Blues Trust
Birmingham City Supporters Trust - An Independent Voice
Blues Trust
Birmingham City Supporters Trust - An Independent Voice
Goal Drought Madness
Nobody in my orbit would have predicted such an amazing downturn in our fortunes under our current manager. Bowyer bounce, Deeney delight…. just two pluses that have quickly evaporated leaving fans perplexed and wondering at this moment whether the current regime, and of course results, are better than that of previous managers.
Lee Bowyer is who we desperately want to be successful and give us a few seasons of hope and league table comfort. However, six consecutive games with zero goals is damning, and league position likewise, with the ominous feeling that something is very wrong. Or, more optimistically, that fortunes will soon change and the next opponent is going to get a hammering. Hopefully it is the latter and all eyes are now on Saturday’s home game against Swansea.
Recent formations designed to score goals have all looked fairly haphazard though, with different pairings proving feeble. Of late there has only been the odd flicker during games that encouraged us to think the ball just might end up in the opposition’s net.
Lee Bowyer is hurting and so are we supporters who never envisaged such a curious downturn in form and results. Saving a season is now more than desperate, and nineteenth position in the league has to be vacated upwards……starting this weekend against Swansea. Winning again will quickly erase the last six sterile games from the memory and encourage us to believe again that a brighter future can be achieved.
No advice or suggestions to our manager as to why this or that is needed, as he knows this barren spell will end in tears if it continues much longer. Swansea is the chance to start putting things right.
Mitchell Bray
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9 Comments
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The sad thing is that we never looked like scoring all night. I probably will be forever mocked for saying this but I feel its times up for the Juke. I just feel we need a rethink upfront. Yes the Juke gives his all but we have come to the stage that its nowhere near enough. Scott Hogan will get 10 goals maximum and there is very little else in midfield.
I watched the game against Huddersfield and we were poor,we couldn’t put more than two passes and was horrified just how bad we were everytime we went passed the half way line.
Another thing that bothers me about the squad is how easy heads drop so quickly whenever we concede. This stems back to when Karanka was in charge and we have still have those same players. Its time to move them on at the first opportunity. The fans know who they are because we mentioned there disappointing performances on several occasions. They are not good enough and certainly don’t deserve the shirt.. We need to rebuild and I am afraid to say that it’s going to take time and it may also cost us our place in the championship.
I’m with you Mitchell in that I very much want Lee Bowyer to succeed. I thought he was the right appointment in March and I’m still confident he will pull us through. But I have to say that performances over the past month or so have shaken that confidence.
What I have witnessed has been absolutely dreadful, with almost no attacking intent shown. It is well recorded that teams reflect their managers, and if that is true then Lee cannot escape criticism at this point. Team selection, tactics, in game management and determination have all been found wanting and that sits squarely with him. Plus his reluctance to use players he has only recently brought to the club is concerning.
The bigger picture alarms me even more though. Of the 12 players involved on Wednesday, 4 were loan players (2 of whom, Sanderson and McGree, were reportedly amongst our better performers on the night) and 4 more were aged 31, 32, 33 and 34. And another, Pedersen, is in the last year of his contract. So quite how that is helping us plan for a brighter future is beyond me. It seems no lessens have been learned.
Be brave Lee. Get us back on the front foot and sort things out with an eye to the future.
Will still be there tomorrow shouting the team on.
KRO
From daring to dream barely a month ago of stepping into the promised land, to facing up to reality with an almighty bang. Did we really start to believe the hype, beaten by Fulham, yet being told how good we were, hello we lost 4-1, to arriving in Peterborough still full of the hype, only to be sent home with our tails firmly between our legs! We’ve persisted in the main with the wing back formation, only to get mugged by Steve Cooper’s tactical awareness. The last two away games have been far from pretty, but l understand the need to shore things up. But against Swansea let’s hope the team selected, and more importantly the confidence and dynamic required in the approach to the game from those players comes flooding back. Lots of us will be back in our own seats for the first time this season. I hope it has the feel similar if not better than an opening day, and that atmosphere transpires not just to the team, but to Lee Bowyer and his back room team. KRO
I’m starting to compare this to the Zola period, where the disbelief moves to desperation, then anger and finally gallows humour kicks in.
Football is a results business unfortunately and even the best managers only have so much grace time.
We all sincerely want LB to succeed because he is one of us.
Tick Tock.
Pep, Karanka and now Lee Bowyer have all seemed to have a similar problem with the team seeming to make progress then falling back badly. To keep on blaming the head coach when it’s basically the same set of players showing such inconsistency
doesn’t seem to be the answer. Perhaps the bulk of the current squad just aren’t up to performing consistently in the Championship.
Many of the players have either reached their peak and falling away a bit or as Bill says simply not up to the modern,quick Championship. Most clubs have a little gem with pace and youthful energy. At Blues we don’t appear to have a single one. Hard to believe that this city cannot unearth a quality striker. As it is you have to pick any two or even one from an ageing brigade with below par pace and threat.
To rebuild you must have a foundation to build on. Unfortunately our foundation is players who have been with the club under several managers and have proved to be creatures of habit. We now appear to have gone back to the Karanka philosophy of clean sheets and playing for a draw ie frustrating the oppostion. The only consolation is that we only lost one of the last two games and only conceded one goal. I see us doing the same against Swansea with few chances for the strikers (which they usually miss). Goals win games and we will not survive by going for 0-0 draws. I only wish the Deeney hype would translate into goals as it is hard to see where else they will come from. Target now is keep above the relegation zone and shopping well in the January window with striker as number 1 priority.
Fair play to Deeney. We asked for an end to the drought and he obliged. Joy at last!
Credit where credit is due. This was a much better performance Blues, particularly the second half.
Still much to improve upon, not least the midfield pairing. And I feel for Scott Hogan. Surely his luck is going to turn soon? That said, he gets caught offside far too often which is very frustrating.
But a committed performance and one that should have produced a bigger margin of victory.
Well done Blues. Made my long journey home much more enjoyable!
KRO