Filed under: Matches | Tags: Alex Mcleish, Birmingham City, five wins, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Stephen Carr
First of all i’d like to apologise to the three people who read my blog (of course this is a joke, i’m apologising to thousands of people) secondly i’d like to praise the work Alex McLeish has done at Birmingham City.
Where to start, well , i’ve missed blogging on the wins against Fulham, Wolves, Wigan and West Ham, yes, that is four, yes, that is twelve points.
Imagine McFadden hitting a decent penalty against Man City and David N’Gog not being a cheat and that would be 6 wins.
Tonight saw Blues take on Blackburn.
I’m not going to lie, i saw a 0-0 draw, especially under the beaming glare of sky sports, something which i’ve seen Blues underperform on for many years, but, what cracking entertainment.
Sam Allardyce and his new heart will have been no doubt hoping for an exhilarating 0-0 draw.
However, McLeish seems to have blended a squad together of old heads and youthful enthusiasm who don’t give up and more importantly really don’t want to give goals away.
I’ve thus far managed to restrain my staunch admiration for what the Scotsman has done with the Blues back four, however, as the weeks pass i find it hard to not admire his work.
Where to start, i’ll go for the obvious, Roger Johnson. Here we have a centreback who was told at Wymcombe he wasn’t good enough. He was a fans favourite at Cardiff and won their player of the season last season, the £5 million paid for him seems pittance for a player who seems to get his head on everything and always poses a threat from set pieces.
Scott Dann, £3.5 million. My only real recollection was being at the Ricoh Arena and seeing him prod in from close range on a thoroughly depressing afternoon for Blues fans. I imagined he would be a player who may be a bit part, play the occasional game here or there. However, he seems as good if not better than Mr Johnson, where Johnson seems more obvious with his last ditch tackling, Dann seems far more composed on the ball. They have a partnership which i’d argue many teams in the Premiership would be ecstatic to possess.
Liam Ridgewell, well, erm, he isn’t a left back, his distribution is poor and when getting forward he seems incapable of finding a team mate. I will stick up for him though, when we give away corners etc he is a better person to have in the box than some average Left Back (read David Murphy).
NOW, Now we get down to the real business, Stephen Carr.
When Blues persuaded him out of retirement i was full of typical pessimism and outrage. He proved me and thousands wrong last season by helping us on our way back into the promised land. Here comes the ‘interesting’ bit. It would seem to me giving this 33 year old (who about this time last year announced his retirement) the captains armband has installed a belief and a desire into the back four that they really don’t want to give goals away.
The whole tem has a togetherness which i haven’t seen at St Andrews for a very long time, they look they actually want to play together and don’t want to concede. My only hope is that we don’t sign anyone with a massive ego in January who would spoil this.
Who do you want to see signed in January?
Filed under: Matches
Blues travel to Merseyside for a game which they must see the potential for an upset. Doubts over the fitness to key duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard mean that blues could face the underachieving reds at a great time, especially with Jamie Carragher also missing through suspension.
Although they played fairly well against Lyon they only managed a draw which leaves them facing a very difficult and unlikely task of challenging for the Champions league. Rafa Benitez’s position has come under increasing scrutiny, if Aquilani (making his first start) can prove to be the player to replace Alonso he may see an improvement in results.
Birmingham will be without Barry Ferguson due to suspension, after his bizarre decision to stop Man City taking a throw in last week. Blues will surely miss him and his ease on the ball, something which can’t always be said for potential replacements Keith Fahey or Lee Carsley.
My prediction : Without Torres and Gerrard – 1-1. With Torres / Gerrard 2-1.
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Well, no Torres and a bit of Gerrard and a great battling performance from Blues, only spoiled by David N’Gogs outrageous dive to win ‘pool a penalty and ultimately get an equaliser.
Scott Dann and Roger Johnson had great games, especially when you consider the amount of prem experience between them. Liam Ridgewell again showed the need for McLeish to spend some of his January budget on a left back.
Chucho got his first goal for the club with a simple header, but the headlines should belong to Cameron Jerome not N’Gog. In the 47th minute of the first half Jerome showed excellent control to take the ball away from the attentions of Mascherano before holding the Argentine off and unleashing a shot many blues fans wouldn’t believe he would be capable of.
The game had another highlight, when the cameras panned to Carson Yeung in the crowd, wearing a superb coat. 
Filed under: Rumours
Alex McLeish has distanced himself from a move for the Ukranian.
However, how much say McLeish would have in any choice to purchase a ‘big name’ in order to raise the profile of the club in China remains to be seen.
Filed under: Rumours | Tags: AC Milan, Andrei Shevchenko, Birmingham City, Dynamo Kiev, Kris Boyd, Steven Davis
Many papers have been running a story linking Birmingham with a move for ex Chelsea flop Andrei Shevchenko. He was signed in 2006 at a cost of over £30 Million from AC Milan, he played for the club 48 times and only scored 9 goals, leaving on a loan deal back to Milan in 2008, then moving to Dynamo Kiev at the start of this season. In action (complete with excellent backing music)
Blues are also amongst a host of clubs looking at Miguel Vitor of Benfica. A promising young centre back who the club are rumoured to want to loan out to gain experience.
Back to the more regular rumours about McLeish wanting to raid his old club for talent. Kris Boyd is again mentioned for as little as £1 Million which would seem like a good bit of business, ex Aston Villa midfielder Steven Davis has also been linked with a £3 million move. Kris Boyd goals.
Filed under: Matches | Tags: Carlos Tevez, Carson Yeung, James McFadden, Liam Ridgewell, Manchester City, Roque, Santa Cruz, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Shay Given
A solid display earnt Blues a point on a night when they may feel hard done by to not have all three.
The back four were rarely tested by an attacking line up compromising of Tevez,Santa Cruz, Bellamy and Wright Phillips. Bellamy on the left and Wright Phillips on the right failed to dominate Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell. Ridgewell continuing to fill in at left back, doing well defensively however his distribution isn’t great.
James McFadden, who is usully reliable from the spot, hit a weak penalty to Givens left and the keeper ,who once again showed why he is one of the best in the world, saved with ease.
It’s another encouraging performance witnessed by Mr Yeung, what must have been as encouraging for Blues fans would have been seeing him and his associates looking like they were getting involved and enjoying the action.
Filed under: Rumours | Tags: Aiden McGeady, Chinedu Obasi, Edin Dzeko, Garry O'Connor, Grafite, Marc Janko, Peter Crouch, Vedad Ibisevic
The latest players rumoured to be joining in January.
Marc Janko of Salzburg is on McLeish’s radar, comparing him to Peter Crouch, in his 84 appearances for the Austrian club he has scored an impressive 65 goals. The Blues boss has also admitted an interest in Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko and Grafite and Hoffenheim’s Vedad Ibisevic and Chinedu Obasi. He seems realistic though when he appreciates that it may take a while before Blues can attract the players at the higher end of the transfer market:
“If we get to an Everton status in years to come then we could entice the Dzekos of this world.
“There are some hidden gems out there who won’t cost lots of pennies, but you’re probably looking at £15million for Dzeko, Grafite £10million. The Hoffenheim strikers would probably cost £10million plus as well.”
Another rumour is an interest in Celtic winger Aiden McGeady, a player who seems to have plenty of potential but often fails to deliver. Supposedly, any deal would involve the less than prolific Garry O’Connor moving in the opposite direction.
Filed under: Transfers | Tags: Alex Mcleish, Birmingham City, Carson Yeung, Kris Boyd, Rangers
When asked about what kind of investment in the playing staff could be expected, many Blues fans must have been ecstatic to hear Mr Yeung declare that £20-40 million will be made available for transfers and wages in January. Especially when he says that will be backed up with a further £40 million in the following transfer window.
So who do you want to see strutting their stuff down St Andrews? Is the signing of Kris Boyd inevitable? How many other rangers players can we expect to see considering their financial dire straits?
Inevitably the rumours have begun already, a couple of papers have reported that McLeish will attempt to buy Craig Gardner from Aston Villa for £5 million in January. Other players supposedly on the radar are Gareth Bale at Tottenham and Gary O’Neill of Middlesborough.
However, if other rumours are to be believed McLeish may not even be around by January. These rumours from the very reliable source the News of The World, suggest that Yeung has lined up former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to replace the Scotsman.
Filed under: The Board | Tags: Alex Mcleish, Carson Yeung, Christian Karembeu, David Gold, David Sullivan, Steve Mcmanaman
The new board were quick to talk about their vision for the club and the way the club was being run. Changes which were under the constant scrutiny of the out going directors.
David Sullivan, never being one to miss an opportunity to talk (and talk and talk) about how hard he has worked and how unappreciative everyone is of his efforts was quick to offer Yeung a warning that the running the club should come with a ‘health warning’
The other exiting director fond of letting his feelings known to the press, David Gold, also decided to give Yeung some advice on ticket pricing. He warned that dropping ticket prices does not work,
“Fans will love him but he will get relegated because the model doesn’t work.’
Gold could be right that lowering ticket prices may not neccessarily lead to capacity crowds, but he doesn’t seem to appreciate that those that do go to the games will no doubt feel less resentment at for example being asked to pay £48 to watch ‘A’ grade games. By setting more reasonable and realistic ticket prices fans will surely enjoy the match day experience more and respect the board for acknowlodging that ,especially during these hard times, spending huge amounts to watch football is not possible for most people. Carson Yeungs response to David Gold.
New Faces
Two names familiar to most fans will also be part of the new Birmingham City set up. Steve Mcmanananamananaman and Christian Karembeu. Both former Real Madrid players are expected to be advisors to Yeung although the exact role doesn’t seem to be clear as yet. McManaman has assured Alex McLeish that he isn’t after his job.
Former Crystal Palace and China defender, Fan Zhyi , has also supposedly been offered a role as a coach by Yeung. I would be suprised if Alex Mcleish would be too keen to have his director drafting in coaching staff. Or could he just be used to encourage more Chinese support?
Filed under: The Board | Tags: Carson Yeung, Grandtop International Holdings, Vico Hui
The re-emergence of Carson Yeung may have filled some fans with dread, considering his last attempt to buy the club caused great disruption and eventually fell through, with what seemed to be a lack of funds. Few people seemed convinced that Grandtop International Holdings had the finances to buy the club let alone invest in it.
However, the takeover appeared to be back on as of the 25th of September when the FA announced that Yeung and Vico Hui were ‘fit and proper persons’ (whatever that means) and that they had the go ahead to proceed with the takeover of Birmingham city.
“As at 1pm on 6 October 2009, Grandtop owned or had received valid acceptances of the offer in respect of a total of 76,620,136 Birmingham City shares representing in aggregate approximately 94 percent of the current issued share capital of Birmingham City … Grandtop intends, as soon as practicable, to acquire compulsorily the remaining Birmingham City shares.”
So after an investment of over £80 million, fans were now hopeful that the new board could offer something the previous board couldn’t, a serious injection of cash which would enable Birmingham to establish themselves as a Premier league club.
