Recently by Colin Tattum

The sonar has just gone 'ping'.

For most of a season Blues have gone under the radar.

Since relegation and Alex McLeish's sensational walk-out, it's been about court appearances, financial crisis, player sales, cramming in European games and playing catch-up in the Championship.

They've gone under radar, all right - but not anymore.

Level on games with most of their rivals now, Blues sit third in the Championship table after the victory over Portsmouth on Tuesday and are unbeaten in a dozen games (all competitions).

And the rest of the league, and the country, are taking notice of the sterling, marvellous efforts of Chris Hughton and his players - and with some fear, as well.

Graham Taylor was on the radio a fortnight ago and apropos nothing in particular volunteered his view that Blues would be promoted this season. The silence among his fellow pundits was deafening.

That's because nobody, apart from outside this region, really knows what to make of, or say about, Blues.

To some they're the team who won the Carling Cup, got relegated, lost their manager to their rivals and are going under . . . aren't they?

It's no coincidence that in five of the last six pre-match media conferences Hughton has given at Wast Hills, your Birmingham Mail correspondent has been the only newspaper/online journalist present.

All that's changing now, with Blues on the fringe of the top two and continuing to confound, surprise and delight.

And the increased scrutiny and pressure shouldn't have an adverse effect on them. Hughton and his coaching staff are too shrewd for that, and there are a glut of very experienced, strong characters in a squad that is very close and together.

They only nagging fear is that because of the volume of games - Blues are up to 41 played now - and the relatively lean squad, they could fall just short and burn out.

But at present, their sharpness, durability and fitness is not in question.

Blues have scored 20 of their 63 goals this season between the 80th - 90th+ minutes and it's hard to recall a game when they didn't finish stronger than the opposition.

Hughton's subtle selection alterations throughout the season have worked. Everyone has been involved, and importantly everyone has also stepped up and played a part and made a contribution. One or two loan signings to add some freshness and vigour should also help.

Jean Beausejour's sale could hurt Blues perhaps more than imagined.

A clever, creative footballer, Beausejour counter-balanced right winger Chris Burke's qualities nicely and added positively to the overall team shape. He also worked prodigiously hard going the other way and built up a good understanding with that Roberto Carlos impersonator, David Murphy.

Since his departure Hughton has started Morgaro Gomis and Jordon Mutch wide on the left, players who, in my book, are not suited to the position. They will do a job and work the line, sure, but they are at their most effective in central midfield.

This could become a vexed issue in the coming weeks, especially if Hughton opts not to pick either Nathan Redmond or Wade Elliott there regularly, both of whom would provide a better balance to the side.

But certainly it's not something the manager isn't aware of and, let's be fair, in a season of so many questions, Hughton has usually come up with the right answers.

Overall, he has had Blues performing with élan. There's been genuine width and wing play, patient but purposeful passing, chances, goals.

Recalling some of his early training sessions during pre-season in Ireland, he kept barking out 'pass, pass, pass, pass' during practice games and intoned the players to look forwards, not backwards.

Hughton has got Blues going out to win games, to take games to the opposition. The performances away in the Europa League were testament to that. There was no caginess, they went after Club Brugge for example and they didn't know what to make of it.

But also the bedrock is there - the top defensive unit in the Championship, whatever the combination.

Foster, Dann, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Parnaby have all gone but no matter.

I wrote at the season's start that Blues arguably had the best defence in the division; there's no argument now.

The group as a whole all work very hard. Watch how Burke is relentless up and down the flank, Nikola Zigic covers around 2km more per game than the average Championship striker.

Blues have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 games. That's the
best sequence since 2003. They went 490 minutes without conceded a league goal between October and November.

At St Andrew's - where they remain unbeaten - only six have been let in, which is remarkable going.

With four of the five teams immediately below them to come at St Andrew's, Blues are handily placed to dream what many felt was an impossible dream in May.

The sonar has just gone 'ping'.

For most of a season Blues have gone under the radar.

Since relegation and Alex McLeish's sensational walk-out, it's been about court appearances, financial crisis, player sales, cramming in European games and playing catch-up in the Championship.

They've gone under radar, all right - but not anymore.

Level on games with most of their rivals now, Blues sit third in the Championship table after the victory over Portsmouth on Tuesday and are unbeaten in a dozen games (all competitions).

And the rest of the league, and the country, are taking notice of the sterling, marvellous efforts of Chris Hughton and his players - and with some fear, as well.

Graham Taylor was on the radio a fortnight ago and apropos nothing in particular volunteered his view that Blues would be promoted this season. The silence among his fellow pundits was deafening.

That's because nobody, apart from outside this region, really knows what to make of, or say about, Blues.

To some they're the team who won the Carling Cup, got relegated, lost their manager to their rivals and are going under . . . aren't they?

It's no coincidence that in five of the last six pre-match media conferences Hughton has given at Wast Hills, your Birmingham Mail correspondent has been the only newspaper/online journalist present.

All that's changing now, with Blues on the fringe of the top two and continuing to confound, surprise and delight.

And the increased scrutiny and pressure shouldn't have an adverse effect on them. Hughton and his coaching staff are too shrewd for that, and there are a glut of very experienced, strong characters in a squad that is very close and together.

They only nagging fear is that because of the volume of games - Blues are up to 41 played now - and the relatively lean squad, they could fall just short and burn out.

But at present, their sharpness, durability and fitness is not in question.

Blues have scored 20 of their 63 goals this season between the 80th - 90th+ minutes and it's hard to recall a game when they didn't finish stronger than the opposition.

Hughton's subtle selection alterations throughout the season have worked. Everyone has been involved, and importantly everyone has also stepped up and played a part and made a contribution. One or two loan signings to add some freshness and vigour should also help.

Jean Beausejour's sale could hurt Blues perhaps more than imagined.

A clever, creative footballer, Beausejour counter-balanced right winger Chris Burke's qualities nicely and added positively to the overall team shape. He also worked prodigiously hard going the other way and built up a good understanding with that Roberto Carlos impersonator, David Murphy.

Since his departure Hughton has started Morgaro Gomis and Jordon Mutch wide on the left, players who, in my book, are not suited to the position. They will do a job and work the line, sure, but they are at their most effective in central midfield.

This could become a vexed issue in the coming weeks, especially if Hughton opts not to pick either Nathan Redmond or Wade Elliott there regularly, both of whom would provide a better balance to the side.

But certainly it's not something the manager isn't aware of and, let's be fair, in a season of so many questions, Hughton has usually come up with the right answers.

Overall, he has had Blues performing with élan. There's been genuine width and wing play, patient but purposeful passing, chances, goals.

Recalling some of his early training sessions during pre-season in Ireland, he kept barking out 'pass, pass, pass, pass' during practice games and intoned the players to look forwards, not backwards.

Hughton has got Blues going out to win games, to take games to the opposition. The performances away in the Europa League were testament to that. There was no caginess, they went after Club Brugge for example and they didn't know what to make of it.

But also the bedrock is there - the top defensive unit in the Championship, whatever the combination.

Foster, Dann, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Parnaby have all gone but no matter.

I wrote at the season's start that Blues arguably had the best defence in the division; there's no argument now.

The group as a whole all work very hard. Watch how Burke is relentless up and down the flank, Nikola Zigic covers around 2km more per game than the average Championship striker.

Blues have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 games. That's the
best sequence since 2003. They went 490 minutes without conceded a league goal between October and November.

At St Andrew's - where they remain unbeaten - only six have been let in, which is remarkable going.

With four of the five teams immediately below them to come at St Andrew's, Blues are handily placed to dream what many felt was an impossible dream in May.

Will further sales push Blues down towards the Championship also-rans?

After striving so hard to make the play-off zone, and enthralling in Europe along the way, is everything about to go to waste?

That's the natural reaction after Jean Beausejour became the 12th player with a Carling Cup winner's medal on his mantle piece to leave St Andrew's, either by transfer, release or loan.

And with Liam Ridgewell determined to go as well, what are the prospects for Chris Hughton and his side with 20 league matches still to play?

First things first. Whether anyone likes it or not, it has to be accepted that Blues parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd are in a financial mess. Even before relegation, BIHL admitted its liabilities exceeded assets by some £28 million.

Add Carson Yeung's court case over alleged money laundering, the freezing of his assets and the suspension of BIHL shares, and something had to give. Players had to be sold in the summer, the wage bill had to be slashed.

Beausejour and Nikola Zigic were among those up for grabs. Wigan failed to land Beausejour then. Now panicking, they have got their man. Zigic, because of injury, age, salary and the type of player he is, was not courted seriously.

Beausejour's wages were cut significantly from around £30,000-a-week because of a relegation clause in his contract. He is now wedged-up once more (but is likely to be back in the Championship again in six months . . . ).

I'm told by people at the club that he didn't really want to go, that he enjoys the football under Hughton, his wife and son are settled in Birmingham. But gone he has.

Ridgewell put in a transfer request to try and force the club to sell him. His agent has been agitating on his behalf for months, and he has not been the same player or the same person since May.

And this is one of the problems of the transfer window: agents have vested interests and some happily feed journalists lines that are, how shall we say, somewhat economical with the truth and fact.

A certain 24 hour sports news channel can't get enough of them as 'sources'. This they were contacted by the two relevant clubs telling them that an offer had not been put in for a player as they claimed - but they ignored this and said they were going to continue to carry the 'story' anyway.

Ridgewell may still yet go, if Albion meet the asking price. And that's the crux of the matter: heldover assets from August - Beausejour, Ridgewell and Zigic - have always remained available for the right money.

The recent cash injection from BIHL helped ease the financial pressure on Blues and basically ensured that the club could continue as a going concern - and not end up as a Portsmouth.

But it was never intended to stave off more departures, just lessen the need to cash in for reduced rates. Peter Pannu stated in his last address that 'no one is for sale, whilst all are available for sale'.

Hughton now has to find new players, almost certainly in the loan market (a striker and wideman priorities) and maintain the tight spirit within the camp.

Hughton is after up to three new recruits, and has been casting the net for weeks far and wide.

On Tuesday, Blues were represented at 12 different games. Hughton is nothing if not diligent.

Don't bank on sizeable sums being paid out for anyone. Nor any big names coming in. Things are more likely to happen when the loan window opens on February 7.

Blues cannot at present commit, for example, a large transfer fee for a player who would want a large wage on a four-year contract.

Hughton watched Albion reserves against Swansea reserves this week, to check on Stephen Dobbie, amongst others. He's the kind of fit: not getting a game, possibly up for grabs on loan, with experience of promotion.

Beausejour will be a loss. A first choice and a clever footballer, he could keep the ball, pass it well and trouble defenders. He would also work very hard for the team.

I also always felt you were left wanting more from him, that for all his good games there were others were he never reached peak effectiveness.

Zigic, I personally cannot see going, but as Chris Wood left and joined Bristol City on loan from Albion (a decision which dismayed the manager, who felt Blues had done well for Wood), a striker is certainly needed to help see Blues through.

Blues chances of promotion - assuming two or three players will not follow Beausejour out the exit door - depends on who Hughton can get in, how they fit in and how the current squad react (and thus far they have been tremendous with all that's been on Blues plate).

Steering clear of major injuries, too, is going to be crucial.

Promotion's not impossible, but the task hasn't got any easier.

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.

Heaven forbid should this campaign be remembered as the season of the missed sitter.

Throughout their modern history, Blues have traditionally struggled to find someone who can provide a regular flow of goals.

When they did, Mikael Forssell's knees went.

And as a team, Blues have tended to be more gritty than glittery.

So the fluffed chance, the bad finish, the lack of cutting edge should not really come as much of a surprise.

Yet what is it at present?

Certainly Blues are creating and playing in a style that unhinges defences so, therefore, the more chances, the more scope there is for error.

They are getting more balls into the box than they have done for years from the wide areas, and regularly are totting up 10 to 15 shots at the target per game.

But just look at recent weeks: Liam Ridgewell heading wide from four yards at Bristol City; Marlon King against Brighton; David Murphy's header versus Peterborough United; King's horror miss when Burnley visited and in that same game Nikola Zigic heading down and wide at the back post - similar to how he messed up at Blackpool.

Had Adam Rooney not put the ball wide from close range against SC Braga maybe that game would have turned out differently as the Portuguese promptly took the lead 60 seconds later.

At Southampton, Jean Beausejour skewed a chance past the post from inside the six-yard box as well and at Reading the ball fell towards Chris Wood after a defender's header came back to him off the post, although it was a sharp chance and he was off-balance.

I guess we have to factor in that we are talking Championship-level and if players were consistently sticking the ball in the back of the net (like King, above), not just the simple opportunities, they would be elsewhere.

On the flip side, it seems that opposing teams often pull something out of the top drawer bag when facing Blues.

The finishing against Blues has often been devastating.

Take three goals conceded at home: yes, only three, but all unstoppable.

Neal Eardley's strike at Bloomfield Road, what a corker that was, from a right-back too.

Rarely do Blues get carved open (they got their act together after Southampton in September) and the back five, any combination, I continue to describe as the best in the Championship.

So as long as Blues suddenly don't become a defensive colander and don't get too sloppy, the lack of a genuine clinical edge can be overcome.

Alex McLeish's Blues won seven of their 13 Premier League victories in 2009-10 by 1-0.

And most other teams in the Championship don't take the majority of their chances either.

Chris Hughton is generally finding the right formula to balance the requirements of a solid backbone and a penetrative, threatening attack.

And the way Blues are willing to move the ball forward and are keen to dictate the agenda rather than be cagey, has led to some highly watchable matches.

In general the Championship is a league full of teams who are attempting to have a go, pass the ball and not just sit in. There's not the same fear you get in the top-flight.

Chris Burke has been massive plus, not just for his wing play and ability to skip past defenders, but his eye for a goal. I don't think he's missed a sitter . . . yet.

If Blues lost him for an extended period to injury it would be a major blow.

Undoubtedly, Wood has been an unexpected bonus with his 10 goals, albeit he has gone off the boil somewhat recently and when he isn't scoring you can be left scratching your head at his contribution sometimes.

King may not possess that explosive power of his youth but he knows his way around; he's a canny striker who will weigh in with his fair share of goals, and assists.

Zigic - pictured above scoring the equaliser at Blackpool - has and will continue to have his uses.

Although Blues are missing glaring openings, it would be a surprise if this kept happening, time after time.

The encouraging thing is that they are not treating the opposition penalty area like a Total Exclusion Zone and at the back they remain very, very difficult to break down.

Wednesday, training at the stadium (above).

Venice of the North.

Market Square, Bruges centre, match day.

On me head, son.

The Belfry

Belgian SWAT team mobilised.

Where's Wally?

South End, Birmingham hordes.

Game on.

Got Wood, got the winner.

Joy.

Flag day.

Careful you don't fall, chaps.

Euro stars.

Don't want to go home, indeed.

As the song says, this is certainly the 'best trip'.

It was not just the result in Bruges, but the whole shebang.

It's doubtful we shall see it's like again, or at least for a very long time.

Speaking to some fans afterwards, they were equating it to Wembley and the Carling Cup final up there in the ranks of fondest Blues memories.

I wouldn't go that far personally, but I get the drift.

Before the football, let's deal with the other stuff.

Undoubtedly there was plenty of trepidation about Birmingham City's visit to Bruges among the Belgians.

With 5,450 tickets sold and probably another 2,000 or so as it turned out milling around the medieval city and beyond, just to be part of the occasion, they feared carnage.

The front page of one local newspaper carried a picture of a water cannon with a headline to the effect 'Zulu Army, we are ready for you' the day before the Europa League tie.

At the pre-match media conference I was asked by Belgian television to do an interview and the third question I was asked was would the people of Bruges be safe?

I replied that with so many people flocking to a city there would inevitably be some incidents caused by drink - like on any Saturday night down Broad Street, for example - but to suggest full scale riots, looting and pillaging was incorrect.

Blues fans, I explained, had waited 50 years to follow their team in Europe and were coming for the experience, the football and to make friends.

The policing was sensible and so were the bar owners. Respect works both ways and the scenes in the Market Square on match day, where most fans congregated, were good-natured.

There was an impromptu game of keep-uppy/head tennis when someone lobbed a football into the masses and even when the ball pinged off the top of the stature of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, Bruges' revered freedom-fighters of the 14th century, the police just smiled.

In fact, there was one funny incident when the ball bounced over to where the horse and carriages, that ferry tourists around, were stationed.

One of the lady drivers was a bit miffed and handed the ball straight to a policeman in expectation that he would administer a ticking off.

Instead, he looked down at the ball, shrugged and volleyed it back into the crowd to great cheers - 'ave it!

Around the ground itself it was lockdown. There were roadblocks, riot vans, water cannons, horses and police in full battle dress.

When Tim Easthope - our award-winning photographer who took the pictures on this blog - and I drove down the main road towards the Jay Breydel Stadion, we were pulled over by one officer, who spotted the British number plate.

'Don't go down there, there's a hooligan pub and they will smash your car up, even if you are driving by'. Lovely.