Ones that got away
Not surprisingly, given the past (the '£1O million player', 'Maradona for Blues' - now that is going back) some people have looked upon my story about Michael Bradley, Valon Behrami and, previously, Edmilson, as some kind of 'spin'.
Each to their own, no problem with that. However, having discovered who Alex McLeish was on the verge of signing had Blues stayed up, I felt it was an interesting story. Still do.
Neither McLeish nor the board tipped me the wink or put me up to it. In fact, I had a text from the manager just as he was about to board a plane for a holiday asking 'who have we missed out on?' as word had got to him about the Birmingham Mail story.
I think he was concerned one of his present targets might have slipped the net!
As he's new at the helm, I believed it provided a glimpse into his thought processes, the areas he was - and still is - looking to improve, and the tentacles of his scouting network.
Bradley's an exciting, goalscoring talent, Behrami likewise possesses quality. Edmilson, for whom Blues had reached agreement on a £60,000-a-week wage, would have been the lynchpin of the team.
Alas, all want Premier League, not Championship, football. So McLeish has reverted to Plan B and Lee Carsley's addition was opportune and a good sign of the intent - no 'spin' there, it happened.
Like every Blues supporter, I will be fascinated to see how McLeish's Blues revolution unfolds this summer. And stories connected that are accurate and carry substance will continue to be published.
To close, some random thoughts on the Champions League final.
Head-on camera angle for the shoot-out? Noooooo.
Centre-halves, penalties? Nooooooo.
Bit of Karma working there, as Glenn Hoddle would say, for John Terry's finger-pointing histrionics and 'whisper' in the ear of Carlos Tevez when Didier Drogba got sent-off. Terry might want one of his 'quiet words' with Drogba, who should have been taking the fifth penalty.
Ricardo Carvalho on Ronaldo. Was that not a far worse tackle than Martin Taylor's? Arsene Wenger, over to you.
Sir Bobby Charlton, what class.
Peter Kenyon leads Chelsea up, grinning, and accepts a medal draped over his head from Michel Platini; Sir Bob, tells Platini 'no' and scrunches it up in his hand, all embarrassed. Sir Bob knows it's about those players following on the steps right behind him. And thereby you see the difference between Chelsea and Manchester United.
For all the chip-on-the-shoulder Scousers who didn't want United to win, could they have really gloried in a triumph for Chelsea and all they stand for?
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Colin Tattum
Mail man Colin Tattum’s view of what’s going on at Birmingham City FC.
You're spot on about Chelsea and Kenyon.
With regards to the signings, hearing about Edmilson et al makes relegation even harder to stomach because we are crying out for a central midfielder with a decent first touch who can get his head up and pick a forward (ie NOT backwards or sideways like Johnson, Muamba and Nafti) pass. IMO we unless Muamba improves dramatically within the first month of next season, we can't sit around wating for him to realise his potential because at the moment he can't trap a ball from five yards and then find a blue shirt.
Last season we were so easy to defend against because the opposition knew that there was never going to be an attacking threat from our central midfield pairing. Carsley is a brilliant step in the right direction but I still think we need someone who is more of an attacking midfielder alongside him.
Good piece. I was fascinated to see who McLeish was after. Agree re Muamba. McLeish needs a top class ball player alongside Carsley as our central midfield was so predictable and negative. I'd love to see Kapo stay and play in central midfield. He would be the best player by a mile in that league.
I agree that Muamba has been shocking and we do need a quality attacking central midfielder. How about Brian Howard from Barnsley? He was great for them last season and scored a few goals too. He also has some pedigree being from Chelsea originally.