[Archived] Birmingham Last Game

[thenodrog]

on sunday i think the ref did every thing in his power to make sure brum won,i thought we had two good penalty shouts,one stone wall.all week i said there was a massive difference in a team playing for premiership survival and one who had one foot on the beach,not qualifying for the intertototototototototo did not upset me one bit.for the fans who went to brum i'm sure a few off you are glad we lost,can get pretty hostile at st andrews

Yeah I thought that too waggy. Webb (helped us get a point at Chelsea btw) seemed really determined not to give us a decision that might have lead to Brum being relegated. Rem there are lots of serious gangsters in that neck of the woods aren't there?

I hope that after reviewing the video that he has the good sense to revoke RSC's yellow card..... as well as write a letter of apology to BRFC!

[thenodrog]

Those are all fair points, but they ignore two factors:

1) Despite our rivals vastly outspending us, only two of them managed to put together sustained challenges and both of those clubs ended up finishing above us. As I mentioned before, things went our way in that sense: West Ham, Newcastle and Spurs suffered from injuries and/or managerial problems, City struggled with their owner as well as injuries and blooding so many new players and Portsmouth lost interest in the league once they had their cup final to look forward to.

2) The poor form of players isn't an excuse for poor performances. I expect the players and the management to get the best out of themselves, if they fail to do so then it is just that - a failure.

I think its generally accepted given our recent history that money does buy success if not quite guaranteeing it.

A team might not win the Prem by spending big but a team that cannot spend big will never win it!

[Roaming Rover]

Every club in the league will have had some poor performances throughout the season. Yes we have the players to push on but so do a lot of other clubs.

I think inconsistency and lack of competition in certain areas do not help. If we have had a good cup run then the season and 7th would have had a more positive spin on it, unfortunately we didn't. To be honest it was a great achievement to get even within touching distance of 6th never mind 5th place thinking back a couple of months.

My mate is gutted as his team Halifax Town have gone out of business and no longer exist. That's right he has no team to complain about. They are hoping to reform but will drop from the Conference Prem to the Unibond Division 1 Northern section.

But we are still in the Premier League, we still have the opportunity to watch great players for and against us week in week out and with a couple of quality signings this summer, Hughes and the players will have learnt a big lesson from this season.

So good luck to Halifax and their fans and here's to a quality summer from Sparky in the transfer window and a cup for the Rovers in 08/09

[JC4LAB]

Most clubs have some hope of nabbing that 4th Space that qualifies for the Champions League so everyone has something achievable to aim for....Being able to scare Utd like we did and also Chelsea in the cup shows what we have really achieved..

[Eddie]

Not really. Our record against the big four this season has probably been the worst since we've been promoted. I can't remember a season before where we haven't picked up at least one win against one of them.

[Flopsy]

last season?

[Eddie]

Last season we beat Liverpool on boxing day, we also drew with them. We knocked Arsenal out of the cup and I can't remember us picking anything else up.

[gumboots]

eddie you seem determined to be miserable about this season. Most of us were angry about the performance on Sunday, but can see a bigger picture now at least, several days later. I don't think Mark Hughes has used the small club punching above our weight etc (you can try punching me for it too but as I am female i reckon the courts would definitely find you guilty of assault)argument as an excuse. what he has done is point out at the end of the season that being a small club with limited resources does make a difference. when you think that what Man U will have available to spend this summer would apparently buy our club, you have to get real. Yes we messed up on the last day. Yes, it looked like some players weren't up for it. Yes, perhaps Hughes did put the wrong subs on for the wrong players at the wrong time, but show me a manager who hasn't. Even SAF makes mistakes, underestimates opponents etc.

However, offered a guaranteed 7th most of us would have taken it, expecting to be in Europe on the back of it. Most of us would have wanted better but certainly not after we didn't buy in the January window. We have a manager who wants to improve. He will learn from mistakes. He's still relatively young and inexperienced in terms of club management - this is his first club job and he's with a premiership club who have progressed under his management and attracted some top class players.

You live in France. Sometimes you have to go with that old French phrase "C'est la vie", let go and look forward to more excitement (and disappointment) next season. We could so easily have been in Birmingham's position. They don't have rubbish players despite what their owner said. Some of them are actually as good as some of ours. They have more fans, more money but it's them who are playing next year in the Chapionship and us who are sitting in 7th.

[b12_simon]

Hughesy who? Me or Mark? Ha ha, who cares!

Anyway back on topic. Was there any trouble with the locals at birmingham the other day? Noticed on the tele that after the pitch invasion they appeared to be infront of the away end???

I didn't hear of any trouble for away supporters. A lot of us took their pitch invasion as an opportunity to get away from the ground while all their idiots were still inside. I actually had quite a civilised chat with a couple of them on the way to the ring road (despite wearing a shirt with "DUNN #19" on the back ).

The roads were very quiet on Monday morning. I suspect there were a record number of sickies being pulled

[gumboots]

Her's what the Guardian have to say about our season

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/ma...n.premierleague

[trueblue]

Her's what the Guardian have to say about our season

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/ma...n.premierleague

And spot-on it is too!!

[philipl]

David Sullivan's opinions

[American]

We thought we were sorted in central midfield when in fact the opposite ended up being true, Sav and Tugay declined quicker than we anticipated.

Can't think of anyone who thought we were sorted in central midfield. We've been needing help there for a long time now, and haven't gotten it (not counting Vogel, because he's a Savage replacement, but we still need more help).

[Eddie]

Hughes obviously did...

[gumboots]

Hughes obviously did...

I don't think so. He wanted new players there in Jan, couldn't get the ones he wanted and preferred not to waste money we don't have on players who are no better than what we already have.

[philipl]

Hughes obviously did...

Eddie, you are really rover6ing it now.

According to John Williams, Rovers made two bids for midfielders right at the end of the January window but both were rebuffed, then Vogel was trialled and signed and of course this summer the top priority is at laest one top class midfielder.

[joey_big_nose]

Can't think of anyone who thought we were sorted in central midfield. We've been needing help there for a long time now, and haven't gotten it (not counting Vogel, because he's a Savage replacement, but we still need more help).

I think most peopel were reasonably happy with the midfield options. Savage had a good season last year, Reid was coming back from injury, Dunn and Tugay were available. I don't think anyone was too distraught. Indeed our first couple of months were great. i think the key to calming everyone#s anxiety was the expectation that Reid would provide the quality and depth.

Then things fell apart, Reid made it back and did not make an impression, Savage left. I am not sure many people were enormously concerned about midfield options until january, even though perhaps we should have been. JAL was a pretty lone voice initially in criticising the central midfield.

[Flopsy]

Five-point action plan for the summer

Secure new investment; keep Mark Hughes; work out Morten Gamst Pedersen's slump in form; inject more pace; strengthen central midfield

Bugger, its as if someone submitted exactly what I was thinking.

[Eddie]

I say at best we manage 3/5.

[LeChuck]

Her's what the Guardian have to say about our season

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/ma...n.premierleague

Although it's only a very small piece, that's excellent. You often get the feeling with those things that the writer hasn't actually watched many games, but instead just pieced together their thoughts from what they've read in the papers, that's certainly not the case with this. In particular, the 'five-point plan' is spot-on.

[Flopsy]

they ask fans, they go on the fans/clubs messageboards and look around.

I know the guy who wrote the season's preview for us did. I dont know who wrote this article, but I'll see if I can find out.

[Montfort]

We were all upset and dissapointed about the game. It was such a missed opportunity.

To take us to the next level we need some or all of the following

To be challenging for 5th or 6th place throughout the season

get into Europe and have a really good run preferably get to a semi or final

have a really good run in 1 or both of the domestic cups

have lots of teenage girls outside of Blackburn who think Roque or Pederson or bently or somebody is really hot.

A place in Europe is so difficult to achieve and was so close! And to loose to Birmingham. Its a team we all feel that we can and should beat.

But some of the posts on this thread are way over the top. All this talk that we should rebuild the team around Roque and the goals posts is unnecessary and just not practical anyway. We were and are really close to being very special. Lets enjoy it.

Hughes has exceeded my wildest expectations over the last 3 years with the summer transfers. If he can just persuade Ballack or someone of that ilk to come and play for us in midfield this summer life will be complete

[Jan]

I say at best we manage 3/5.

It's not often I find myself agreeing with Abbey, but FOR CHRIST'S SAKE GET OVER YOURSELF. I was at the game on Sunday- albeit sitting in the Birmingham bit, not far from the Directors' box- which was amusing. I was disappointed in a shocking performance, but am realistic enough to be very happy with the season overall.

You obviously aren't and you clearly think you have an insight into football which Mark Hughes doesn't have. You don't. We don't want to hear your nonsense over and over. There were tactical naiveties and pieces of tactical genius (Manchester United at home). Just leave it.

[gumboots]

Well said! and I don't often agree with you either. There must be something in the water or something, or spring's getting to some of us.

[philipl]

It's the Gers invasion of Lancashire which has got everyone sticking together.