March 2009 Archives

There's a large whiteboard on the wall in Alex McLeish's office at Wast Hills which lists all the current first team players.

The names are written out according to position in an imaginary 4-4-2 formation, with those not available for selection due to injury or loan underneath.

Scanning the whiteboard the other day, it got me thinking that in little more than five months plenty will have been scrubbed out and replaced by new personnel.

Mehdi Nafti will leave when his contract expires, Radhi Jaidi's deal also ends in the summer, then there's the glut of loan and short-term signings and players who have been on the periphery for most of the season, like Damien Johnson.

By the time the close season comes, Alex McLeish will have a good idea - he probably has already if the truth be known - of who's hot and who's not in his book.

And the Blues boss and his staff have already identified potential new recruits.

For next to the whiteboard McLeish has a big flipchart and on two of the pages a whole host of targets are listed.

Tantalisingly, when we were chatting generally about next season, he went over to the flipchart and turned the paper a couple of times to qualify a point about the research that has been done, and was being done.

Unfortunately it was not for long enough to get a gander at the names, or even whip out the Nokia N96 to take a crafty picture.

I quickly tried to see if Ronaldinho was on there - vis-à-vis Karren Brady's last diary column - but I don't think he was (and I got the feeling she was actually meant Ronaldo as reference was made to his weight, not his teeth).

But suffice to say, the list was pretty comprehensive and McLeish and his staff had obviously been brainstorming recently about what the options were.

Now this may all seem quite strange as gossip has it that Darren Ferguson has already agreed to take over at St Andrew's in the summer.

The Internet message boards have been cackling with this 'insider information' for several days now. Well, it hasn't happened, it's not on the agenda. As Rafa Benitez would say: 'fact'.

The board have not made a decision either way on McLeish's future, whether the club get promotion or not.

Certainly, can anyone seriously imagine some kind of hush-hush deal being done, especially when Ferguson's old man is like a surrogate father to McLeish?

As Brady stated at the AGM, Blues plan to take stock and chat with McLeish once the dust has settled on 2008-09 and, again, regardless whether promotion has been secured or not.

As I write, he's not a cert for the boot, he's not a cert to walk out. He's not a cert to stay either, but then there are few managers you could say are safe and secure nowadays, for a variety of reasons and pressures.

So it's the status quo, McLeish and the board are working according to his contract and he is continuing to plan for next season and the certain overhaul of the squad.

Last year he had to alter his aim after Premier League relegation. Blues were well down the line to signing Edmilson, Michael Bradley, Valon Behrami, they got onto Roman Pavlyuchenko some time before his star rose. Sean Davis and Gary Cahill had been on the January radar too.

Doubtless Blues have players in mind for the Premier League, alternatives for the Championship.

And if McLeish does get Blues back into the top-flight, then he wouldn't - one would reasonably presume - have to juggle loans due to finance. For example, he would be able to buy a Ben Watson instead of having to take a punt on an untried Kemy Agustien.

He admitted to the Scottish press the other week that Kris Boyd was someone he would always be interested in. Boyd's £3.7 million transfer last January bit the dust over personal terms, and his reluctance to leave Rangers. But don't think that McLeish's comments mean he will definitely be back in for him should Blues exit the Championship.

It's interesting to note that when Blues played Doncaster Rovers there were only one two players in the side McLeish had brought to the club on a permanent basis: Lee Carsley and Keith Fahey.

Sure, others were absent because of injury, yet McLeish still has to assemble what he would really consider 'his' side on the pitch and listed on that whiteboard.

Voting has started for the Blues player-of-the-season award.

And it has emerged that the early favourite is Franck Queudrue.

The fans' choice so far would not be my choice.

No disrespect to Queudrue, or a pop at the popular vote.

It's just that in my eyes the player-of-the-season is the person who maintains a level of consistency week in, week out, and is a mainstay of the side, integral to its welfare, and provides inspiration.

Queudrue never got a sniff until the end of October. And thereby hangs a tale in itself.

There was a case for his inclusion, true. David Murphy was not exactly setting the world alight.

Queudrue had been left out in the cold from pre-season, when he was axed from the trip to Austria and effectively told he could go if he got fixed up.

One of the reasons why Alex McLeish decided on that course of action was because he felt Queudrue was not in good shape. And he missed the report back date.

Granted, following David Sullivan's 'pile of rubbish' outburst, Queudrue had good reason to lack motivation. He could have totally tuned out.

He didn't, he worked hard in the background and when his chance came, he rose to the challenge.

He was a regular in Blues best sequence of the season in November and cemented his stature as a talismanic presence with the winning goal against Charlton Athletic.

He got the team going that day, and his skunk-style hair cut and Gallic swagger - and obvious quality in possession - endeared him.

But McLeish and his staff were concerned that sometimes Queudrue would lose concentration and do something rash. And whether he could last the pace for 90 minutes was also scrutinised.

Blues youth team aim to make a bit of history on Monday night at St Andrew's.

Victory over Watford in the FA Youth Cup (7pm) would take them into the semi-finals for the first time since 1985.

Blues have a decent chance, too.

They and Watford are the only Championship sides left in the competition (Liverpool await the winners).

And Blues beat the Hornets a couple of weeks back, although Academy supremo Terry Westley points out that they had a lot of regulars missing that day.

It's the second time in three years Westley's charges have made it to the last eight.

Blues have not had a great tradition in the competition (they were runners-up in 1967), and in modern times their youth policy has been an afterthought.

Westley, who has helped launch the careers of Matthew Upson, Kieron Dyer and Tom Huddlestone amongst others, has slowly but surely been changing the reputation.

A hard taskmaster, he doesn't hesitate to fast-track those with potential. And only the talented and strong will survive at Blues while he is in the job, it seems.

No bad thing that. Blues don't spent millions on recruiting the best young talent across the globe, and in this country. That's why the youth policies of many others, mainly the big boys in the Premier League, thrive.

If you come through the system at Blues, then there is something about you.

Jordon Mutch is the great hope, assuming that Blues don't do something stupid and mess up his professional contract, which has yet to be signed.

Krystian Pearce is a young Radhi Jaidi with expertise on the deck, if you will, while Jared Wilson, Artur Krysiak and Semih Aydilek are gaining valuable experience on loan.

Monday, watch out for midfield duo Ashley Sammons, a confident ball-player, and Mitch McPike (Mutch remains a long-term casualty).

Dean Lyness in goal has been on the first team bench this season, as have the aforementioned pair.

The last few notables to come up through the ranks have been Andrew Johnson, Darren Carter and Mat Sadler.

There is nothing like blooding your own, and Westley is determined that a breakthrough is made (Mutch got a foot in, then succumbed to growing pains).

"People talk about Rodwell at Everton and Shelvey at Charlton," he says, "well, I would class our midfield in the same bracket as them, they've just had first team recognition."

Admission for Monday's game is £4 and £2 and the club website will be providing live commentary with BRMB's Joe Holt and myself doing the talking.

Karren Brady's diary column has caused a right hoo-hah.

In the best traditions of investigative journalism at the Birmingham Mail (well, with the help of a crystal ball and pure guesswork to be honest) we've managed to ascertain what her next, eagerly-awaited instalment is likely to be . . .

Monday

I hear my last column in the current bun was read by a couple of people. My team's manager, Alex McLeish, went all ruddy-faced apparently (no change there then, you know what these Scots are like with their whisky - just look at Alex Ferguson's nose). I don't know what the fuss is about, Alex rang me and said something about a 'Glasgow Kiss'. He's so affectionate, a big softie really.

Tuesday

My team is playing some side called Barnsley in some place called the Republic of York-shire. Alex's team go 1-0 down. A chap nicknamed 'The Mosquito' scores. He's obviously a pest (lol). Next thing my team equalise. Martin Taylor scores. Glad he didn't break anyone's leg in doing so (lol again). A 1-1 draw, but not good enough. David Sullivan is immediately on the phone asking if we have a buy-back for Steve Bruce. I tell him it will cost what we got for him - £3 million. The phone line suddenly goes dead. David? Hello?

Wednesday.

That Jose Mourinho eh? A square-jawed, dark and handsome brooding menace on the Old Trafford touchline (don't tell Paul). But forget the Special One; we've got Big Eck. Tell the truth, we've said something 'Eck' a lot this season in the boardoom - and the first word hasn't been 'Big', but something Gordon Ramsay utters a lot!

Thursday

That reminds me: have to say 'no' to an invite to appear on Celebrity Masterchef. You're not allowed to bring the house staff unfortunately. Comic Relief too gets turned down - we have enough of that every Saturday! Get e-mail from David Sullivan. He says that he will be at the AGM next year - it's being held in Theydon Bois village hall, Essex.

Friday

Long lunch with well-known Premier League figure whose initials are Peter Kenyon. We spot four Premier League chairmen, three managers and two players all having meals with pneumatic women - or in two cases, men - who are not their spouses. Alex McLeish rings. Says something about 'C U Jimay'. I think it's another loan signing he wants from Asia. That will bring bring our squad to a round 1,000 players then; Barry Fry eat your heart out. Just before I'm due for evening cocktails with a notorious owner of a club in the north east whose initials are Mike Ashley (I wish he would stop taking his shirt off when he necks pints of tequila sunrise) an agent rings. He offers us 'another Costly player'. I cut him off. Too many of those. Turns out it's Carlos's brother, for free. I tell Alex if we can move on Djimi Traore's £100-a-week wage, he can have him.

Next year, there could be a bigger audience at the Blues AGM considering the way things have been going.

They have usually been quite lame affairs under the present regime.

That changed in 2008 when Carson Yeung called an EGM and tried to gain representation on the board (he still hasn't got it and, as far as we know, isn't too fussed).

To avoid critical scrutiny, the Kumar brothers famously held an AGM at their company headquarters in Manchester . . . starting at 9.30am.

And Ken Wheldon was the master of cutting short the 'any questions from the floor' section before it had even got started.

This week, Karren Brady had her hands full when the brickbats came thick and fast from around 70 shareholders at the AGM in the Gold Suite.

The feeling in the room, according to one long standing fan, was that "the club hasn't performed, the players haven't performed, we have been made a laughing stock by the players who are coming in".

"It's the worst state we've ever been in," he added, which brought some chuckles from those who can remember the dar, dark, dard - very dark - days.

"We are not in a state, we are still second in the table, in a very good position," responded Brady, who spearheaded a £4.4 million profit on a turnover of £49.78 million during Blues last relegation season, according to the accounts that were on show.

Manager Alex McLeish was target for many, but Brady also got it in the neck.

One shareholder basically said she didn't understand football and Blues needed an ex-professional to carry out an audit on "all our facilities because frankly if you have second rate facilities, you have a second rate team".

There has been a continuous deterioration in regard to the infrastructure, he claimed. "Put football back into the boardroom, other clubs make us look awful."

This shareholder seemingly had some kind of inside knowledge. Wast Hills was a "vegetable patch" and impossible to train on.

In the dressing rooms at St Andrew's, the players have to use an electric fire because there is no heating. No wonder we have so many players injured, he said.

"One of the players has actually said that there is no point in practising passing there [Wast Hills] because you can't practice on a vegetable patch." Cracking stuff from his Deep Throat.

Brady bristled. "We haven't had a single complaint from the management staff about heating," she said. "Whoever is telling you that is not telling you the truth."

As for the "vegetable patch" training pitches, Brady said: "I actually find that quite offensive to the people who work here so hard.

"We have a dedicated team of people to look after these pitches.

"The pitches at Wast Hills are heavy, that's the word they've been describe to me as.

"They have always been like that, despite the fact we have spent £40,000 on drainage. We have a £750,000 state-of-the-art indoor area, brand new changing rooms, gym and equipment."

You should really give it some thought, an audit, said our would-be whistle-blower. "It should be looked at by someone who understands football." Ouch!

"With all due respect I have been here 16 years and I do understand football," retorted the MD.

"If I had seen some evidence that the players had been training on a vegetable patch, I would have done something about it."

If the atmosphere at Blues AGM had been replicated a couple of hours later at the Bristol City game, St Andrew's would have resembled a war zone.

They can be dull affairs, shareholders meeting, but Tuesday's in the Gold Suite was marked by volatility, and antipathy towards manager Alex McLeish in particular.

There were only around 70 people in attendance, so guaging an accurate barometer of the vast majority was difficult. But the assembled group, mainly of middle and pensionable age, didn't hold back.

First up, a gentlemen at the front asked were the board aware of the date? Puzzled silence. He continued, and lambasted the non-attendance of David Sullivan, David and Ralph Gold.

"It shows the commitment of the top people at this club - disgraceful." A round of applause; over to you Karren.

Taken aback, Karren Brady said the comment would be noted and expressed some disappointment herself.

The next questioner moved onto the £240,000 renumeration of the aforementioned directors.

"They are taking one-and-a-half per cent of our money for what? They can't even attend!"

He went on to state that Randy Lerner, Ray Ranson and Steve Morgan didn't receive a penny at their clubs.

For three years what effectively is a salary has been drawn and the shareholder thundered: "We're losing £2 million in three years [to them], and hear we can't afford to buy a centre-half and we are bringing in clapped out old cart horses, like de la Cruz!"

After that word - disgrace - again, Brady said it was unfair to make personal attacks on players, and that the board 'didn't pick them'.

Djimi Traore's disastrous addition was addressed.

"The manager asked us to sign him," stated Brady. "It wasn't a name put forward by the board, it wasn't a name encouraged by the board. "These are the terms when we sign players.

"We have a number of short term injuries and the deal was a good one and if was as chance to bring in someone who, if Alex felt he was fit, could make a contribution.

"The player is now ruled out for eight weeks. He's gone back to France."

Shareholders began to outline their hurt, saying they were terribly upset and that the club had gone backwards.

Brady admitted she had sympathy with the fans, and revealed that although McLeish would not be sacked as the season continued, he had to buck up.

One shareholder said he reckoned he had only had £60 worth of entertainment at St Andrew's this season. It was that kind of meeting.

The Stephen Kelly question was brought up: just what on earth had gone on there?

"We don't tell the manager which players to buy, which players to sell," said Brady. "That's not our job.

"The situation with Stephen Kelly was that he was going to Stoke to bring money in for Matt Mills.

"That was fundamentally the reason because all the money that had been made available had been spent.

"Part of the reason was to finance the next deal and the only player available to help generate that funding to go towards Mills was Stephen Kelly.

"The Mills deal didn't happen but we still believed that it might happen in terms of a loan with a guarantee to buy.

"One crossed the other and the Doncaster chairman said he wasn't going to sell him."
Pressed further, Brady said: "We felt we were very close to doing a deal but we can't pressure other clubs into selling if they don't want to.

"What we have tried to do is bring in Stephen Carr, Ulises de la Cruz to try and assist where the shortfall is."

The meeting, which lasted one hour and 20 minutes, continued to meander down a series of paths that were mostly critical of McLeish and the board.

In the next blog, the attack on 'vegetable patch pitches' and the mystery of the 'heater in the dressing room' will be disclosed, and what plans Carson Yeung has for Blues.