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Two Points Dropped; Doncaster Match Reflections
Here are my reflections on the match between Birmingham City and Doncaster Rovers played at St Andrews.
Two points dropped
Let’s not kid ourselves here, Blues should have closed out that game and won it. Doncaster were as poor a side as I’ve seen this season and I honestly believe if they’d had the whole of One Direction lining up for them they might have performed better in the first forty-five minutes; their defence looked shaky and there seemed to be no cohesion in the way they played. Yet Blues didn’t really create chances and I don’t think I was the only one who thought that Donny were going to get back into it sooner or later if we didn’t buck up in the second half.
Lee Novak
One of the bright spots in the game was the performance of Lee Novak. He ran the channels well, he won the ball often, fought for everything and took his goal well; he was unlucky not to do better with a stinging shot that dipped alarmingly on the keeper forcing him to push it over from almost under his own bar. After getting a lot of stick for being a lone frontman I think of late he has massively proven his worth to the team and right now he has to be one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Mitch Hancox
Whilst defensively he was caught out of position more than once Mitch was easily the most threatening player at putting the ball in the box; the one for the goal was a peach, picking out Novak in an acre of space. In the second half more than once he hit balls that just begged to be smashed home into the box but nobody was able to take advantage of them. As a full back goes he is still raw but he is definitely improving again – meaning that David Murphy’s injury isn’t the hammer blow to the team it could have been.
The substitutions
The subs Clark made baffled me a little. I thought Mclean was going to have more joy the more Doncaster camped in our half and whilst Burke tried gamely to make something happen we missed the Hull loanee’s zip up front. Reilly was poor in midfield giving the ball away often but Elliott was shocking; dillydallying continually and then losing the ball and I can’t help but wonder if we’d have been better off bringing on Dudka. However, Lingard (who left to a chorus of boos from the Tilton as bewildered by the sub as I was) coming off for Shinnie just nailed the draw for us. Shinnie looked bereft of confidence and completely off the pace; more than once he had opportunities to take a pop he didn’t take up for whatever reason and I think it cost us. If Lingard wasn’t carrying a knock of some kind then it does make me wonder what Clark’s logic was.
The Crowd
I’m not sure if it was the cold or the way the game went tepid but the crowd was insipid tonight; there was no volume realistically (bar the odd snatch of Block 11 reminding us that they are singing on their own) and it was almost ironic to hear the Rovers fans singing “you’re not singing any more” after their equaliser because we hadn’t been singing anyway. It seems clear that the apathy in the home crowd is reaching desperately high levels and that is worrying as much as anything because it’s going to be hard to bring back at any speed.
All in all a depressing night and one that I hope isn’t repeated on Saturday afternoon. Blues need to start putting these games to bed if they are to climb the table; dropping points in this manner will just condemn us to a season of struggle.
Tags: Andrew Shinnie, Doncaster Rovers, Lee Novak, Mitchell Hancox, Wade Elliott
107 Responses to “Two Points Dropped; Doncaster Match Reflections”
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Unbelievable substitutions, and an even more unbelievable to try to sit on a 1-0 lead for 45 minutes when we were clearer better at football. We had to console ourselves in the fact that we simply can’t afford a manager who knows anything.
We don’t seem to be able to control a game. Second half at Barnsley was similar – but we had a 3 goal cushion. Reilly and Adeyemi start well but then seem to get overrun – is it the more attacking midfield players not tracking back enough and leaving them exposed? Thought Zigic played really well apart from the horrible header. And Lindgard is the real spark – would be difficult for us to be a real threat without him.
Took the foot off the gas in the second half. Very disappointing result. They were there for the taking.
I felt we run out of steam when they equalised Adeyami and Reilly couldn’t move they were shattered as was Zigic why he decided to bring on Wade Elliot one of the worst footballers I have ever seen at St Andrews (and I’ve seen a few) where was Dudka? Clarke is too slow at changing it
Quote “Doncaster were as poor a side as I’ve seen this season”
I can only assume this was one of your first matches!
Yes we deserved to and should have won, but Doncaster always looked dangerous,have you forgotten Randolf’s two great saves? they were certainly a class above Millwall and Wednesday!
I could understand Reilly and McClean being subbed as both were poor, Lingaard no but he does need to learn when to release the ball and not constantly try and beat 3 players. Good to see Zigic put himself around more but what a shocking miss first half easily blues miss of the season to date!
We will beat Boro on Sat and all will be forgotten
KRO
He was flagged offside so it wouldn’t have counted but it was still a shocker.
you play to the whistle……..he should still have put it away!
Even I would have put it away.
Would you have put away the one on one at Barnsley?
The chance last night was offside.
Sorry HB have to totally disagree there. Doncaster were the worst team I have seen in a long time for missing their passes, getting ground down at the back and caught in pssession and their constant giving the ball away. A team prime for the taking against any team with a bit of get up and go and leadership on the field.
Very poor 2nd half the game should have been over by half time. Disagree regarding novak i thought he was poor in 2nd half and he should have been taken off not lingaard, though i admit he played better than i have seen all season in the first half.
Zigic won so many flick ons but no one there to get on the end of them. Definately 2 points lost though but 4 games unbeaten and confident we shall win on sat.
Glad you are Ade because I’m not.
I have been a Novak basher, and I don’t think without due course. However tonight he showed what he can do and took his goal well, he had the best of chances and probably unlucky on a couple of occasions not to have won the game for us.
People have mentioned “Tinkerman”, well LC was at it again, and though I don’t condone booing the team or LC, taking Lingard off was a little confusing. He did take a knock in the first half, so maybe LC wants him fit for Saturday.
Maclean and Ziggy both looked as though an understanding might flourish with some neats interchanges.
2 points lost and you have to wonder how bad QPR must have been on Saturday.
With the managerless teams wining along with Yeovil the bottom three are closing the gap, our financial situation is dragging on so we really need to win our home games.
I said after Barnsley we need the same at home both off the team and the supporters, St Andrews should be a fortress and a cauldron of noise not some morticians palour.
KRO+DNM
Awful performance and the crowd is dead. The club is on its knees and the one time we need an experienced manager to help us we get Clarke and his idiot assistants and we can’t afford to sack them. Thanks yeung for destroying a club
people talk about taking foot of the gas ,who does that at 1-0 ,is it a fitness issue because why do we find it so hard to play well for more than 45-60 mins a game ,at this level if you play for half a game a draw against any1 is all you going to get
Adeyami and Riley had to do too much work with the attack minded side he put out,so were Knackered after half time.
Why change from Saturday I do not know. Ridiculous.
Cant agree with you about the substitutions the first to were obvious ones Elliott to freshion up the tiring midfield. Burke to revert to the system that had done so welll recently. Lingard was only for the last few minutes to get on some fresh legs. The fact that none of the players who came on performed to there normal levels was not Clark’s fault,
Lee clark worries me – the eternal tinker man !! We should have started with same eleven against barnsley and then doncaster play ok for 1st 15 mins in second half and he panics !!
sometimes better change formation on pitch temporarily, no need for subs if no injuries
Yep tthey cocked it up!
Shocking passing and poor decision talking. Played like the ball was a hot potato. If Dudek is the man to add composure to midfield the sooner the better
Dudek played in goal for Liverpool mate.
He is composed though :-)
Shocking result. Shocking naive, lethargic performance.
Is the manager trying to turn us into a much poorer version of Stoke? Long ball up to Zigic, flick on to an opposition defender. British football of the bad old days. I bet Tom Ross & Kevan Broadhurst loved it!
Yet again LC shoots himself in the foot. Poor tactics, poor subs. Their manager knew what would happen. Let Zigic flick it on, pick the ball up, break quickly because B’ham will have too many stranded up front.
In the light of all the sackings this week, LC is not only the safest manager at the moment (probably), he’s also the luckiest.
Dan mentioned the words home banker yesterday, the only home banker is that we’re not going to win.
I was wishing I’d been at home watching I’m a Celebrity last night. I love football, not hoof all, get me out of here.
Think we clearly ought to appoint you as manager … sorted !
Just when you think Blues fans can’t make you despair anymore ….
‘Just when you think Blues fans can’t make you despair anymore ‘
That is just what I was thinking , Frankie.
I am not sure what people expect. Birmingham are possibly an average Championship team at best. That is not being detrimental, but just sit back. look at all the players we have sold, look at how we deal in the transfer market. As for the crowd, the numbers and silence will carry on until this joke of a board sell up and get out.
well said andy, i think that a lot of us just expect to turn up and beat a team like doncaster when
there above us in the table and have more points, first half yes second half no, we are where
we are for a reason, the table dont lie , keep droping points like we did last night and it will be
a long hard winter on the field as well as off it, the shining light was lee novak, he was class
and ran the channels and threatened all night, i never thought i would say that about novak
cuz ive slagged him all season but credit where credits due, also hancox looking better with
every game but weve got to play for 90 mins and stop letting teams back in to games.KRO.
Not sure I’ve ever been to a ground where the crowd ‘second guess’ the manager as much as at St Andrews.
Bit silly really, I am of the mind that, you put your trust is the ‘expert’ in charge.
Don’t think I’d pop into the operating theatre down at Heartlands to advise the consultant surgeon .. would you ?
do you think its because we have outstandingly football savvy fans .. nope me neither.
So you are comparing a top surgeon to Lee Clarke?
Don’t drive to work Frankie because you would definitely be over the limit!
Nope, what I am saying is that as a season ticket holder for many a year at St Andrews, I had to listen to some of the least football knowledgeable people running down players and managers alike.
I DO think Lee Clark is one of the brightest and imaginative young British managers in the game, we are fortunate to have him.
He is working under near impossible ‘sanctions’ both logistically and financially.
Substitutions are very much a personal ‘thing’ and I am happy to trust in someone who has forgotten more about the game than me (and I played at a high’ish level, just below the football league), and certainly more knowledgeable than the average ‘punter at BCFC.
So it knowledge terms, like a surgeon, someone near the top of his profession. YES
Frankie,you quite obviously have never played football and possess little knowledge of the game
Posters on here were saying Lee Clark was a Genius last weekend , which I think is what Frankie is talking about.
John, I played at Southern league level, Jeez that ages me but it was the equivalent of the Conference now.
Tell me, what division of the South Birmingham league did you play in ?
chas says:
December 4, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Posters on here were saying Lee Clark was a Genius last weekend , which I think is what Frankie is talking about.
julian says:
but not the same people
I’m also old enough to remember the Southern League and I agree with you. Lee Clark is working under extremely difficult circumstances and a few people need to think before they slag off a bloke that is doing the best he can with very limited resources when it comes to players.
Frankie, i was lucky enough to be paid for playing the game i love,by Bromsgrove Rovers and then eventuallyi moved on to Kidderminster Harriers
hi all………not the match i was hoping for…..i thought for the first half we were ok but you could see we needed another goal or else!!!!
zigic did well getting the flicks but no one seemed alert enough to get too the ball!!!!
the substitutions were wrong and certainly did not work out!!!!
one step forward and two back!!!
I think that with, effectively, 4 strikers on the pitch, we should expect more than a miserly one goal between them. There were so many chances going begging it was untrue.
Unfortunately, although he’s played well the last few games, with Zigic in the side, we’re always going to revert to hoof ball. Yes, he’s better on the ground, we all know that…. except the other players it seems. I still think it’s better to bring Zigic off the bench in the last 20-25 minutes, when all else has failed. I believe we’d have more options playing, for instance, McLean and Lingard up front.
Also, it’s time to give Reilly a break, he’s looking knackered with all these games. Adeyemi as well, to a lesser degree. Time to stick Dudka in and let’s see what he can do for 90 minutes.
Still, I’m not the manager.
Can’t quite see why Reilly seems so knackered. He had a 2 week international break and was subbed off just after half time v Blackpool.
Dudka needs introducing gradually to build up his fitness. Against Blackpool he was blowing out of his ‘arris 15 minutes after coming on as sub.
Reilly didn’t have a break. He played 2 Under21 games and travelled abroad. I definitely think he needs a 2 or 3 match break to recharge his batteries.
Tbf to Ziggy,he laid off some lovely cushioned headers as well as knock on’s last night. I think Elsie should sit down with the squad and watch a few DVD’s of Ziggy when he played in Spain and for Serbia.
now we are unbeaten in 4, sometimes a draw better than a loss……………i must admit their 30 yarder was a excellent goal……………………imo i felt Clark decided to close out the game and settle for a draw………whether fans want to look at it another way that’s up to them………………….Dave you were nearly got your wish with ziggy falling over in the penalty area lol definately not penalty lol………….kro
I think he sent them out after the break to defend that lead.We were Shoite 2nd half.
sitting back on a one goal lead was pathetic ..when is this club going
to learn that you need 7+shots on target per match…and then defend
as a unit is the only way to be winners…
doncaster could have been a banana skin after all our efforts in the first half ……….some.times a draw not a bad thing………………….sorry to say but the attendance was shite…………..300 donny fans out sing the bluenoses feckin disgusting………………. cannot blame Carson for that just utter bollox imo. true fans dont run…………………………….kro
Yes you can blame Carson.He’s the reason we have a poor squad,poor manager and poor football.that’s the reason for the poor gates.
comment edited – please asterisk swear words appropriately
having a poor gate doesn’t stop those there from singing.
if 5000 more turned up but couldn’t be bothered to sing, then whose to blame?
it’s down to those there that don’t sing not the ones who don’t turn up.
that’s just deflecting the blame.
all those fans who called novak a donkey start eating humble pie……………………
Yep and highlights just what most of them know about football.
Players must be nervous thoug, wondering who is going to be next ‘whipping boy’.
I’ve been a Novak fan from the moment he signed. I also said a few weeks ago that leaving him out for a couple of games would do him good. It’s seems to have done the trick, because look at how he’s played since he came back in. I think 8-10 goals from him this season would be a good return for a player of his type.
mark, our home support as been poor for ages and the singing just poor and predictable,
we get out sung by most away fans these days and yes i went up and shouted “PENALTY”
when ziggy went down, definetly a penalty, then maybe not, but worth a shout i thought!!.
it just shows you how bad things are with the home support when we go away from home
because the support on the road is second to none and i LOVE away games more than home
games so cant wait for bournemouth saturday week cuz our support will be ten times better
than last night and this saturday against boro.KRO.
I can’t believe that some supporters think that we have the right to beat teams at home. Lets look at the facts, we all agree that due to lack of money we can’t buy better players so we have to get behind the ones we have and maybe raise the noise level at St Andrews which may help the players. It is easy to attack LC, however no one was on his back when we had just beaten Barnsley 3-0 with the same players. The funny thing is that if you look at the league table and see the points the teams sitting 7th we are not that far off the play off position thats how this league is, everyone can beat any team which is happening at present. I take from the comments that most of you have not supported Blues for very long because if like myself over 40 years of support ,I have seen the good and the bad in managers and owners but will always follow the blues home and away when I can, because I hope the support does come back and we get new owners so keep the faith.
Tony… the Voice of Reason. Never thought I’d say that. ;-) (from a fan of 44 years)
divine right just ask QPR…………..I Bet they would have taken a draw ;-0
Include the inevitable minus 10 points and we’re adrift at the bottom already.
well they say football is a game of opinions.
In my opinion the first two subs were spot on – McLean may be quick but he missed two sitters and just could not keep possession, we might as well sign up a sprinter. Similarly, with both Reilly and Adeyemi we had no ability to keep possession in the middle – no wonder we kept lumping it forward. The Lingard sub was very strange though.
It’s clear to me that we can’t play 442 with the personnel on display yesterday – we simply must have a ‘footballer’ in the middle of the park to do that. I still think Burke is our best option out right.
Definitely two points dropped and The Tinkerman strikes again!
we true fans Tony always keep the faith and know that things will change for the better
cuz weve seen it all before, its the doom and gloomers who thrive of blues position on
and off the pitch and constantly slag everyone of cuz its the done thing and then cal
themselves fans and wont go down cuz of the owners. i want to see st andrews full
again but that 30,000 capacity will only have 12,000 proper blues fans so as mark says
true fans dont run!!!! KRO.
I do admire Clark for what he is trying to do and the Clark bashers do get up my nose, however, I have to admnit that I was bemused by his teamselection and subs last night. Reilly hasnt had a good game for some time now. We sign a player with the pedigree of Dudka and prefer to play an out of form kid. At 1-0 when we were failing to press yet looking the better team, I stated that if we didnt get a second, then Doncaster would score. Lee Clark dithered on the touch line and made the substitution that the game was screaming for only after we conceded. There are times when I fell like going over to Clark and ask him if he can see what I can see and if so why doesnt he make changes. After the game, Clark asked his players why they didnt press on and try and win 2 or 3-0. I find that very worrying. Why didnt he have that conversation at half time to MAKE SURE they went for the second and third goal?? DNM&KRO
I’m pretty sure that’s what Clark said to them. Unfortunately with footballers, messages often seem to get lost in that vaccuum between their ears and their brains.
Doncaster weren’t the worst side I have seen all season and nor did the substitutions cost us two dropped points. The sooner people who bother to go to games realise that this is what Blues are the better. With no money and owners who don’t care and all the best players flogged what do you expect?
Also it is Clark not Clarke.
Apart from maybe Dudka and Burke… we have too many midfielders who are alike. Perm any two from Reilly, Adeyemi, Elliott, Shinnie, Mullins, Ambrose, etc. We need a solid, defence-minded midfielder, (Dudka?) who knows his responsibilities and sticks to them for 90 minutes. We also need a player in there, who can unlock a defence with a pass.
We’re relying too much on getting the ball to the flanks, then hoofing a diagonal in to Zigic. It only takes a defence 10 minutes to suss that one out and act accordingly. Zigic is pretty sh1t in the air… so why keep banging the ball up there? Get it down to feet. It’s not down to tactics… it’s down to asking players to use the brains God gave them.
Ziggy won 90% of the headers last night but the other strkers lack the abilty to take advantage.
The reason the fans booed the Lingard substitution was because Clarke was removing are most effective striker to replace him with a midfielder. It was no slur on Jesse who was the most likely to score.
Clarke seems unable to adopt to other teams change of tactics. After half time Doncaster put 2 men on Ziggy to remove his threat and that was it the midfield switched off and the crowd sat back waiting for the inevitable Doncaster goal.
i agree with the last comment callum needs a rest bring in dudka adeyemi looked like he was carrying a knock we had no midfield last night. We should have started with Ferguson then brought burke on last half a hour when they are getting tired .lingard should have stayed on, if ever we get an injury to the full backs we will be in trouble the squad is paper thin now
Poor second half, but we would still have nicked it but for a stunning goal from Donny.
I was worried about Novak as a wide player in a 4-4-2, but he made me eat my words with the goal, although his second half wasn’t so good. However, the second half performance was poor from all. I could understand bringing on Elliot for Reilly, but Lingard’s substitution was a mystery.
I want to echo the praise for Hancox delivery into the box but then criticise the forwards’ lack of nous/ambition in trying to get on the end of them. Ziggy frustrates me in particular as he will often hang around the 18 yard line instead of attacking ball/space.
Ziggy won lots of flick-ons last night but we just didn’t read them at all.
Is Kevin Phillips available?
Finally, the lack of height at full-back is always going to leave us with a problem defending – it didn’t cost last night but most teams are looking to pump higher balls wide and then look for knock downs and the balls inot the box are even more an issue for the two shortarses! That said, both Caddis and Mitch give us good attacking options and both give 100% every game so fair play to them for that.
Imagine … Zigic and Phillips. The new Quinn and Phillips? Makes you wonder if it would work.
As frustrating as it was last night, its a point, and for Birmingham City at this moment in time, any point is a good point because primarily, retaining our Championship status is the ultimate goal, and if Lee Clark achieves that, he should be applauded.
Applauded for doing his job?
It’s not the best squad in the a Division but a better manager would have achieved more than Clark could ever achieve especially at home!
Actually a great call about Super Kevin.
He would make all the difference to this side.
i think the worst teams ive seen at st andrews this season are sheff w, millwall and
birmingham city in that order in the championship, in the cup weve been much better
and the support much better.KRO.
we get a point climb two places to 17th and yet were closer to the botom three than before
we started, this indeed is a very strange league as i stated yesterday.KRO.
I was so p1$$ed off when Donny scored. Because up until then, we were 15th in the table…. 7 points off the play-off positions. But, if we have a good festive period, we can still reach the top half of the table by the time the new year starts.
Among the comments people make some good points. My problem is that both Reilly and Adeyemi are too similar, there was a situation in the 2nd half when Lingard made a great run on the left and looked for the midfield to pass to and both Reilly and Adeyemi were 30 yards behind and made no effort to get up to him. Thought Adeyemi was particularly poor last night, he totally failed to get close to Cotterill and close him down when he scored.
Novak was good in the first half but anonymous in the second when we again reverted to the long ball to Zigic. I think we could all see Doncaster were getting back into it and we were pretty lucky they were so poor as they had good chances to score more.
The Lingard substitution was very strange as he looked the most lively and likely to score.
Burns had a good game but still looks one touch away from making a mistake.
I agree with those who suggest that Dudka should have come on. I think he is a player who could have controlled the midfield.
We really need a win against Middlesborough but lets not kid ourselves, it won’t be easy. KRO
Adeyemi appeared to have lead in his boots when Cotterill scored and as for the substitutions Elliot was dire and Shinnie still hasn’t got used to the pace of the Championship.
Its a different Tony Staffs, Im just reading the comments with a chuckle
Oops! Forgive me for calling you “The Voice of Reason.” Didn’t mean to insult you. ;-)
…lee clark is the manager for me…but that doesnt mesn to say
that i wont criticise him now and again ..we need to have 7+
attempts on target on goal per game to be a good side…that
will give us the average 2 goals per game to go all the way..
then all we need to do is keep goals against out ..we have
proved we can do it .so come on …..kro
Our back four is not too bad, but certainly no great shakes. They definitely need some protection in front of them for the whole game. Time after time this season, we’ve been well on top, but failed to score. At that point, we tend to switch off and concede goal(s.) We need someone to sit there and be “switched on” for the whole 90 minutes. Gotta give Dudka a try I believe.
you make it sound so easy sappy dad but to be fair your right, 2-0 or 2-1 wins every league
game from now on will give us 103 points and the title and premiership football and we will
become a great side not a good one, lets start saturday and get those 7 attempts on target
and away we go 3 points down 81 to go…. happy days.. keep the faith sappy dad. KRO.
Frankie of all the people who post on here you are the one who worries me the most, most of us have our opinions on formations ,tactics, substitutions, etc most of us mention individual players.
In your case the only player I have ever heard you mention is a midfielder from some 10 years ago(Damian johnson). your knowledge appears to be non existent
Your every contribution seems to be one of backing the manager who as you repeatedly state has forgotten more about the game than any of us will ever know.
Your posts are so ambiquous as to render them meaningless,I Think you are a Fraud Frankie who knows little about football in general and EVEN less about BCFC.
I’m looking at the sequence of goals scored at home in the league:
1,0, 0, 1, 4, 4, 1, 0, 1, 1
and it seems a) we aren’t scoring many at home b) when we do, we rack up a few.
Hence — the players do have the ability but lack belief when the match gets going.
Mind you, this league is crazy — Barnsley won away just after we thumped them; Yeovil beat Blackpool; Wednesday beat Leicester etc etc.
We all knew this was going to be a rollercoaster of a season. All we can do is throw our hands in the air and scream when we’re on an up….. and close our eyes tight when we’re heading for a dip. But, I think we’ll all be glad when it’s over.
A good analogy Staffs, all we can hope for is survival in this division, I still think mid table is all we can realistically attain, but 21st with 10 clear points will do in my book, and that will be a good season under the current regime.
Like any season, we have ups and downs, this season will probably see more downs until investment comes to fruit, which I doubt, will happen for the January window, so it will be more of the same with academy prospects, loans and freebie’s.
KRO+DNM
I think that maybe our only bit of business in January, will be to extend Lingard’s loan until May and the same with McLean (if he works out.) I think Scott Allen will be going back to Albion too… which I’m disappointed about. He looked the business when he first joined us. Wonder what happened with him?
Not sure if we can keep Lingard as he will be over 21 come January, hopefully something can be sorted, though after Tuesday night he might not want to stay, any idea why he was substituted?
If Allen does go then that might open the door for another loan and Mclean should be ok once he gets up to speed.
KRO+DNM
thats 4 unbeaten, 2 away wins 2 home draws so you could say were on a consistent run so a
draw saturday and a win at bournemouth looks on the cards, lets keep this run going and then
we will pull away from the bottom 3 and push on up the table because 4 points from every 2
games will give us 56 points and a total of 75 which would get us in the playoffs or as dam
close to them so keep right on to the end off the season.KRO.
Realistically do we really want to be in the play off places with our current owners and financial mess, all that will do is keep CY hanging on, I would sooner finish 11 points clear of relegation and hope for new owners come the end of season or sooner if there is a fairy godmother
KRO+DNM
PS, before you say anything theres nothing wrong with optemism, it makes a change from all the sceptemism around so no apolegies for that!! KRO.
PS, Sorry I posted before your PS.
KRO+DNM
Don’t think the performance was that bad, 1st half they were lively and pressed well, should have been 2-0 up and game finished. Second half wasn’t great but still a cracking shot for the goal, taking off Lingard was a shocking decision (unless injured) but oh well changing the manager isn’t really an option and to be fair to Lee he is young and will only get better and I don’t think he’s the worst manager in the championship.
The most worrying part of the game last night was the crowd, not only were the numbers shocking but the atmosphere was dead. Any young fan that turned up yesterday I doubt would want to go again, it was depressing! Something needs to be done.
We are unbeaten in four, Doncaster have just beaten QPR and couldnt beat us. Lets at least wait for Clark to have a bad run before we add any more negative feeling to blues. In 5 years time fans should be looking back when we are mid prem talking about how they stood with the club and the players even when we were shit.
That’s the spirit.
The problem is we just don’t seem to be getting on an upward curve — we’re bobbling around the bottom of the division and all fans want is to bubble up a bit higher in the table. That would do for now.
9th February 1988 versus Millwall. Freezing cold and huddles of supporters herding together like catlle just to keep warm. Less than 5000 Bluenoses for a home game. I was there!!
So was i, I actually remember everyone spreading out so it looked like there were more of us
Steve Whitton scored the only goal if I recall, they were dark days, only just avoided relegation.
Mansfield, Nottingham Forest and Derby, three East Midland clubs knocked us out of three cup competitions too
You can analyse the shite out of the game, the players and the tactics, but ultimately this side cost us nothing, every point we gain for me is a bonus , winning games 3-4 nil is unbelievable and getting the side to perform considering what it’s made of and what state the club is in is no easy task, we didn’t play particularly well second half last night and came away with a point, the equaliser was in honesty goal of the season candidate, so realistically, based on the fact we haven’t paid for our players then a 4 match unbeaten run is surely a good thing?
Think as usual people suddenly expect this side are turning into world beaters, or have some sort of right to beat teams like Doncaster at home because we’ve just done Barnsley 3-0 away, Blackpool lost to Yeovil, Nuff said
no problem Chris W nothing wrong with a bit of pleasent dreaming instead of nightmare after
nightmare, i agree Bob the atmosphere was worse than russ abbotts and it has been for some
time and FeedTheForce i hope your bang on and the regulars can look back at now and say we
were there during the bad times and enjoy the better times to come because were the ones that
deserve it more than the others.KRO.
Can’t argue with those sentiments Dave, some of us have been there before, Wheldon/Kumar era’s.
We will rise from these ashes again, no worries about that, just hope it is sooner though.
KRO+DNM
Can’t argue with those sentiments Dave, some of us have been there before, Wheldon/Kumar era’s.
We will rise from these ashes again, no worries about that, just hope it is sooner though.
KRO+DNM
If we were absolute sh1te like the first half of last season, then I’d be worried… but we’re not. We’re not even close to being as bad as that.Only Burnley and Leeds have completely shagged us out of sight. All the others, we’ve either won, should have won, or should have had at least a point.
That’s not bad in 18 games, for a team some class as crap. Keep Right On, we’ll be ok.
Yep, ‘Character Building’ times Staffs.
As if we haven’t endured enough of them.
Why start with four strikers last night? It’s a 90 minute game – bring McLean on against tired defenders with 30 minutes to go Why not leave the team as it was from a great win on Saturday. Why not leave the Hancox Ferguson partnership alone which worked so well for the last few months last season. He has done it time and time again like the Wolves game last season when he put out an unbalanced side. Winning teams tend to have the right balance between defence and attack and therefore control games. It’s asking too much for two midfielders who are not top quality to get that control.
Really irritating how Blues could keep the ball last night. Was like watching kids in the playground in the second half. If they strung three passes together in the last 20 minutes, then I missed it!
Exactly. A decent coach is required to put this right but LC will just use his mates
Really irritating how Blues could keep the ball last night. Was like watching kids in the playground in the second half. If they strung three passes together in the last 20 minutes, then I missed it!
One thing i just want to say, a bit of topic from last nights game but i just want to see if anyone thinks the same. when we were under Sullivan and gold and yoyoing between prem and championship i dont think there would be many blues fans who would of turned down the chance to win a cup and finish top half just to get a abit of a taste of success. If Carson hadn’t of got done for money laundering would he of continued to pump money in, he did pay some massive wages and was probably our most successful chairman in 50 years. He got ex Barca and inter millan players in which were both probably on about 70 grand a week. Nights like Westham and Villa in the cup wouldn’t of happened without him. So although its all gone tits up now i think over all if we get taken over in the next year or so and become more stable then carsons time wont of been to bad overall. i rekon we should just chill, support the team, we wont go down and so long as we don’t get brought by a consortium headed by Olaf Melburg I think the future wont be to bad.
So true, we’ve seen some great players down the Blues the last few seasons too. It’s ashame 12,000 people have forgot that and were only there for the joyous times. We’ll be back and us the ones who stuck with the club can say we was there for the bad too. KRO SOTV