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Chris Hughton and Co showing off manager of the month award

What’s Gone Wrong?

So with that thought in mind is it really asking too much to expect at least a play-off place this season? The team has already proved they can match most if not all in this league when they went on a 15 game unbeaten run and remained unbeaten at home until recently or is it just wishful thinking?

We all know that teams go through a bad period during a season and this maybe ours, but to be honest I am really disappointed with the last few results. We have now only picked up 2pts from a possible 12pts in our last 4 league games since that unbeaten run. The biggest disappointment for me is the teams we have dropped points to and also the performance of the team in these games and the fact it is against teams that were struggling at the time we played them. In fact it was teams that even their own fans could not see where their next points were coming from.

Nottingham Forest came 1^st they only picked up 5pts from a possible 24pts before playing us. They came to St Andrews and were by far the better team on the day going away with a 2-1 win.

Next came Derby County who had only picked up 2pts from previous 21pts.  They had not scored in 7hrs of football until they came to St Andrews and they came back from 2-0 down to get a draw and a deserved point.

Then comes Coventry City, they had only picked up 7pts from a possible 27pts. Once again you would expect Birmingham City to be favourites but NO! The best we could do was manage a poor point.

Then last night we played another game against Leicester City which on paper you would expect us to at least get a point. We all know the result of this match so i won’t even mention it.

Now whilst I agree with the line “you have no divine right to win a game” the least I would have expected from the 4 games would have been 6pts. Now I wouldn’t have thought that was an unrealistic expectation so what has gone wrong?

I can always accept a defeat against any team but what has been the biggest disappointment in those games is the way the team has performed and I just don’t know what the problem is. Confidence should be High after reaching a play-off position. Have the New additions disrupted the team?  Injuries? We actually haven’t had many injuries apart from the odd one or two. Then what about the unnecessary changes when players do perform well like Gomis and Rooney did against Barnsley. They must be very disappointed when they get dropped. Or is it just as simple as Players getting complacent and over-confident, which could mean they have stopped working for the results?

All I know is whatever the problem is the players need to start performing as a team again and this needs to start happening on Saturday vs Middlesbrough. It’s a must win game for me otherwise I think they can say goodbye to any hope of the play-offs which would be a very disappointing end to a good season. A season that I never expected to be this good after what we went through and I can say has made me a very proud Bluenose.

We are still well in touch with the top 6, in fact we have a game in hand on some and with 5 of the top 6 still to play things might not be as bad as the last few results have made things feel. But now is the time for the players to look at each other and say am I giving it my all, can I do better. Finally Chris Hughton must decide on his best starting 11 and give them a run of games so we can finish the season on a high.

Chris Hughton said     “But there can be no denying we have not been great in the last few games, and we need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible – whether that’s with a scrappy 1-0 win or something more emphatic.”

So Come on Blues Lets get things back on track and not finish this season with a whimper.

KRO

By Blues Brother (Member of birminghamcityforum.co.uk).

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Chris Hughton

Let no one Argue, Chris Hughton has performed a miracle this season, by rights Birmingham City should be where everyone tipped them to be, down the bottom of the championship fighting relegation. However in recent weeks that’s exactly where they have been heading, the wheels have come off in spectacular style as Blues have been unable to beat relegation favourites Nottingham Forest at St Andrews, a place previously unbeaten this season.

Next up was Derby, the forest debacle seemed to have been brushed aside coasting at 2-0 Blues threw it away. Then Blues travelled to the Ricoh stadium. It’s a pity this great stadium will see League one football next season. Blues once again floundered without the grit that had seen them climb to third in the table and a stones throw from Southampton and West Ham.

Blues today stand 7th, outside the play offs with 12 games left, a run which will include away trips to West Ham and Brighton, home games against Reading, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Cardiff all above us in the League. Blues also face three teams that are battling for survival in Doncaster, Portsmouth, Bristol City. None of these game are going to be easy but just a few short weeks ago Blues looked like they could beat anyone.

Unbeaten in 15 games and coasting towards an Automatic place. Then came the Loans. Blues have been struggling with a few injuries of late. Zigic injured whilst scoring at Leeds, Stephen Carr, David Murphy, Marlon King has also had issues with fitness. Blues needed pepping up, apparently Blues haven’t got a pot to pee in, but some money was conjured up for wages out of thin air.

Peter Ramage was brought in to fill the void of Stephen Carr with Spector filling in for David Murphy. Chris Hughton then brought in Erik Huseklepp, a striker/Midfielder. Seemingly no training was needed for this player with his new teams mates, ‘IS HE THAT GOOD?’ and Erik was thrown in before the ink was dry.

Andros Townsend was next, he decided he didn’t want to play under new manager Neil Warnock and virtually walked out on Leeds United to come south to ‘TOP SIX’ side Birmingham City. He too was installed straight into the team. Lets be honest here Blues looked comfortable against Chelsea in the FA Cup, the new players were cup tied for the replay and yes in the replay the old guard looked ring rusty as they struggled with a new energized AVB’less Chelsea and went down 2-0, which is no disgrace.

Blues unbeaten before Forest for 15 glorious games and looking to all but certain to go up, since then Chris Hughton has done the kind of tinkering job that would have the original Tinkerman Claudio Ranieri patting him on the back and calling him chummy. The Regular players that have seen Blues climb to third, get to the 5th Round of the FA Cup and almost get to the knockout stages of the Europa Cup have been shuffled about to accommodate apparently, World Beaters? Players that don’t need to train with their new team mates were then thrown straight in and then the likes of Adam Rooney, Nathan Redmond, Wade Elliot, Morgaro Gomis are consigned to the bench or worse out of the team completely. Make no mistake team spirit is a big thing when you are trying to achieve something in sport and so who knows how the old guard feel about these new boys not needing any training or tactical sessions, but then still take their places in the team.

Blues may have been going for an automatic place but that seems to have been thrown away, Blues may still yet get to the play offs providing they can get back to winning ways and more importantly Chris Hughton puts on hold his ambition to get all chummy and be the new Claudio Ranieri.

  By Blooboy (Member of birminghamcityforum.co.uk).