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Watford Preview in Association with EZE Group
The first home match of Gary Rowett’s reign for Birmingham City is tonight with the visit of top of the table Watford. Despite being on their fourth manager this season the Hornets are flying high and Blues will have to be at their best once again.
Watford
Watford come into the game unbeaten in nine, having last been defeated by Charlton on September 13. In that nine game stretch they’ve won four, drawn five and kept two clean sheets, scoring in every single game.
Ikechi Anya could return after missing the Millwall game with a dead leg but Gabrielle Angella, Gabriel Tamas and Almen Abdi are all injured.
Blues
Blues welcome David Edgar back into the squad following suspension with Demarai Gray also possibly being fit enough for the bench following an ankle knock. However, Lee Novak remains out after tweaking a hamstring in training on Friday although he could return for Saturday.
Following the positive performance from Saturday Gary Rowett could well name an unchanged line-up. It will be interesting to see if Rowett decides that the same formation should be employed or if he wants to tweak it to counter specific Watford threats and expose specific weaknesses.
As much as I’d love to see us win at home I don’t think this is the match it will happen in; I think the main thing is that Blues exorcise the demons of the last home game with a good performance that gets what will be a larger crowd than usual off their feet and sends them home happy. I’d also like it if we could score a goal; it’s been four games without one now and we haven’t looked massively like scoring in that time.
As part of their EZE Wishes campaign, EZE Group are offering fans the chance to nominate fellow supporters for an EZE Wish to meet the club’s new manager. The deserving fan granted the wish will get to meet new boss Gary Rowett ahead of the club’s home game against Cardiff City, on Saturday (8 November, 3pm kick-off).
Nominations can be made at ezewishes@bcfc.com and must be received by 5pm on Thursday 6 November. The VIP day will also see the chosen fan and a guest enjoy reserved parking; a welcome drink; a tour of St. Andrew’s, including the dressing rooms; pre-match meal including fine wines; refreshments throughout the day; and two seats in the EZE Group executive box from which to watch the match.
They will also receive an EZE Group ball signed by Rowett, and with a message of their choice. Read more about this on the official site here.
Tags: David Edgar, Demarai Gray, EZE Wishes, Lee Novak, Watford
156 Responses to “Watford Preview in Association with EZE Group”
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Agree that this is going to be a difficult game to get a result, though Blues have been known to turn up the tempo against better opposition and have often surprised us.
The first home game since Bouremouth so I would expect nothing less than 100+%.
Watford have some weaknesses as the play a very narrow game so hopefully with Gray fit and Cotterill we can exploit them down the wings.
Our major problem lies in front of goal as we don’t seem to have a goal in us.
KRO+DNM
I’m going,
theres a few of us,
Its our first game this season
A draw would be a good result against this lot but maybe GR can gee them up to do a bit better! KRO.
As a Watford fan and a regular attendee I would say if your manager does his homework you will get success. However your strikers will need to make sure they have their shooting boots on.
Watford may be top, but I have no idea how as they haven’t ben playing too well.
Ime going tonight expecting a much more organised and controlled performance than that last home joke of a performance, Gary had them working for each other at the dingles den and got a very good we’ll worked point so same again tonight and if we can win fantastic if its a draw then well done and even in defeat as long as we play like Saturday then I will except that also so come on bluenoses and get your backsides down there and support your team and new manager.kro
If Donaldson continues his present scoring spree, I can’t see where we’re going to get goals from. Other than the occasional Cotterill free kick, we’ve posed very little danger to opposition defences for a while now. We need a change from the usual suspects… to give us something different going forward. I think our best bet is to attack the space Watford leave down the flanks with their narrow midfield. Also, we need to keep it very tight in front of our back four, where Watford play it around a lot, looking for gaps. If we’re going to take anything from the game, we have to keep the score low. I’ll go 1-1.
We have to play two wide men in cotterill and gray from the start with Thomas up front so I will go…..Randolph, caddis,Robinson, Morrison,grounds,Davis,rilley,glesson,cotterill,gray,Thomas and then make subs later in the game when we have to.kro.
Personally, I would play Thomas over Donaldson all day long. I agree, it has to be Cotterill and Gray on the wings. The only other change I might expect, would be Edgar in for Shinnie.
My guess: Randolph; Caddis, Morrison, Robinson, Grounds; Gleeson, Edgar, Davis; Cotterill, Thomas, Gray. (4-3-3)
(whenever I type a team this season, it seems very strange not to have Burke and Zigic in it. I keep thinking I’ve missed someone.) :-))
If you are going with that I don’t see it being much different to GR’s.
I would probably put Edgar in for Robbo as he has been our best CB so far, alternatively put him in front of the back 4 at the expense of either Reilly or Gleason.
Looking forward to tonight’s game with renewed optimism, lets hope for a decent turn out and plenty of noise.
KRO+DNM
By the way he’s been talking about how well they struck up and understanding, it sounds like he’s settled on Morrison and Robbo as the two centre backs… at least for the time being. If he’s not chosen for midfield, I think that Edgar may have to be happy with a place on the bench until someone has a stinker.
If only one of them and we all know who that is would have dropped is wage demands and gave the fans and the team a boost and another season or two because he certainly could have become an all time legend and icon with most blues fans….such a shame.kro.
I know it was a massive drop in wages, but surely £5k p/w is better than sitting at home on his ar$e doing nothing? Or am I giving footballers too much credit?
On the main Blues website, referring to the injured players, it said, ‘That only leaves Gavin Gunning (knee), Matt Green (knee) and Mark Duffy (calf) on the sidelines.’
It seems that Jonathan Spector is a forgotten man already. :-/
We talk about our players only getting £5k per week. It is interesting to note that the Prime Minister David Camerons’s salary is £142,500 per annum or £2740 per week!!!
In the real world, £5k p/w is an awful lot… but £5k p/w in football terms isn’t a lot these days. No premier league player and a lot of Championship players probably wouldn’t get out of bed for that. It’s the sad times we live in I’m afraid.
How many players today, can honestly say that the football is more important than the money?
Could count them on 1 hand. Majority will move for bigger wages and are happy to warm the bench.
Days of player loyalty are long gone.
Makes you wonder if there will ever be the likes of Gerrard, Carragher, Brooking and Le Tissier again? Sadly, it seems very unlikely.
It,s a job to them that’s why.It,s a past time to us that,s why so many of us moan at the wages.As said many times before,if you were offered more money to do the same job,you’d take it. I don,t believe anybody that says they wouldn,t
Sadly football has suffered art the expense of Sky and the mega- rich owners who don’t care about history or communities.
One day the money bubble will burst and that will be frightening beacause you will see a lot of the premier clubs fold.
KRO
A report on BBC Ceefax this morning says that Lampard is staying at Man City for the rest of the Season , on wages of £169,000 a week. The mind boggles.
Yes but most of that is pocket money due to expenses they claim.
Absolutely agree. That’s why it’s so expensive to watch the game in this country.. having to pay greedy players far more than they’re actually worth.
It,s not the players fault.It,s the people that offer the money.
But David Cameron has a four year contract to make up for it
I just thought I would make the point that my three season tickets this season cost less than I paid in 2002 when we got promoted…. I know we’re in the championship but at blues our season ticket prices are as good now as they were 10 years ago so obviously with the cheap one off tickets they also does like for tonight’s game then fans can’t tell me that blues have priced them out of going down because ime sorry but that’s not true and most blues fans who have season tickets for many years would agree with me because I’ve spoke to many of them.kro.
It all depends on what part of the ground you like to sit in. Mine would have been £570 to renew in block 27 and I’m sorry that isn’t cheap especially given the cr*p on offer until now. Yes I took advantage of the £10 offer to sit in my old seat tonight. If things continue like they did tonight I will be more than happy to renew. Well done Gary Rowett and team – a great night.
I reckon Gray will have to make do with coming on from the bench. Key in first 60 mins is to stop them scoring or limit them to one and then nick a goal towards the end. Return of Edgar gives option to play him in front of back four to beef it up at the back and stifle Watford’s fancy approach play. So I would go Randolph / Caddis / Morrison / Robinson / Grounds / Edgar / Davis / Reilly / Arthur / Cotterill / Donaldson in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Come on u blues! Let’s get this house rockin!
I agree with most of those johnners but Arthur was out of his depth against the dingles so he would only make my bench at best but that’s my opinion. Kro.
Arthur needs a bit more beef on him. He’s a skillful little dude, but too easily knocked off the ball. He’d be better coming on for the last 20 mins. The reason I would put Thomas in ahead of Donaldson, is that Donaldson doesn’t even look like scoring. Also, I think Thomas makes the more intelligent runs.
I also think that Thomas holds the ball better as well as seeing a pass.
He has a better idea on where the goal is too.
Going back to an earlier comment, I was not a Zig lover, I thought he was idle and never used his full potential.
On saying that, it narks me that Donaldson bantered for more wages and if rumours are true in on nearer £10k/p/w, if that is the case I am sure we could have thrashed something out for either Zig or better still, Macheda.
KRO+DNM
I agree Arthur defintly needs bulking up a bit and could definitly be a great impact player in the final third of a game. Win lose or draw tonight i’ll be happy so long as the team give 110% KRO
Agree with all that staffs, koby was getting knocked about like a school kid Saturday and looked lost and Thomas came on and done more running in his short spell than Donaldson done for the previous hour or so looking more threatning so no argument from me that those two should sit this one out and let gray and Thomas unleash some damage or hope to!!! Kro.
I think who he picks in midfield is the key to the game for me. The defence seems sorted for now, after the Wolves game, I can’t see him changing it for Edgar. Up front, it appears to be either Donaldo or Thommo. If the midfield stay really tight, I can see us getting at least a point.
I would say he got the midfield right. Gleeson was excellent – some great passing into feet in the second half. What a difference not to see the ball wellied up. The players seemed to be playing without fear – they were able to try things and take a few chances. Both full backs getting forward was a big change. Caddis looked a different player and put a couple of brilliant crosses in during the first half. The same team two games running with the right substitutions at the right time.
Very good performance again tonight. Morrison has made such a difference to the defence, he and Robbo talking to each other throughout the match. Randolph pleased me, in that he wasn’t banging everything into the clouds.. he used the centre backs and full backs far more than I’ve seen him do for a very long time. I do wish though, that he would stop coming for crosses, stopping then back peddling. Luckily, he only did it once, which resulted in him having to make that spectacular save in the first half. But a massive improvement in him.
The full backs did very well, and Grounds is really growing into the role now and Caddis defended and attacked better than he has done for a while. The midfield, on the whole, kept it pretty tight tonight, although I thought they tended to stand off a bit too much at times instead of pressing Watford more inside their own half. Gomes passed it out to his centre back almost everytime he got the ball, but no one challenged the centre back until he’d travelled 20-30 yards with the ball. Donaldson had his best game for us I thought. He was getting roughed up a bit in the first half, but give him his due, he gave as good as he got second half. Well done to him. We got from Thomas what we’ve come to expect, strength and determination… the winner owed a lot to him.
All in all, very pleased with the performance and especially the 3 points. Now on to Cardiff. If we can do Watford, we can do them.
I would take a point but ime starved of home wins so ime hoping we get a bit of Gary luck like with the dingles penalty and Watford have a off day then you never no my 13month wait for a home win might be on the cards.kro.
I’d love a result tonight. St Andrews is no longer feared by teams and we need to get that back in spades. The atmosphere used to be electric. I remember Alex Ferguson once saying that St Andrews was a very intimidating place to come.
Methinks watford 3-1 love it to be the other away around, IMO Watford will win the physical Battle, if blues do hold out for a draw when they may takes some positives out of that…….
Well done Mark – spot on as always.
great prediction , funny you always used to say we win under clark and got that wrong as well
This is why we never take your opinion seriously, if Clark was still in charge you would’ve gone for a win.
no one ask you to take my opinions seriously, Matts, my opinion at the time was based on a very good watford team….and yes there would have been a strong possibility i would have gone for a clark win…..whether you liked or not we haven’t just suddenly started creating chances we been done this for the last thirteen games but without much luck……….any way cheer up
It’s a draw for me and I think the crowd and GR’s first home game will inspire the players.
It’s Clarks players but GR’s management and tactics.
And its BIH that installed him is it wonderful hey art, not even a penny has been given by you, you keep shouting from the roof top. You and tony must come from the same school Excellence’s not a penny will pass until they have gone……alright GR wish you well sorry my grandkids cannot be there to support you Gary and the team…….but a penny wont pass me….not to worry I will back after the match is finished to give my opinion on how I felt the team got on……..those poor kids not allow to watch their beloved blues play……art hang your head in shame…sorry I am filling up… See You all a bit later as going to get ready to support my beloved in their hour of need….see later art
Can someone please translate Marks comments sorry but I am lost…
Me too-Hes completely lost the plot!
Think he’s missing his mate Clark and withdrawal symptoms have kicked in.
Clark had to beg,steal and borrow a side for 2 yrs so cannot be criticised for the players that GR has inherited. Will be interesting though to see how his tactics and selections affect us at home which has been our nemesis.
Think a 2-1 victory over the league leaders answers your question..
Same players-Different manager and tactics.
18’000 supporters with an electric atmosphere- speaks volumes about the new regime and why Clark had to go.
Yep,I think that’s pretty much answered my question. Always had a bit of sympathy for LC bit I think this performance and result probably shows him up a bit alright. Fantastic to see St Andrews rocking again!
I’ve had to give my ticket away due to wife having her wisdom tooth out !
My son will be shouting as load as possible !
All the best for tonight and COME ON YOU NOSES LIFT THAT ROOOOOOF !
CV7blue
I hope she’s feeling ok soon. Nasty buggers wisdom teeth.
She’s better already mate ! By shouting and stampining her feet as she’s cooking !
No steak tonight !
Come on you blue boys.
We need a C Palace type of support from the stands.
CV7blue
Soup tonight then was it.
Hope she is better and \sorry you missed a great result and atmosphere tonight.
KRO+DNM
Fantastic win, — At Home, — To boot, !!. Same players, Different Manager, KRO.
Get in there!! Great result. It’s good to have something positive amongst all the garbage. KRO
I feel sorry for Blackpool fans. KRO GR is on a rolling 12 month contract. Let’s sign him up for longer. We’ve got the new Alex Ferguson and we don’t want Man Ure to have him. KRO
just to let you know that if GR gets a better deal in 12 months some there else he can also walk away from this contract……..equally he can be relieved of this as well without any compensate to be involved…..
No he can’t a 12 month rolling contract means in 12 months time he will have 12 months on his contract. In 18 months time he will have 12 months on his contract! He will always have 12 months on his contract!
cheers for that BIS
great night, £10 a game will always get the numbers in with a added bonus if we win at home, if there is a wind of change then i would expect 20,000 in the next couple of home games…….
Great to see one of clark signing at the double as i said before, and even staffs as mentioned this Donaldson should have been on at least 10 or even 12 goals now…….obviously now GR will get the credit now…………..great see all our away supporters came to the stans this evening…….
You really are a dick aren’t you. It’s about playing without fear and with the confidence you are not going to get hauled off or dropped when you make the slightest mistake. Your mate Staffs was all for dropping Donaldson and Cotterill a week ago. We have got a proper professional manager in now and it’s just a shame it didn’t happen two years ago.
And they deserved to be dropped a week ago. The fact that they both played well tonight doesn’t alter that. I’ve given the whole team every credit tonight because they deserve it.
No they didn’t. They just needed some confidence and to believe in a manager applying tactics that actually played to their strengths. They are two of the better ones we have got.
that’s your opinion, equally maybe Donaldson needed some luck in front of goal, cotterill himself possibly tried too hard at times you cannot beat every player all of the time. get others involved create space, get crosses past the first man………..got a great eye with free kicks…..clark bought these players in knowing their capabilities, they certainly didn’t man up, and now GR can reap some those abilities, which i might add fail them during clark tenure………….
It’s all about opinions and I’ll stick with my own if that’s ok with you. If I feel criticism is warranted, I’ll give it, if I feel praise is warranted, I’ll give it. Whether you think I’m right or wrong is your choice, but it won’t affect what I think in any way. Glad you enjoyed the game. :-)
Shirleyblue i don’t know what planet Mark comes from but as for others who continually stick up for Clark i think they really must be taking the piss!! You make some very good points & last night was an exceptional performance players in the correct positions organised & looked very professional, in Clarks reign that never happened once!!! Last time i watched us play & make so many chances was when Houghton was here. Next time i am feeling down i may have a conversation with Mark Clark & find out how to get to his planet.
only dick you mate, you forget this is about opinions…..if you get offended by opinions dont read them, i am sure staffs will be full of praise for our team, at the same time rolling around laughing his head off because you take offence of comments……. you do need to grown up……
That was what football should be like tonight – enjoyable and exciting. Everything it hasn’t been for the last two seasons.
clark tried to sweat his tits but the players failed imo to raise their game for him mate…..I personally dont think clark went out of his way to get the players to play shit……some now are taking responsibility great for our team, and now our new manager….
It seems that Rowett has found the formula that Clark couldn’t, so good luck to him.
Of course he didn’t try to make them poor , he just didn’t get their best potential because his communication was limited , his tactics were limited , he fell out with players and he played people out of position consistently
These areas are basic elements of management practice, some people can do it , some can’t , and sadly for all his passion he can’t. Blackpool have an average set of players just like us , let’s see which manager gets the best outcomes, I know who my money is on
Talking about” Dicks” was it you who yesterday predicted a 3-1 defeat Mark?
for someone not at the game ho ho …i game my honest opinion at the time whats wrong with that!!
hope your deck chair didn’t fold up in the sun……
*gave
They came because they are intelligent enough to realise we have just got rid of the worst manager this football club has ever employed.
they came because it was £10….. kids for quid along with 1300 watford fans get your facts right
If you don’t think that the absolute rubbish we have had to endure over the last couple of seasons in terms of results and performances hasn’t kept people away and it’s all down to cost you are deluding yourself. If you really miss all that Blackpool isn’t so far away.
sorry mate, you are deluding yourself mate, am sure you have had moan in your comments about ticket prices.. maybe you can tell me if am wrong and i will refute my comment……big different between £10 and £32 aint rocket science…………
come on you two… its fairly obvious that both 2 factors, financial and entertainment value had an impact on the crowd. Which one had more of an impact is difficult to say, but it is possible that we may have had an 18k crowd if the price had been reduced and LC was still in charge, but it would have been silent and about as much help to the team as the usual 12k crowd
The main difference between LC and GR (in my opinion) is that LC is tactically naive as he is now showing at Blackpool. Nevertheless the same players who played well last night did not do a decent job against Bournemouth and if I was getting paid £5000 a week to do a job I would at least put in a decent shift. I was proud of them last night but certainly not when they went down 8-0. Only my opinion. KRO
Mark you really go beyond any logic. We won not because of Clarks signing but because a good manager can take something average and make it bit better by instilling confidence, structure and clear communication
Do you really believe we would of got this result under Clark (1 win in 24 before tonight)? Do you not think management can make a difference to a team, you are typical of a small minority of Blues fans who have always failed to recognise passion and effort (Clark) can only be limited in success, you need to ally to that man management skills, strategy , tactics and different plans for unfolding situations
You always urged supporting Clark , why don’t you follow your own advise now we have a manager who for the first time in more than 2 years gives us some hope . Can you not see that tonight was the best game at home since at least 2011/12?
Well said. I am in fact struggling to find one memorable home game under Clark
swansea at home in the cup….
So Clark had one in two years and Rowett has one in two weeks!! Why don’t you stop with this fanatical Clark defence , are you related?
The one performance I do remember with fondness under Clark was the 4-0 win at palace live on Sky at Easter in his first season. I think that got us within sniffing distance of the play offs. We then had a home game against struggling Wolves. He changed the team and formation and we were three-nil down at half time. End of play off hopes.
Bloomin’ marvelous result. I humbly take back my crticism of those who criticised Clark too much. It’s becoming crystal clear that management tactics were at fault. So sorry lads. You see it’s because I err on the side of compassion and I don’t like underdogs being kicked around…I even felt sorry for Carson getting banged up… for a while. One thing that this OP blogsite does is give balance and grounding…keep it up and I appreciate your in-depth analysis of line ups, formations and players.
Understand compassion and giving someone support ,but for me for two years since Barnsley it was clear we were on a road to nowhere with Clark as manager. The problem with too much loyalty just because the person wears the badge and shows some passion is it avoids the hard but right decisions for the club that is best for future. Thankfully we have finally acted having survived by luck and a quirk of maths last season, it will be still hard for rowett but at last I clear see a some hope to at least stay up this season
with Brighton and Bolton winning….cardiff got crushed….glad our result went our way
Dear Almajir – I doin’t know how else to deal with this bit I have now had 4 e-mnails on 4 seperate days from you asking me to confirm my OP subscription with you and I have deleted each one only to have a new one the next day every time. What is it you want from meplease ?
same here….
Just popped into the email address I use for this kind of site and I’ve just deleted the same email…. 314 of them. As many as 20 per day were sent. :-O OP, has your email been hacked?
Great effort tonight from every player on the pitch. It’s amazing how simple football can be when a manager with sense plays players in their correct and strongest positions. I understand that Blackpool fans aren’t happy already due to players being played out of position in Clarke’s first game, he’ll never learn I’m afraid.
Great to see Koby Arthur getting his chance & playing well, with Gray, Brown, Reilly & hopefully Hancox coming back to first team training then we have a good crop their, just hope we don’t flog any in Jan.
Can anyone shed any light on the Hancox situation please, I was told tonight that he’s been out in the cold since the start of the season & not allowed to train with the first team do to an issue with Clark, any truth to this?
Also great to see the passion from the fans back & the great backing for Rowett. Hopefully he can continue to help these players improve further, they seemed to have a much better balance, work ethic & natural flow to their game tonight & if this is a sign of things to come then bring it on I say.
Bring on Cardiff.
Not sure about the Hancox situation, but he captained the U21s yesterday. I think it was Tom Ross who said he saw him in the tunnel tonight and he was absolutely buzzing… so it doesn’t sound as though he’s too upset atm.
I also heard he had been bombed out by Clark and wasn’t allowed to train with the first team. Those amazing man management skills shown up again. Grounds is looking good now especially now he is allowed over the half way line but good to have Mitch Hancox as back up if needed.
I couldn’t understand that, as Clark always praised him so highly. Still, must have been something amiss I suppose.
I predicted 2-1 so I don’t want to say I told you so but I had a feeling that after 13 months me and my family were going to see a home win and it was a magnificent performance, a million miles away from lee Clarke home form, played it around , passed them of the park and were truly inspiring with every player playing there part, absolutely chuffed to bits.kro.
The long wait is over Dave.
It was nice to see the players not panic on the ball or when the slipped, plenty of back tracking by everyone, a solid team performance.
The future is bright, the future is Blue and Gary Rowett.
KRO+DNM
I think that LC could get a reasonable player for next to nothing and his enthusiasm for the club brought the players here. His downside was his lack of man management skills and in particular his lack of tactical knowhow. Nevertheless, if they had the ability last night they had it against Bournemouth and if I was getting £5000 a week to do a job I I would at least try harder than they did against Bournemouth. So although I am full of praise for their efforts last night I still blame them for the lack of effort and professional pride against The Cherries. Just my opinion of course. KRO
Only mark can make a great win against top of the league all about Clark. He’s gone, Get a grip.
I’m sure Mark is related to Clark or is possibly on his payroll.
With his superior football knowledge and intelligence he could be Clarks PA.
I have been one who has called for Randolph’s, Robbo’s Donaldson’s and Gleason’s heads.
On Randolph, I still feel he has to work on many aspects of his game, he looks uncomfortable when coming for crosses and he is punching is weak.
Last night he made a world class save, though it was his initial mistake and he passed the ball from his area instead of his big boot, so we were able to build at our pace.
Robbo still gives heart attacks when he lunges into a tackle but with Morrison he seems to have found his soul mate, always talking and covering each other.
Donaldson had probably his best game I have seen, he worked hard and made plenty of runs, needs to hold the ball better, which is where I feel Thomas is the better player.
Seems that Gleeson has found his niche, with a run of games both he and Shinnie will improve.
I liked Shinnie when he was at Inverness, he has had a year to settle in the area, like Novak last season, he now needs games and will improve.
We also have Matt Green, Hancox, Packwood, Brown and Novak to call on, so we have plenty of options to keep the team fresh and on their toes.
KRO+DNM
Agree with every word Chris!
What I found impressive with GR was an unchanged team from Saturday, because they performed well. The message to the players there was a good performance means you retain your place.
The other impressive aspect was last night when the subs came on we kept our shape. In other words the subs were like for like Gray for Arthur and Thomas for Shinnie both of whom played in the original 4-2-3-1 formation.
In Clarks’s era he would have panicked and changed the shape and tactics usually to no avail.
He would have brought a defender or defensive midfielder on when Shinnie went off to try and defend the point. Rowett was positive and went even more attack minded by bringing Thomas on who was pivotal in setting up the winner. Fortune favours the brave they say and so it did last night.
They say you don’t know how good something is until it’s gone. Well I think the same is true with Clark only the other way round. He truly is a poor manager. Thankfully now Blackpools’ problem.
Donaldson got m.o.m last night and that’s fair enough, but for me Gleeson and Davis were outstanding . There were a few on here not too impressed when Rowetts name was put forward for the job and although it’s very early days, to me he seems a perfect fit and that is despite the excellent results.
I now look forward to post match interviews, instead of looking through my hands at what cringeworthy nonsense our manager would come out with next!
Absolutely bang on royal blue though I wouldn’t single anyone out because it was a great all round team performance and a magnificent turn around in only 8days from a brigh young tactical knowligable knows what he’s doing manager in sir Gary rowett…..I’ve got aspiring in my step this morning when normally I come away from home games down and depressed but not today, bring on Cardiff Saturday and lets get a crowd close to 20,000 and cheer on the rejuvenated blue boys.Kro.
Yes Dave, looking forward to Saturday so much and I can’t remember the last time I said that.!
Morrison impressed me a lot, especially with his organisation and talking to the back four throughout the game… a true captain’s game (although he isn’t.) Davis once again impressed me, so much energy and, for me, produced the tackle of the night right in front of me (on Anya I think)… even though the ref had already blown up. :-) If I was pressed to choose a MOTM, it would be between those two for me.
Worry with Morisson is that he is on a 28 day recall which he has done a week of. Let’s hope charltons current defenders stay healthy as we don’t want another Burn or Bartley situation. He was just what we needed as he looks like a real championship class defender. I think his loan period ends January so hopefully this could be extended.
Absolutely. We don’t want what happened last time with Bartley and Burn. That really knocked the wind out of our sails when we were doing ok.
As I said staffs you can’t single anyone out IMO and it would be wrong to do so because IDE after praise14 players and 4 coaches and I would be on here all day so lets congratulate the whole team on a wonderfull night at St. Andrews and I’ve not said that many times over the last two years!!! Kro.
I said if I was pressed dave. They were just two things that stood out for me, that’s all. Just an observation.
Best summed up by a line from someone yesterday (not sure who) Now there is hope when previously there were none.
Thats all it is at the moment hope, But its a million miles away from where we were under Clark everyone knows whats expected of them and they are producing. Rowett has earned his money already, hes even put 6-8000 on the gate.
Its early days I know but Gary Rowett could turn out to be the most inspired appointment in the last 30years.
That was a great tackle to be fair but everyone man for man was chalk and cheese compared to Bournemouth, the team work and togetherness was a pleasure to behold and we in the Tilton were looking at each other gob smacked not understanding where this football team came from and why we were far better than a team top of the table, fantastic to be entertained once again by a well drilled competitive side.kro.
I liked to say THANK YOU to GR, staff and players for their hard work this week.
It took GR one game to get the team looking great, and I win 1 at home unlike LC when we had one win in 26.
I felt different going to the game yesterday with the BUZZ what’s been missing for the last TWO seasons
Well done GR and team
Cant wait till Sat
COYBB
KRO
Tracy,
Well said and enjoy the game on Saturday!
Onwards and upwards from here Tracy we hope and with 4points from top of the table wolves and Watford there should not be to much to scare us if we continue with the form of the past two games into the rest of the season.kro
The whole set-up of the team when not in possession was what caused Watford the problems last night. i thought Watford looked a decent passing team, but we snuffed them out. Like Wolves, at times they had to resort to long balls as there were no other options.
Once again we also defended deep [presumably because of concerns about pace (ours and/or theirs)] but it worked a treat. Players doing their jobs [even Koby slotted back in a more defensive position when not in possession] and everyone giving 100% made it all work.
As stated elsewhere, it was hard to pick a MOM; for me it was Donaldson who worked tirelessly, won headers, played through balls and held the ball up really well – apart from finishing the second one really well (especially as he missed a couple of those in previous games)
Two minus points were: their goal, at least one of the defenders should have reacted quicker than they did after Randolph’s initial save; secondly, Shinnie’s missed header from Caddis’s excellent cross [he had a decent game otherwise]. I trust in this management team to do something to try and imporve on those things.
A bit harsh on your minus points pig but 98 out of 100 will do for me mate no danger….we will miss chances we will make mistakes but as long as we play like that I don’t really give a damn to be honest.kro.
Agreed
No problem flying pig, and your right that Gary and his merry men will be working on those minus points as we’re see in later games.kro.
At long last the team is organised and seems to have a discernable style of play. GR has gone back to basics and is trying to make us hard to beat – a good idea if you cannot go out and spend loads of money. LC was simply unable to get the best out of what he had. There is no way this game would have been won if Clark was still in charge. If you take his whole two and a bit seasons into account, I believe that only 11 out of 52 home games were won, a simply appaling statistic. That’s a win ratio of less than 20%!!! That stat alone was worth the sack!
What was encouraging apart from the result was the upturn in form of some of the serial underperformers such as Donaldson,Gleeson and Shinnie. This can only be down to GR and his fresh ideas and man management skills. Talk about making and impact and the bounce factor. If this carries on our young talent isn’t the only thing we’ll be worried about loosing.
Can’t argue with any of that bluefire because its word for word bang on and if anyone disagrees with that then they haven’t been going down to see blues for the last two years.kro.
Was at the game and was so pleased to see the team firing and the fans in such good voice. After Bournemouth (I left when no. 7 went in) the difference was immense with organisation the key. But this is GR’s honeymoon period. He is bound to have an influence and lift the players as well as the fans. Let us enjoy this period because we will lose sooner or later.
It will be a pity to see Morrison’s 2 month spell come to an end, he has fitted in so well and so quickly. Perhap’s GR has something permanent in mind for him?
I noticed between the Wolves game and last night, Rowett referring to Morrison’s leadership qualities. Maybe he’s thinking for the future? It would be a good signing if he could pull that one off. The fee might be a problem though, he’s not long signed a new contract.
With belief, organisation & momentum you can move mountains.
All three have sadly been lacking in the past 2+ years at St Andrews.
Well done GR you’ve brought back all three in just 2 weeks.
It is interesting to note that those same players bought by Lee Clark, are now playing so much better under Gary Roweii,
As blueboy88, says so succinctly above.!!.
Cardiff are 12th atm. A win on Saturday will cut the gap between us and them down to just 4 points. What better incentive can we have.
Sorry to put in a sour note but we are likely to be up against former Blues’ favourites Kiko Macheda and Ravel Morrison on Saturday visit of Cardiff City.
Still it will be good to see them as long as we get 3 points.
They shouldn’t be a problem given they were usually on the subs bench or not used during their respective spells with us. I say that in jest obviously – both very good players and we need to be careful it’s not a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show after the joys of Tuesday night.
If we can turn Cardiff over and get two home wins on the spin along with that draw at wolves then mr rowett would have certainly turned our season around and will be out of the bottom three and looking upwards so positive thinking and supporting now for the rest of the season because the ownership crap is here to stay for quite a while and there’s nothing absolutely nothing we can do about that so not worth even talking about it anymore so I won’t!!!kro .
I see no reason why we can’t beat Cardiff… playing exactly as we have done the last 2 games. They’ve lost 3 out of their last 6 games and in each of those 3 defeats (all away from home,) they’ve failed to score. They can be a bit generous at the back, so if we keep it tight again, I can see us getting another 3 points.
What a difference 10 days makes! Nice to see every one being so optimistic for a change and pulling together, only one direction for us now, so lets rock St Andrews this weekend. kro.
I would put my house on an unchanged side for Saturday.
I feel the same.. why change a winning team? If there was a change, it might be Gray for Arthur.. to give the lad a rest. But that’s about it I would think.
To drop Arthur in my view would have a negative effect, certainly on Koby himself. An unchanged line up was unheard of under the previous manager, I forget his name now, but you know who I mean so it would make a welcome change. Forgive the pun.
I see your point Richard, but it looks as if Gray and Arthur are vying for the same place, so alternating them will keep both fresh.
Generally, why change the team at all at this stage, we have lacked consistency for so long we have forgotten what it means.
The only worry for us Saturday is in stopping Macheda, he seems to score at will, and how many times have we been undone by ex Blues players.
KRO+DNM
I think Macheda has scored 3 in 8 league games. Jones has 5 in 10.
He has scored 5 from 13 in all competitions, he has scored in the last three games Cardiff won, albeit at home.
Just hope their away form of not scoring continues till after Saturday.
KRO+DNM
The operative word was “might.” I wasn’t suggesting changing the team at all…. which I thought I made clear with my first sentence.
Where did anybody suggest anything Staffs. He hasn’t questioned your post at all. you really need to stop getting all defensive.Your views are not the be all and end all.
My views are my views, nothing more. I don’t foist them on anyone else. Was just making my point clear (clearer) that’s all. As long as that’s ok with you of course.
Talking about ex-Blues’ players who have returned and scored against us.
The prime example was Bob Latchford who always scored against us particularly at Goodison Park.
Also Andy AJ Johnson when he played for Palace. Of course Cameron Jerome scored against us earlier this season for Norwich.
We’ve not done too bad for consistency in personnel this season I don’t think. We’ve played 16 league games and Randolph, Grounds, Cotterill and Donaldson have played 15 times, Caddis and Edgar 14, Davis 13 and Robinson 12. That’s 8 players in double figures. Most of the changes have been forced. We’ve had 6 or 7 players out with various injuries.
It was said by Almajir, recently, I think, that there is a test case going to happen in Hong Kong which could change the draconian law about money laundering and that CY’s prosecutors had not proved the sources connected with his so-called money laundering. If this case changes the law and CY subsequently wins his appeal case this could vastly change the money available to our club. Does anyone think this could lead the club to spend money buying into other financial markets and at last selling the club, whilst keeping their place on the HK stock exchange? What a difference that could make! Or am I just whistling in the wind? Anyway, KRO.
If that happens, it’s more likely he’ll turn up here like a bad HK dollar. I just can’t see him going quietly, no more than Pannu has.
I can see your point. It would release more funds for BIH to diversify and not make BCFC their lone asset so they could sell the club. This is what the HKSE wanted in the first place.
Unfortunately I don’t think it will be that simple.
I would put money on there being a whole lot of skeletons waiting in the wings, not only when BIHL finally relinquish the ownership, but also when CY is released.
KRO+DNM
As we’ve come to expect Chris,nothing is that easy with this lot. But this story has to come to an end somewhere down the line and can’t go on forever. It may be a long way off but I can see the logic behind Raymondos comment.
Given our resurgence under GR and Cardiffs recent form I actually fancy us on Saturday. I can’t remember the last time I thought that especially against a side like Cardiff. Concidering we shipped 8 at home just a few weeks ago it’s a testament to him how he’s turned things around in such a short space of time. I also love the fact that all his back room staff have worn the shirt and have a genuine feel for the club. Happy days!
I think we have reasons to be cheerful now and let’s be glad of that! KRO
To right Raymondo, we’ve suffered enough over the last three years so now for once we’ve got something to cheer us up a bit with a new manager with fresh ideas and a knowledge of how to play the game and get the best out of his players so let’s hope it continues Saturday with three points against Cardiff and out of the bottom three.kro.
Is there anybody out there , it’s been 6hours since a post.kro.