Birmingham

Never has a draw felt so much like a loss to me, so much that i am writing this 2 days late. On a day when we need to win to keep up with the Joneses, we managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory, providing Arsenal fans with the feeling of groundhog day all over again.

It was an eerie feeling knowing that our title chances would once again rest on a trip to Birmingham, but only time will tell if our chances are to be affected by this result. It was always going to be a difficult game, and i had predicted a 1-0 scoreline a few weeks back. Considering how Birmingham took points off Chelsea and United, a draw is by no means a bad result. But it came on a day when our rivals faced no opposition whatsoever from the teams they both played. I still believe Arsenal will be crowned premier champions come may 9th but we are now going to need a lot of help.

Almunia’s performance was alright in my opinion except for the howler at the end. It’s evident we need a new goalkeeper, but making a change now is detrimental to everything we’ve worked so hard for, up to this point in the season. Any purchases would have to wait until the summer market opens again or after a proper evaluation of our young goalkeepers. Time for Arsenal fans to show Almunia some support, booing him would only make things worse. We need a fully focused Almunia till the end of the season. Remember this is the same guy who saved our blushes against West Ham last week.

Will the real Andrei Arshavin please stand up and be counted? For a player who has no qualms about criticizing his teammates or willingly granting interviews, it’s time he started performing on a consistent basis. He could have ended the game in regulation had he not fluffed his chance to score. Time to get your head down Andrei and work your butt off. Time to start tracking back on defence to help the fullbacks, and oh time to start showing that your £15 million price tag is justified. And one last thing, no time for selfishness on Wednesday, you’re part of a team. And while you’re at it, remember it would be nice to start scoring goals again starting with Barcelona, then Wolves then whoever comes next on the fixture list.

So while the obituary is being paraded for all to see, remember this team was written off twice already, it would be daft to do so again. Six games remaining and not much room for error at this point, we need to win all our games now and hope both United and Chelsea drop points along the way. In this topsy-turvy year of a season where no team seems to have a stranglehold on top spot, anything is possible.

The priority now is lifting the players for the mouth-watering tie against Barcelona on Wednesday. Time for Sol and Arsene to impart a few consoling and uplifting words. Birmingham is done and over with, we cannot dwell on that result any longer. We must now prepare ourselves mentally for the task at hand. 110% concentration against a team that punishes mistakes should be the mantra for Wednesday.

Barcelona preview to come later, ’til then enjoy the week gooner fans everywhere.

FIFA have today announced that they are ‘no longer pursuing’ goal-line technology, on the same day that Liam Ridgewell scored a legitimate goal that wasn’t given in Birmingham’s FA Cup tie with Portsmouth.

Ridgewell scored a close range header before David James clawed the ball back from over the line. The officials decided that the ball hadn’t completely crossed the line and so the goal was not awarded.

If television replays had been allowed to decide whether it was a goal, the matter could have been resolved in less than a minute.

Following the match, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish made another call for the introduction of technology, but the International Football Associations Board could only watch with mild embarrassment as, only hours before, they had made the decision to scrap further research into any technological developments.

FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said after the decision, “Technology should not enter into the game, It was a clear statement made by the majority of the IFAB.

“Let’s keep the game of football as it is.”

Birmingham City fans clearly won’t agree after they saw their FA Cup dreams go up in smoke following another contentious decision that could have been cleared up by a quick television replay.

Football is one of the only major international sports not to use any kind of technology. Tennis uses hawk-eye challenges, whilst cricket, both codes of rugby, and athletics all employ some kind of video refereeing.

Yet football continues to dig its heels in resistance to a change which can only be for the improvement of the game.

Even this season, there have been many instances where a simple replay could have averted a disastrous and clearly wrong decision. Just ask the Republic of Ireland .

The main arguments against technology is that it could take too much time and that it would be difficult to decide where to implement technology. These can be easily rebuffed.

Replays have never been quicker—a decision could be verified in less than two minutes, hardly an unacceptable amount of time to get a crucial decision right.

It would also be relatively straightforward to implement a model based on tennis: each team could be allowed two incorrect challenges in the event of a contentious goal being allowed or disallowed.

It appears that FIFA have taken the easy way out rather than the sensible one. If the roles were reversed and Portsmouth were disallowed a goal that turned the tie against them, decisions like this could have ended up costing a club its livelihood.

It still might.

This article was written by Jon Naylor for Half Volley, the half sport, half science website.

If rumours are to be believed, England boss Fabio Capello may start Joe Hart against Egypt at Wembley tomorrow night.

Hart, with one cap to his name already, has a great chance to impress Capello and go to the World Cup in South Africa as England's number one.

No player has been able to make the spot his own since the retirement of David Seaman.

Paul Robinson had a good run until that night in Zagreb where he failed to deal with and clear a Gary Neville back-pass.

Steve McClaren tried Scott Carson between the sticks for the return match at Wembley but he also made a number of errors and England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.

Neither of those two players have been able to impress new boss Capello.

Capello has often opted for the experience of David James but with James in a struggling Portsmouth side and suffering from niggling injuries, this could be Hart's chance to prove he has what it takes to be England's No. 1.

Hart has spent this season on loan at Birmingham from Manchester City and has turned in some spectacular performances.

Hart was instrumental in their unbeaten run earlier in the season and Birmingham currently sit eighth in the Premier League.

What has been particularly impressive is Hart's shot-stopping ability and command of his area.

Capello has previously said he would pick his side based on form and no English goalkeeper is displaying better than Hart.

England are currently facing defensive uncertainty with long-term injuries to full-backs Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole, John Terry's dip in form, Wayne Bridge's decision to quit the England team and captain Rio Ferdinand's bad back.

A goalkeeper in good form will be imperative if England are to perform to expectation this summer in South Africa.

Birmingham Seaholm WR Shawn Conway (6-4, 185, 4.50) just committed to Michigan today while attending the Wolverines’ Junior Day in Ann Arbor.  Conway is a two-sport star who also excels in basketball.

A relative sleeper, at least to some, in the recruiting world, I have been tracking him for over a year, even before he transferred to Seaholm after his freshman year from Detroit Cass Tech.

One analyst who I respect, Scott M. Burnstein of the Oakland Press, had this to say about him last August:   “I was out at Seaholm practice this morning and let me tell you, junior wide receiver Shawn Conway is the real deal holyfield. This kid runs like a gazelle, has hops like Kobe Bryant, and hands the size of King Kong.  On one play, I saw him catch the ball in traffic and then drag three teammates an additional 20 yards before being brought down. Defensive Coordinators, far and wide across the state of Michigan,  – watch out!……..On the basketball court, Shawn Conway is the undisputed genuine article – an athletic wing, who can play inside and out and as a sophomore last season helped the Seaholm Maples to the first conference championship in quite some time. On the football field, however, he is an unknown commodity and the definition of a sleeper.  This is primarily because the 6-4 split end/defensive back has only played in 2 varsity football games in his first two years of high school, due to a transfer at the end of his freshman year from Cass Tech in Detroit to Seaholm in Birmingham to be closer to his family and first cousin/teammate Richaud Pack (a top-tier hoops recruit).  That all said, when the curtain finally does come down on Conway’s HS football career in the fall of 2010, he could wind up being one of the best players in the county, not to mention the state, certain to earn offers to play at the next level. Maples head coach, Chris Fahr, believes right now, even minus the experience and exposure factor, Conway is one of the ten best players at his position in Michigan. Simply put, this kid’s a warrior.  he can go deep or across the middle. he’s not afraid of contact like some other finesse wideouts his size/caliber and he’s said to have big hands,  a big heart, and a true passion for the game. and we already know about his great jumping ability from his gravity-defying dunks during last year’s basketball campaign, so the fade route on the goal line is certainly to become a staple in the Maples’ red zone packages this year and next.  Playing on defense, Conway has the potential to be a lockdown corner, already slated to take on the opposing team’s best receiver.  Conway is such a sleeper, he didn’t even make my pre-season top 40 for ‘09. I did the rankings based on past-performance,, and since Conway, doesn’t have much of a on-field resume at this point, i was forced to leave him off.  If Conway shakes out as advertised – which i am quite certain he will – there’s  little doubt in my mind, that he will be at the top of the pre-season ranking for 2010. I also predict, Conway, along with senior QB Jack Quigley and a stellar sophomore class, will  restore the Maples program – the 2nd winningist program in the county over the past 20 yrs, but coming off a tough ‘09 where they were only able to muster one win – to its past gridiron glories sooner rather than later. With the addition of fully-eligible Conway, look for Seaholm to challenge for a return to the playoffs this year and be a top county power in 2010.
“

Conway is a fine talent who also happened to have the misfortune of not having a QB who could consistently get him the ball this season.

Here is a link to some video highlights from Shawn’s junior season:

Youtube Highlights

Another majestic win for Chelsea. No matter who you support, if you appreciate football, you would say that Chelsea are the best team in the league this season.

Agreed, there was minor blip in December but that’s exactly what it was, a blip in an otherwise brilliant title challenge by Chelsea.

The question of how well Chelsea can perform in the absence of the African contingent has been answered in a remarkable fashion. A good part of the credit for pulling this off must go to Nicolas Anelka.

Ballack may not have anything in common with Essien except the first name, but he has fit in very nicely. Lampard has been box-to-box like he has always been. This trio has been very good for us which has made us feel the absence of Drogba-Essien.

Yesterday was another masterful performance where it was hard to find negatives. If I still have to, I’ll find a name for the negatives: Deco.

Seriously, I thought he was bad last night. He must have been subbed off at half time. There were a few defensive quirks but nothing so dangerous to disturb a clean sheet.

Joe Cole is still looking to find the net. He made a nice little run and a good flick for the opening goal. Apart from that, he was wasteful despite getting himself into good positions.

Lampard’s back in scoring form, definitely. His second goal of the night was class.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa were held by Arsenal. A match that should have been wrapped up by Villa by the hour. So there was the first result of the season defining series of matches for Arsenal.

Now they play Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool in the next three Premier League matches. I truly hope and pray they are dumped out of all competitions by the end of February.

In the league cup semi final, Man Utd beat Man City once again from a stoppage time goal. I was hoping for a Carlos Tevez winner in stoppage time. Probably he’s saved the drama for later...next season’s Champions League, anyone?

That’s it for now. I gotta run. I know I’ve not been updating the blog too often. As you can see, I need help to keep the blog going. It could be one of you who can help me out. Think about it. Cheers!

We're barely a week into the January transfer window and already Alex McLeish has no doubt been inundated by calls and texts from agents hawking their clients.

With the signing of former summer transfer target Michel from Sporting Gijon waiting on a medical and last-minute details, here's a run-through of some of the other potential signings who have been keeping the tabloids busy.

The first, Ryan Babel of Liverpool, has been priced at £12m, considerably more than the £9m bid from St Andrew's. Why would McLeish want to spend millions on someone who spends most of his time on the substitutes bench at Liverpool and has hardly set the Premier League alight?

He's a Dutch international granted, but I don't see him fitting into the current Birmingham squad. I won't be upset if the transfer fails to materialise.

Second, we have Aiden McGeady of Celtic, a promising young winger who McLeish and his backroom staff will know plenty about. A £10m price tag has been slapped on by Celtic, who are obviously keen to keep the talented youngster.

My only concern is that he could fail to adapt to the Premier League like Shaun Maloney when he joined Midland's rivals Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago.

Which brings me on to the next target, Craig Gardner of Aston Villa, another midfielder who has been mooted and quite cheaply too at a mere £3.5m. If McLeish is building for next season then this would be a good deal.

But, I can't see Gardner breaking into the side this season due to the outstanding form of Ferguson, Larsson, Bowyer and McFadden. With Keith Fahey and potentially Michel as well, I think Gardner would be just as frustrated as he is at Villa Park.

Other names that seem to crop up are Aaron McLean, a young striker from Peterborough who in my opinion would be no better than Cameron Jerome.

Forward Kris Boyd from Rangers, who McLeish knows well, is also mentioned. Although Boyd just broken Henrik Larsson's Scottish Premier League goalscoring record, his value would've increased by a few pounds.

Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia is another name, mainly because he can play on the left. I feel this might not be a bad signing if it goes through as we've struggled on that side of the pitch for a while.

I'd like to see a large bid tabled for goalkeeper Joe Hart, around the £12m mark, to test Manchester City's resolve despite them saying he's not for sale. There's also the likelihood of Blues converting Chucho Benitez's loan into a permanent deal, which could rise to £8m in the summer.

If Birmingham could then find a prolific goalscorer for around £10m, then they should be set for the season. Although just because there's money to spend, it doesn't mean they have to spend it.

As an Aston Villa fan, it pains this writer to admit it, but Birmingham City are really starting to look like a decent team in the Premier League this season.

Their 1-0 away win at Stoke City on Monday made it 11 games unbeaten in the top flight for Birmingham, which is the club's best run since 1908, a whopping 101 years ago!

The unbeaten streak includes seven wins and four draws, which no doubt is quite impressive form.

It was the win at the Britannia Stadium that has really emphasised how good of a side Birmingham City are becoming in England's top professional league.

In that match, they didn't really play well and still managed to grind out a result. It's a clichéd statement, but it's the hallmark of a great team, and that's what Birmingham (unfortunately) could well become.

Cameron Jerome's strike on 50 minutes was the difference between the two sides, but it wouldn't have been had Birmingham 'keeper Joe Hart not pulled off a string of excellent saves.

And the goalkeeper is another sign of a great team. It's a well-known fact that great teams have great goalkeepers.

For example, the mighty Aston Villa have Brad Friedel , the USA' s greatest ever 'keeper. Manchester United have Edwin Van der Sar , Chelsea have Petr Cech , Real Madrid have Iker Casillas , Juventus have Gianluigi Buffon , etc.

Joe Hart is fast becoming a fantastic goalkeeper; his saves against Chelsea were instrumental in securing his side's 0-0 draw with the current Premier League leaders, and again his saves were crucial in Monday's win at Stoke.

Billionaire owner Carson Yeung's takeover at Birmingham has paved the way for manager Alex McLeish to spend millions on new players to help improve their prospects of finishing in the Europa League positions.

From January onwards, that can be used by us Aston Villa fans as an excuse for our arch rivals doing so well.

But for now, as McLeish has not spent a single penny promised to him by the owners, there is no possible explanation for Birmingham City achieving such good results, apart from the fact that they already have some quality players in their ranks, and that Alex McLeish is a very good tactician.

The emergence of teams like Manchester City and Sunderland (to a smaller extent), and the downfall of Liverpool , has meant that the 2009/10 Premier League season is one of the most competitive campaigns yet.

But the main reason it's so competitive perhaps could be down to Birmingham City, the team who are currently in seventh and two points ahead of Liverpool; the very same team that was playing Championship football only last season.

When a footballer of Frank Lampard's stature is presented with a golden opportunity to score a goal, many fans would back the Chelsea midfielder to find the back of the net.

Against Birmingham City however, Lampard failed to convert a wonderful chance to put Chelsea one up in the first half.

The England midfielder could only look on in shock as he watched his volley from point blank range go over the bar, courtesy of a marvellous save from Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart.

It was just one of many brilliant stops from Hart in a game where City nearly found themselves causing one of the upsets of the Premier League season.

After a positive opening from the hosts, Chelsea restored stability in the midfield, and pushed forward in search of the first goal.

Despite Chelsea's dominance, they were continually foiled by the tremendous form of Hart, who produced a career defining performance against the Premier League leaders.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper was the main figure for a Birmingham team which is growing in confidence with every passing game.

Indeed Hart's efforts between the posts were nearly rewarded with a goal from Birmingham forward Christian Benetiz.

Benetiz' goal, however, was disallowed for off-side, and City were forced to share the points against their illustrious rivals.

Regardless of the stalemate, Birmingham find themselves in a terrific position on the Premier League ladder, in comparison to where they were just months earlier.

City's nil all draw against Chelsea has extended their unbeaten run to ten matches, erasing the terrible start to a season which saw them win only two of their opening nine games.

Birmingham now find themselves just six points adrift of an automatic Champions League position.

Although there is still a long way to go in the season, City will fancy their chances of at least getting a Europa League spot.

Their effort over the past ten matches will serve as the foundation for a strong finish to a season where top four spots are still up for grabs.

It is a marvellous effort from a side which was just promoted to the Premier League this season, after spending 2008/09 in the Football League Championship.

And if goalkeeper Hart can repeat his match winning performance against Chelsea on a consistent basis, then a trip to South Africa for next year's FIFA World Cup could also be on the cards for the England international.

Blame it on my being busy with other things in life. I know I’ve not been spending too much time on the BlueChampions space.

There was once a time when I use to not only blog the pre-match, post-match and non-match opinions but also actively participate in the comments section. I’d like to do all that. I will.

For now, let’s live in the comfort that I’m fully aware that I’m not spending enough time here and that I’m pissing off some of you because of that. Because I’m aware, I’ll do something about it, very soon.

Away at Birmingham tomorrow. There are a few things that are threatening Chelsea’s party tomorrow.

Firstly, Birmingham are on an unbeaten run and they get to play at home tomorrow. They can be a tough opposition. If they are above Liverpool in the league table on Christmas day, you need to take them seriously.

Secondly, we might play in our dark away kit. See, I’ve got nothing against this away kit. In fact, I really like it. It’s just that not having won even a single match wearing that kit could have us psyched out as soon as our players walk out on the pitch. If we play in our dark away kit, let tomorrow be the day we notch our first win in that lovely kit.

Chelsea have not yet recovered from their slight dip in form. For about half a dozen matches, we’ve been shaky, unsure and either very lucky or very unlucky. What we need at this stage is a very resounding win like a 3-0 or 4-0 where Petr Cech is hardly seen.

For this expectation, it would be ideal for us to play against a team in disarray at Stamford Bridge. But we get to a play a team that’s high on confidence and also play at their own home stadium. Anyway, let’s be honest. With due respect, it’s Birmingham and not Barcelona.

We will be missing Nicolas Anelka, Michael Essien and Deco. I hope we continue with the 4-4-2 diamond instead of Carlo Ancelotti ’s favourite away formation 4-3-2-1.

Playing 4-4-2 would accommodate Daniel Sturridge. I’m never a harsh critic of Salomon Kalou. But even I think that Sturridge must get ahead of Kalou in team selection. Sturridge’s performance in the 45 mins that he got in the last match was very good. I thought he had the strength and pace that Kalou’s badly missing.

With whatever I have seen of Sturridge, he also seems to be more of a team player than Kalou and also certainly has a better final ball than the Ivorian. If you didn’t know already, Ancelotti has said that Sturridge would get a start tomorrow.

I’m all too excited for Sturridge. The one observation I have about him is that he looks way too pensive. Like how Anelka was until last season. I know he is very focused and determined and all that but c’mon, you can loosen up a bit. Sport a smile, get the fans on your side, score the goal and have them sing your name.

The midfield should have Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel certainly. Joe Cole has not been very impressive, but I’d give him another chance because he’s back from a long injury and it’s never that easy to join back your team and play in the most difficult league in Europe. I think he’s been okay. A goal or a fantastic assist would lift his spirits and form.

Why don’t we play Nemanja Matic and/or Gael Kakuta too depending on the match situation? Both are very decent young players. There were superbly in control, they knew what they were doing and appeared very matured in their approach to the game. Same was the case with Fabio Borini.

Let’s see if we get to see Sturridge, Kakuta, Matic and Borini at different points of time. Anyway, it appears all these players will have to play a big role until the end of first week of February.

We can still make this a decent month if we win this game and the game against Fulham, where Sturridge and Borini could start. If we beat Birmingham and Fulham, we’d have got 11 points out of possible 18 in this month, which is quite good in these circumstances and general level of consistency of top teams in this season.

We must win tomorrow. At this moment, I don’t want to remind you that 13 of the 15 goals that we conceded were from set pieces. Ouch, I just did that, didn’t I?

Chelsea are back to winning ways tomorrow. 2-0 for us.

I’d like to leave you with this lovely quote from Ashley Cole in his interview in the club website:

If we play well, we can beat anyone but we have not shown the fight and the determination that you should start the game with. That is what wins you games. It doesn’t matter how good you are otherwise, and we have to get back to that.

Sure we will. And yes, Merry Christmas folks! Have fun and enjoy!