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Kick It As Far As You Can And Don’t Pass It To Anybody Nearby
I picked up on this piece out of Russia this morning and I thought I’d link it here as news is a bit scarce over the last day or two and it might be of interest to Blues fans.
Aliaksandr Hleb, late of Barcelona, Blues and Wolfsburg and now playing in Russia for Krylya Sovetov claims he should “never have left Barcelona”. The midfielder went on to say that now he’d do everything differently if he had his time over.
What interested me was that Hleb admitted while he was at Barcelona he didn’t train as hard as he could; in effect he sulked because he wasn’t guaranteed a first team place which then made him even less likely to be picked – which I guess made him sulk more.
He’s pretty scathing of his time at Blues too, talking about the physicality of the English game saying “you can get little pleasure out of it.” He went on to say
“At Birmingham, the team played the long-ball game, practically bypassing midfield. To get into the game you had to play up front or linger at the back with the defenders to get hold of the ball, which more often than not flew right past me.”
which you have to admit is pretty much what happened last season. He said McLeish was “not a bad bloke”, but was critical of his tactical preparation saying
“The day before a game he would come onto the pitch and show us what to do: ‘You stand here, the goalkeeper will give you the ball here, kick it as far as you can and don’t pass to anyone nearby. And we all run.'”
I don’t think I need to add much to that.
Hleb played twenty times for Birmingham City, scoring twice.
Tags: Aliaksandr Hleb
22 Responses to “Kick It As Far As You Can And Don’t Pass It To Anybody Nearby”
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I am sure he wasnt that bothered by the tactics as he was getting well paid !
I watched him several times and he was Blues first choice to go to
in midfield but he wasted possession so often the rest ofthe players
stopped using him and went long.
I think instructions to go long and bypass our “best player” are a bit fancyful
dick. what on earth was he doing at Barcelona anyway?
Good too see Agent Ek is still keeping to that tried and trusted tactic.
If he won us a pot and takes them down we should build a statue to agent Ek at StAndrews.
KRO,SOTV.
Wasn’t he also whining last year, just before the Carling Cup final, about how he wished he’d never left Arsenal as well? McCleish’s use of Hleb last year was often baffling, but when he did play he often didn’t do himself any favours with his atitude and general air of ‘not-really-ars*dness’ either. A wasted talent sadly.
I liked Hleb. He could and should have been another Dugarry, but that Scottish bloke didn’t use him properly (admittedly he was injured a lot). I was never a massive fan of Bruce, but fair play to him he got the best out of Duggary (well, in his first season with us anyway). The irony is we now have a manager who would love a player like Hleb in his team, but we’re so far down the financial bog we’ve got no chance of getting one ! still, there’s always Keith Fahey……KRO SOTV
Bruce was lucky,he was playing Dugarry as the main striker
but be cause of injuries The Horse starting up front with Dugarry off him and the rest
is Blues folklaw
Hleb didn’t play well for the Blues in fairness. He didn’t do the tracking back, holding position that is necessary for a then mid-table side like the Blues, and in attack he was pretty ineffective. He should never have left Arsenal, as he has been muck wherever he has been since. It’s his own fault and he should stop blaming other people and have a look at himself.
I would normally be the last on come to “that Scottish bloke’s” defence but, to be fair Alexj, I don’t think you can really blame McLeish for Hleb performances. After all, if it was all down to him not being used properly, you would have to say that the managers of Arsenal, Barcelona, Wlofsburg and now Krylya Sovetov failed to use him properly as well. Maybe it is time for him to look to his own actions and attitude.
It’s a shame really because I think he was a wasted talent but, most of that waste was caused by his apparent belief that he WAS the team and not just PART of the team..
I’m getting tired of this guys moanings now,but it does baffle me why you would sign a ball playing midfielder and then choose to hit the ball long upfield,by-passing the midfield?,but that is a problem for villa to deal with now,not us :)
Comes to something when even the Mail is pinching your storys and using them, OP is now a leading site for good news and original stuff, keep up the good work, and ask the mail to pay you a wage,
Quote…….
“The day before a game he would come onto the pitch and show us what to do: ‘You stand here, the goalkeeper will give you the ball here, kick it as far as you can and don’t pass to anyone nearby. And we all run.’”
Quote…….The Mail editor……
Every Morning go to Often Partisan, see what new info has come to light, Copy and Paste, and run with that story, ……KRO…
Ah – I actually do write some stuff for the Birmingham Mail directly ;)
Sadly, Siberia seems appropriate.
Does anyone reaaly care what Alexander Hleb says or thinks……..I mean, he has moved to Russia, so he is not really likely to have a Birmingham post code ever again so he is not likely to your next door neighbour
Judging by the amount of people reading this story it seems people are…
Including NooBloo, apparently. ;-)
Caldwells out for rest of season, a massive blow
massive blow, Caldwell is such a top bloke as well.
I personally think Hleb is a sad, sad story. Such a talent wasted believing his own hype. He now plays in a league that is watch less internationally then the championship. We’ll Mr Hleb enjoy early retirement not quite a has been more a could
Yes. Big blow Alan.
Comments don’t even sound credible if they had been about Gary Megson; these are just Hleb’s self justification for his own lack of impact at the Blues. Must lie down now as I have defended McJudas…
Hleb = pratt ..?
Mcleish = pratt ..?
It’s just a shame that the vile aren’t already in the drop zone, or Hleb’s comments would be backed up by simply having a s**t manager and being a lazy git himself.