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Blues Buzzing With Victory Over the Bees
Birmingham City returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Brentford in an entertaining game at St Andrews. A James Tarkowski own goal was the difference between the two sides and means Blues are now eleven points outside of the relegation slots with twelve games to go.
After some home games that were absolute dross it was good to see what Blues could do right – although a lot of that was down to being able to play on the counter against a Brentford team content to have lots of possession in the middle of the park. Blues may not have had a lot of the ball at times but were able to fashion chances thanks to the tireless hold-up play of Clayton Donaldson, the verve and skill of Andrew Shinnie and the commitment down the flanks of Dimmi Gray, David Cotterill and captain Paul Caddis.
Rowett made a big call in dropping Paul Robinson at the back but it was one that was justified and paid off not once but twice. Rob Kiernan in his full home debut looked assured in defence and worthy of his place but more importantly Paul Caddis played a captain’s performance, inspiring the team from the off with a driving run into the Brentford box. I’m of the opinion that by making such a run and showing it can be done he gave confidence to the forwards which in turn helped us create chances going forwards.
Andrew Shinnie was back to his best; given space and time in the “hole” position he can dictate play in attacks and he gave us creativity and guile in the final third. All he needs now is a bit more confidence in himself to take a pop at goal and he’ll be the number 10 we’ve needed for some time. Clayton Donaldson looked knackered by the end but he put in a shift that kept the Brentford defenders on their toes; winning headers and long balls, running the channels and most importantly pressurising the back line so that they didn’t have time on the ball – the only shame was that Tarkowski got the last touch on the goal rather than the former Brentford man.
One sour point was Stephen Gleeson, who ruined a fairly decent performance breaking play up in the middle with a cynical kick out at a Brentford player lying on the ground after he had just fouled him. Yes, there may have been provocation but he can have no complaints about his red card and now he has to hope his replacement over the next three games doesn’t keep him out for the remainder of the season.
Jonathan Spector concerned me at the back too; needlessly giving away two corners and a dangerous throw from shanking the ball into touch when there were better options. With Morrison not back for a couple of weeks still I hope that we can bring in another player sooner or later at the back; Packwood doesn’t seem to be seen as good enough and I think Robbo has reached an age where he can’t play at this level any more.
Blackpool will be a completely different game; they’re almost down and out and while I think they know they need to win they’ll be hoping to nick it. Rowett’s task will be to build on this performance and get an XI together who will show Blackpool no mercy, who will be able to break them down and create chances when there may be less space to work with. It will be interesting to see how he does that.
Tags: Andrew Shinnie, Brentford FC, Clayton Donaldson, Paul Caddis, Rob Kiernan, Stephen Gleeson
54 Responses to “Blues Buzzing With Victory Over the Bees”
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Great result well pleased
Yes Dan I agree that we defended well and Kiernan played is part in a welcome clean sheet and is partnership with Morrison could be the answer for the rest of the season and maybe next season also , they had plenty of the ball but we created the better chances and should have scored more in the second half but that should be safety sorted now and for definete if we win Wednesday so stupid of Gleeson to do what he did but happy with the team and for me shinnie again was head and shoulders the best footballer on the pitch but he must be peed at being substituted every time but he must start lasting 90 mins but was dissapointed with gray again who flatters to deceive in my eyes but generally very good result now lets best blackpool and condem them and lee Clark to league one because there’s no sentiment as far as ime concerned! Kro
Clayton Donaldson was excellent, yes he misses some chances in games but his forward play and making defenders earn their corn is second to none. Gray missed a sitter which I thought Blues would rue but thankfully we got a massive 3 points and hopefully another 3 in midweek.
The thing with Shinnie is that if he is given the space and time he is excellent and can create either for himself or others really well. The problem comes when they man mark him, he cannot cope and there is no plan B to deal with it. However having seen Davis at Ipswich in such an attacking role maybe that is the alternative should they stand on Shinnie.
Just got my ticket for Wednesday as I think we should all be there to show LC how it is at Blues with a real manager.
Shinnie should be able to adapt to being man marked and find ways of becoming more effective when he is. That’s what good players do.
That is where the problem is he isn’t that good. Hence the need to resort to an alternative approach also this would allow us to use both methods at will rather than the one plan.
Great 3 points still feel the fans need to create better atmosphere, lets hope big crowd for blackpool game, what reception do we think Lee Clark will get ??
Lee Clark is not a top manager we all know that but to mock him on Wednesday if we win after they beat us 1-0 at Bloomfield road would be embarrassing for us as a club and for that individual as a person so let bygones be bygones and lets concentrate on the here and now! Kro
I won’t boo LC but I am definitely not applauding him. He got two years too long IMO and is the worst manager this club has ever had in difficult circumstances or not. Would be nice to see us score a few goals Wednesday night. If we only win one more game this season I want it to be this one.
If you consider that LC is the worst manager ever at Blues I would suggest that you haven’t seen many managers!!
What about the legendary Garry Pendrey ? , he lost over 50% of his matches in charge. Happy days!
I was taughtt as a lad (in the very long ago) to be “modest when you win and generous when you lose.” I still think that thist old adage marks you as having a sporrting attitude. Clark must be very down at present and probably facing the sack in what seems like a hopeless situation. Let’s show our sportsmanship whether we win or lose. Mickey taking wouldn’tt show us up in a very good light in the football world.
Im more than happy now i believe we will be safe now maybe couple more wins just to be sure niw my attension turns to that team lying second bottom in premiership oh if only icd have one wish all my birthdays wd come at once wd blues on yesterday
Shirley blue, I think your missing the point , we know how bad he was and is record was appalling but he did what he thought was right and at least he stuck with what he believed and he was one of our worst ever managers but don’t tell me that if you went to Bolton that you thought that at that moment in time he was an embarrassment … Just a thought pal !! Kro…. Ps .. Blackpool will run till they drop on Wednesday .. We had better do the same !! Kro
I think we may have to agree to disagree on this one Dave. I only do home games and I can understand why a lot of the supporters who regularly went to away matches during LC’s reign might feel differently. We stayed up that last day thanks to Leicester being highly professional. Pretty much everything Clark did just made things worse. LC will have them fired up for wednesday night though. Gleeson being suspended is a problem – hopefully Reilly will be ok against the worst team in the division.
Went yesterday Brentford had a lot of the ball but it was tipy tapy football in there own half. Gary,s tactics were stop on let them have the ball and give them no space in out half. The disapointing thing was the missed chances and the poor decision making by Spector.
PS don’t boo blues players before the game Spector was booed by a few in the Tilton when his name was read out…
No problem Shirley Blue, its just that I get a bit pissed with fans reaction to someone that at the time was only trying to do there best.. He dident want the record he had but that’s the way it is ….as for Gleeson getting sent off , total idiot and was self inflicted so no argument from me there … Enjoy the game mate! Kro
I think there should be a warm reception for LC. Okay he may have been at the club too long, but he has his principles and was never going to walk. Whatever he got us into he would have worked to get us out of until told otherwise. I feel maybe he’s in the wrong job as a manager and would probably do much better as a scout.
Regardless, he did the best he could even if it wasn’t good enough, would you like to be booed by thousands because someone have you a job that as it turned out was just outside of your ability to do?
Be fair to him and give him the respect you would any other former player or manager.
Steve he never walked because of one thing the dosh, nothing to do with principles. If he had any principles he would have walked after the Barnsley debacle.
I wont boo him but I would never applaud him either I think he is a fraud, pretending to be a football manager, can you imagine where we would be now if he had not been sacked,Dead and buried thats where.
I hope LC gets a good reception on Wednesday. Yes he was a useless manager, but he always gave his all and did make some astute signings for virtually nothing – Davis, Shinnie, Donaldson, Cotterill, Grounds, Randolph, Caddis, Robinson – all of whom have become the backbone of the side. All of them I must say look better players under Rowett, but that’s not the point – he had the foresight to bring them here in the first place for next to nothing, and that’s the platform that gave Rowett a fighting chance of keeping us up.
PS echo the comments about Spector, absolute liability and time to be taken off the wage bill. Is he the last of Chirs Hughton’s signings?
When I visit St Andrews from Canada (usually once a year) I have come to hate away games. Reason: away fans stand up all the time and being elderly I need to sit (unless we score). Even Bluenoses get annoyed if I ask them to sit down, which they are supposed to do. Hence I do not go to away games any more….sad. KRO but lets sit down……………
Richard m, fantastic assessment of what lee Clark left gray rowett … It’s just that fans who slag him off tend to forget that.. Very interesting on what Clark slaggers think about all the shit players that he left Gary … It’s just that Gary’s better than Lee as a manager , though pro rowett fans will find it difficult to slag off how crap dyer is …though before you have a go I’ve got to say how good Morrison is , fantastic!! Kto
I don’t think Lee Clark should get booed at all, in his time at the club he was forced to build 3 or 4 different teams and don’t forget it all fell apart when Dan Burn and Kyle Bartley were recalled, up until then it was going well. Clark loved Birmingham and was desperate to succeed, selling the club to players but even though we endured a torrid time on home soil and creating unwanted records under Clark the guy doesn’t deserve any booing, we are better than that.
andy , yet again a great assessment , well done mate ! Kro
LC is a very poor manager. Just because he bought in some average players does not make him a manager of any calibre especially as he did not have a clue how to use them or command a dressing room.
I wont be booing him but I certainly wont applaud someone who has given this club so much frustration and disappointment. And if anyone thinks he kept us up last season I will take issue with that aswell.
Whilst I wont be booing LC on Wednesday I do find it amusing even now how people defend him saying he spotted good players , had bad luck and loved the club and wouldn’t walk away. Taking each point
1. Shinnie is mentioned as one of his buys, this is the player he always played out of position and then dropped completely. Caddis played out of position is another, Gleeson in and out the team under him . I will give him Davis and Randolph as good buys and agree when he is sacked from Blackpool he is best looking for a scouting role or under 21 coach as this is his level
2. Bad luck – I would say staying up on 44 points was extremely lucky as it is the lowest points total ever I think to stay in the second tier and he should of walked away at the end of last season if he had any dignity or sense
3. Loved the club – If Clark had been a good manager and had better offers as Hughton had in 2012 do we really think he would of stayed with us , of course not ! he stayed because no one came in for him. I am not saying he did not have passion for club, the problem was that because people saw that passion they forgave for such obvious shortcomings and that nearly cost us relegation. Give me pragmatism over passion anyday of the week
Absoloutely
Grounds and Cotterill were good additions too but how much of this was thanks to LC or Crosbie as scout who knows. I have no doubt we would be in the bottom three now if he hadn’t gone. I don’t blame him for hanging on for a payoff from being sacked but he could have gone on something of a high at the end of last season.
That’s a bit of a daft post mate, you clearly didn’t understand the point I was making – read the post again. If you knew me from here you’d know I am anything but a fan of Lee Clark, but you cannot deny that of the 11 “regulars” 8 were Clark purchases. For this at least, I’m thankful
In regards to LC, yes he wasnt the best manager ever but he tried his hardest with his hands financially tied behind his back. For me he is a League 1 / 2 manager at best. In my honest opinion, I think Malcom Crosby did a great job in recruiting the players such as Davis, Shinnie, Donaldson, Cotterill, Grounds, Randolph, Caddis, Robinson as they are now all fundamental to our success. This is considering he had very limited finances and knew the manager wasnt the best ! As many of you above had said, Rowett just knows how to get the most out of these players which is what a good manager does.
In regards to the Brentford game, thought GR got it tactically spot on; knew how they were going to play denied them space and let them play tip tap footy at the back. With the standard of players we have, we are never going to convert all our opportunities. Grays miss could have been costly but he seems a little of the boil at the moment or is that just me ? Really was impressed with Kiernan and think he will do well with Morrison. Lets just hope Spector has a good game on Wednesday and take it a game at a time with him as I find he blows hot and cold week in week out. Would love to see Shinnie get a goal against LC just to show him how much of a good player he is ! KRO
I was quite impressed with Rob Kiernan yesterday. Good in the air, quick enough and seemed to have quite a sweet left foot as well. Bit surprised Wigan don’t need him in their position. Don’t know whether the deal takes him through to the end of the season. Him and Morrison will make a good partnership I reckon. At least Spector is an option in central midfield where we are very light.
My biggest concern about Spector is that GR continues to pick him. He is without doubt one of the worst players ever to wear a blues shirt and how former pro players cannot see what is so obvious to fans is beyond me. GR has done fantastically since taking over but continually picking Spector and dyer to my mind are very questionable decisions on his part. Good performance yesterday and thoroughly deserved win but how Gray missed that sitter I’ll never know. Hopefully we will rip Blackpool apart on Wednesday and surely it’s only a matter of time before LC gets the bullet. Had he remained in charge of us it would surely be us in that position now. He gave his all for us but sadly he just hasn’t got what it takes to manage at championship level
Have to disagree with most of you.The first half was dross second half better’but Shinnie was back to his old innocuous ways.
I take it from your user name that you must be a long term Blues fan. That being so I would suggest that you must have a poor memory. I can think of many ex Blues who make Spector look like Bobby Moore!!
Have to agree with regards to Spector.He is a poor player,but for now we are stuck with him.Gray needs a reality check there were glimpses of his potential yesterday and as for that clown clark returning i hope we shove it up him good and proper.
I do wonder whether the £5m bid has affected Gray a little, he’s form has been patchy since Xmas whereas before that he was razor sharp – or is he just on everyone’s radar now?
Now now Jaffa…we’re a club of fair and welcoming fans, as I remember at least. Be like our Aussie cricket players; they always say such nice things to batsmen at the crease!
I wouldn’t enjoy watching LC walking out at stans to a chorus of boos. I just think that his job was a nightmare having to sell our best players and highest wage earners and replace them with a revolving door of loanees and kids. Granted he wasn’t the best but I don’t think any manager would have fancied his job at the time.
Hillfield, I think the selling of the best players happened before LC joined the club. Good as they were, Redmond, Mutch and Butland only had cameo roles under Hughton and in any case would never have made the Carling Cup squad.
Let’s face it LC was rubbish as a manager and as for his scouting abilities, surely that was down to our chief scout?!
Think its a bit of unfair criticism on spector. there have been far worse players to put on the blue shirt and he’s being asked to play out of position. Blues miss the presence of Morrison and I think that has a massive bearing on the teams confidence going forward as they must be aware of spectors defensive frailties, I’m sure GR is aware of this also having shipped 8 goals in the previous 2 games attempting to play more expansive attacking football doesn’t work when you have a soft underbelly. And for all the people starting to have doubts about dimmi, set your mind back to when a young c Ronaldo played his first season for United his form was up and down and he was making mistakes left right and centre, look where he is now! It is normal for young players to have a dip in form. Consistency comes with experience any coach would tell you that. He still has a long way to go in his development And GR has brought dyer in on that basis. Dyer for me will get better he was pivitol in the foxes promotion last season because they played to his strengths which blues are not doing at the moment. Also lay off Lee Clarke yes he was a poor manager his record at blues speaks for itself. He was only allowed so much time because of the poor mismanagement of the club, his passion for the club was there for all to see and ultimately was his downfall as I believe it influenced his decisions with tactics and sporadic changes which didn’t work. I for one will not boo a man that genuinely cared about the club regardless of his capabilities that blame can only rest with the board for me they was his employers and are responsible for everything bad that is going on at the blues.
Quite a few people have commented that I was unfair on Spector.
I’ll accept that maybe I was a little harsh but he did exasperate me during the game – more so than other players.
The thing with Spector he was a very decent premiership player with Fulham at one time maybe like Robbo his best days are behind him. Its no exaggeration to say there were dozens far worse than him playing for blues.
I,m excited. If we win all the remaining games, we’ll be in the playoffs lol…..KRO
We have 42 points with 36 to play for which would give us 78 which would be enough for the playoffs but not even me Paul is getting exited or expecting that sort of run but maybe next season IF we can sort out our off field problems and get new owners in…. Like your thinking though Paul because at least it’s more positive than some of the posts we get on here!! Lol&kro
If we finish with enough points to allow for aany 10 point deduction by the FL and get new owners in the close season I’ll be well pleased!
That will suit me fine also Raymondo. Kro
I see there’s a rumour that we’re about to sign Forest’s German midfielder, Robert Tesche, on loan.
Hope so getting new owners takeover new fresh red blood and grow on trees roots brilliant blues fans bring on here too Better without CY and PP!!!… Hope not 10 point deduction!!…Not good enough stronger blues player last saturday by own goal 1-0 up lucky and poor run around in pitch Match Stats b’ham 32.6% vs brendford 67.4%… Not good enough blues strong player in two Midfield
Ian, sorry I have to ask – do you have any native American blood in you!!!
“White man play 4-4-2, not good, bring pressure on defence, must score more…”
It would have been nice if we could have scored that 2nd goal to make the last 20 minutes a lot more comfortable but the 3 points are the most important after our recent run and it did show we can dig in and do some of the more uglier sides of the game, which was much needed after shipping 8 goals in the last 2 matches
If we hadnt won on Saturday it would have made St Andrews a very tense place indeed on Wednesday for the visit of hapless Blackpool, as it were hopefully it’ll now be more relaxed and hopefully get another 3 points (although far from the foregone conclusion some may be thinking).
Blackpool and lee Clark have nothing to loose now except there championship status which there loosing any way so we’ve got to go at them from the off because personally I want a two goal win margin to cancell out there 1-0 win at there place to win the aggregate but at the end of the day ime not really bothered as long as we win. Kro
I won’t be booing LC as there’s nothing to be gained from it.
LC genuinely tried his best for Blues it’s not his fault he was
Completely incompetent.
Give him a warm welcome and then send them packing with a 5-0 stuffing.
I thought Saturday was exactly the sort of game we would have lost under LC, well done
GR, and I like the way he dropped Robinson and then made out he was doing him a favour
And letting him have a rest quality management.
My sentiments also marky mark and with Gleeson getting sent off means that Robinson will propably fill in for what should be an unchanged side otherwise….give Clark a good reception then stick 5 past them and wish him well in league one, no reason whatsoever to boo him because in my eyes he doesent deserve that no matter how useless he was!! Kro
I hope we play 4-4-2 against Blackpool, and there’s a place for Wes Thomas. We’re at home against the botom club so need to show some attacking ambition, 4-5-1 doesn’t work against a team who come to park the bus or play deep – as we found to our cost against Millwall.
I’d even suggest dropping Shinnie in favour of Thomas, to give us more pace up front. Shinnie huffed and puffed against Millwall but was ultimately ineffective against that sort of formation.