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Backs to the Wall
I’m not a fan of the winter. It’s cold, it’s depressing and it causes football games to be cancelled. With Blues game not going ahead due to a frozen pitch, it left me to watch what was going on around us this weekend. Here’s what I thought.
Colin Tattum tweeted that Wolves have been lucky to stay up the last couple of years, and maybe the 5-1 thrashing at home by local rivals West Bromwich Albion is the chickens coming home to roost. I think he’s right – there is only so long that you can play backs-to-the-wall defending and not get found out by other teams in the Premier League – after all, it happened to Blues last season. I also think it’s interesting that in the aftermath of the heavy home defeat not one home player came out to face the media – including skipper Roger Johnson. I wonder if he’s already thinking about his next move? Having seen him play for Wolves a few times this season (including this game), I can’t believe we got £4.5mil for him.
One person who doesn’t appear to have heeded the previous year’s lesson is Alex McLeish. I defended him quite a lot last year but on reflection, I think I might well have got it damn wrong. Watching our pink and baby blue brethren today I could see the same sorts of problems Blues had – team sitting too far back, strikers picking up the ball in midfield and thus nothing being created in the right part of the pitch. In all honesty they have better players than we did last year; certainly more pacy attacking ones and yet they’ve been nothing short of appalling at times. Yes, it ended up only being a 1-0 defeat but that’s immaterial; the way Man City played there could and probably should have been more from the game from the bedsheet brigade.
On the bedsheet front, I heard various estimates of between sixty and at the very most a hundred protesting the continued employment of Big Eck at Four Sheds. It was interesting to hear the Sky match commentators Martin Tyler and Gary Neville put that down to acceptance from the majority of the B6 crowd for the Ginger one; I don’t know if I’ve judged the mood emanating from across the expressway properly but I thought it was just more proof of the amount of apathy from football fans.
Looking at matters closer to home in a league sense, it wasn’t a bad weekend for Blues after all. We stay third in the table despite not playing; Southampton won at home which increased the gap at the top by another three points but on the flip side Cardiff lost and Blackpool drew. Tuesday is another big game for Blues against sixth placed Hull (who won handsomely at the KC Stadium) and Birmingham will need to continue their fine form if they are going to push on to the automatic promotion slots.
Having been treated to some properly flowing, open and attacking football I hope if we do go up we can maintain that philosophy. Defence is definitely important – after all, the main reason Blackpool went down was because they couldn’t defend a lead to save their lives – but I’d be more hopeful of Blues making a decent fist of it in the top flight if Hughton could continue his fine work.
Tags: Alex McLeish, Chris Hughton, Roger Johnson
11 Responses to “Backs to the Wall”
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I told my Thai girlfriend this morning that the vile had lost and are now 15th.She said SUM NAM YAR,GINGER ONE(which means you get what you deseve!) A real clasic,first thing in the morning.
“Having been treated to some properly flowing, open and attacking football I hope if we do go up we can maintain that philosophy.”
I love the way everyone is now talking about promotion. Just making the play-offs would be a magnificent achievment considering what Hughton has to work with.
I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but I’d be very surprised if we actually go up this year. Hughton has and is doing a magnificent job but I have a feeling that in the final analysis the squad is too thin.
Any news on loan signings? I can’t believe that we were offering Cousin 15k a week……
I think that might have been hubris on his agent’s part.
It just gets worse for Big F Eck. Man City could have won by a greater margin. It’s going to be very interesting watching the vile over the next months. The feel-good factor is definitely on our side despite being in the Championship and the off-field sagas. Chris Hughton thoroughly deserved the Manager Of The Month award. Hull will be a good test…
My slight worry now is Hughton’s past connections with Spurs, assuming as we all do that Harry will be going for the England job. It’s tempered by the fact that CH is still a relatively inexperienced manager, but I can see him being tempted on to other things in the not-too-distant future. (Even the England job is a potential future possibility for someone of his obvious quality. He’s managed to get pretty good results out of an underdog side in Europe.)
Concenred that Cousing choses Rangers over Blues, despite the fact they they are about to go into Admin!!! Also news breaking that Hughton is one of the emerging favourited for the Wolves job!!!
It is rather satisfying to see no one touting Hughton for England, but I take your point about Spurs. I for one am not singing the praises of Harry, but the press may well end up getting him the job. They see him as a flamboyant character who will always be good copy. What disgusts me must is the bringing up old history of possible racial abuse against Psycho, a defender who laid himself on the line for club and country, a success with the youngsters, who knows where their futures lie.
Untainted for a long time, and an Engishman to boot. He deserves more than one friendly.
This time last year everything was Rosy for the Blues then look what happened (apart from Wembley), Villa beware. Wolves are where we thought they’d be. Also heard today from a “reliable” source. Roger Johnson isn’t liked in their dressing room. Not captain material !!
Juxtapostion:
Almijir, I crave and fear promotion on equal levels. The craving is self evident by the mere fact of blue blood running through my veins (not of the royal variety, I may add). The fear? CY’s court case is not now scheduled until November. Do you think we would we be in a position to strengthen the squad sufficiently to mount a reasonable attempt to tread water in the EPL until the Jan transfer window? I’m aware that we would be in a better position financially due to EPL income, but would that be available to CH in the summer transfer window? And there is no disrespect intended towards our current crop of talent. I believe we do have players that would grace the EPL, just not enough of them I’m afraid.
Sorry for the typo Almajir.
if we go up c.h will keep us up.there are plenty of players who we will be able to bring to stans and not on top dollar.check out ncfc and scfc.two promoted clubs who hav,nt spent loads on wages.hughton will find players .no probs