Often Partisan

Fergie on Loan?

Sixteen months after he left Birmingham for Ian Holloway’s Blackpool, there are rumours that Barry Ferguson is on his way back to the mighty Blues on loan. The 34-year-old midfielder is said to have become unhappy with the rotation system Ian Holloway has employed this season and wants to move away from Bloomfield Road for guaranteed first team football.

In his first spell at St Andrews Ferguson was imperious at times; cool and calm on the ball, with a great range of passing and a true leader on the pitch – all things that Blues have lacked this season. His spell in the side coincided with some of the greatest times I’ve known as a Blues fan – unbeaten in fifteen games in the top flight, a League Cup win and I can easily understand why people would want him back.

However, I’m not one of them. Ferguson may have been a great player in the past for Blues but that was in the past – he’s sixteen months older and it’s never the same the second time. I’m a big believer in the mantra “never go back” and I think it would only sully the memories of Barry bossing the midfield to see him come back and potentially fail at doing it this time around.

Another big reason to be against the move is his age; Ferguson will be 35 in February and Blues just don’t need another old player in the middle. I know Clarky has said that age isn’t anything but a number but I don’t agree with him – at 35 a player has minimal resale value, is more likely to be injury-prone and has a limited shelf life. It would be another short term fix and I’m honestly tired of the team being patched up with this kind of transfer when the squad needs a massive overhaul.

That leads me to the third reason – which is the biggest of them all. If there is one position where Blues are overstocked, it’s central midfield. We don’t need another player in that position as we have too many already; I’d much prefer that Blues looked to bring in someone in defence – Caldwell is showing his age and we need cover desperately. Equally, as has been pointed out by others Blues don’t have a true wide left player and lack someone with pace and a left foot as an outlet on that flank. If we’re to improve in the long term these positions need to be sorted first. I can take into account that Ferguson in midfield helped protect the centre-backs which meant Blues conceded fewer goals but the bald fact is Blues are seriously financially constrained at the moment and that means that Clark has to be careful with how he spends his cash.

It’s not something I can see happening anyway; Fergie is going to be on fairly decent wages and I can’t see Blues covering them at this moment in time. Whilst I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move on from the Tangerines I don’t believe it will be to St Andrews – and whilst it may be an unpopular thing to say at the moment I believe that is a good thing.

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42 Responses to “Fergie on Loan?”

  • Masaccio says:

    I don’t think all blues fans want him back, too old and paid too much. I’d rather see one of the youth team given a go or at worst a fit Gomis.

  • les says:

    I Was at leics game and when i saw line up i thought this is a good team.
    12 months ago this team under hughton would of beaten anyone in the division.
    So i asked myself why it isnt…clark isnt up to it.

  • jassyblue80 says:

    whilst I can see the reasoning behind your reasons for not wanting him back, the major reason to snap him up is that he is better than many that we already have… we should be looking to replace mullins, ambrose and diop… all of whom are not good enough imo

    he can hold the ball up, pass it and can tackle… more importantly he is a leader! I’d like to see him and fahey in the middle and start to get some stability back in the team.

    our lack of consistency has been largely down to the inability to get a settled midfield

    get bazza back imo

  • les says:

    As for fergie yeah id have him 6 mth deal.
    Cant beat experience at the right price.

  • harry says:

    i dont want him back, his first season yes he was outstanding, but only the odd game of the league cup season he was actually decent, hes past it!

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    Same, I’d have him too.

    The best midfielder we’ve had in recent times

  • Mark Y says:

    I reluctantly agree as part of me would like to rekindle some very good memories. The left side of misfield is a bigger priority although we need do need to somehow shield the defence better from the midfield area and Fergie/Bowyer did this brilliantly in the past. Perhaps Diop can do this but I feel he is past his sell by date also.

  • Mickey07 says:

    Why not mayor??what have we got to lose even if he does come,it’s hardly going to weaken us is it??I can remember a certain Gary macallister at Liverpool running the show for them in the top flight one season and he was around the same age….nothing to lose mayor.

  • Matt1875 says:

    Ferguson and Morrison central midfield !?!?!?

    I’d buy that for a dollar !!

  • andy says:

    We had to get rid of him because we could not afford his wages,why would it be any different now

  • LJ18 says:

    Clark’s actions are starting to reinforce what the huddersfield fans warned us about – never having a settled team, not knowing his best team or formation, only bringing in midfielders instead of defenders or strikers. I know that the club have no money to let him go but i hold out no hope for us having a decent season whilst he’s in charge.

  • oz bluenose says:

    So what if he’s a bit older and a short term fix – we desperately need any kind of fix and Ferguson would be the only defensive midfielder we have who can both hold the ball up and play a decent pass. Given our current plight and the fact we are talking about a loan deal it surprises me any bluenose can’t see the value he brings and welcome the chance to see what he can do, including you Almajir.

    • almajir says:

      we are talking about a loan deal it surprises me any bluenose can’t see the value he brings and welcome the chance to see what he can do, including you Almajir.

      You know to do the deal we’d have to let go of a first teamer who they would want. Who would you let them have? They’ve said they don’t want a midfielder – so Mullins, Ambrose etc is out. We haven’t got enough defenders as it is without letting more go. They won’t be able to afford Zigic.

      So thus you’re telling me it would be value to let them have say Marlon King, Chris Burke, Nathan Redmond or Curtis Davies for Fergie on loan? I don’t think so.

  • thomas hallberg says:

    Well said, I agree with you. We need improvements in the defence and not in central midfield.
    And in the long run it must be better to go for younger players.

  • Macc lad says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clark try to swap him for Butland. #clueless

  • James Black says:

    Pragmatically speaking Al i see your point. However at the same time i don’t think we missed a player as much as we missed Ferguson. He was the glue, the stability and often the brain in the team. That’s been lacking. Yes i know you’re right as regards wages, possibly age and if we lose a quality player to have him then well yes i see your point. lets just say mixed feelings on this one but i do believe we missed him a lot more than some would say. But your points that you highlighted are all true too. At this point i’m happy to see him back and patching is all we can do at this point in time. No new owners yet. But you did make me see your logic very clearly.

  • Blue in Spain says:

    Thanks for all your efforts first time round Barry, but not convinced it’s a good move this time round.

  • nicky wicky says:

    Blues need someone wide left,but the team as it is is capable of climbing the table. The problems i see it is they are connceding possession too easily, they are not defending as well as last year, and they are getting caught out at set peices. Thyey also don’t look like they do extra finishing practice like they did last year either! The team at times lacks movement, and just lumps the ball forwards or goes sideways and back. If LC is going to succeed as blues boss then he needs to work harder with the teamon the weaknesses, and these things that were done last year.

  • nicky wicky says:

    If Fergussons at Blackpool then i can’t see himon any more than he would get at blues,but he’s too old and i didn’t like him the first time around. Better off promoting Reilly or giving Gomis a go. We’ve got too many central midfielders anyway! We need a left sided midfielder.

  • nicky wicky says:

    How about trying Mitch Hancox at left midfield? He had a good game when he came on against Huddersfield!

  • Ryan says:

    Its clear we need to add to our defensive options so this move would not only be risky but definitely a waste of money we cant afford to throw away. IMO

    • nicky wicky says:

      Ryan I think Packwood and Hancox have shown they are capable of stepping upto the first team. Deamon is probably capable too! We definitely need someone on the left side of midfield who is naturally left sided,and the defence needs sorting out. They look totally disorganised and without an idea of what they are supposed to be doing. The goals they gave to Millwall were schoolboy goals!

      • Ryan says:

        Yeah but isn’t Packwood naturally a def mid. He can do a job there short term but isn’t a solution. Think it’s may be a season too early for Hancox atm. Definitely agree though, a left footed wide man is needed. If we can only bring one player in though i think defence is a higher priority.

  • henrybloo says:

    Almajir, you say we need cover for Caldwell, how about recalling Fraser Kerr from Motherwell.

  • Country Blue says:

    Please not another aging average midfielder, giving LC even more scope to chop and change and prevaricate over what his best team is. Apparently this is what he did at Huddersfield signing one average player after another. This will not solve the problem. Apart from some additional defensive cover the squad is pretty strong. Make the right selections and get the best out of the resources you have got.

  • nicky wicky says:

    Almajir who is blues defensive coach these days? I think thats where LC could solve a lot of Blues problems because he obviously isn’t doing his job properly as the team are not closing the oppossition down and are being caught out of position in defence time after time whereas last year they were well organised! The goals conceded against were schoolboy errors.

  • Art Watson says:

    It’s a pity Almajir is not the current manager as he makes a lot of sense.

    Clark is clueless and together with his ageing coaches will do a great deal of long term damage to the
    club.

    I agree we are probably stuck with him but I think a couple of more bad performances will speed up his resignation.The fans will get him out.

  • mark says:

    Stop being a Bell end op!!!!

    Fact one… We are broke
    Fact two….my nan is better than Mullins let alone anyone else being better!!!
    Fact three.Ambrose has been an absolute disaster
    Fact four. Diop has trained with us how long but still given a month deal whilst ‘not fit’ so why sign him
    Fact five.. The addition of a familiar if older face may help Clark to win over fans and at six months its hardly over commitment

    Lets not forget its Ferguson older but a division lower and only out of favour due to rotation and not injuries or poor form.

    Personally I wud gladly loan Ambrose to them to sweeten the deal. I get the impression that he didn’t want to leave palace and his form shows it. Body language is a huge thing and he is so obviously not happy.

    Get Ferguson now!!

  • AL_LAD says:

    Lets look at the big picture, if the club fails to find a new owner, we’ll have to generate finance from within, if LC continues he’s current transfer policy of over 30’s, in a seasons time what will we be left with? Scary…

  • sam says:

    I’d snap him up, great distributer of the ball and always willing to take the ball his only issue is lack of goals however don’t see any other central midfielder putting them away either!
    I feel we would have achieved automatic last year with barry in the team, he’s older now but our ball retention this year has been terrible and players such as king, burke, fahey and morrissson would greatly benefit from some quick one touch ball.

  • Paulo says:

    We cant afford to lose anyone really, and seeing as it’s one in – one out, we all know the handfull of players that other clubs would want. We are short in defense and my guess is, that a LB or RB is a specialist role really, so we would have to find a player and buy him for that position. But we cant can we??? So we are left with the choices being released on loan, which narrows the market down somewhat. But even then, we’d have to get rid of one of ours …that’s how bad BCFC is.
    Fergie coming back? I doubt it. I think the rumour mills are being powered by optimism on this one.
    However, this is exactly the kind of thing LC might do, just to keep the fans happy. Then moan at his team when the defense is a shambles. Even CH knew we would concede, but what we have conceded so far is unacceptable.

    • nicky wicky says:

      Paulo we conceded just 12 goals all season at home last year,and the total including away goals wasn’t huge. This year we are shipping goals nearly every game. It’s not good enough and means that the strikers have to score at least 2 a game to win the match. If we could defend properly wed soon be climbing up the table!

      • Paulo says:

        I agree. I mean, everyone knows we roughly have the same team as last season, but based on points conceded it is shocking. Sooner or later, a greater amount of fans will have to realise that the reason the strikers are not putting in goals and our overall team performance is so dire, is that it has to point towards LC and his management methods / communication skills / observation skills / training methods and his back room staff.
        We need to gain points and we need them fast. Settling for second best isn’t what Birmingham City are about.

  • jason says:

    For me it would be great to see barry back. i personally think hes just the player we need. too often this season there hasnt been enough quality and bite in the middle of the park and teams have played right through us. this has caused problems for our defence being constantly under attack as we cant keep the ball. yes he may be older but you dont lose quality you lose pace which he has never had to rely on in the past anyway. comandin g, snappy in the tackle, great control and a good passer. paul scholes is 37 and still playing top level football need i say more, quality surpasses age.

  • andy says:

    I also agree with the saying “never go back”, we should be more concerned over what is happening concerning any potential takeover because if the present owners are still here in January, then we will be saying goodbye to both Butland and Redmond during the transfer window.

  • Blueboy88 says:

    We have just signed 35 year old Papa A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-wop-bam-boom in centre midfield ,
    so just can’t see us signing BF as well…

  • bluenoseneil says:

    We don’t need him. Lets move on..

  • oz bluenose says:

    Let them have Zigic, and pat his wages! I say this tongue in cheek


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