Birmingham City v Ipswich Town
Saturday 29th September 2018
St Andrews
Pre-Match Thoughts - Bluemike
One Step Forward, Three Backwards
Oh dear Oh dear, Saturday's expected win over Bolton Wanderers which was supposed to kick start our season didn't pan out as most of us had hoped, in fact the performance of the team has raised far more questions than answers. The optimistic view I had over the opening Six games of the campaign is slowly being eroded away as recent performances look anything but the bright new dawn we were all promised. Nine games in (Ten if you count Exeter) and still not a win in sight, even when up against Ten man Bolton we failed miserably to put our foot to their throat and get the job done, in truth it never looked like we had it in us to do so. The pressure is clearly mounting and confidence must be at an all time low and this only adds to the tension running through the team. I thought the days of only having One meaningful effort at goal were gone, I know many were off target but back in August at Rotherham we were having Sixteen attempts at goal, what on earth has changed so much in such a short space of time ?
I think we all know far to much chopping and changing to the starting Eleven hasn't helped but you would think players coming in to the side would be busting a gut to impress, clearly not. Strange as it may seem we are starting to look a bit more solid at the back, we have now gone One & a half games without conceding which for us is a bloody lifetime and this is going to have to continue if we are to glean many points as up front we are toothless to say the least. That is not all down to the strikers either as the service has to be much better than it has been and there needs to be far more of it, the strikers are getting very little to feed off. I think we also need to do a lot of work with our dead ball delivery, part from the odd decent one our corners and free kicks etc are putrid, a joke at times, they are either over hit and sail over everyone or they are blasted against the first defender or drifted harmlessly into the keepers hands, it so monotonous and you just know what is coming, the problem is I don't see that we have a real dead ball specialist in the team, Gwion Edwards is about the best of a bad bunch on that score.
Trying to find positives at this moment in time is nigh on impossible but I suppose remaining unbeaten at home is the nearest we can get to one, keeping the clean sheet as mentioned above is a start too, not to mention lifting ourselves off the foot of the table but in truth there is very little to be excited about at all. Players keep coming out in the media and saying we will be fine blah blah blah and all we need is that first win, Jesus Christ we all know that, getting it is the hard part.
Preferred Line Up
Clearly we all have our own ideas as to who should or shouldn't start but Paul Hurst seems to be completely lost on the subject, for me there are the shoe in Six or Seven, Gerken, Chambers, Nsiala, Edwards, Skuse, Edun & Donacien, I really do not understand why Edun & Donacien are in and out of the team, Two of the more successful new arrivals and they have to start, nothing against Pennington but a Right Back he ain't. Add to that Knudsen as we all know he won't be dropped and that leaves Three places which for me are the vital Ones, Kayden Jackson has to start, not a lot of choice anyway and as I think we have to play two up front that brings in Ellis Harrison, with his strength in the air I think he would compliment Jackson quite well, we need to give it a chance.
The last place is the CM currently occupied by Jon Nolan which for me is where a lot of our issues lie, how I would love to see Andre Dozzell or Emyr Huws in there but there seems little chance, Jon Walters is now out of the frame too having picked up yet another injury and I doubt we will see too much of him now either. As I see it Tayo Edun looks the best bet to play that creative role just behind the strikers leaving a wide berth up for grabs, Ward & Graham really don't cut it for me and little is known about Jordan Roberts so why not Danny Rowe ? Most reports seem to suggest he has been doing really well for the U23's, god knows everyone else has had a chance so let's see what he can do, the lad can certainly run at players and has a good cross on him, something Ward lacks. Whatever Hurst does do he has to stick with it for a few games, that is the only way players will ever build up an understanding of each other.
It Doesn't Matter How We Get It But.....
WE NEED ANY KIND OF WIN !!! It has got to the point where we will take anything, a massive fluke or a stroke of luck, a worldy from the boot of Skusey, you name it, we need something against the odds to go our way, of course we need to create far more than we have been doing too. I thought in the build up to Bolton we would beat them and then head to Birmingham in good spirits, not only did we balls it up but they go to the leaders Leeds and turn them over, you couldn't script it really. I look at their team on paper and think we can get something, Che Adams is clearly the danger as Leeds found out Saturday, while Jutkiewicz, Jota & Maghoma are also handy and can cause problems, it is defensively where I feel they are a bit weak but can we exploit it ? We will certainly need to create a lot more than we have done in the last Three games. It is when we least expect it that the elusive first win will come, as I am expecting nothing St.Andrews maybe it is our time, after all every time I have been there we have lost, not even so much as a point to our name, come on Town, buck the trend and ease some of this pain we are all feeling. I have to say I am not confident at all. COYB'S.
The Opposition – Birmingham City
Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. The club turned professional in 1885. In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly formed Football League Second Division. They finished as champions, but failed to win promotion via the test match system. The following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second place finish and test match victory over Darwen.The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and moved into their new home, St Andrew’s Ground, the following year. Matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.
Birmingham won the second Division Two title in 1920–21. In 1931, manager Leslie Knighton led the club to their first FA Cup Final, which they lost 2–1 to Second Division club West Bromwich Albion. Though Birmingham remained in the top flight for 18 seasons, they struggled in the league.
The name Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943. The club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title. Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, brought in players who made a major contribution to the club's successes of the next decade. When Arthur Turner took over as manager in November 1954, he made them play closer to their potential, and on the last day of the 1954–55 season confirmed them as champions. In their first season back in the First Division, Birmingham achieved their highest league finish of sixth place. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing to Manchester City.
Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition in 1956. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, losing to Barcelona in the 1960 Fairs Cup final and to A.S. Roma the following year.
In 1963 they lifted their first major trophy, the League Cup,when they beat their bitter rivals Aston Villa in the final.
Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978. With relegation a certainty, the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first player transferred for a fee of £1 million. Smith took Birmingham straight back to the First Division, but a poor start to the 1981–82 season saw him replaced by Ron Saunders. Saunders' team struggled to score goals and in 1984 they were relegated. They bounced back up, but the last home game of the 1984–85 promotion season, against Leeds United, was marred by rioting, culminating in the death of a boy when a wall collapsed on him. This was on the same day as the Bradford City stadium fire, and the events at St Andrew's formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds. The club lacked stability both on and off the field and by 1989 Birmingham were in the Third Division for the first time in their history.
In April 1989 the Kumar brothers, owners of a clothing chain, bought the club. A rapid turnover of managers, the absence of promised investment, and a threatened mass refusal of players to renew contracts was relieved only by a victorious trip to Wembley in the Associate Members Cup. Terry Cooper delivered promotion, but the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) put the Kumars' businesses into receivership until publisher David Sullivan bought it for £700,000. After a poor start to the 1993–94 season Cooper was replaced by Barry Fry, followed by the return of Trevor Francis.
Francis introduced players with top-level experience such as Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce. In his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position, followed by three years of play-off semifinal defeats By October 2001, lack of progress had made Francis's position untenable and he was replaced two months later by Steve Bruce, taking them from mid-table into the play-offs where they beat Norwich City on penalties to win promotion to the Premier League.
Birmingham's first top-flight season for 16 years finished in mid-table.
In July 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of shares in the club, making him the biggest single shareholder. Bruce left in mid-season to become manager of Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic.His successor, Alex McLeish, was unable to stave off relegation, but achieved promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. In 2011, a second victory in the League Cup secured qualification for the Europa League. With relegation back to the second tier, McLeish resigned in June 2011 to join Aston Villa. Successor Chris Hughton narrowly failed to reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League and the playoff final before, with the club in financial turmoil and under a transfer embargo, leaving for Norwich City in June 2012. He was replaced by Lee Clark.
Under Lee Clark, Birmingham twice retained their divisional status, albeit through a 93rd-minute goal in the last match of 2013–14 to avoid relegation on goal difference. After a continuation of the poor form from the previous season, Clark was sacked in October 2014, to be replaced by Burton Albion manager and former Birmingham player Gary Rowett.
Gary Rowett stabilised the team and led them to two tenth-place finishes before being controversially dismissed by new owners Trillion Trophy Asia in favour of the "pedigree" of Gianfranco Zola, who would aid the club's "strategic, long-term view" to take the club in a new direction.
A spell of two wins in 24 matches left Birmingham needing two wins from the last three games to stay up, which they achieved under the managership of Harry Redknapp.
Redknapp lasted eight matches in 2017–18, his former assistant Steve Cotterill five months, leaving successor Garry Monk another – ultimately successful – relegation battle where the Brum finished in 19th place with 46 points.
The Manager – Garry Monk
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch – K L Blue
Danny Rowe
http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-tow ... -1-5711155
Nsiaia on turning it around
http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/toto-nsiala ... -1-5708836
QPR Game
https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2018/septem ... -qpr-game/
Form Guide
Birmingham Last 5 Matches - Currently in 17th place with 9 points
25 Aug Nottm Forest 2 - 2 Birmingham City
1 Sep Birmingham City 0 - 0 QP Rangers
14 Sep Birmingham City 1 - 1 West Bromwich
19 Sep Sheffield Utd 0 - 0 Birmingham City
22 Sep Leeds Utd 1 - 2 Birmingham City
Ipswich Last 5 Matches - Currently in 23 place with 5 points
5 Aug Sheffield Wed 2 - 1 Ipswich Town
2 Sep Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Norwich City
15 Sep Hull City 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
18 Sep Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Brentford
22 Sep Ipswich Town 0 - 0 Bolton
Marko's Caption Contest - THE DON CUP
Bolton Wanderers scores
Frosty 5pts
Barmy Billy 4pts
Bluemike & Tangfastic (prove fitness) 3pts
Tangfastic 2pts (sicknote)
LEAGUE TABLE
FROSTY 20
IPSWICHTOWNNO1 19
TANGFASTIC 19
DERICKIPSW 18
BLUEMIKE 16
NICSCREAMER 14
NUMBER9 13
BLUEBLOOD 12
ANDO 10
PATTHEGIMP 7
WATERSHIP DOWN 7
AYLESBURYBLUE 5
BARMY BILLY 4
SHED ON TOUR 3
CHARNWOOD 1
KL BLUE 1
OHIOTRACTORBOY 1
Do not expect a pie this week at Birmingham. Might not be any left.
Match referee – John Brooks
BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
