[Archived] Birmingham City Away

[Fife Rover]

Truth is we were crap for 75% of this match and if I never see Roberts and Andrews in a Rovers shirt again it will be too soon. My thoughts are that Ped and EHD are close behind on tonights performance. Our reliance on wimpy glassbacks in midfield messrs Dunny, Grella, has also bitten us on the arse as we always knew it would. Good players without a doubt but they wont ever play enough to be considered a worthwhile investment.

On the other side of the coin fair play to Brum. They have their tails well and truly up at the minute, in fact so far up that their lack of quality is disguised by their points total. They are on a good roll and their confidence is reflected in their attitudes. 3 players aside the rest of our collective bunch of lacklustre wimps, sick notes and all round waistrals need to take note. Some people may disagree but oh to be viewed as Dogs of War again! This current lot would not frighten a Girl Guides X1.

BH Theno!! You're as nearly right as dosen't matter.

The only thing I would add is that the back 4 for whatever reason seemed to play with a total lack of confidence all through the match. Perhaps because of the crap in front of them that Sam mistakes for a midfield.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Up until scoring our goal my thoughts were simply this,what a really ###### poor performance

There was only one team who wanted the three points last night and it was not our sorry lot.

Diouf! Perdersen!!....yet again,just what the ###### do they offer?

A word of warning,if our home form goes t1ts up then god help us.

I agree with getting Bentley back

Didn't like the way he left but by christ we could do with his creativity again

[CAPT KAYOS]

The point about putting those kind of balls into the box is our player heads it down to 1 of ours on the edge of the box or their defender heads it out to edge of box and our midfield pick up the second ball but it simply doesnt work for us,

Exactly and is what I was saying - we don't actually have anybody who can direct headers accurately - also highlights the other faux pas in our system - when do we ever have players at the edge looking to pick up this 2nd ball? - most of the time we end up with two players going for the same or in a line/huddle all together in whatever part of the area

[tonygreenbank]

Cant really add any more but it does help a little to know others are suffering too! For me the lack of passion on show was the most upsetting. Most of our team are current international players and surely are better than Birmingham`s on paper. They played their hearts out and deservedly won. Some of our team should be strongly spoken to and made to work harder. Yet again we show ineptitude in front of the cameras. It is embarrassing. I hope against Villa on TV we show the public that we can play better than that last night.

[Claytons Left Boot]

I am not usually one to call for changes but it is pretty apparent that these guys have little to offer the club going forward:- Andrews (20k) Pedersen (35k) Roberts (30k) Reid (35k) Rigters (15k) Zurab (20k) Diouf (40k) We need to shift those seven, probably saving around 190k per week, or roughly 10m per season. Even after balancing the 5m wage deficit it should allow us 5m in wages to spend on a central midfielder, a winger and a striker which is what we immediately need, and hopefully supplement from the Academy.

Spot on - Can somebody print off two copies of this and pin one on Mr Allardyce's door and another on that of Mr Williams!

[Tom]

Its screamingly obvious that Hoilett was rested after playing his first 90 mins on saturday. Im not a manager yet that move was entirely understandable.

No no no no no no no no.

Hoilett is what 19? There is no way on this earth that he needed to be rested after playing 90 minutes, not a cat in hells chance.

[RIML]

No no no no no no no no.

Hoilett is what 19? There is no way on this earth that he needed to be rested after playing 90 minutes, not a cat in hells chance.

I think what he was trying to say was the lad is still young, it's nothing to do with fitness and whether he can play another 90 minutes, Sam probably doesn't want to rush this kid, similarly how he's introduced Kalinic into the first team.

However Nzonzi is still a young lad but I don't think Sam has a choice, our midfield is absolute crap, he has to play.

[1864roverite]

long days before Xmas are taking their toll and Rovers impoverished performacnes are doing my trolley in big time.

Its very simple logic for me (and for others I suspect).

Remove Andrews from the squad and team and Rovers play infinitely better.

I cannot find any positives from his constant selection, I certainly can find negatives.

Even with injuries this man, along with Roberts and Diouf should be exempted from wearing our colours.

I dread the arrival of Spuds and can only hope that Dunny and Grella are at least half fit.

I remain optimistic but for how long I dont know.

[John]

In comparison to Brum, thought we looked slow, sluggish and not that physical for all the hype we get on being the tough guys.

Problem is we have got a lot of games coming up and key players are not fit - plus Emerton's injury just adds to the despair.

[thenodrog]

I'd say less long balls are played in your average Sunday League park game than were played in last night's Premier League match.

Blindingly obvious why it is. If you are a defender on the ball with the current EHD, Ped and Keefy as passing options then one can understand the hopefull punt option being taken. But it's not all longball......... Samba sometimes mixes it by going on a run and omitting the midfield that way.

[thenodrog]

While I was unhappy at last nights performance - some of the over-reactions on here are again comical. We lost to the form side in the Premier League who haven't lost in 2 months and we've got a horrible record there. It was bad - but let's put some perspective on it guys.

I'll defend BRFc all night as long as we see effort and application. The perspective is that we were never at the races in the opening exchanges and did not compete until we were 2 down! I cannot defend that.

Why do people have an issue with Sam being in the stand?

He has a radio link to the bench, he can talk to them in real time and has a far better appreiciation of the game with the viewpoint he has in the stand. He is the one that calls the shots, so it should be him in the stands so he can see exactly whats going on himself and not get the info second hand. This is one of Sam's biggest contributions to the game taken from american sports, I think its a very good idea. McDonald has proven that he's more than capable of controlling from the touchline in his short tenure.

So whats the issue?

I have no issue whatsoever. It's common sense. The opposition tactics are much clearer from on high.

[thenodrog]

I can't believe that Hoilett wasn't employed on the left wing to play against Carr....the guys past it and I'd have swapped Pedersen for Hoilett at half time and gone at Carr with Pace and trickery....

Correct and a point that I made in the Woodlands during the 1st half. An oil tanker can turn quicker than Carr yet we never pressurised him despite having the perfect player to do so. Baffling.

[Hughesy]

Its very simple logic for me (and for others I suspect).

Remove Andrews from the squad and team and Rovers play infinitely better.

I cannot find any positives from his constant selection, I certainly can find negatives.

Even with injuries this man, along with Roberts should be exempted from wearing our colours.

Agreed - Andrews offers nothing if it involves the ball

[Blue n White Rover]

I bet that Stockholm trip really paid off now eh

[DE.]

Re: Sam being up in the stands...

If his post-match comments are a true reflection of what he sees from up there, he needs to come back down.

[USABlue]

Don't disagree but isn't it the manager's job to make sure they do?

Also in devil's advocate mode I would opine that on the whole the team played with more spirit and enthusiasm when McDonald was in temporary charge.

A point not gone un-noticed by me, or my girlfriend for that matter. Surely it is past time to ask some serious questions of Allardyce. Why the persistence with players who are not up for it. How must the llikes of Hoillett feel putting in a good shift then being promptly dropped. My major concern is the real lack of fight we seem to have, it's just pissing me off. Not until Hoillett and Benni come one did we show anything. But for a Brum defenders face Benni would have tied it ( maaaan he looks fat thought). One can't help but wonder what goes through th e other players minds, we have a core of 6-7 players who put in a full shift most games, is it wearing on them to see these inept players being picked, I mean they have to know. Who could blame them for asking what is th epoint, I'd be frustrated. I'd at least like to see some real fight. I thought young Kalinic was very poorly handled by the ref, he was not allowed to contest for anything and the "offside" well I just don't know. Watched the dingles tonight even they looked better than us, by some margin. Imma sensin a hammerin coming form Spurs too.

[SouthAussieRover]

A complete and utter embarrassment to football and our club. I don't want to see anything so anti-football again.

Can't find the words to write any other kind of review. Disgusted.

Did Sam do a Mick McCarthy????

[Miker]

I think it's extremely disappointing to only get a point from Stoke at Home and Birmingham away, but then we got a win against Chelsea and a draw with Liverpool, so slightly mixed feelings about our current results.

Our results are going to continue this way, we'll have a fairly inconsistent season and end up mid table. I thought we were finally moulding into a team that played well together, but then we play Birmingham and make 3 changes to our midfield and we're horrible again.

Hoilett, Dunn, Grella, N'zonzi and Emerton are our best midfield players and they should either all be on the pitch, or 4 of the 5 (depending on formation). In my opinion, that's a strong midfield. We might need more depth, but as far as ability levels are concerned, those five do a good job.

[RIML]

Our results are going to continue this way, we'll have a fairly inconsistent season and end up mid table. I thought we were finally moulding into a team that played well together, but then we play Birmingham and make 3 changes to our midfield and we're horrible again.

Do you think that is bad in Sam's first full season in charge?

Look at the other managers who haven't been at their clubs for very long and make up your own mind.

Carlo Ancelotti

Mark Hughes

Roberto Martinez

Avram Grant

Steve Bruce

[47er]

I think it's extremely disappointing to only get a point from Stoke at Home and Birmingham away, but then we got a win against Chelsea and a draw with Liverpool, so slightly mixed feelings about our current results.

Our results are going to continue this way, we'll have a fairly inconsistent season and end up mid table. I thought we were finally moulding into a team that played well together, but then we play Birmingham and make 3 changes to our midfield and we're horrible again.

Hoilett, Dunn, Grella, N'zonzi and Emerton are our best midfield players and they should either all be on the pitch, or 4 of the 5 (depending on formation). In my opinion, that's a strong midfield. We might need more depth, but as far as ability levels are concerned, those five do a good job.

Those are our 5 best mid-field players but the trouble is 3 are injured to some extent or other.

[Miker]

Do you think that is bad in Sam's first full season in charge?

Look at the other managers who haven't been at their clubs for very long and make up your own mind.

Carlo Ancelotti

Mark Hughes

Roberto Martinez

Avram Grant

Steve Bruce

I don't think it's a bad thing, I accepted this would happen from the start of the season so I'm not too surprised. I'm in agreement with many that we should make it clear when performances are simply not good enough, like against Birmingham.

I think by the end of this month we'll have a clearer picture of the club's progress and then if things are going well then hopefully we can finish the season on a high and Sam can build a much stronger team in the next season. We have a very strong base defensively to be a succesful team, we're just lacking integration and finishing where the rest of the team is concerned.

[waggy]

i noticed something on tuesday night,it's the same with villa,both teams have 8 or 9 british players in there teams,brum have bought players from the championship which shows there is talent in that division.we have a team of foriegn mercenarys that don't don't give a hoot about the club,buy british i say

[thenodrog]

i noticed something on tuesday night,it's the same with villa,both teams have 8 or 9 british players in there teams,brum have bought players from the championship which shows there is talent in that division.we have a team of foriegn mercenarys that don't don't give a hoot about the club,buy british i say

Really waggy? Are you including the likes of those uncaring foreign chappies messrs Samba, Emerton, Nelsen, Givet, Chimbonda etc in your well thought out assessment of the team? Maybe I should include Tugay in that list too.

[Hughesy]

I bet that Stockholm trip really paid off now eh

Yeah lets forget the fact we have played another game since then which we didnt lose eh!!

[RIML]

I don't think it's a bad thing, I accepted this would happen from the start of the season so I'm not too surprised. I'm in agreement with many that we should make it clear when performances are simply not good enough, like against Birmingham.

I think by the end of this month we'll have a clearer picture of the club's progress and then if things are going well then hopefully we can finish the season on a high and Sam can build a much stronger team in the next season. We have a very strong base defensively to be a succesful team, we're just lacking integration and finishing where the rest of the team is concerned.

Oh good I didn't know whether you thought finishing mid table was a bad thing, I thought your expectations were high, so that's why I asked.

From reading some of the comments on here some people do need to be realistic, we have had a good run at home but away not so brilliant. We haven't spent much and Sam does need time and if he continues to get the results at home we will no doubt finish mid table.

We did play badly against Birmingham but we did only lose by just the 1 goal. We played bad but in the end very nearly came away with something, it wouldn't have been deserved but that doesn't matter.