December 2011 Archives

Best moment: Easy, isn't it? Wembley, February 27, Blues - Arsenal, 89th minute.

Moment time stood still: See above. When the ball came back off Wojciech Szczesny to Obafemi Martins, in front of an open goal; was this really about to happen?

Loudest roar of joy: See above. Shivers still go down the spine when I remember that Carling Cup winning goal and the sheer explosion of noise from 31,500 Blue Noses. The new Wembley hasn't heard anything like it.

Most unprofessional act as a journalist: Rising from my Wembley press box seat when the ball spilled out from Szczesny and shouting '****** hell, he's going to score here!'.

Damp squib: Blues post-Carling Cup winning victory celebration. It should have taken place after the Albion game, regardless of the result, and no civic parade through the streets was a disgrace.

Foul that (thankfully) wasn't given: In the Carling Cup semi-final, fourth minute of extra-time. Stephen Carr crashing into Kieron Dyer, barrelling up the line, squaring to Craig Gardner - bang!

Best atmospheres: Wembley. Loud, proud, powerfully emotional. It meant so much to Blues fans.

Best atmospheres: St Andrew's, second-half in the Carling Cup semi-final. Raw, baying, electric. West Ham United couldn't cope. They sensed the inevitable once Blues scored.

Best atmospheres: Bruges, the whole trip. In the Market Square; in the stadium itself, I have never, ever heard a Blues away support sing incessantly without pausing for breath, like in that first-half. Memorable.

Most relaxed/enjoyable atmosphere: Europa League play-off second leg versus CD Nacional.

Worst performance: Fulham, home, penultimate game of last season. Out-played, out-muscled, out-thought. Blues looked shot through.

Heartache: The crazy last day of the season, at Spurs. Before Stephen Hunt's 87th minute goal for Wolves, Blues, playing the best they had in six weeks, were safe on goal difference.

What should have happened next: Alex McLeish resignation.

What did happen next: Carson Yeung's arrest over alleged money-laundering, BIHL's financial problems intensifying, player sales, Alex McLeish doing a bunk.

Most worrying development: See above, the subsequent worsening of Carson Yeung and BIHL's financial affairs and the lack of transparency over the whole issue.

Most often asked question: Are Blues going into administration?

Most repeated reply to a question: No, not at the moment. But the truth is, no one knows for sure - or is telling - exactly what will happen.

Most ill-judged attempt at humour in response to 'where's the money gone?' taunts: Peter Pannu wafting a wad of euros in Madeira.

Best song: While we're in Europe . . . the city is yours.

Worst song: The Carson Yeung chant.

Newspaper that took the blame for the Carson Yeung chant and stirring anti-board feeling: Birmingham Mail.

Most embarrassing boardroom manoeuvre: axing Michael Wiseman, appointing teenager Ryan Yeung.

Best player, calendar year: Stephen Carr.

Best players, this season so far: David Murphy, Steven Caldwell, Chris Burke.

Biggest disappointments: Aleksandr Hleb, David Bentley.

Unluckiest injury: Obafemi Martins stress fracture, Nikola Zigic's groin/hip. Fully fit post-Wembley, Blues probably wouldn't have been relegated.

Player who could have created history with Blues first European goal in 50 years: Steven Caldwell, who hit the woodwork against CD Nacional in the play-off first leg after 24 minutes. Then Chris Wood did the same, twice.

Player who did create history: Nathan Redmond in the return game. His goal triggered the overwhelming of the Portuguese and set in motion the whole European adventure.

Player from the summer exodus who Blues could have done with staying put: Cameron Jerome.

Most misunderstood departing player: Craig Gardner. He had to go, but the exit was clumsy and comments portrayed him wrongly.

Players with brightest futures to emerge: Nathan Redmond, Jack Butland.

Most unexpected bonus: Chris Wood's goals after the last-minute loan from Albion.

Seemed like a good idea at the time, lying on the beach: Alex McLeish's decision to quit and go to Villa.

Golden Bedsheets Award for not-so-plausible denial: Villa insisting that they didn't tap-up Alex McLeish.

Successful compensation claim: Peter Pannu's £2m - £3m for Villa tapping-up Alex McLeish and Eck walking out on his contract.

Best piece of persuasion: Peter Pannu insisting on Chris Hughton as new manager, not Gianfranco Zola.

Best picking up the pieces job, anywhere: Chris Hughton.

Abiding reflection on 2011: glory, gory, unforgettable and unlikely to be repeated.

So how was it for you, Birmingham City's European Tour 2011?

A shame, naturally, that it wasn't prolonged further. Or course.

But regardless, it was a blast.

And Blues - the club, management, players and supporters - came out of it with huge credit.
What Blues did, coming so close to going through to the knockout stage should not be sniffed at.

And at the end the margins were fine: Nikola Zigic's penalty miss in Braga and a fluke goal from Hugo Viana; a freak turnaround in Slovenia where Club Brugge won 4-3 after being 3-0 adrift.

To finish on 10 points and not qualify, and defeat and draw with the eventual group winners (David Murphy hit the crossbar in the home game too), should be viewed with pride.

As should the way the supporters who trekked round following the team abroad conducted themselves.

They carried the city's name with them and from Madeira to Slovenia, Brugge and through to mainland Portugal, they earned respect, admiration and would be welcome back any time by the host venues.

The accent was on enjoyment, embracing the experience and the football (plus the alcohol), not seeking out trouble.

For sure Blues could have been drawn in a tougher group. And the travelling could have been worse.

But this was a relegated, rebuilt and rookie European side basically adapting on the hoof that was thrown into the competition.

In the first game, the play-off at CD Nacional, the only Carling Cup final starters who lined-up were Stephen Carr - and he was then excused duty to rest his 34-year-old legs for the entire group stage - and Liam Ridgewell, who was pressed into an emergency holding midfield role because of injuries. Incredible to think, really.

That first European game - after a 50-year hiatus - was eagerly awaited by supporters, and although the crowd was small on Madeira and Blues were restricted to less than 700 tickets, it quickly dawned on Chris Hughton and the players just how much it all meant.

I suspect that, at first, they were a little blase about the Europa League. That, because Blues weren't expected to do anything and the league was all important, especially with the parlous financial state of BIHL, it could be treated with less focus.

But the mood quickly changed and Chris Hughton, an upstanding man of integrity, grasped the importance and the possibilities a run in the competition could have as a positive, galvanising force.

Before he addressed the media on Madeira in the mandatory UEFA pre-match press conference, he took me to one side to quickly confirm how long it had been since Blues last competed on this stage; he respected and understood the significance.

The players too fed off the supporters' fervour, not just at games but from meeting Bluenoses in the street.

Europe was always a topic of conversation and I remember Steven Caldwell - an intelligent thinker, future management material - speaking eloquently about how much of a honour it was to play in the competition and also recognising the place in club history the current squad had.

The Europa League was not a hindrance to Blues, it was a help.

After coming back from Maribor, where Blues won their first European away game since a 2-1 victory at Internazionale in the Fairs Cup in April 1961, the squad were floating and embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run.

For Hughton it was quite a juggling act between domestic and foreign. He had the courage of his convictions to make changes for Europe and trust the squad.

Not everyone agreed with the selection policy but, as Curtis Davies remarked, the difference between the group is not marked; it's not as if Blues have a definitive first choice eleven and the rest are of a sub-standard, just there to make up the numbers.

Consider that Hughton picked probably what was deemed his strongest side at Braga and Blues lost.

Pablo, Guirane N'Daw and Wade Elliott benefitted from Europa League exposure, Murphy was absolutely tremendous and just look at what Nathan Redmond did.

Speaking to foreign coaches, players and journalists, they were never sure what to make of Blues.

They knew they had been relegated, lost at lot of players and would be committed - the usual British stereotype - but deep down all expected them to be the group whipping boys.

Blues used that and their second-tier standing to their advantage.

They approached games not like others might have done in Europe - be cagey, slow it down, cat and mouse - but as Championship encounters.

Go and attack, be open, enjoy it, try and win was the mantra, and all of their opponents found this approach uneasy on their own patch.

If anything, it made Blues a more dangerous opponent.

At Brugge, for a 30-minute spell in the first-half, with 5,500 roaring them on, Blues basically wiped the floor with their hosts.

And the supporters still had the good grace to remember the 23rd minute applause for François Sterchele. What a classy touch that was, and they did it at home, too, when there was no real need.

One Belgian journalist remarked to be after the game over there '. . . and Birmingham played really good football and passed the ball too', He wasn't being nasty or patronising, he was simply impressed and enjoyed it as well.

At St Andrew's, the Nacional game was something special. A full house was totally relaxed, totally behind the team and determined to enjoy the first big European night in B9 for 50 years.

And once Redmond fired the opening goal and announced his teenage talent with such breathtaking aplomb, that was it - what a carnival.

Nobody liked playing at Blues and every side, their management, players and officials, remarked on the atmosphere, even the experienced hand Nuno Gomes.

To the wider English public, Blues involvement in the Europa League was a kind of aberration and not taken that seriously.

I chatted with one national hack at the last group match and he spoke about the Carling Cup victory being 'freakish'. No it wasn't. Unexpected, yes, deserved, yes - Blues fully earned the right to compete on the European stage.

The competition may be looked upon snobbishly by many our shores, plus Manchester United and Spurs, but for Blues, their supporters, us Brummies, it meant something.

Many of us will probably be pushing up daisies before Blues win a major trophy and play in Europe again.

So it was embraced unashamedly, enjoyed and treated with respect. Blues enriched the competition with their presence - and had a bloody good go at it.

Let's not forget either that the entertainment value was high. Group H was arguably the best, the most unpredictable, played in the right spirit.

The combebacks, the attacking football, the sense of occasion - it was memorable.

And the days in Brugge, the atmosphere in the Market Square and at the ground, the way the victory came about, that was one of the most uplifting, indelible highs in Blues history.

To some like Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp, the Europa League doesn't matter.

Fergie was quite derogatory in stating that Manchester United's 'penalty' for Champions League failure was their shunting to the knockout stage of the competition.

Spurs have been doing their best to finish third in their group, it appears.

There are probably some people following Blues who think the Europa League has been a hindrance and secondary in importance.

Not me.

One - Blues earned the right to play in Europe by actually winning a trophy.

Two - having not been on that stage for 50 years, you don't pass it up.

Three - the competition so far has been exciting, enjoyable and memorable - and not got in the way of the Championship campaign.

On Thursday it could all come to an end.

Blues have to beat whipping boys NK Maribor at St Andrew's and hope that SC Braga defeat Club Brugge in Belgium.

The odds are against Blues but the way things have gone so far Group H has been the most unpredictable and thrown up surprise after surprise - one more twist in the tale, perhaps?

Maribor have got diddly squat to play for. Blues should see them off.

Braga should want to finish top of the standings so they avoid a seed/Champions League cast-off in the last 32, which starts in February.

But Brugge, under new coach Christoph Daum, have tightened up defensively in the league and Carl Hoefkens, their captain and leader, is fit again.

That said, Brugge have been like a sieve in Europe and their remarkable comeback from 3-0 down in Maribor with 16 minutes left to win 4-3 pretty much sums them up.

That result was the real killer from the penultimate round of group fixtures.

Blues 1-0 defeat in Braga would not have mattered so much had Maribor hung on. It would then have been in Blues hands on Thursday.

The irony of the loss, and an unfortunate one it was too, in Portugal was that Chris Hughton selected his strongest side, barring Stephen Carr (who is as fond of Europe as David Cameron right now) and Marlon King, who was on the bench.

Blues began as well as they have done in any game but didn't capitalise in the opening 15 minutes, when Nikola Zigic had his penalty saved.

Then, in the second-half, they petered out. Usually they stage a rousing finish in the Europa League but this time, after a flukey goal that went in off Curtis Davies - who was playing his first group match, incidentally - Blues were uninspiring and seemed flat.

Should Blues go out of the competition on Thursday it should not be considered a failure. Their involvement in the Europa League, the way they have played, the comebacks, the invasion of Brugge, should be celebrated.

The novelty of Europa League football has been stimulating.

And as a club, on and off the field, Blues have added something fresh and uplifting to the competition; I doubt Manchester United will do that.

I posed the question on Twitter after Blues win over Doncaster Rovers about Keith Fahey: could anyone provide a rational explanation why some fans booed his introduction as substitute?

The response was overwhelming - and the huge majority condemned the jeers - which went to show that the Fahey debate is still one of the hottest St Andrew's topics.

Why it should be, I still don't know.

I am no apologist for Fahey, and I would like to see him drive on with the ball, threaten goal more as he can do, and keep seeking those passes that play in wingers and strikers.

But is he really that bad he merits such grumbles and groans?

To all intents and purposes, he has been given the Barry Ferguson role this season: take the ball, keep it moving, don't lose the shape.

Deploying two wingers, the central midfielders cannot be gung ho under the system Chris Hughton generally uses.

And surely it is better to keep possession, even if it means a short sideways or backwards pass, than to waste it and allow the opposition ball needlessly. Ferguson was a master of this.

The very fact that Fahey sees more of the ball means that a higher number of his passes are not going to hit their target compared to other players'.

Fahey isn't as negative as people make out. Certainly, there's probably some more in the locker, which probably results in some of the frustration as he is clearly no mug with the ball at his feet.

But he's not a dynamic, explosive midfielder, he's not the sort who crashes into tackles and earns favour with fist-pumping antics. His contribution has to be viewed in the context of the overall team framework.

The Irish international has had average games this season, as have others, and he has had good games, as have others.

When he recovered full fitness after a double hernia operation and started regularly, Blues promptly went on a six-game winning streak.

Let's not forget, either, that he could easily have won the Carling Cup for Blues, had his shot not struck the post at Wembley against Arsenal. Had he scored, would he now be viewed differently?

And he has filled in various roles for the club since his arrival, without fuss, and played a significant part in the last promotion.

Also, Fahey wants to be at Blues. He has not played his face to get away, he's not thought that the Premier League 'is the only place to be' after relegation and promptly joined a poor or average top-flight team battling against the drop.

Footballers should not be immune to criticism and every supporter who pays their money has a right to air their view.

But surely common sense has to come into it as well. There is a time and a place, and it's a tendency of Blues followers to complain about what a player can't do, rather than what he does bring to the table and accept his limitations.

They tend to like what I call an an 'unofficial scapegoat' down at St Andrew's, and Fahey is it at present, taking on the mantle from the likes of Damien Johnson in recent times.

If anything good is to come out of this little episode, then it's not so much that Fahey got stick, but was dropped in the first place (and Hughton's decision was because he detected tiredness in the legs as Fahey has been a constant since the end of September, not due to consistently poor displays since the season start).

Every player needs a little jolt now and again. When he came on for Guirane N'Daw in the 67th minute, Fahey performed with a determination and verve, and helped provide extra impetus that brought Blues a deserved late winner.

On the subject of players who have come out of the team, it was a bold but also understandable call by Hughton to axe Jean Beausejour for the last two matches.

Anyone who saw his displays at Blackpool, Cardiff City and various sloppy moments in recent weeks should not be that surprised.

Forget the conspiracy theories about the January transfer window and so on. And no, Beausejour hasn't been on the pop down Broad Street either.

Quite simply, one of Blues better quality players, if at times frustrating, went off the boil and has looked jaded. He has played football non-stop in the past few seasons, including summer exertions in the World Cup and Copa America.

Managing the squad and sensing when to bring players in and out over the course of a long, gruelling campaign, is a major factor of Hughton's current job.