play on the pitch in Alex Hleb, didn't work. We lacked not only lustre, but pretty much everything else.

We seem to fall into the trap sometimes of starting quite brightly, and then letting the opposition get more into the game. When we do that, like we did today, the other team become more confident. And then we get driven more and more out of the game, until the game is flipped on it's head and we're no longer in control. We pass the ball about brilliantly at times, and you can see the class and the skill is still there amongst the players, but the end product, that final bit of magic; it just isn't there sometimes. And after playing so well in the games prior to this match, you wonder why.


There were two things that happened in the first half: the first was the sprinkles coming on in the first when West Ham were on the attack - only at Blues! - it was comical and gave the crowd something to smile about at least! The second was that the Hammers nearly took the lead - and most of the crowd thought the ball had gone in the back of the net - but Ben Foster managed to tip the ball onto the post, which rolled across the goal-line to Scott Dann who booted it out of play. Chants of 'England's number one' rung out around the ground from the home support, and rightly so.

It was a game of few chances for Blues, and so West Ham deservedly took the lead just after half time. It came through a quick move that split the defence and allowed Frederic Piquionne (remember him?) to slide the ball past Ben Foster, who could do nothing but stand there and watch the ball go past him.

It got even worse for Blues exactly 10 minutes later, when a similar move saw Behrami find the back of the net after being set up by Carlton Cole - who had a good game himself.

McLeish decided to change things around, and bought on Beausejour and Gardner in place of Fahey and Hleb, and Blues began the comeback. Larsson's cross found the head of Zigic, who nodded it down into the path of Jerome, who from a yard or two out calmly hit the ball into the back of the net. Game on.


Blues seemed to wake up then, and again despite what the BBC want you to think, Blues had several chances to make it 2-2, with Beausejour amongst others being denied. Blues found the equaliser in the end though: Larsson's free-kick was parried by Rob Green, into the path of Ridgewell who firmly slotted the ball home and ran away in celebration.


Blues almost went on to win the game with Jerome being denied, but with the way the game went, the home side were more than happy to get a point, but we all know the performance needs to be stepped up for the next game. However, a special mention goes to Stephen Carr - someone who was retired a few years ago - and seemed like the only player who cared throughout the whole game. Super Captain Carr: man of the match. And deservedly so.

Full Time: Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham

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

A year unbeaten...

Well, we did it; a whole calendar year unbeaten at home. Not exactly the way we wanted to do it though and it certainly doesn’t excuse how poor we were today.

The game throughout seemed to be played at a slow pace. In all fairness, no one looked too bothered about what was going on, or too bothered to actually pick up the pace and attack with much force.

Wigan had the best chance of the game in the first half through the greedy b--, I mean, through Charles N’Zogbia, whose shot was palmed over the bar by Ben Foster, who had a few good saves during the match, and was the busier goalkeeper of the two.

Cameron Jerome, the lone striker, had a few good chances; namely one near the end of the first half, when Al Habsi dropped the ball which then went between his legs before he managed to pick it up. Seeing the opposition goalkeeper as clumsy as this, we really should have pressured him more.

Blues lacked a lot of things today, but the thing they lacked most was pace. And passing. The game seemed to move at snails pace; the ball was dead on numerous occasions and no one seemed to want the ball or when they did, no one was moving for them to pass to.

The second half had nothing to boast about, other than a few chances for both the home side and the away side, with Wigan looking the more likely team to win it as the game came to a close. It was a frustrating day for the home side, who were even ironically cheering Zigic when he won the ball in the air – which he did all of about three times. For a 6ft8” bloke, he doesn’t use his height very well.

The only light at the end of a seemingly long tunnel was that when Beausejour came on he looked sharp. He can beat a man and that’s something we’ve desperately been looking for, for quite a while now; if I was Alex McLeish, I would start him next Saturday against Everton, and also start Derbyshire alongside Jerome.

Another point from the match; I hope the ‘McFadden hate brigade’ are feeling very sheepish right now. We miss him. A lot, in fact. Most people use him as a scapegoat, but they fail to realise how much he does for the team: not only his skill and ability to beat a man and put a cross in, but the amount of tracking back he does. We were caught on the break a lot today, and we really do miss him.

The 400 or so Wigan fans had something to cheer about as Craig Gardner was sent off for a tackle - which the Mark Clattenburg blew for five seconds after he’d let Craig Gardner play on. After missing clear handballs and tackles previous to this, the Blues fans started to get on the back of the ref, and chants of “you’re not fit to referee” rung round the stadium, while Gardner trudged off the pitch with his shirt in his hands.

That was the only issue of note that happened in the match. N’Zogbia and Clattenburg can flip a coin to decide who the most hated person at St. Andrews was this afternoon, and Blues can pick themselves up and start again. And quickly; another home gamer against bottom of the league Everton next weekend, and boy do both teams need a win.

Full Time: Birmingham City 0-0 Wigan Athletic

Not brilliant; but definitly resilient

Hitting the ground running is not one of Blues’ strongest points, and that was shown again yesterday as they had to come from behind yet again, but this time to collect all three points, and carry on that all important home form from last season into the new season.

Match of the Day shows as little of Blues games as it can - it appears to be some kind of unwritten rule they have at the BBC - but showing about five seconds (literally) of the first half from yesterday was probably just about right. Both teams created little in the opening 45 minutes, and Blues seemed to be succumbing to Blackburn’s game of keeping the ball in the air; much to the frustration of the Blues crowd. However, both teams did play the first half at quite a pace, making for a rather end to end game.

Starting his first game for the Blues was Nikola Zigic, and it was good to see that we didn’t do the obvious all the time; which would be to hoof the ball up top ‘Allerdyce-style’ and hope Zigic got onto it. On the contrary; I only remember a few occasions that he actually won the ball in the air which is ironic to say the least, given that he was the biggest player on the pitch. He’s much better with the ball at his feet as he has a brilliant footballing brain, and speaking in the programme it’s interesting to note that he said that he will “just fit in with the tactics.” Clearly, this man is intelligent, and is willing to do all he can to play the best he can for Blues, and he is willing to fit into any formation we play.

The second half started much brighter, with Birmingham coming out with all guns blazing. But that wilted a little on the 49th minute, as Blackburn were awarded a penalty after some shirt-pulling and man-handling from Zigic, who took his punishment without any argument; clearly knowing he was in the wrong.

After coming so close to saving Darren Bent’s penalty against Sunderland last weekend, Foster again chose to dive the right way and this time saved the penalty expertly; palming the shot onto the cross bar and away to safety. This was treated like a goal by the Blues fans, who cheered and chanted ’England’s number one.’ He was called into action again just moments later, tipping the ball away for a corner. Blackburn eventually beat Foster, as Nzonzi headed home from the corner.

But only three minutes later, Blues found an equaliser: a brilliant cross from James McFadden found the foot of Craig Gardner, and Blues were back in the game again. The eventual winner came again from that man Craig Gardner, who found the ball at his feet with as much space as he could’ve wished for, only 25 yards out from goal. And after taking the ball on a little he let rip a fierce shot, which trickled past the then furious Paul Robinson and into the back of the net, sending St. Andrews wild again.

After a few nervous moments towards the end of the game, Blues finished the game winners; maintaining their brilliant home form that made sure they finished in the top 9 last season. Although they had to come from behind again, Blues showed their resilience that they displayed countless times last season, and their never-say-die attitude bodes well with all Blues fans… we just wish we didn’t always have to come from behind this often!

Full Time: Birmingham City 2-1 Blackburn Rovers