Often Partisan

The Quiet Life

It’s easy to tell it’s quiet around Birmingham City. The local press are left writing pieces on the five things we didn’t know about the coaching staff or which former player thinks we should be sold this week; Blues fans on social media have their gaze turned to the circus across the Expressway and I’m left scratching around for a fluff piece to fill the website.

With no game this weekend due to the FA Cup commitments of our now midweek opponents Middlesbrough, it’s been nice not having to think about Blues for a couple of days. The Championship continued without us and the middle of the table seems to have really tightened up. We lie in 13th on goal difference – only 3 points ahead of Fulham in 19th and 3 points behind of Forest in 10th. A win against promotion-chasing Middlesbrough in midweek will see us zoom up the table again; a defeat won’t leave us in trouble but will start the nerves jangling again.

Although I shouldn’t worry about our former manager, I can’t help looking at Blackpool for sheer car crash value – and to think there but the grace of God go we. A team shorn of quality, playing on a pudding of a pitch with owners who treat their fans with appalling contempt – the Oystons actually carrying through with legal threats against Blackpool fans and fansites who dare criticise their stewardship – and at the head of it all is Lee Clark. I won’t go into a witch hunt over Clark – on a personal level I met him a few times and actually liked him – but I don’t think being in management is helping him at all. Struggling with a team that seems to be not sleepwalking but marching directly to relegation, he’s become a figure of fun even on Sky Sports News for the daftness of his interviews – only this morning they were criticising his maths for saying that Blackpool finished their last game with seven players when there were eight on the pitch (although to be fair to the boy from the East End of Newcastle I think he was referring to outfield players). Am I happy to be bored and in midtable mediocrity over that state of affairs – you betcha. Yet til October, that was at least in part us.

Things seem to have gone very quiet in Hong Kong – and with Chinese New Year approaching on Thursday I think it will probably remain that way well into next week. There are six month accounts due out at the end of February; these are unaudited and will provide only a pointer of how bad things are out there. That being said, those accounts won’t have an affect on Blues as the club keep the FL updated periodically on finances ensuring we won’t have to worry about another transfer embargo. Carson will also have other things on his mind with his appeal due on March 11 – as I understand it his chances are not good but that’s not the end of the story for him; I think he will have been told by his legal team that this one has to go the distance to the Court of Final Appeal and he will be ready for another 12 month wait for his possible release.

Although it’s not great for me in that it’s hard to write something when nothing is really happening, I am enjoying this quiet spell. With all the crap that has gone on it’s nice not to be the focus of media attention for a change – and hopefully we’ll be in a situation before long where any media attention will again be positive and focusing on the turnaround of fortunes as the Rowett Revolution continues. Its nice to be looking forward to the match for reasons on the pitch and because I think we can genuinely get a result – for that I’m thankful for the quiet life.

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20 Responses to “The Quiet Life”

  • Mickbcfc1875 says:

    I would like you to be writing about a takeover in progress but like you say after all the crap we’ve had with the owners “silence is golden” at the moment, would also just like to say that I’m in the middle of reading your book and would like to say that its a riveting read so well done to you and will on the book.

    KRO

  • Oldbluenose says:

    Whilst I tend to agree with your sentiments in general, I do wish that this chaos in H,K. would resolve itself by BIH, finally selling us to a Western based ownership,!!.

    Back to Wednesday’s match, A win against a top ranked Championship side wold be marvelous, to break our non-winning run would be a relief, [ though a draw would be o-k ],

    I saw an article concerning Olly Lee, stating his willingness to stay on with Plymouth argyle, though Mark Sales watched him last Saturday,?.

  • LatchfordHattonFrancis says:

    I love reading your stuff Oldbluenose. It’s not for the content obviously, but the incredible punctuation.

  • Agent McLeish says:

    I thought is was just me being annoyed by the Mails “five things about” fad. They seem to be doing this fairly frequently about various drivel. The Sports side of the paper is a completely out of touch and offers nothing to the local football fan. There are real stories out there but they seem to focus more on items they find on the internet or rehashing other peoples work.

    • DoctorD says:

      Agent McLeish — it’s known in the jargon as “click bait”. Publications try to get as many people as possible to click a supposedly intriguing link in an attempt to drive up traffic, which advertizers like. It’s a dangerous tactic because if what you’re encouraging people to click on takes them to a crock of shite (as it often is in the Mail’s case) then it only ends up damaging that publication’s reputation. As you have just proved.

      PS Daniel — you just know with BCFC that when everything’s gone quiet it’s merely the calm before the storm. I hope not though.

    • AndyW says:

      Bring back the ‘Sports Argus’ I say!!

  • Luke says:

    When I was a kid, I used to think the song went:

    “We’re off to parties and,
    We will journey on…”

    But then I also thought the Empire State building was called the ‘Ten-Past-Eight’ building, because the clock on the side (confusing it with Big Ben) was stuck on ten past eight.

    I didn’t worry about who the owned the club when I was six.

    • Geoff says:

      You’re not the only one Luke. We actually used to sing that on the Kop in the seventies – didn’t realise the actual words until I saw them written down. Still think it has a certain ring to it…

  • StaffsBlue says:

    It appears that, apart from on match days, the BM reporters just sit on their fat ars*s and just make things up. How about they get of those fat ars*s and get down the training ground etc, talk to the players, the coaching staff, etc and write some decent articles. It seems like most of their stories are done either over the phone or copy and pasted from the official Blues site… or OP.

  • Dave Mann says:

    I don’t give the vile mail any publicity what so ever as its just a rag that’s read by vile fans and not even useful to wipe your backsides with, nuff said…. On Wednesdays game that will be a major test as Middlesbrough are the form side in this league and ide take a draw now no danger and that would be a very good result but its five league games without a win and it will propably be six come Wednesday night but then there’s always Brighton Saturday, can’t wait !!! Kro

    • Shirley Blue says:

      Boro will be looking for three points Wednesday night which hopefully means we can play on the break which suits us. Also hope Arsenal ran them round a lot on Sunday afternoon too and they get tired quick. I just hope he goes back to the front four who were so successful and Dyer is on the bench.

    • Blue Lizard says:

      The villa mail are reporting that the young lad from Holland who was on trial at wast hills is not likely to be signed…….only they think he’s Swedish! What Amateur cack they come out with!

  • RichardM says:

    Oh well, let’s all point and laugh at the Villa! Can’t help but think they’ve taken a hell of a risk on a manager whose only experience is some 6 months as caretaker manager of Spurs? Why do the media seem to think he is the next Brian Clough?

    • Shirley Blue says:

      He had a very good record at Spurs. In a way it’s the same as us getting rid of Clark. We sacked a very dour, uninspiring manager who had run out of ideas and so have they. Unfortunately I think Sherwood will turn out to be as good an appointment as GR has been.

  • Roy Smith says:

    Sherwood says the Vile job was a no brainer. Think he’s mixed up the club with the fans

  • Trevor Honnor says:

    Perhaps during this quiet time we think about the Baggies thrashing West Ham last weekend.
    Perhaps we also think and hope they do the same to the pink crowd in a few weeks.

  • Richard says:

    In receivership ??

  • chattsBlue says:

    Dan,
    In light of today’s events, this post seems quite amusing.
    Did you have any inclination of today’s announcement?


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