"Survival is the Name of the Game" — Notes for the Birmingham Game Friday, 30th Aug 2013 12:00 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game by delving into their forums. With only one league win at newly-promoted Yeovil, and a diminished squad compared to last year, Blues expect nothing but a tough campaign ahead: "You must have known how tough this season was going to be, or you are living on cloud cuckoo land." "Three of our first four league games (all narrowly lost) have been against last season’s play-off teams. They have all made better quality signings without having to sell off their best players." "We have not been outplayed once, and this should be seen as a positive thing comparing squads. We have almost got to adopt the survival mentality we had in the Premiership." Lee Clark"I’m so glad we have Clark now rather than Chris Hughton. If Clark had at his disposal the young players Hughton did when here, we would see Blues back in the top flight now."
"Clark is trying to survive in the Championship with players the likes of Oxford United have deemed not good enough. The top managers in the world would struggle with that." The manager has substantially rebuilt the team over the summer with a very small budget, and he has additionally lost players of the calibre of Nathan Redmond (to Norwich) and Curtis Davies (to Hull). Supporters do not blame the manager for the lack of quality in the squad. However, they are perplexed by Clark’s continued use of the 3-5-2 system, his using players out of position, and his erratic use of substitutes. "Clark is a tinkerman. He cannot help but mess with the team", "When ahead against Leicester on Saturday, he took off his goalscorer for an attacking midfielder, upsetting the balance. After they equalise, he makes another change and it all goes to hell." A Lack of Quality"At present, Clark has had to put together a team of inexperienced but keen young players with some veterans, and his signings have been ruled by an extremely limited availability of cash", "We are fast becoming the charity shop of the Championship." "The blame lies with the board which has bled the club dry. Do you expect Clark to drop down to the cash point and draw out a couple of million for players? I understand people are angry, but don’t direct it in the wrong place." "We played some good football in the latter part of the season, but removed and lost so many players since then. We are unsurprisingly worse as a team. This is inevitable and it is desperate." "The financial support is clearly not being provided by the owners. Stick at it, Mr Clark you are doing a fine job." A Lack of AtmosphereSome Blues are concerned by the lack of atmosphere at St Andrew’s: "The crowd was very low and very subdued today, and will only get worse if this poor start continues", "I’m almost at the stage where it isn’t enjoyable going to matches and it feels more hassle than it’s worth." "When I drove home after a defeat, I used to be seething, but now I just proverbially shrug my shoulders", "I can see the lowest gates ever at St Andrew’s as the season wears everyone down. Nothing will change until our beloved Chinese owners sell up." The Right FormationBlues will be hugely interested in their side’s formation on Saturday. They have three major concerns with the 3-5-2 wing back system used in league games thus far. Firstly, two of their central defenders are playing out of their natural positions. Secondly, their wide players simply are not wing-backs and are overloaded. Thirdly, playing with two strikers is quite static, whereas playing with one up front would allow players to break from midfield. "It’s a basic rule of thumb in this league that you play to your strengths and put players in their own positions." "I’m a bit of a fan of the wing-back style, but you need natural wing-backs and at least two decent centre-halves to play it well." "I thought we were awful at times (against Leicester on Saturday). You could see some method, but I think the formation leaves a lot to be desired. I will be interested with what happens against Ipswich who are a solid looking team." "With 3-5-2, we are forced to put loads of ineffective crosses in", "I think we should go back to 4-5-1. We did so well with it last season. With us not having a proven goalscorer, it makes sense to strengthen the midfield this way." Most blues would prefer to see this shape. Clark switched to a 4-4-2 system in their Capital One Cup win over Yeovil on Tuesday. It caused problems on their left flank with veteran Paul Robinson struggling in the full-back role and Andrew Shinnie improvising in front of him. Several Blues also said that the two-man midfield "looked very vulnerable" in the game. Defence"We need to go back to a more conventional flat back four with Chris Burke and Shane Ferguson as wingers to give the front players service", "We have a defensive midfielder and a left-back as part of our defensive three." The Blues signed 26-year-old goalkeeper Darren Randolph from Motherwell this summer. "He looks a really good keeper, but is getting exposed too much by a lightweight midfield.", "He has made some good saves and is a solid player." Dan Burn "wins everything in the air." The 21-year-old centre-back is on loan from Fulham, and is highly rated. "He won every high ball that came in (against Leicester) and his distribution is good."
He has been partnered in central defence by two veterans. Former Bolton player Paul Robinson "can always be relied on to put a foot in." I’m not convinced a three-man defence suits him, but he still gives 110% in every game." The 34-year-old "hasn’t got the legs at left-back anymore". Robbo played in this position in Tuesday’s four-man defence against Yeovil. "What little pace he has is gone. Despite his small stature, he’s aggressive, strong and brave. Those attributes can at least be put to good use in central defence." "How you can play Mullins in that centre-back position is beyond me. ‘Square peg in a round hole’ springs to mind, but it’s worse than that." Hayden Mullins, who was signed from Portsmouth in 2012, is "a liability. He keeps getting caught out by Leicester’s pace". The 34-year-old "doesn’t always hold the line too well and often was the last player playing them onside especially in the first half". "The problem goes back to last season when, no matter how poor Mullins was he always got picked ahead of players who could have done a better job." Central Midfield"We look far too weak in midfield. The wing-back formation isn’t working because we don’t have the right players", "We have no midfield enforcer. Someone who can get stuck in and have a go", "We look weak."  Wade Elliott Several Blues feel that the 3-5-2 formation is driven by the need for a three-man midfield. "Clark won’t use 4-4-2. It will leave more gaps for the opposition." "When you are in a central midfield two, you cannot afford to be lazy", "Wade Elliott is not tracking his runners, and it is hurting us every week." The 34-year-old "gives it his all, but gets caught in possession too easily in dangerous positions", "Elliott is calm in possession." Out of possession, things are more problematic: "It is frustrating when you watch Wade Elliott break into a jog whilst his midfield opponents sprint past him to score for a second week in a row." Twenty-one-year-old Tom Adeyemi, who joined from the Budgies in the summer, "is too weak to be a holding midfielder and his distribution and passing is poor", "I think the lad needs more time to bed in. He is a bit too unpredictable at the moment, but will eventually come good for us." Former Hammer Jonathan Spector has "good little touches and runs forward, but he is too weak for a midfield battle". "He has been pretty crap for 75% of the time he has played in central midfield." Scott Allan is on loan from the Baggies, and Blues would like to see more of the promising 21-year-old. "We haven't exactly had stellar results so far, so why not give Reilly a chance?". Nineteen-year old youth product Callum Reilly "likes a tackle, just needs to improve his passing", "His passing is probably no better or worse than anyone else we have. He also has great energy, can tackle and packs a shot." "Apparently the real Darren Ambrose turned up for pre-season, and to quote Lee Clark, ‘He’s awesome’: Proof that Lee Clark is still a raving nutcase", "Palace fans were apoplectic and we thought he was a snip at £250,000. He was their sick note." The former Ipswich player "was outstanding in this league for several years until he joined us." Ambrose came on from the bench against Yeovil on Tuesday but has not been a regular starting player. Wide Midfield"Ferguson and Eardley have been pretty much ineffective from what I have seen", "They look isolated." Lee Clark has been playing Shane Ferguson, a natural left winger and Neal Eardley, a natural right-back as wing-backs, with predictable consequences. On the left flank, Ferguson "is not a wing-back. He put in a cracking ball for our goal against Leicester, and attacked their right-back. Defensively he is very poor, and that isn’t his fault as he is not a defender." The 21-year-old is on loan for a second spell from Newcastle. "This role does not suit him." On the right flank, "Poor Eardley looks lost as a wing back", " I don’t think he has the pace or engine to perform this role. His crossing isn’t brilliant either", "He made it too easy for players to go past him." The 24-year-old summer signing from Blackpool is struggling in this role. "He gets caught out too easily", "He should be at right back with Burke in front of him." Chris Burke is seen by many Blues as "Birmingham’s best and most dangerous player". The Scotland winger is "the one class player at Clark’s disposal", "It is soul destroying when we bring our best player off the bench almost always with ten minutes to go." Most supporters cannot understand why he has not featured more. There is a rumour that the former Cardiff player is being protected from injury with Nottingham Forest interested in buying "the last saleable player who can command a fee", "Burke being sold would keep us ticking over for a few months." However, on Tuesday against Yeovil, "Burke was rubbish. We were given the 4-4-2 that every man and his dog have called for this season, and he was poor against an immobile full back". "Yeovil ran through our two man midfield easily, which is why Burke isn’t in the team." Attack"We don’t look like scoring goals, and this is what could seriously lead to us being in real trouble this season", "We look so lightweight up front", "We suffer from a lack of quality ball from midfield to the forwards plus a lack of quality up front", "Our approach play is letting us down as usual."
"Lee Novak has done everything but score tonight", "Frankly appalling — that is Novak’s third one-on-one miss", "He chipped the ball after rounding the keeper. This guy is going down in cult hero status", "He had a great opportunity to score but bottled it and chose to pass. Again." The above comments made during Tuesday’s cup game at Yeovil were not unusual. "He doesn’t look like he can score in a month of Sundays." The striker joined from Huddersfield this summer, and has been relentlessly criticised. "If Novak keeps up his Championship goals to games ratio, he’s going to score in late October", "He’s a one in 10 striker at this level." "Without (former Mansfield striker) Matt Green’s pace, we look easy to defend against. He might be raw, but I think he has to play", "I like Green. I have watched him a few times now and always have been impressed by his effort." "Green has good positioning, and most important has a keen eye for goal. He reminds me of a young Bob Latchford. He will need time to get up to speed in this division though." "Andrew Shinnie isn’t offering enough", "He is not alone in poor decision making." The Scotland international, signed from Inverness over the summer, has featured as a central midfielder, striker and (on Tuesday) on the left of a four-man midfield. Most Blues see him as a "quality player", but aren’t sure where he fits in the team. "Sadly Nikola Zigic has not proven himself to be prolific in this division. He has not even been close to prolific and nor will he be. I’m looking forward to his return, but not banking on him getting more than 10 goals this season." "We need Big Zig back as soon as possible to give us something slightly different." The Serbian international has been absent with a back injury. While many Blues would welcome him back, he is not universally seen as the answer to their attacking problems. "Marlon King’s contract this week has been terminated by mutual consent." This club statement was received with mixed feeling by supporters. Many welcome the loss of his rumoured £17,000 weekly salary, but will miss his goals: "We have no class strikers now at our club and little chance of any others coming in, even on a free transfer." Blues’ Fans Views on ITFC and the Game"I am looking at Ipswich at home in August as being a very, very important match", "We have played well against quality teams so far. I am sure we will beat Ipswich next week", "Next week is a relegation six pointer." There has been little comment about us, and I will update the forum with more of their thoughts on Saturday morning. WebsitesThe best message board is Small Heath Alliance and useful discussion was also found on the official Birmingham City Message board which requires registration. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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Lee Clark
Dan Burn
Lee Novak
