Often Partisan Player of the Season

With 55% of the votes polled, the Often Partisan Player of the Season 2012-13 was Curtis Davies.

Curtis Davies receiving the trophy at Wast Hills

I caught up with Curtis Davies at Wast Hills to present him with the trophy, and to ask him a couple of questions about how he felt being named player of the season.

OP: Congratulations on winning the award, Curtis

CD: Thank you very much

OP: What does it mean to you to win an award voted for by the fans.

CD: It’s very important, because anyone can vote in certain magazine polls; anyone from any club can sort of get their vote in and sometimes it depends on basically who likes who and some people might vote against you just to discourage you, but a blog/website where only real [Blues] fans are going to go into, the fact I’ve managed to win it I’m quite proud of because of the strong names at this club.

OP: How do you rate your own form this season?

CD: I think obviously the back end of the season has been much better. I think that at the start of the season I wasn’t actually poor, but I wasn’t up to my usual high standards, I think I was pretty average but the fact that I’ve managed to come strong over this back end of this season show my true quality is very important.

OP: Has it been difficult to adapt to playing with so many different people in defence?

CD: I think it has been difficult. All of them are good players, but in terms of continuity of knowing the player beside you, we’ve had different right backs, different left backs, different centre halves – even different central midfielders which is important as well, because as a four, the midfield two and the centre back two usually try to get a bit of a relationship going and we’ve had some up and downs and with that it’s been difficult.

OP: With so many youngsters in the team do you feel like the old man of the side?

CD: [laughs] It does sometimes, I think this is the first year that I’ve ever been in the old team in the “olds v youngs” and it’s starting to tell now, it’s one of those things – they’re all good young players and it’s good to be around them and to be there when they’re coming through. I think a few of them will have long careers

OP: You’ve skippered the side a bit of late – has this meant you’ve had to be the one to encourage and cajole the younger players more?

CD: Captaining the side is another honour for me, but I always try to do the same things whether I have the armband or not. If you speak to Nathan [Redmond] or any of the young lads I’m always encouraging them in training – not as in putting an arm around them every time they do something wrong, mollycoddling them – I try to be constructive, tell them what I think they can do to improve and to help their game and I think it works well and I think it’s why I’ve got a good relationship with the young ones.

OP: Congratulations once again Curtis

CD: Thanks

Tags: Curtis Davies

thongs says:

April 17, 2013 at 9:09 am

Couldn’t you find a smaller trophy?

Seriously, Curtis is the correct choice and an all round nice chap. He really looked after my boy when he was mascot for the day.

Congratulations Curtis on this most prestigious award!

Paul Carter -Poster of the yera 2013 he says:

April 17, 2013 at 9:26 am

I’d just like to congratulate Curtis on winning his award and Lee and the whole team for keeping us up this season, giving us a mid table finish, bringing through loads of exciting kids and standing strong against all the odds we currently have stacked against us.

I’d also like to thank Dan for the info he gives us as well as the entertainment. Having tested his deletion skills numerous times I can vouch for his blog as the best on the net.

Paul says:

April 17, 2013 at 11:24 am

Well I think Curtis is a good choice, who as been pretty much consistent throughout a bitter sweet season, a classic season of 2 halves! Also Lee Clark has grown on me, showing determination and and character under huge pressure from fans, including me!
Well we nearly made it, if we had beaten Millwall and Leicester who knows, lots of what ifs……
So here’s looking forward to new owners (hopefully) and a new season. Thanks OP for all your hard work and info…. Don’t forget the ladies!!

DoctorD says:

April 17, 2013 at 5:22 pm

You’re right: if we’d been gaining points at the rate we have since the start of the new year, we would be on 68 points by the end of the season – very much play-off contention.

Well done Curtis.

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Oldbluenose says:

April 17, 2013 at 11:27 am

I think your interview with Curtis, sums up the man, !!.

He was the one that admitted he had not been as good as normal in the 1st half of the season, !!.

In short, !!. — man enough to admit he had been below his normal high standards, but thankfully, now back to his best, kro,!!.

Johnners says:

April 17, 2013 at 3:00 pm

Well done Curtis – thoroughly deserved. A revealing interview as well particularly the comments about ‘ups and downs’ with the midfield two. I couldn’t help but wonder who that mght have been! Still, we’re ending the season in a promising position and with a manager who has settled in after a very rocky couple of months early on. We should remember that in managerial terms Clark is very young and, in the same way we forgive the Redmonds, Butlands and Hancox’s of this world for their lapses in confidence and lack of experience, we should afford the manager the same scope for learning and developing in the role going forward.

Swedish Bluenose says:

April 17, 2013 at 4:53 pm

Curtis Davies has been really great to us since he came to the club. This award is very well deserved.
Congratulations, Curtis! from a guy who is Swedish but lives in Hong Kong and has had Birmingham City FC in his heart for half a century.