Team of the decade?

But Tebily, although often seen as something of a fun figure, made a good contribution to Blues.

When he arrived from Celtic in 2002, it coincided with the team's unbeaten surge all the way to Cardiff glory. His hounding of Millwall's Tim Cahill in the play-off semi-final at Millwall and tackling Stuart Nethercott without his boot are the stuff of legend.

Tebily was then moved from midfield to either full-back spot, and did a decent turn in those first couple of Premier League seasons, appearing 40 times. Yes, he was erratic but his muscular play provided backbone for Blues and he once saw out a game against Charlton Athletic despite rupturing knee ligaments.

Tebily kind of drifted through until his time was up in 2007 as Bruce sought better and although Mario Melchiot was more talented, elegant and dynamic, the Ivorian gets my nod as he was typical of what Blues were all about back then.

Typical, too, was Savage. He was the heartbeat of Bruce's Blues when everything about the club rocked with enthusiasm. He loved it at St Andrew's too, and the manner in which he engineered his departure was sad. He's never had it so good since. Savage, Damien Johnson and Sebastian Larsson make up my midfield three.

There has always been an air of snobbery surrounding Johnson when discussed by fans, and although his temper has been a problem at times, he has seldom let Blues down to the degree of some others. The longest-serving player in the current squad, Johnson has played in every position across midfield, and both full-back spots, without fuss.

His finest time came when he single-handedly tried to save Blues from relegation in 2006 with some astonishingly energetic and motivated performances during the run-in. He deservedly swept the board in the player-of-the-season awards and, although someone who keeps himself to himself, he could barely disguise his contempt for team-mates he felt were slackers, and weren't that bothered, when I interviewed him after the ceremony.

Stephen Clemence, David Dunn and Olivier Kapo had their merits - the latter being the most talented but most infuriating player at the club since Dugarry. But Larsson completes the middle trio for his end-to-end energy, footballing intelligence, unselfishness and moments of inspiration from dead balls especially.

In attack, it goes without saying that Dugarry is the focal point. Those six months from January 2003 were outstanding. Dugarry lifted Blues play when an instant return to the second-tier was likely, mesmerising the opposition as well as his team-mates. He soon became indifferent and bored and wasn't at Blues for long, but what an impact, what a player.

Emile Heskey and Stern John deserve consideration, and I have not included Geoff Horsfield. He's probably the unluckiest of the lot.

Mikael Forssell and Cameron Jerome complete my three-pronged attack.

Forssell's 17 goals in 2003-04 did so much to lift Blues to 10th, their highest position for 31 years. It was such a shame his effectiveness was diluted due to knee trouble.

And what of Jerome? He is preferred to Horsfield as he tended to come up with the key goal or play during the Championship promotions of 2007 and 2009 and in-between was a threat in the Premier League, as he is now. Jerome has never been a regular starter for Blues either until this season. When Blues play to his strengths correctly, he is a mightily effective player.

So there it is. They have been some talented players per se who miss out (Hughes, Clinton Morrison, Jermaine Pennant, Martin Grainger, Stephen Kelly, Nicklas Bendtner, Gary McSheffrey) due to lack of consistency or longevity. And the likes of Roger Johnson, Scott Dann and Christian Benitez, all of whom have helped Blues to recapture the heights of 2004, still have to keep producing in the years to come.

Tattum's Blues team of the decade:

Maik Taylor;

Olivier Tebily, Kenny Cunningham, Matthew Upson, Stan Lazaridis;

Sebastian Larsson, Robbie Savage, Damien Johnson;

Cameron Jerome, Christophe Dugarry, Mikael Forssell.

Subs: Geoff Horsfield, Stephen Clemence, Darren Purse, Jeff Kenna, Martin Taylor, Bryan Hughes, Emile Heskey.