Step by step
Michel? Craig Gardner? Where's the marquee players, the Ronaldos, the Messis, et al?
It's simple really. Alex McLeish has banged on about building step by step, not trying to fly to the moon when the rocket is still going through its checks on the launch pad.
Not only are availability, economics and the equilibrium of the dressing room taken into account when Eck has been sifting through the potential targets for this present transfer window, but also the need to rebuild a squad.
After the watershed of the Dunns, Izzets, Heskeys, Gronkjaers and Melchiots, Blues decided to go down the avenue of drafting in players for the short term (think Chris Sutton, Ulises de la Cruz even).
Sure, there were gems to be had, like Stephen Carr recently, but it was always with a view to being able to cut lossess if need be.
Even Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer came into this category when McLeish had to manage to a different budget last summer.
No, the trophy players who would generate excitement maybe and a better profile in China especially are to come. But not now.
It is easier to get Michel and Gardner at present and McLeish needs such types to breathe new life into his squad, fresh hunger, and options for the future.
Who is to say that Michel and Gardner don't become the new Ferguson and Bowyer? They are similar-ish types, respectively.
Who is to say they don't back-up a couple of world class stars in time?
McLeish is bolstering the Blues squad all right and that's not surprising when you look at the players who are coming to the end of their contracts.
Players out of contract June 2010:
Christian Benitez, Lee Carsley, Joe Hart, Damien Johnson, Artur Krysiak, Sebastian Larsson, Gary McSheffrey, Garry O'Connor, Stuart Parnaby, Krystian Pearce, Kevin Phillips, Franck Queudrue, Liam Ridgewell, Jacob Rowe, Maik Taylor, Martin Taylor, Shaun Timmins, Gregory Vignal, Jared Wilson.
Players out of contract June 2011:
Marcus Bent, Lee Bowyer, Stephen Carr, Colin Doyle, Barry Ferguson, James McFadden, Mitch McPike, Jordon Mutch, James O'Shea, Ashley Sammons, Robin Shroot.
Their are, admittedly, options on most of them. But not all will be retained by McLeish. Take a glance at the bench in recent weeks and ask yourself how many of those players will be around this time next year.
Nothing lasts forever; there are players whose time has passed and who need to be replaced by the up-graded versions, if Blues are to prosper as Carson Yeung would like in the future.
But you can't all of a sudden stuff a team, a squad, so full of flamboyance and high maintenance stars that it's like the Harlem Globtrotters. Unless you are Real Madrid, I suppose.
And if Blues do manage to get into Europe - McLeish hates such talk, but rather that than relegation - they will need plenty of bodies to call upon. And not just space-fillers, but quality performers.
So it's evolution we are seeing, not a revolution of Manchester City style proportions.
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Colin Tattum - Mail man Colin Tattum's view of what's going on at Birmingham City FC.
What we could do with is a Chairman with a load of money to spend and no idea about football, a big ambition to "sell the club" in a place like China and confidence in the Manager.
Colin, i would suggest you are correct. Mr Mowbray at West Bromwich Albion had lots of stars who considered them too good for the club (Kamara, Koumas, Davies who went to V***A, Gera, Perry, Quashie). They were curio talents but not team players
T.M.
Not quite sure what the first poster is smoking but Gardner and Michel make sense. Didn't realise so many players out of contract therefore Eck doing the right thing. We need to beef up the squad with good players and top it off with superstars
I can see AM wanting to definitely keep maybe only four from this summers list and three from next if the team continues to progress.
Great blog and research again, looking forward to the Pompey match report on a cold Tuesday now ...
But surely Eck should be focusing on a striker?! That is what we need, added to the fact that we are low scorers is the frightening lack of depth up top. If there is an injury to Jerome for example what do we do? You'd have to play KP and Chucho together (no presence) or one on their own? I'd rather Eck got this sorted first!
Andy, it's pretty obvious Eck has been trying to sign a striker. Haven't you been reading the Mail and the point of the blog is to inform that he's trying to build a squad as well. Eck knows full well we are short up front and that's why he is trying to sign a striker. Unfortunately it's not as easy as Championship Manager.
Teepee you sycophant, climb out of Eck's rear end for a second. What I'm suggesting is that he concentrates his efforts on getting a striker. I'm well aware he is looking to build a squad and I would be happy with the aquisition of Gardner I would just prefer ECk to concentrate on at least one striker before Gardner particularly after we have already signed Michel. The striker wouldn't have to be a ã12 million player, we need to add numbers in that position as back up because as you say Teepee, we're building a squad.
Why is this forum becoming over run with nauseating, Eck sycophants who come over all smarmy to try and ridicule any points that may be different to their own?
Andy get a grip mate. So get a striker in for the sake of it someone who is no better than what we have? Yes, brilliant idea. Perhaps that is why Eck hasn't signed one yet. Got Solihull Moors to the Premier League yet on Championship Manager?
Well all know where we need strengthening and our strike force is pretty inept but do other clubs really want to sell their strikers to their compeditors; me thinks not!!
Europe is our best bet at the moment for short term signings and then in summer we will see Big Eck properly getting in players bearing in mind the players up for grabs from us as well.
Hang on Teepee your contradicting yourself here and that is going to stop you from looking as clever as you'd like to think you are.
Are you suggesting that Gardner and Michel are better than what we currently have in Bowyer and Ferguson? No, because as you were so keen to point out, Eck is trying to build a squad.
So what I am suggesting, is that any different to what you're praising Eck for doing? Gardner and Michel have been (or will be) signed as back up if in the case of (heaven forbid) Ferguson or Bowyer picked up an injury. They have also been signed for the future.
Currently, what would happen if Jerome and Benitez were injured? We would only have 35 year old Phillips. So surely we need bodies in that position for back up and possibly for the future, so we can build a squad.
What I am suggesting is ensuring we don't end January without signing a superstar striker for around ã10 million and then come February 1st Jerome breaks down with an injury. Remember we have been here before with this manager in this situation when we missed out on Cahill and had no time to get anyone else in.
We do not need to spend mega bucks to sign a back up striker. Do you really think that we could not sign someone 'no better than what we already have' to perform this task for ã3-5 million max? Around about the figure Eck has been spending on back up midfielders. I'd suggest that for around ã4million we could pick up a back up striker better than Marcus Bent or GOC, do you not think?
Or is spending that amount on a back up squad player for a position in which we are desperately short really fantasy Championship Manager?