Pondering Palacios
You can just picture the scene in deepest Essex.
David Sullivan banging his head on his desk after reading the details of Wilson Palacios's £12 million transfer to Spurs.
Here was a player Blues could have signed for £700,000!
Blues loss was Steve Bruce and Wigan Athletic's gain. At the very least in monetary terms.
When Blues opted not to make Palacios's loan from Olimpia permanent, Bruce didn't hang about.
Off the Honduran went to the home for unwanted ex-Blues (the JJB Stadium) and there he began to fulfil his talent.
So what on earth happened? Why was Palacios allowed to slip away?
The story is complex, and to blame one single individual would be wrong.
It was a case of communication breakdown and circumstance.
Alex McLeish has admitted before that it was a mistake not to keep Palacios.
He was quite magnanimous in taking the heat.
When he replaced Bruce in November, Palacios was abroad. He had been in torment because of his brother's kidnap, and then on his way back from home had to spent a couple of weeks in New York because of visa problems.
When McLeish got a look at him in training, Palacios wasn't in the greatest of shapes. Physically or mentally.
He knew that Palacios had something, he could see the raw ingredients. But McLeish had to make some quick decisions.
He decided that in January's transfer window he needed Premier League experience or at least proven quality for his midfield.
He asked whether the cost for Palacios would come out of his budget and didn't get a definite reply.
The board had asked him if he wanted Palacios and he didn't strike them as being overly enthusiastic.
McLeish had other targets in mind: Levan Tskitishvili, for whom a work permit was denied, Teemu Tainio and Sean Davis.
He felt he wanted to put money towards a surer thing.
He got none and by the time the window shut, Palacios was settling in at Wigan.
McLeish asked his staff, including Nigel Spink before he left for Wigan, about Palacios when decision-day loomed and got the same answer: he's decent, but not yet a world beater; can you pin your hopes on him getting us out of relegation trouble?
Basically, McLeish never saw Palacios at his best, nor did he see him over a lengthy period of time.
After he scored a goal that was likened to Archie Gemmill's for Scotland against Holland at the 1978 World Cup for the reserves, Bruce knew he had a potential gem.
Palacios is good, a passer, an enforcer, a player - all rolled into one. And how Blues could do with someone like him now. But at £14 million I believe he's over-priced; he's still got more to prove before he can be considered a genuine star.
His last game for Blues was horrible. Against Villa, he was a passenger as his brother's plight was clearly weighing on his mind, and he was stuck wide on the left as well.
Bruce has been harshly judged on the Clinton Morrison-Andrew Johnson deal primarily because AJ then started to bang the goals in - but only after a long while finding his feet at Crystal Palace.
He went for Morrison because he felt if Blues got relegated after their first ever Premier League campaign, he would fire them straight back having already shown he could score 20 goals in what is now the Championship. As much as he had started for Blues, AJ had been used as a substitute.
Bruce has copped plenty of stick about the £4.25 million swop, from those with the benefit of hindsight.
McLeish will find that he too will start getting it in the neck similarly about Palacios, and will just have to grin a bear it.
And do you know the man who might just be kicking himself more than any other? Arsene Wenger. He passed him on to Blues a year ago last August - and what does he need for his midfield right now? A Palacios.
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Colin Tattum - Mail man Colin Tattum’s view of what’s going on at Birmingham City FC.
Sorry, but you are becoming a serial apologist for your pal Big Eck. Face it, he will sacrifice youth, promise and energy for 'proven' journeyman pro's aged over 30 every time. Next time you cuddle up over tea and biscuits please mention to him the method Steve Bruce employed for dragging us out of this division two years ago... The cull of several rebellious seniors and the inclusion of fit, hungry youngsters.
Well, I am not being wise after the event.
AM could have spoken to Wenger,other managers, other players at the club,looked at videos.
I felt that from what I had seen, accepting that AM had not been at those games,that for the money(£1m was mentioned at the time) he was a good buy.
As for AJ, I did not see his potential I do admit.
I'm with Big Eck on this one. When the decision had to be made about Palacios, he was, at the time, a load of old rubbish. His performance against the Villa was one of the worst individual performances of last season. Shocking!
It's very similar to the AJ situation, in that at the time of offloading both players, I dont recall hearing anyone complain that it was a particularly bad decision.
Ah, hindsight...it's a wonderful thing isn't it, especially when you want to stick the knife into a manager who is currently under fire with a team mostly made up of the previous manager's players!
Spoons, I disagree.
Yes he did have a shocking game against Villa but he had looked like a definite signing against Liverpool - and it was easy to work out what had changed. When match fit and mentally there he looked like a genuine Premier League midfielder, when unfit and suffering from a massive amount of worry he didn't - the obvious conclusion for me, and others, was that we had the chance to sign a class player on the cheap.
Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree. I personally didn't think at any stage in a Blues shirt that he looked like a "genuine Premier League midfielder". It's all about opinions though isn't it? I thought Kenny Lowe was brilliant...others disagree!
Amazing how many people reckoned they 'knew' Palacios was going to be brilliant! He had some dire games for us. Dont think this blog is being an apologist for Eck, it's stating the facts and what happened not making judgements another interesting post and as for Bruce's methods he got us relegated in teh first place and Eck has brought in young players and getting rid of the old and deadwork left by Bruce
There is no way you can blame Eck for "missing out" on Palacios! The Palacios at Blues is not the Palacios that Spurs are shelling out a ridiculous amount of money for. Fact!
That's just life. Eck isn't the first manager to see players go on to achieve bigger and better things after they released them. In days gone by, didn't Man Utd let youngsters like Peter Beardsley and David Platt go thinking they'd never cut it at the top?
When Leeds sold Eric Cantona to their bitter rivals United, no one could have predicted just how amazing a success he would be - other than Sir Alex Ferguson, of course!
And don't forget that bloke from Decca records, who missed out on the chance to sign The Beatles...!!!
With all due respect, try telling Harry Redknapp that Palacios is over-priced.
OK then...give me his number...
DirtDevil,
I bet, privately, Harry Redknapp would agree that he has had to fork out over the top for a potentially good player but someone who is still proving himself. I think half that would have been a fairer price for a player who has had one very good year in the Premiership.
Javier Mascherano only cost Liverpool a few million more and he is an outstanding young international. Xabi Alonso cost them even less than Palacios! And he is a superb player.
Palacios could well be a world beater and a big club might end up paying twice as much for his services a few years down the line. But as things stand today, he is not a £14 million player.
But I suppose this is the knock on effect of the Man City madness. Forget their Kaka bid, it's the fact they have paid eight-figure sums for, at best, decent but average Premiership players like Wayne Brdige and Craig Bellamy which is most worrying!
Palacios is over priced. So was Muamba. Eck made a blooper I don't think he did it on purpose though do you?. So did Wenger. Bruce dropped a few howlers in his time - Ferdinand Coly and Chris Sutton anyone? - it happens. We should move on and be talking about the fact that he dropped Johnson and Quashie and is trying to inject some energy and creativeness into the team, bet Bruce would never have done that.
Hear Hear!!
Tatts, Thanks for a balanced view which is something sadly lacking with Blues fans just now.
The Palacios affair is history, McLeish has admitted his mistake and we move on. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I'm more concerned with the Blackpool match and just hope we see the changes that AM is trying to make to the team, and which you discussed in your previous blog, succeed.