The romance of the FA Cup may have been in full force elsewhere yesterday, but it certainly didn’t appear anywhere during the extremely dull encounter between Midlands rivals Birmingham and Wolves at St. Andrews yesterday afternoon, in what was a far from enthralling encounter culminating in a 0-0 draw.
Beforehand we were aware that the game was not a priority for either manager; with Chris Hughton chasing the play-off places and promotion and Mick McCarthy trying to keep his teams’ head above the water in the race for Premier League survival. Therefore both sides chose to play weakened teams, although Wolves’ changes were limited, and certainly had more Premier League quality players in their stating eleven, whilst Blues went for their second string who put up a good fight against their Midlands counterparts.
One of the positive points from the match, along with another clean sheet and our unbeaten home run still intact, was the midfield; Guirane N’Daw and Morgaro Gomis in particular, both linking up well in midfield and the former getting the man of the match award yet again, and rightly so. After taking a while to adapt to the English game, the on-loan Senegal international has won over Blues fans with his no-nonsense tackling and his whole-hearted displays in the centre of midfield. The African Cup of Nations will now mean he misses a handful of games, depending on how far Senegal progress in the competition.
Colin Doyle is another player who deserves praise after yesterday, and it is positive to note that we can call upon a player, who rarely plays, and know we can trust him to put in a good performance. His double save in the dying minutes of the game yesterday sparked the home crowd into rapturous applause for the Republic of Ireland shot stopper, who deserves all the praise he gets after his instinctive saves to deny Wolves passage into the 4th round of the FA Cup.
The return of Roger Johnson was another talking point of the afternoon; the outspoken defender made his first return to St. Andrews and received a mixed reception, mostly being booed by Blues fans. Coming up for a corner in the first half, Johnson was mocked and booed and replying by looking towards the Tilton and shaking his head, as if he expected more from the fans who adored him not even a year previously. I must admit, I wasn’t one of those who booed him, but I did find it funny when he got injured and had to go off; resulting in a famous Roger tantrum: throwing his captains armband off in disgust as he was helped off the pitch, and subsequently taking his frustration out on the away dugout.
The 0-0 draw definitely wasn’t an advert for Midlands football, nor for the FA Cup itself, but the replay suits the home side more than the away side and I am confident we can go to The Molinuex and progress into the next round of the FA Cup. Can we go one better than we did last year in England’s (second) best cup competition and make it to the semi-finals, or maybe even the final, at Wembley?
Showing posts with label Roger Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roger Johnson. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Goodbye Roger
It seemed inevitable that during the summer transfer window Roger Johnson would be leaving. As a player who has expressed his desire to continue playing at the top level, along with his will to get into the England team before it’s too late, the Premier League seemed the place for the no nonsense centre half. And that’s exactly where he has ended up.
An ever present in the Blues back-line since he signed from Cardiff in 2009, Roger Johnson struck up a great relationship with fellow players and most importantly, the fans of Birmingham City. His never say die attitude draws parallels with that of the Blues faithful, and it made him a likeable figure amongst the ranks from the word go.
Being part of the invincible Blues team in his first season at the club, Johnson created a magnificent partnership between himself and Scott Dann who also transferred to the club that Summer. The pair received massive praise with both being touted for an England call up, although neither have received one. Yet.
The never say die attitude; the all-important goal against West Ham in the semi-final of the Carling cup and the two years’ worth of courageous performances, as well as the laughs he has given us with his tantrums, arguments and all round great character, means the hole he leaves in the defence will be a hard one to fill.
The term legend is used far too loosely nowadays. Roger Johnson didn’t gain that status in his short-lived time at St. Andrews, however had things turned out differently and had he stayed for two or three more seasons; he may have just squeezed into that bracket.
An ever present in the Blues back-line since he signed from Cardiff in 2009, Roger Johnson struck up a great relationship with fellow players and most importantly, the fans of Birmingham City. His never say die attitude draws parallels with that of the Blues faithful, and it made him a likeable figure amongst the ranks from the word go.
Being part of the invincible Blues team in his first season at the club, Johnson created a magnificent partnership between himself and Scott Dann who also transferred to the club that Summer. The pair received massive praise with both being touted for an England call up, although neither have received one. Yet.
Unsurprisingly, Johnson’s main aspiration in moving from Birmingham to Wolves is to not only play in the top league of English football, but to try and gain a much deserved England call-up. Getting as close as emergency back-up last season is hopefully a taste of what is to come, however at twenty-eight he’s not getting any younger, and this may be his last chance.
The qualities he posseses should be enough to warrant said called up. Although not blessed with too much technical ability, and while his passing leaves much to be desired, his never say die attitude is quick to catch the eye of supporters, and his old fashioned ‘get it out of here’ ways made an instant impact on the Blues fans who fell in love with the rugged defender straight away.
Nicknamed ‘shyness’ on day one at Blues and with the philosophy that “you don't have to take the armband to be a captain”, Johnson has never been afraid to voice his opinion on and off the field. That’s him you can hear all the time telling players where to go and what to do. Shouting and swearing at his team mates because they aren’t putting in 110% is just Roger’s way. But that doesn’t mean to say he’s easily wound up or has low patience all of the time. Not once has he been sent off whilst wearing the royal blue of Birmingham, although he has been slapped by Jussi Jaaskelainen and ‘started on’ – of want of a better phrase – by Hugo Rodellega. Twice. Yet, his off the field bubbly personality is one that should be admired, and one that made his relationship with the Blues fans even stronger.
As an ever present in every single Premier League game in his two seasons at the club, Johnson seemed to relish playing through the pain barrier, as if it were a physical test for himself. No qualms for us though, because as fans that’s something we love to see in a player. Real determinism just to play the game they love playing and we love watching.
Sharing the same passion for the game as the fans in the stands, Johnson has been admired by Blues fans, especially those of a younger age whom look up to him as a player. His lovable nature has given him the status of ‘Blues favourite’ for the past two seasons and it will be a bitter pill to swallow to see him playing for a team we consider as our rivals.
After being linked with moves elsewhere, namely Sunderland who were quoted 14 million for the Surrey-born defender, Wolverhampton is the destination for Roger at half that price. It’s always sad to see a player leave, but it’s even more disappointing to lose one that did so much for the club in his short time here and had such a great player-fan relationship. Stating that it "wasn't an easy decision" and stating how much he enjoyed his time here makes it easier to wish him the best of luck in the future. His footballing ability may have been questioned from time to time, especially with the absence of Scott Dann, but his passion and desire have never been in doubt. Thank you Roger Johnson.
The never say die attitude; the all-important goal against West Ham in the semi-final of the Carling cup and the two years’ worth of courageous performances, as well as the laughs he has given us with his tantrums, arguments and all round great character, means the hole he leaves in the defence will be a hard one to fill.
The term legend is used far too loosely nowadays. Roger Johnson didn’t gain that status in his short-lived time at St. Andrews, however had things turned out differently and had he stayed for two or three more seasons; he may have just squeezed into that bracket.
Hopefully this is not the beginning of a selling spree. The compensation which was yesterday agreed for Alex McLeish should hopefully give a helping hand towards the dwindling financial situation, but I can’t help thinking a few more faces will be leaving in the next week or so.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
The Battle of the Champions...
I had a dream a few weeks ago. It was 0-0 at The Bridge, approaching full time, when Blues got a corner. Larsson took it from the right and Roger Johnson rose majestically (as majestically as old-fashioned centre halves can) and connected with the ball, beating his marker and sending a bullet header past Petr Cech. He ran off in celebration and Blues clung on to do the double over Chelsea, and Johnson got a goal against the club he supported as a boy.
So before the game yesterday I put a bet on Roger Johnson as the last goalscorer at 40/1 to see if my dream would come true.
Well on three minutes it wasn't looking exactly like my dream as we went 1-0 behind courtesy of Malouda; after a brilliant pass from Terry found Ferreira and as equally good a cross from him made the finish for Malouda easy. As memories of the 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford came flooding back it seemed like it would be a very long night for Blues and the 700 odd fans who had travelled down to watch them. But surprisingly for some, Blues received a bit of a wake up call and kept quite a lot of possession of the ball, but unfortunately not taking their chances. Jerome was looking especially lively as he has done in the past few games, this time having to play on his own in a 451 formation. At least we dispelled the myth for some that we weren't a passing side (ahem, Mr. Hleb).
After 26 minutes there was another set back as Kalou, who wasn't closed down quick enough, fired Chelsea into a 2-0 lead. It seemed a long way back from here for the battling Blues now.
Early on in the second half Roger Johnson had a chance to make my £123 dream come true but his header from a corner went just wide. Sensing a reply from Blues, the home side were in search of a third to completely kill the game off, and thanks to Florent Malouda some questionable defending, (why was no one marking Malouda and why was Ridgewell behind him and ducking when Malouda rose for the header?!) the current Premier League and FA Cup Champions put the game firmly beyond the reach of the Carling Cup holders.
A consolation goal for the away side came in the form of a penalty. Substitute Matt Derbyshire made a run into the box but was tackled by Luiz, and a penalty was awarded (our second in the Premier League this season, - I feel spoiled!!) Gardner and Larsson had a bit of a lovers tiff about who took it, whilst I was waiting for Roger Johnson to come storming into the penalty area, give 'the Jiranek stare of death' at the squabbling pair and take the penalty himself. Alas, it wasn't to be; Larsson won the battle, scored quite possibly the best penalty you will see this season - powerful and into the top corner - and gave Gardner a little hug.
Going down after three minutes at Chelsea and losing 3-1 is nothing to be ashamed of at all, and for what it's worth I thought the team did well. The goals conceded could have been avoided, but with a make-shift defence you could argue and say it could have been worse. At least it wasn't a must win game!
If the game taught me anything, it's that you should never bet because of something you dreamt about: that's three pounds I will never see again. Could have been worse; I could have bet a tenner!
Full Time: Chelsea 3-1 Birmingham City
So before the game yesterday I put a bet on Roger Johnson as the last goalscorer at 40/1 to see if my dream would come true.
Well on three minutes it wasn't looking exactly like my dream as we went 1-0 behind courtesy of Malouda; after a brilliant pass from Terry found Ferreira and as equally good a cross from him made the finish for Malouda easy. As memories of the 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford came flooding back it seemed like it would be a very long night for Blues and the 700 odd fans who had travelled down to watch them. But surprisingly for some, Blues received a bit of a wake up call and kept quite a lot of possession of the ball, but unfortunately not taking their chances. Jerome was looking especially lively as he has done in the past few games, this time having to play on his own in a 451 formation. At least we dispelled the myth for some that we weren't a passing side (ahem, Mr. Hleb).
After 26 minutes there was another set back as Kalou, who wasn't closed down quick enough, fired Chelsea into a 2-0 lead. It seemed a long way back from here for the battling Blues now.
Early on in the second half Roger Johnson had a chance to make my £123 dream come true but his header from a corner went just wide. Sensing a reply from Blues, the home side were in search of a third to completely kill the game off, and thanks to Florent Malouda some questionable defending, (why was no one marking Malouda and why was Ridgewell behind him and ducking when Malouda rose for the header?!) the current Premier League and FA Cup Champions put the game firmly beyond the reach of the Carling Cup holders.
A consolation goal for the away side came in the form of a penalty. Substitute Matt Derbyshire made a run into the box but was tackled by Luiz, and a penalty was awarded (our second in the Premier League this season, - I feel spoiled!!) Gardner and Larsson had a bit of a lovers tiff about who took it, whilst I was waiting for Roger Johnson to come storming into the penalty area, give 'the Jiranek stare of death' at the squabbling pair and take the penalty himself. Alas, it wasn't to be; Larsson won the battle, scored quite possibly the best penalty you will see this season - powerful and into the top corner - and gave Gardner a little hug.
Going down after three minutes at Chelsea and losing 3-1 is nothing to be ashamed of at all, and for what it's worth I thought the team did well. The goals conceded could have been avoided, but with a make-shift defence you could argue and say it could have been worse. At least it wasn't a must win game!
If the game taught me anything, it's that you should never bet because of something you dreamt about: that's three pounds I will never see again. Could have been worse; I could have bet a tenner!
Full Time: Chelsea 3-1 Birmingham CitySaturday, 16 April 2011
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
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 SunderlandSaturday, 9 April 2011
Honours Even
Another batteling I'm getting bored of saying that now) display by Blues saw them pick up a vital away point in the relegation battle today, and with the teams below us losing it proved at full time to be an even better point.
With Blues unchanged from their brilliant win last week at home to Bolton at travelling fans came out in force today in full voice, however it was the home side that started the brightest, with Junior Hoilett showing signs of what was to come with a run down the wing which eventually came to no avail. Blues picked up though, and the partnership of Jerome and Phillips looked to be working well; Jerome especially working well and winning countless aerial challenges against the strong back four of Blackburn.
And it was the away side who drew first blood with a goal after just over half an hour of play. Jerome received the ball from Larsson and put in a brilliant ball into the box which was tapped in with ease by Lee Bowyer to set the travelling fans tucked away in the upper tier into complete frenzy, and further silence to very quiet home support.
Blues continued to put Blackburn under pressure and with 45 minutes gone won a freekick. Larsson curled the ball expertly; Robinson in the Blacburn goal didn't even move... and the ball hit the woodwork! Had that gone in it may have been game over, or at least a very comfortable lead going into half time. But just a coyuple of minutes later at the pther end of the pitch Roger Johnson was left knocked out on the deck after a Blackburn attack. After a fw minutes of treatement he was bak on his feet, but a Ridgewell mistake meant Hoilett was through on goal and rounded Foster to rqualise for the home side. All the hard work by Blues had been undone by one defensive mishap.
Althoughnthe first half had been entertaining, the second half wa s areal relegation scrap. neither team wanted to go too far forward in fear of conceding and when either team ventured into the opposition half they lost the ball. It was end to end, scrappy, and by the end of the match half the players had been on the floor injured.
Johnson's concussion from his knock in the first half proved too much for him to carry on, and Davies had to come on in place of him. It's a given now that whenever Davies comes on we all look at each other as if our fate has been decided. But credit to him as today, even with a clear injury, he had a solid game at the back alongside Ridgewell.
Overall, the draw was the right result and like I mentioned at the start, it was even better considering the results of those around us. Win next week and we'll be one step closer to Premier League survival and one step further away from the relegation trap door. I believe there are more than three teams in this league who are worse than us: we will be fine... and hopefully come the end of the season I won't be made to regret what I just said!
Full Time: Blackburn 1-1 Birmingham City
With Blues unchanged from their brilliant win last week at home to Bolton at travelling fans came out in force today in full voice, however it was the home side that started the brightest, with Junior Hoilett showing signs of what was to come with a run down the wing which eventually came to no avail. Blues picked up though, and the partnership of Jerome and Phillips looked to be working well; Jerome especially working well and winning countless aerial challenges against the strong back four of Blackburn.
And it was the away side who drew first blood with a goal after just over half an hour of play. Jerome received the ball from Larsson and put in a brilliant ball into the box which was tapped in with ease by Lee Bowyer to set the travelling fans tucked away in the upper tier into complete frenzy, and further silence to very quiet home support.
Blues continued to put Blackburn under pressure and with 45 minutes gone won a freekick. Larsson curled the ball expertly; Robinson in the Blacburn goal didn't even move... and the ball hit the woodwork! Had that gone in it may have been game over, or at least a very comfortable lead going into half time. But just a coyuple of minutes later at the pther end of the pitch Roger Johnson was left knocked out on the deck after a Blackburn attack. After a fw minutes of treatement he was bak on his feet, but a Ridgewell mistake meant Hoilett was through on goal and rounded Foster to rqualise for the home side. All the hard work by Blues had been undone by one defensive mishap.
Althoughnthe first half had been entertaining, the second half wa s areal relegation scrap. neither team wanted to go too far forward in fear of conceding and when either team ventured into the opposition half they lost the ball. It was end to end, scrappy, and by the end of the match half the players had been on the floor injured.
Johnson's concussion from his knock in the first half proved too much for him to carry on, and Davies had to come on in place of him. It's a given now that whenever Davies comes on we all look at each other as if our fate has been decided. But credit to him as today, even with a clear injury, he had a solid game at the back alongside Ridgewell.
Overall, the draw was the right result and like I mentioned at the start, it was even better considering the results of those around us. Win next week and we'll be one step closer to Premier League survival and one step further away from the relegation trap door. I believe there are more than three teams in this league who are worse than us: we will be fine... and hopefully come the end of the season I won't be made to regret what I just said!
Full Time: Blackburn 1-1 Birmingham CitySaturday, 19 February 2011
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
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 WednesdayTuesday, 15 February 2011
Thinking of Wembley
I think we should have guessed what the game would turn out like when kick off went wrong. Or when Newcastle went 1-0 up after a minute and forty seconds.. What really did it for me though, was when Stephen Carr nearly impaled someone sitting in the Family Stand when he angrily threw a pitch fork over the advertising hoardings. In short: tonight just wasn't our night.
Going one nil down so early on in the game is real confidence knock, especially to a team with one eye on Wembley and the other on not picking up any injuries. But after that early blip, we pretty much ran the rest of the first half. We had the majority of the possession and were getting in good places, but we just couldn't find that killer ball and we're lacking any form of shot on target. But then again, so were Newcastle, it was just lucky breaks and bad defending from Blues than got them their early goal that proved very costly for the home side, and very beneficial to the travelling Geordies.
The flag happy linesmen didn't really help the shots on target total though, who rose their arm pretty much every time Zigic went near the ball. Surely he's not that stupid to be offside that many times, but I guess we won't know until we see the game again... which I doubt many of us will be doing any time soon!
Obafemi Martins looked lively again like he did in the Stoke game at the weekend, but lacked the cutting edge. His control is brilliant though: if only Cameron Jerome had that touch! He seemed to overdo it at times too, much like team mate David Bentley, who strangely won man of the match. He wasn't at the races tonight and went missing at times during the first forty-five, and when he did get the ball, granted he put in some decent crosses and did some good running, but sometimes he just overdoes it and tries to do too many fancy turns: just get it in the box Bentley!
It was a pity the first half had to end, as Blues were the team in control and the team who shaded the half; despite lack of real chances as other than a Gardner shot after a nice passing move went just over, we didn't really have too much to shout about. The second half again started badly for Blues as they went two goals behind after a goal from Leon Best. One goal, we may have been able to do, but two seemed pretty impossible - and the rest of the game proved this.
Heads dropped as Newcastle began to seize the game into their control. Blues tried to get back into it but with no avail. Roger Johnson almost did a Wayne Rooney when the ball fell to him just outside the area but it fell agonisingly wide of the post, and the defender walked away to chants of 'Rooney! Rooney!' from the Tilton. Zigic also came close a number of times, especially with a header that went just over the bar, and Roger Johnson again came close when he headed the ball hard from a corner, only for his effort to fall straight to Harper in the Newcastle goal.
With 20 minutes to go Blues began to surge forward more, with Cameron Jerome - who came on earlier in the half in place of Martins - causing problems. A few corners, offsides and Newcastle falls (over thin air) later, and it seemed that two goals from the home side really was too much to ask, and the game finished 0-2 to the away side - only the third home defeat all season for Blues.
The Premier League can be pushed to one side for a moment now as we have the FA Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, and a Wembley date the Sunday after. Nothing really went our way tonight and credit where its due - Newcastle simply wanted it more than we did, although we had enough possession to create, we just didn't.
Full Time: Birmingham City 0-2 Newcastle United
Going one nil down so early on in the game is real confidence knock, especially to a team with one eye on Wembley and the other on not picking up any injuries. But after that early blip, we pretty much ran the rest of the first half. We had the majority of the possession and were getting in good places, but we just couldn't find that killer ball and we're lacking any form of shot on target. But then again, so were Newcastle, it was just lucky breaks and bad defending from Blues than got them their early goal that proved very costly for the home side, and very beneficial to the travelling Geordies.
The flag happy linesmen didn't really help the shots on target total though, who rose their arm pretty much every time Zigic went near the ball. Surely he's not that stupid to be offside that many times, but I guess we won't know until we see the game again... which I doubt many of us will be doing any time soon!
Obafemi Martins looked lively again like he did in the Stoke game at the weekend, but lacked the cutting edge. His control is brilliant though: if only Cameron Jerome had that touch! He seemed to overdo it at times too, much like team mate David Bentley, who strangely won man of the match. He wasn't at the races tonight and went missing at times during the first forty-five, and when he did get the ball, granted he put in some decent crosses and did some good running, but sometimes he just overdoes it and tries to do too many fancy turns: just get it in the box Bentley!
It was a pity the first half had to end, as Blues were the team in control and the team who shaded the half; despite lack of real chances as other than a Gardner shot after a nice passing move went just over, we didn't really have too much to shout about. The second half again started badly for Blues as they went two goals behind after a goal from Leon Best. One goal, we may have been able to do, but two seemed pretty impossible - and the rest of the game proved this.
Heads dropped as Newcastle began to seize the game into their control. Blues tried to get back into it but with no avail. Roger Johnson almost did a Wayne Rooney when the ball fell to him just outside the area but it fell agonisingly wide of the post, and the defender walked away to chants of 'Rooney! Rooney!' from the Tilton. Zigic also came close a number of times, especially with a header that went just over the bar, and Roger Johnson again came close when he headed the ball hard from a corner, only for his effort to fall straight to Harper in the Newcastle goal.
With 20 minutes to go Blues began to surge forward more, with Cameron Jerome - who came on earlier in the half in place of Martins - causing problems. A few corners, offsides and Newcastle falls (over thin air) later, and it seemed that two goals from the home side really was too much to ask, and the game finished 0-2 to the away side - only the third home defeat all season for Blues.
The Premier League can be pushed to one side for a moment now as we have the FA Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, and a Wembley date the Sunday after. Nothing really went our way tonight and credit where its due - Newcastle simply wanted it more than we did, although we had enough possession to create, we just didn't.
Winning three on the bounce just isn't our thing anyway...
Full Time: Birmingham City 0-2 Newcastle UnitedSunday, 6 February 2011
Not the prettiest, but we don't care
Right now none of us care how the points come. It'd be nice to secure them in a superb attacking fashion, but we're in a relegation battle; not a Europa League push. Right now, a goal is a goal and a win is a win - however they may come - and today was a very big win indeed.
In a real relegation 6 pointer after Wolves and Wigan winning yesterday, the aim of today was simple for both teams: win. Both teams therefore started quite edgy and nervous, neither side willing to sacrifice too many men going forward in fear of being cut open at the back, but at the same time neither wanted to play too defensive, so both managers opted for a strong 4-4-2 formation.
It was West Ham who enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, which was the be expected from a Blues point of view. However both teams had their fair share of chances, with Victor Obinna looking lively yet again for the Hammers and Bentley working his magic down the wing, but neither really got any clear cut chances for their side. The home side had the better of the chances, but great defensive work for Blues yet again, especially from Roger Johnson (are you watching Fabio?) kept the away side level going into half time, after West Ham had edged the first forty-five.
With inspiring second half performances from the last few games, Blues were looking to do the same again in the second half of this game, and started fairly brightly. It was still an end to end encounter though, and both teams were desperately trying to find an opening.
Seeing more of the game now, Blues came close with Zigic heading just wide at the far post, and that was enough for McLeish to decide to change things. He took off Jerome - who still looks less than match fit - and brought on Sebastian Larsson. And that proved to be the tuning moment of the game. The Swede looked incredibly lively when he came on, and moments after the inspired substitution came the break through. Blues were awarded to free-kicks in succession, and the second proved to be the most costly for West ham, as the substitute Larsson whipped in a brilliant ball which was headed in from a couple of yards out by Zigic for Birmingham to take the lead.
The crowed grew anxious and it was a nervy last 20 minutes for both teams; Blues not wanting to squander their lead, and West ham not wanting to concede another. The home side threw plenty at Blues in the closing stages, with ineffective strike pair Piquionne and Keane coming off to be replaced by goal-poacher Carlton Cole and new boy Demba Ba, they were aching for an equaliser. And Ba almost made an instant impact, hitting the post after the ball had gone loose in the area.
But Blues stood strong and managed to hold on to an important victory, which took them out of the relegation zone. It wasn't the prettiest of games, it was a real nervous encounter between two teams desperate for points. But Blues showed character and prevailed, and got the much needed three points with only their second away win of the season.
p next we have three winnable home games against Stoke, Newcastle and manager-less West Brom, and sandwiched between those games are the FA Cup game and the small matter of a Carling Cup final to contend with. But pack St. Andrews out, get behind the boys because we can really push on and stay up now. Keep Right On!
Full Time: West Ham United 0-1 Birmingham City
In a real relegation 6 pointer after Wolves and Wigan winning yesterday, the aim of today was simple for both teams: win. Both teams therefore started quite edgy and nervous, neither side willing to sacrifice too many men going forward in fear of being cut open at the back, but at the same time neither wanted to play too defensive, so both managers opted for a strong 4-4-2 formation.
It was West Ham who enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, which was the be expected from a Blues point of view. However both teams had their fair share of chances, with Victor Obinna looking lively yet again for the Hammers and Bentley working his magic down the wing, but neither really got any clear cut chances for their side. The home side had the better of the chances, but great defensive work for Blues yet again, especially from Roger Johnson (are you watching Fabio?) kept the away side level going into half time, after West Ham had edged the first forty-five.
With inspiring second half performances from the last few games, Blues were looking to do the same again in the second half of this game, and started fairly brightly. It was still an end to end encounter though, and both teams were desperately trying to find an opening.
Seeing more of the game now, Blues came close with Zigic heading just wide at the far post, and that was enough for McLeish to decide to change things. He took off Jerome - who still looks less than match fit - and brought on Sebastian Larsson. And that proved to be the tuning moment of the game. The Swede looked incredibly lively when he came on, and moments after the inspired substitution came the break through. Blues were awarded to free-kicks in succession, and the second proved to be the most costly for West ham, as the substitute Larsson whipped in a brilliant ball which was headed in from a couple of yards out by Zigic for Birmingham to take the lead.
The crowed grew anxious and it was a nervy last 20 minutes for both teams; Blues not wanting to squander their lead, and West ham not wanting to concede another. The home side threw plenty at Blues in the closing stages, with ineffective strike pair Piquionne and Keane coming off to be replaced by goal-poacher Carlton Cole and new boy Demba Ba, they were aching for an equaliser. And Ba almost made an instant impact, hitting the post after the ball had gone loose in the area.
But Blues stood strong and managed to hold on to an important victory, which took them out of the relegation zone. It wasn't the prettiest of games, it was a real nervous encounter between two teams desperate for points. But Blues showed character and prevailed, and got the much needed three points with only their second away win of the season.
p next we have three winnable home games against Stoke, Newcastle and manager-less West Brom, and sandwiched between those games are the FA Cup game and the small matter of a Carling Cup final to contend with. But pack St. Andrews out, get behind the boys because we can really push on and stay up now. Keep Right On!
Full Time: West Ham United 0-1 Birmingham CityThursday, 27 January 2011
Wembley
Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. It's almost always the other way round. The amount of times we've gone one or two goals up, only to finish the game with a draw or even a defeat... take Bolton at the start of the season for example; 2-0 up, Bolton down to ten men, and we go and draw it 2-2. Last night made up for all the times we'd done that, in fact it pretty much made up for all the hurt we've felt in the past five or so years.
There was one thing we didn't want to and that was to concede first. So obviously, being Blues, that's exactly what we did. We didn't close Cole down and he struck the ball very well, and the ball crept past Foster into the net. On the one night we wanted Blues to perform, it looked like we hadn't turned up. 'Just once' i thought, 'just once can we have our night.'
At half time I was standing with some of my mates and we were all pretty depressed. We all thought we'd be able to score one goal, but two... we didn't think we possible, especially as the one thing we've been pretty poor at for a while now is scoring goals. Little did we know Blues were about to put on the performance of their lives.
We threw everything at West Ham second half. Everything. The kitchen sink, the cat, the dog. Everything. It reminded me of last season when we used to put everything on the line; or against Chelsea this season when we were defending that one goal lead for about 70 minutes. It was brilliant and exciting; but at the same time it was the most nervous I and many others have ever been. But that first goal by Bowyer. That relieved some of the nerves. The feeling when that went in was immense. It really was. It was a superb strike and it really set us on our way, everyone in the ground could sense what was coming next.
And, plenty of attacks, corners and decent Green saves later, it came. Bowyer's corner found Roger Johnson head, which found the back of the net (the ball, not his head. I can't word that bit right) and the place erupted. I mean it really erupted. You know when you go so mental you don't even know what you're doing, and you're cheering so loud you know any minute your voice will go. And the stand was bouncing. And the fans were all on their feet going absolutely - pardon my French - fucking mental. And the West Ham fans couldn't believe it. Neither could we. It was 2-2 on aggregate, it was game on, and we were taking this one right to the wire: the Blues way. We nearly did it in normal time though, Craig Gardner hit the post in the last few seconds. It so almost crept in. Almost.
But we just kept the momentum going from the second half into extra time, and that's when it happened. The ball was passed long to a West Ham player. Stephen Carr read the pass and ran. He ran so fast I'm not sure how he had the energy to after running so much in the second half. But he was so determined to get there first. And he stole the ball. And he ran. And he passed it to Gardner. And that's when it happened. That's when Craig Gardner, the Bluenose, the lifelong Birmingham City supporter, scored the winning goal. Now if you think the celebrations for Roger Johnson's goal were mental, they were nothing compared to this. I will never forget that moment. 4 minutes into extra time and we were ahead. We just needed to keep it that way.
We had so many other chances to score and to create. As did West Ham, but our defence were so, so resilient they just couldn't break us down. With a few minutes to go a man in front of us started signing about Wembley. About five of us turned to him and shouted "NOT YET! NOT YET!" because we knew this was Blues and that anything could happen. But he was right. And with a minute to go, the whole ground was belting out que sera sera, and at that moment Howard Webb blew his whistle, every one just let everything go. There were tears, there were... well, just about every emotion under the sun. Pure relief, absolute delirium, just everything and more. Standing on our chairs singing 'que sera sera' is a moment I will never, ever forget. Because we did it. We're going to Wembley.
I think 'the Blues way' is the only way we could have done it, It was never going to be easy because it never is with Blues. We should have know that we'd do it in the end, that we'd be too much for West Ham, but I guess part of you isn't too sure when to believe in Blues because of how many times they've let you down in the past. But if last night taught me one thing; it's to never, ever doubt Birmingham City.
A Carling Cup final date at Wembley with Arsenal awaits us. The best thing about it is that we've got nothing to lose. Everyone expects Arsenal to win, so it's great that we have no pressure. All we have to do is go out there, do our thing and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that we get runners up medals. So for the love of God, everyone: just enjoy it, it won't come around very often. I hope you all had a brilliant night last night. See you all at Wembley.
Full Time: Birmingham City 3-1 West Ham (AGG: 4-3)
There was one thing we didn't want to and that was to concede first. So obviously, being Blues, that's exactly what we did. We didn't close Cole down and he struck the ball very well, and the ball crept past Foster into the net. On the one night we wanted Blues to perform, it looked like we hadn't turned up. 'Just once' i thought, 'just once can we have our night.'
At half time I was standing with some of my mates and we were all pretty depressed. We all thought we'd be able to score one goal, but two... we didn't think we possible, especially as the one thing we've been pretty poor at for a while now is scoring goals. Little did we know Blues were about to put on the performance of their lives.
We threw everything at West Ham second half. Everything. The kitchen sink, the cat, the dog. Everything. It reminded me of last season when we used to put everything on the line; or against Chelsea this season when we were defending that one goal lead for about 70 minutes. It was brilliant and exciting; but at the same time it was the most nervous I and many others have ever been. But that first goal by Bowyer. That relieved some of the nerves. The feeling when that went in was immense. It really was. It was a superb strike and it really set us on our way, everyone in the ground could sense what was coming next.
And, plenty of attacks, corners and decent Green saves later, it came. Bowyer's corner found Roger Johnson head, which found the back of the net (the ball, not his head. I can't word that bit right) and the place erupted. I mean it really erupted. You know when you go so mental you don't even know what you're doing, and you're cheering so loud you know any minute your voice will go. And the stand was bouncing. And the fans were all on their feet going absolutely - pardon my French - fucking mental. And the West Ham fans couldn't believe it. Neither could we. It was 2-2 on aggregate, it was game on, and we were taking this one right to the wire: the Blues way. We nearly did it in normal time though, Craig Gardner hit the post in the last few seconds. It so almost crept in. Almost.
But we just kept the momentum going from the second half into extra time, and that's when it happened. The ball was passed long to a West Ham player. Stephen Carr read the pass and ran. He ran so fast I'm not sure how he had the energy to after running so much in the second half. But he was so determined to get there first. And he stole the ball. And he ran. And he passed it to Gardner. And that's when it happened. That's when Craig Gardner, the Bluenose, the lifelong Birmingham City supporter, scored the winning goal. Now if you think the celebrations for Roger Johnson's goal were mental, they were nothing compared to this. I will never forget that moment. 4 minutes into extra time and we were ahead. We just needed to keep it that way.
We had so many other chances to score and to create. As did West Ham, but our defence were so, so resilient they just couldn't break us down. With a few minutes to go a man in front of us started signing about Wembley. About five of us turned to him and shouted "NOT YET! NOT YET!" because we knew this was Blues and that anything could happen. But he was right. And with a minute to go, the whole ground was belting out que sera sera, and at that moment Howard Webb blew his whistle, every one just let everything go. There were tears, there were... well, just about every emotion under the sun. Pure relief, absolute delirium, just everything and more. Standing on our chairs singing 'que sera sera' is a moment I will never, ever forget. Because we did it. We're going to Wembley.
I think 'the Blues way' is the only way we could have done it, It was never going to be easy because it never is with Blues. We should have know that we'd do it in the end, that we'd be too much for West Ham, but I guess part of you isn't too sure when to believe in Blues because of how many times they've let you down in the past. But if last night taught me one thing; it's to never, ever doubt Birmingham City.
A Carling Cup final date at Wembley with Arsenal awaits us. The best thing about it is that we've got nothing to lose. Everyone expects Arsenal to win, so it's great that we have no pressure. All we have to do is go out there, do our thing and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that we get runners up medals. So for the love of God, everyone: just enjoy it, it won't come around very often. I hope you all had a brilliant night last night. See you all at Wembley.
Full Time: Birmingham City 3-1 West Ham (AGG: 4-3)Sunday, 16 January 2011
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
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 VillaTuesday, 4 January 2011
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!
Full Time: Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham City
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 CityTuesday, 28 December 2010
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
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 UnitedSaturday, 27 November 2010
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
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 CitySunday, 14 November 2010
Club Favouritism: We can see it Fabio.
At first glance, it's a head-scratcher: Chris Smalling called up to the England team. Upon closer inspection, it's a little easier to see why: He plays for Manchester United.
I'm all for giving players chances, it's rare you see Championship players called up for England so I'm happy Bothroyd has been given a chance even though I don't rate him, but when you see players called up and even better players not getting a look in, to me, it's nonsensical. It's ridiculous. And it points to the one thing the England manager won't want to admit: club favouritism.
I'm starting to think now that for Roger Johnson to get called up to the England squad he'd have to dance naked in front of Fabio Capello waving a DVD of 'RoJo's best bits' from last season in his face. The thing is though, Capello has actually watched him on several occasions: he came often to St. Andrews on Joe Hart watch, and saw what Johnson gives to a team. He's your real English centre back: He puts his heart on his sleeve and would put his limbs in the way of an oncoming train. He's the type of player that would play with a broken leg; he'd get up, dust himself down and hobble on until the end of the game. He doesn't like losing; he's said so himself. He doesn't like defeat; that's why he always carries on. He's always shouting at the other players; because when something isn't right, Roger will tell you. In fact, Roger should be telling Fabio it's not right, because if he were to stick on a Chelsea shirt or a Man United shirt tomorrow and play for them, he'd get an England call-up just like that.
This desision has caused a lot of talking points, and the names being thrown about are the two i've mentioned: Roger Johnson and Gary Cahill. They are two great defenders who really deserve a chance, and two defenders who are better than Chris Smalling. I'm sorry Chris, but you probably even realise it yourself. Even Scott Dann, who sometimes even looks more assured than Johnson, and has played at Under-21 level is still being ignored by the England set up.
From the start of last season, Roger Johnson has played every single minute of every single Premier League game for Birmingham, showing not only his obvious defensive talent in the games, but his body-on the line mentality and his never say die attitude. He is the type of person every England fan would love to see playing for their team, and I'm not being biased when I say this, because England fans are all saying the same thing.
Gary Cahill has been a top defender for years. Blues tried to sign him before, but - don't quote me - I think this is when he transferred to Bolton. And he's been doing great there. He's the rock of their defence and, like Johnson, he puts his body on the line. He's more experianced and probably more technically able than Roger, which begs the bigger question as to why Smalling was called up ahead of him. For experiance for the young lad who has played just twenty minutes of Premier League football this season? Please don't make me laugh. It's because he has a red devil on his chest and the Glazers put the money into his bank account every week. And we all know it is.
The sad truth is out there, and unfortunetly even the players know it. Roger Johnson was interviewed back in October and he said, and I quote: "When it comes to a move or an England call, they are things that I have got to look to do. If a big move comes in then I would have to think about it." - because that's what players have to do nowadays. Lets face it, the Bolton's and Birmingham's of this world are seen as inferior. How can they produce good players? How can we call up players from their teams and ignore players at Manchester United?
It's becoming and unwritten rule for England managers and I wish Capello would have the balls to pick players on form, like he says he does, rather than players by what club they ply their trade for.
I'm all for giving players chances, it's rare you see Championship players called up for England so I'm happy Bothroyd has been given a chance even though I don't rate him, but when you see players called up and even better players not getting a look in, to me, it's nonsensical. It's ridiculous. And it points to the one thing the England manager won't want to admit: club favouritism.
I'm starting to think now that for Roger Johnson to get called up to the England squad he'd have to dance naked in front of Fabio Capello waving a DVD of 'RoJo's best bits' from last season in his face. The thing is though, Capello has actually watched him on several occasions: he came often to St. Andrews on Joe Hart watch, and saw what Johnson gives to a team. He's your real English centre back: He puts his heart on his sleeve and would put his limbs in the way of an oncoming train. He's the type of player that would play with a broken leg; he'd get up, dust himself down and hobble on until the end of the game. He doesn't like losing; he's said so himself. He doesn't like defeat; that's why he always carries on. He's always shouting at the other players; because when something isn't right, Roger will tell you. In fact, Roger should be telling Fabio it's not right, because if he were to stick on a Chelsea shirt or a Man United shirt tomorrow and play for them, he'd get an England call-up just like that.
The same goes for Gary Cahill. Although he's been called up before - and done everything to warrant being called up again, may I add - he's also being overlooked again. No one gets it, in fact I think the only people who get it are United fans who are, understandably, happy for their player and Capello himself. It's come to a point now where no one else gets it though. It's been said for years England managers show club favouritism and now it's becoming a joke.
This desision has caused a lot of talking points, and the names being thrown about are the two i've mentioned: Roger Johnson and Gary Cahill. They are two great defenders who really deserve a chance, and two defenders who are better than Chris Smalling. I'm sorry Chris, but you probably even realise it yourself. Even Scott Dann, who sometimes even looks more assured than Johnson, and has played at Under-21 level is still being ignored by the England set up.
From the start of last season, Roger Johnson has played every single minute of every single Premier League game for Birmingham, showing not only his obvious defensive talent in the games, but his body-on the line mentality and his never say die attitude. He is the type of person every England fan would love to see playing for their team, and I'm not being biased when I say this, because England fans are all saying the same thing.
Gary Cahill has been a top defender for years. Blues tried to sign him before, but - don't quote me - I think this is when he transferred to Bolton. And he's been doing great there. He's the rock of their defence and, like Johnson, he puts his body on the line. He's more experianced and probably more technically able than Roger, which begs the bigger question as to why Smalling was called up ahead of him. For experiance for the young lad who has played just twenty minutes of Premier League football this season? Please don't make me laugh. It's because he has a red devil on his chest and the Glazers put the money into his bank account every week. And we all know it is.
The sad truth is out there, and unfortunetly even the players know it. Roger Johnson was interviewed back in October and he said, and I quote: "When it comes to a move or an England call, they are things that I have got to look to do. If a big move comes in then I would have to think about it." - because that's what players have to do nowadays. Lets face it, the Bolton's and Birmingham's of this world are seen as inferior. How can they produce good players? How can we call up players from their teams and ignore players at Manchester United?
Saturday, 13 November 2010
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
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 CitySunday, 31 October 2010
Honours Even
For Blues, it was a chance to beat their nearest, but certainly not dearest, rivals for the first time in six attempts. For Villa, it was a change to make it '7-in-a-row'. And for both teams, it was the first derby game of the season.
Blues kept the same formation that saw them beat Blackpool in the previous Premier League game, whilst Villa - the home side - opted for a negative 4-5-1 shut out. We all really should have seen what would happen in the next 90 minutes coming.
The game started off at a high tempo, but as it got further and further into the game, Sky were probably breathing a sigh of relief that they had not paid to air the game - (especially upon seeing the full time result of the tyne-wear derby!) For Blues and Villa fans alike, it was a game full of tension, but for the neutrals, it was pretty boring. Neither team had too many clear cut chances, and with the home side shaping up to actually play for a draw, it was pretty disappointing in itself.
To saw Blues shaded the first half would probably be a correct statement. Neither team really created much, which was the story of the game, however Blues pressured much more in the first forty-five minutes, and the home side didn't even have a shot of target, which really speaks volumes.
A derby game isn't a derby game without a controversial decision, and the closest the game came to controversy was near the end of the first half, when Nigel Reo-Coker - who by the end of the game could consider himself a lucky little boy to still be on the pitch - appeared to handle the ball in the area, after some suspect 'controlling' of the ball. No penalty was awarded, and not many Blues players staked a claim for a penalty, but on reply is does look like the Villa player handled the ball.
The second half was not controlled by one team in particular, but you could say Villa had the better of it. Nigel Reo-Coker subsequently got booked, and also injured Roger Johnson, giving him idiot status amongst the Birmingham fans - and of course, like the true soldier he is, Roger battled on to see the game out.
It seemed like there was too much at stake for either team to really go for it - the ones to make the first move were Blues, by bringing Cameron Jerome on to go 4-4-2, who made an immediate impact, bursting down the wing to almost sneak the ball past Brad Friedel. Some time later and Villa played their card: John Carew - who is apparently bigger than me and you (but not as big as Nikola Zigic) - who pretty much did nothing but win one header. Trump card made... trump card failed. Blues nearly won it at the death, but Nikola Zigic couldn't get the ball past Brad Friedel, and the game finished 0-0 - with Villa fans sneaking out the ground, and a small number booing. And they say they're not fickle.
For Blues, it was a relief not to lose and a relief that they stopped their neighbours getting 'the magnificent 7' victories on the bounce. But what also came out of that game for them, was pride. For 90 minutes, they stood toe to toe with their rivals who proclaim themselves as far superior, however after that showing, you can tell that the gap between the clubs is not as far as some Villa fans would lead you to believe.
For Villa, it was a disappointing result, which although they didn't lose, being at home and playing as poorly and negatively as they did, they will not be a happy bunch tonight. It was 0-0 today, but the deadlock must be broken in the Carling Cup, where the two teams meet at St. Andrews in pretty much exactly a months time. And Blues are ready now. Believe me.
It would've been nice to see Craig Gardner reeling off in celebration in front of the Holte End in the 93rd minute, but, i'll settle for a point. And that's what we got.
Full Time: Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City
Blues kept the same formation that saw them beat Blackpool in the previous Premier League game, whilst Villa - the home side - opted for a negative 4-5-1 shut out. We all really should have seen what would happen in the next 90 minutes coming.
The game started off at a high tempo, but as it got further and further into the game, Sky were probably breathing a sigh of relief that they had not paid to air the game - (especially upon seeing the full time result of the tyne-wear derby!) For Blues and Villa fans alike, it was a game full of tension, but for the neutrals, it was pretty boring. Neither team had too many clear cut chances, and with the home side shaping up to actually play for a draw, it was pretty disappointing in itself.
To saw Blues shaded the first half would probably be a correct statement. Neither team really created much, which was the story of the game, however Blues pressured much more in the first forty-five minutes, and the home side didn't even have a shot of target, which really speaks volumes.
A derby game isn't a derby game without a controversial decision, and the closest the game came to controversy was near the end of the first half, when Nigel Reo-Coker - who by the end of the game could consider himself a lucky little boy to still be on the pitch - appeared to handle the ball in the area, after some suspect 'controlling' of the ball. No penalty was awarded, and not many Blues players staked a claim for a penalty, but on reply is does look like the Villa player handled the ball.
The second half was not controlled by one team in particular, but you could say Villa had the better of it. Nigel Reo-Coker subsequently got booked, and also injured Roger Johnson, giving him idiot status amongst the Birmingham fans - and of course, like the true soldier he is, Roger battled on to see the game out.
It seemed like there was too much at stake for either team to really go for it - the ones to make the first move were Blues, by bringing Cameron Jerome on to go 4-4-2, who made an immediate impact, bursting down the wing to almost sneak the ball past Brad Friedel. Some time later and Villa played their card: John Carew - who is apparently bigger than me and you (but not as big as Nikola Zigic) - who pretty much did nothing but win one header. Trump card made... trump card failed. Blues nearly won it at the death, but Nikola Zigic couldn't get the ball past Brad Friedel, and the game finished 0-0 - with Villa fans sneaking out the ground, and a small number booing. And they say they're not fickle.
For Blues, it was a relief not to lose and a relief that they stopped their neighbours getting 'the magnificent 7' victories on the bounce. But what also came out of that game for them, was pride. For 90 minutes, they stood toe to toe with their rivals who proclaim themselves as far superior, however after that showing, you can tell that the gap between the clubs is not as far as some Villa fans would lead you to believe.
For Villa, it was a disappointing result, which although they didn't lose, being at home and playing as poorly and negatively as they did, they will not be a happy bunch tonight. It was 0-0 today, but the deadlock must be broken in the Carling Cup, where the two teams meet at St. Andrews in pretty much exactly a months time. And Blues are ready now. Believe me.
It would've been nice to see Craig Gardner reeling off in celebration in front of the Holte End in the 93rd minute, but, i'll settle for a point. And that's what we got.
Full Time: Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City
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