April 2010 Archives

As always seems the case, rows keep rumbling on after the Second City derby.

Apart from a boring 0-0 in 2003, there's always been a controversial spike to these Premier League clashes.

Sunday's was no different. And, in all my years covering them, I can barely recall a Blues team so aggrieved and, quite simply, raging.

This was because Blues had put so much into it, played better overall and were banjoed by Martin Atkinson's penalty decision.

I don't buy the fact that he was too far away or couldn't see the Roger Johnson tackle properly. From my vantage point, in the Trinity Road Stand press box, near to the tunnel, my initial instinct was that he got the ball. I didn't need to look at my television monitor.

So Blues raged all right, and it continued on the final whistle and afterwards.

Alex McLeish and his players knew how much this game meant to supporters, and themselves. There was a lot of professional pride there.

Even though only James McFadden, Liam Ridgewell and Cameron Jerome started the 5-1, to a group they knew that there could not be another. It was a day of reckoning. Never mind that the season is really over, this game mattered.

Blues played with fierce determination but not only that created good chances, played good football - on the deck, they didn't just biff it long - and didn't run out of ideas.

They had a plan and stuck to it intelligently and with a hard focus. Had Blues been beaten comprehensively, McLeish would have got slaughtered for opting 4-5-1.

But he backed his own judgement and his knowledge of this hardy group of players he has assembled, bearing in mind the fact you can't be too loose against Villa and let them run into wide open spaces.

And this was without having Scott Dann and bringing in Gregory Vignal, who had not started since September in the league and had hardly trained all week.

McLeish was well aware of the Christian Benitez debate that had been swirling as well but only the churlish would quibble with the tactics and the approach.

But for more ruthlessness and someone able to sprinkle gold dust in the final third - which is nothing new, as we know, and not necessarily Chucho in that formation either - it would have been different, regardless of Atkinson's error.

On the other hand, can you remember a Villa goalkeeper playing so well against Blues at Villa Park? Brad Friedel was their man-of-the-match. And their defenders defended like Blues defenders, throwing themselves into the line of fire and blocking in front of and clearing from the line.

Blues have taken flak for haranguing Atkinson when he awarded the penalty. Unfortunately, this is what can happen in crunch games like these when you make a cock-up. Emotions get the better of you.

And in this Blues team now there are some very strong, bristling characters who hate to lose, who love a good moan. Who stand up for themselves.

Speaking to the media in the run-up to the game, McLeish said Blues now had backbone and spirit to them, unlike two years ago: 'What I like is the fact that they police themselves, it comes from within'.

McLeish normally stays on an even keel but he lost his composure too. He has never before gone to a referee and mouthed the words he did to Atkinson at the end.

And as for Carr, the 33-year-old captain? Sure, he was disrespectful in scuffing the penalty spot and then the apparent hand-gesturing jog across the front of the North Stand to the tunnel.

Hardly anybody actually witnessed this in the press box - including myself - that's why Carr was not asked about it afterwards by the handful of journalists who waited in the 'mixed zone', the area where players talk - or don't talk - to the press post-match.

By the time the allegation became known, Blues had departed Villa Park.

Carr should have kept himself in check. Yet that rage against the perceived injustice had taken over again and what you see is what you get with the pugnacious Irishman.

And so it is with most of the Blues contingent. And that is a credit to them. The don't hide away under baseball hats and over-sized earphones before scuttling to their transport when they are asked to talk after games.

They front up, win, lose or draw, and are mindful that supporters actually want to hear and read their thoughts.

Other Premier League clubs could learn a thing or two from them and the Blues media department who, despite not having the numbers and resources of others, are accommodating and not obstructive for no apparent reason and always promote the club in the right way, without any control freakery.

But why didn't they stop them saying what was said afterwards, not least Johnson, you might ask?

Because they, and McLeish, treat them like adults. And Blues players wanted to speak, perhaps to articulate their rage and get it off their chests.

In Johnson's case, he was requested by television and the written media, was asked whether he wanted to be interviewed, said 'yes' and was gently warned to be careful in what he said.

He understood but made it clear that he wouldn't hold back; it was how he felt and if he got into trouble, he got into trouble. Like Carr, what you see is what you get.

It may now be six-in-a-row for Villa, but Blues let them know that they are back on the shoulder, striving to improve and close the gap.

In defeat this time, Blues went down not with a whimper and they restored their footballing credibility. It was as if we were back to those early Premier League meetings when the upstarts were the upsetting, unsettling neighbours, with decent quality footabll thrown in too.

The way the rage manifested itself didn't project the best of images at all but it, and the manner Blues performed (as all season in truth) told you about their passion, earthy honesty - and that they are no longer a pushover.

Michael Dunford's departure came as a genuine surprise.

The chief executive officer had been in the thick of it planning for next season without any apparent indication of what materialised this morning.

He spent time at a local radio station yesterday talking about the future and forthcoming commercial deals.

The other week I was with him for about an hour in his office going through the new season ticket prices and ideas for St Andrew's.

Dunford had all the while cut a good, enthusiastic, capable figure. His football experience was without question and he projected himself and the club well in his dealings with other executives, organisations, the media and supporters.

So what happened?

Blues or Dunford himself won't say anything of substance on, or off, the record. They are bound by a confidentiality agreement.

But something definitely made him decide that it just wasn't working between him and the new owners.

It was described as a 'formal' meeting in Blues statement on the issue, so that suggests matters had suddenly come to a head.

He might have jumped before he was pushed but there is no hard evidence, only hearsay, to suggest such.

Those who have known him down the years in football circles will tell you that he goes by a principle of 'being true to oneself'.

Dunford was well liked by the staff below his senior executive level at St Andrew's and Alex McLeish told the media at his pre-match briefing today that they got on well.

He was what you might term 'old school', learning the ropes in the days of Brian Clough at Derby County. One of the first things he did was to tell St Andrew's male staff that collar and tie was the required dress code.

Christian Benitez. Discuss. Plenty of people have been doing just that.

There should be no conspiracy theories, no wondering whether he's on his way to West Ham United and David Sullivan, whether there's an appearance-related financial clause, whether he's lost his gloves and so on . . .

If Benitez isn't picked, it's the manager's decision, based on a number of factors.

If Benitez isn't signed, then again that's because Alex McLeish and the Blues board do not think he's worth the punt judging on the season as a whole - and have already got strikers they believe are better lined up.

Also - and this is something that cannot be under-estimated - his parent club Santos Laguna seem to want to hike the price agreed with Blues to make his loan permanent due to interest from others.

McLeish, when asked by the media at large in his last couple of press conferences, said he would like to sign Benitez, but it would likely come down to finance.

We all tend to judge it in black and white - and you can argue a strong case for Benitez's inclusion on the statistics - but there are also shades of grey in this case.

McLeish and his coaching staff see how much Benitez does, or doesn't do, in training each day. They see how well, or not, he is inter-acting with his team mates.

I get the impression he's the sort who doesn't go in much for dress rehearsals, but when the footlights illuminate the stage for real, he comes alive.

I gather McLeish hoped that Benitez would have kicked on from the impact he made during his key part in the 'unbeatables' run and got even better, and added more consistency.

Since scoring at Everton in the FA Cup - only this third goal, remember - he has not really done it since, apart from Portsmouth away, when he was how he was in late October and early November.

Against Chelsea, Spurs, Wolves, Derby from the turn of the year he was ineffective, took a knock, didn't impress in training, lost confidence and form and McLeish first put him onto the sidelines.

In fact, recalling other games before that stretch, Chucho was not a stand-out either.

James McFadden, who was moved up top in preference, played well in some games, in most others he was adequate - as were the rest of the side; no better, no less as results nosedived.

McLeish was going to restore the Benitez-Cameron Jerome partnership after Manchester City and move McFadden back to wide on the left.

But after lengthy discussions with his backroom staff and watching the mood at Wast Hills, he kept the same side.

Personally I would have gone back to Benitez and Jerome up front, McFadden on the flank. I wrote so and have said so to McLeish. It was puzzling why he didn't then bring him on against Hull City.

They have dovetailed well, and given Blues a threatening, less predictable edge in attack when together, in the main.

But I don't think there's a direct correlation between the fact he has not been selected to start in the last five matches and Blues dip in results.

It's team game and whereas Blues defence, concentration and discipline was immense during the 15-game ublemished sequence, it has not been of late, and they have not got decent enough ball into attack.

The narrowness of the play - another debate, that, and the need for a Charles N'Zogbia type - plus some fatigue, plus reaching 40 points and so on . . . the reasons are various.

Benitez is the type who catches the eye, he needs the ball played into those areas where defenders don't know whether to twist or stick, in and around the box.

But, and I've written this before, he is not a natural goalscorer. If you could transplant Kevin Phillips nose for goal and positioning into his DNA, fantastic.

This debate reminds me a lot of the Mauro Zarate issue, which has tended to rear it's head more in recent months than it actually did at the time he played for Blues.

A talent, sure, a goalscorer, yes. But he went missing in a lot of games and flattered to deceive.

Blues didn't get relegated in 2008 because he wasn't played enough. McFadden carried Blues a lot after his arrival until he was injured, and Jerome should have played more away from home. Olivier Kapo, who could have been an inspiration, wasn't fit when really needed.

The main reason was that Blues were weak on the road, in the big games, mentally suspect.

This Blues team are far more stronger in that respect and although the season has tapered off disappointingly, they have still done incredibly well and over-achieved.

And it's not down to one man that they put together a club record run of results, nor that they haven't won in seven matches.

I would sign Benitez, if all things were equal, only to be one of four or five quality strikers competing for two places next season.

He has got an up-side, yet I don't think he should be considered, or guaranteed, as the main man for 2010-11.

And we still have yet to discover what other targets Blues have in mind.

Blues have 13,500 season ticket holders.

There are thousands who have lapsed and have either got out of the habit of going to St Andrew's, or are now just casual visitors.

The club had the maximum allowed on promotion in 2002. There were around 22,500 eager and excited souls right behind them at the beginning of the Premier League adventure.

The novelty wore off, the team could have kicked on but went backwards, the yo-yo effect set in, the board looked for profit and an exit strategy.

It's a tall order to expect return to that number and the new regime seem to be aware that not everyone will come rushing back all at once, if at all.

After announcing the new price structure - season tickets went on sale on Monday - they believe that they have shown the right intentions, at least.

The feedback initially, on the whole, seems favourable.

A 'loyalty discount' has been implemented, the comparison to match by match pricing is there to see already.

No catches, transparency, were the words coming from St Andrew's.

Michael Dunford has instigated 'supporters' surgeries' since the Chinese takeover and has got a grasp on what the gripes have been, and are.

And the board are carefully considering whether to move from St Andrew's in the near future.

The CEO says: "Seeing the level of home support gradually increase over the season, we'd like to see it continue to grow.

"But that will be down to results on the pitch and trying to win the hearts and minds back of those supporters who have felt very frustrated with the club over a period of time.

"I do sense that due to what's happening on the pitch and from the general PR of the club, which is improving all the time in the eyes of the supporters, they realise we do care and understand that it is not easy to afford to come to football today.

"When you look at the price comparisons with other clubs - and although we are only interested in our supporters - we will still be in the top six when it comes to cheapest pricing, which I think is fair and reasonable.

"As I say, we have an average gate of around 25,000 and we would love that to increase.

"But people have got to remember that we are also competition against a lot of teams who regularly have 10,000 or more than we are having week in, week out. So it has got to be run as a business.

"It's not a gripe on our part, it's a reality. But our business is football and understanding our supporters and listening to them.

"People I have spoken to in the supporters' surgeries and meeting in the supporters' clubs, I have tried to explain to them where we are coming from on our new policies and there seems to be a general acceptance that we are moving in the right direction.

"I have seen some articles in the press saying some clubs are going to reduce their season ticket levels. That maybe the case. But we do hope that this pricing structure will put the ability to become a season ticket holder within the grasp of a number of others who previously didn't want to come back to St Andrew's.

"I don't know how many more season ticket holders we can achieve. But I would like to say on record a big thank you to those 13,500 who committed themselves early in 2009 and during the summer, before the takeover."

At Eastlands talking to a Manchester City official I know about the prospects for the match, I remarked that Blues had not been given a tonking by any team in the Premier League this season - yet.

The firepower Manchester have and the mood they were in, I had a bad feeling.

The gentleman I spoke to said if Manchester didn't score early they found it difficult and, noting Blues usual parsimonious ways, he had a bad feeling, too.

Just shows you, doesn't it?

Blues ended up getting tonked and the ended the lesson as dispirited as they have been since coming off the pitch at Villa Park two years ago.

But is it a calamity, the end of the world? Not quite.

This team is made of much tougher stuff than the Blues side relegated back in 2008. And that Villa team was nowhere near as good as Manchester's current crop.

But it was a sobering experience and one that, it could be argued, was timely in way.

It focused minds on Blues shortcomings and the very fact at how well they have done this season, how much they have over-achieved.

If individuals are off-key, or lose concentrate and misjudge situations, they can be punished ruthlessly against such opposition.

Had Blues come away with a typically battling draw, maybe a false sense of security would have remained through to May.

Centre-halves Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were exposed and frazzled by the movement and quality of Manchester's attackers, and Blues leg-weariness and perhaps mental fatigue showed somewhat too. The resistance of the midfield wasn't there.

To the charge that Blues never got into Manchester and closed them down, don't think they didn't try; Manchester were just too good in spells, they used the full spread of the pitch and Blues couldn't get near them. It happens.

Blues had possession but not the guile or penetration to really damage one of more questionable defences among the big guns.

That mad five minutes before half-time still puzzles. Blues are usually compact, composed but they weren't then. Four goals - including Cameron Jerome's - came in a bunch.

And at the start of the second-half, Blues actually took the game to Manchester, Keith Fahey fluffed two chances, and then rank bad defending gifted Manchester goals four and five.

So it wasn't as if Blues were pulverized from first to last by, for example, seven goals going in at regular intervals.

The result, and aspects of the performance, should not only have given Alex McLeish food for thought, but also Carson Yeung.

He has not yet seen Blues defeated at St Andrew's since taking charge of the club. He must have believed this Premier League lark was a doddle.

It isn't and the need for quality players to come through the door in the summer - with legs and athleticism, and enough of them to see Blues all the way through the season - was underlined by the bashing in the North West.

It has been a remarkable effort by Blues all things considered. Can you imagine them again going on a 15-game unbeaten run, having the same team for 12 league games in a row? Not losing to any of the top six at St Andrew's?

That's why McLeish has been talking about the need for significant funds just to keep up with the Jones's; forget about trying to catch the likes of Manchester City.

Martin O'Neill has spent millions at Villa, but for all their honest endeavour they only huffed and puffed and never hurt a below par Chelsea side in the FA Cup semi-final; and we know what happened at Stamford Bridge a fortnight earlier.

To replicate this season's exploits will certainly be tough for Blues. They are a known quantity now, they have the respect of the rest of the Premier League.They are taken more seriously than they were in August.

They need some freshness and something different to give them an extra dimension to the solid base and fine attitude and esprit de corps they possess.

McLeish is on the trail of Standard Liege's Dieudonne Mbokani, a tall, fast and potent striker. He's been very cagey about the groundwork he and his scouting staff have been putting in, but it is understood they are down the line with a couple of other potential signings too.

McLeish doesn't want Blues to stand still. And the result at Eastlands, the tonking, shows that the club cannot rest on the laurels of a better than expected campaign back in the Premier League after the last promotion.

An event went under the radar this week - Blues AGM.

Only a few attended at St Andrew's, the first such meeting of the Carson Yeung era.

It was no surprise that it was a low key affair as most shareholders sold out to Grandtop International Holdings (Birmingham International Holdings are they are now) at £1-a-share.

But there are still about 3,000 people who have not parted with their Blues shares.

Many apparently want to hold on for as long as possible for sentimental reasons, others have have had problems in the transfer process and some have simply lost their certificates or forgotten.

Yeung's position, of course, is under no threat whatsoever. He can force the sale of the remaining two million shares in circulation, but he doesn't want to do that; he doesn't need to do that.

Blues were duty bound to invite these shareholders to the AGM and a smattering turned up.

And the feedback the board got was that most them simply wanted some way of keeping their share certificates as a momento before acceding.

Formal processes were undertaken at the meeting with Yeung, Vico Hui and Michael Wiseman being re-elected as directors.

It was, unsurprisingly, no contest - 78 million proxy votes for, zero against!

As Blues went private under Yeung's ownership and were delisted from the Alternative Investment Market in November, there probably won't be any such AGMs in the future.

Blues announced a £20.4 million loss for the last financial year on turnover of £27.5 million, which was 44.8 per cent down on the previous 12 months.

James McFadden, the new Blues contract rebel?

Not quite.

In regard to the round of stories about McFadden and his deal, it is worth clarifying.

I was present when he was interviewed after the Liverpool game.

Out of the blue, apropos nothing in particular, one journalist asked him how long he had left on his own contract.

He answered, and made reference to the old way under the previous regime of sticking options onto everything, which he thought caused confusion.

He has been quoted correctly, but the context twisted. The journalist who asked the question is a freelance and desperately tries to generate a juicy line from the Scottish and Irish players at Blues so he can sell stories to the Scottish and Irish papers direct. This is what happened here.

McFadden wasn't demanding a new contract, he wasn't demanding talks and so on, he wasn't kicking up a fuss.

He answered, truthfully and innocently, a question about his agreement and it has mushroomed into a slightly controversial story, which it really shouldn't be considering the circumstances.

Having got to know him since he has been here, he is committed to the club, has a desire to do well and help move Blues on and is genuinely optimistic about the near future.

Although he has had this 'lazy' tag thrown at him, he runs around 11km a game, among the highest distances clocked up by any player.

That he doesn't sprint in high intensity style like Cameron Jerome - that's not his type of game - probably clouds assessment.

McFadden is arguably the most techincally gifted of Blues players, and certainly one of the biggest dressing room influences and practical jokers, too.

He is always challenging Blues performance analyst Joe Carnall [Pro-Zone stats and all that] to do crazy things.

One was for him to eat 10 Big Macs in 10 minutes for £100 (medical advice meant this task didn't go ahead).

But McFadden was left impressed by Carnall's ability to scoff 300 sherbert flying saucers, without taking a drink, in half an hour!

Now, maybe McFadden might want the contract options to be looked at in time and firmed up, but he has been a little bit kippered here so bear that in mind when passing judgment.

On the Liverpool game, I'm not a big Rafa Benitez fan and in fact I think the tolerance shown to him by their fans has been pretty remarkable.

But he got it right by bringing off Fernando Torres. He was having an afternoon when he didn't look like he was in synch, and Blues defence were keeping an excellent check on him.

Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, take a bow again.

He might have been 'exhausted', but he knew he wasn't getting a moment's peace.

Just like Didier Drogba on Boxing Day; Johnson gave the Chelsea striker a doing that he usually dishes out to centre-halves. So credit to Blues.

When David Ngog came on, Liverpool were more dangerous and active. Sure, Ngog missed three chances - karma working, as Glenn Hoddle might say - but he did more than Torres.

On that subject, Ngog gets slated quite a bit. Put him in Blues side and play him regularly . . . I don't think he's as bad as people make out.

He caused Blues problems at Anfield (the dive? I know, I know . . . ) and did so again on Sunday.

He should become more polished and his speed, agility and athleticism make him a difficult customer.

A striker with those sort of qualities, given some slack, would help Blues, as part of a forward unit. Someone like Ngog or even a Bobby Zamora, who has presence as well.

Alex McLeish is off to the Standard Liege - Hamburg Europa Cup tie on Thursday.

Given that Milan Jovanovic is apparently Liverpool-bound, his eyes must be elsewhere.

The Belgium side are apparently ready to cash in on their other assets who are attackers Igor de Camargo and Dieumerci Mbokani, midfielders Steven Defour and Axel Witsel.

Hamburg's players may be more out of Blues range. Jerome Boateng is being trailed by Manchester City and fellow defender Guy Demel has attracted Premier League interest.

Up front, Mladen Petric has been a dangerous perfomer.

These are the designs Blues fans are being asked to choose from for next season's kit.

New suppliers Xtep have presented four versions, with the most radical - the shirt incorporating a white 'V' - being a nod to the club's original jersey.

After talks with Xtep, the trendy Chinese leisure, sports and footwear firm, it was decided that it would be unwise to come up with designs that were too far out for their debut offerings.

The board and manager Alex McLeish had their say on which kits should come under consideration.