On the day Michael Jordan is being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, someone else was recalling just how great he was away from the court.

That someone just happens to be Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who as most Jordan fans and followers know, managed him during his one-year flirtation with pro baseball in 1994.

But what Francona recalled some 100 miles east of Springfield on Friday, just hours before Jordan’s induction speech, was not his play with the Birmingham Barons on the diamond but rather how he handled himself off it.

“That was the best experience I could have ever had,” Francona said. “I couldn’t believe how he handled things. He was put in some horrendous situations, unfair situations and he always handled it with grace. It amazed me how he did that.”

If you think Francona just picked up the phone on Friday and gave Jordan a call, think again.

“I left him a message the other day through friend,” Francona said. “I got to see, first-hand, how his life is. I wouldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t believe how many people wanted a part of him. We have stayed in touch from time to time but it’s just too crazy.”

Jordan finished with a .202 average, driving in 51 runs and stealing 30 bases for the Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

“It was tough for him,” Francona said of Jordan’s attempt to leave the NBA during his two-year hiatus and try pro baseball. “He had big, tall, lanky arms so he had to fight to keep his swing short. He’s actually a good base stealer, I think he stole 30 bases and found a way to drive in 50 runs, which in Double-A is not too bad.

“In the situation he was in you needed to be patient with him,” Francona added. “But it was easy to be patient because of the way he treated everybody else. It was a really good year. I was with him in Birmingham and then went to the (Arizona) Fall League, so basically spent a year with him and feel better off for it.”

Specifically, Francona said he credits Jordan for helping to manage the hordes of media today that cover the team.

“We went from (local media) doing the radio to Nightline so it was a good learning experience for me,” Francona said. “You learned to be organized and to deal with the media and it was probably a very good learning experience.”

Francona confirmed all the stories about Jordan’s legendary drive to win in everything he did or tried.

“He is the most competitive person you’ll ever (meet),” Francona said. “The stories you hear about his competitiveness are true.”

Asked who was the better golfer, Francona didn’t hesitate.

“He was,” said Francona, before adding, “I would say I was the better gambler.”

Birmingham v Aston Villa, Premier League, September 13, 2009

Birmingham 12/5; Draw 11/58; Aston Villa 6/5

As Peter Enckelman can testify, this is the one match of the season which both teams will know that  mistakes will not be tolerated.

Villains boss Martin O’Neill is set to field a brand spanking new backline in Sunday’s spicy Second City derby with Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

The Midlanders were forced into transfer action just before the close of the the transfer window after losing defender Curtis Davies for a lengthy period after the centre-half underway surgery for a shoulder injury. That left Carlos Cuellar as the only senior defender left standing in the squad, and so necessity required that reinforcements be found.

Splashing the cash, Villa signed Richard Dunne from Manchester City and James Collins (12/1 to score) from West Ham, and the duo are likely to make their debuts for their new club in Villa’s feistiest match of the season away at the old enemy. The Villains will also be hoping recall Luke Young to the first team as the full-back also a period on the sidelines. (Villa are 6/4 to keep a clean sheet.)

After a slow start to the new campaign Villa have launched up the table in recent weeks, buoyed by the superb form of Ashley Young (9/1 to score first) and Gabi Agbonlahor (7/4 to score) up front. Neither forward were involved in the international break, and accordingly both will be full of energy to return to the field.

Villa have dominated the recent clashes having won the last four league derbies both home and away, including a 5-1 thrashing of the Blues the last time the teams met back in April 2008. Alex McLeish’s side will be desperate to put in a much better performance this time around, however they will have to do so nursing several important absentees. Missing from action will be Cameron Jerome (ankle), Gregory Vignal (hip), Marcus Bent (hamstring), Martin Taylor (foot), Scott Dann (thigh) and Liam Ridgewell (broken leg).

Having been unlucky to lose at Spurs in their last Premier League match though, the Blues will be in high spirits that they can continue their positive early season form at home in which they have taken four points from their two fixtures at St Andrew’s without conceding a goal.

Responsibility for making sure the Blues stay in control of the match against Villa will fall on the shoulders of experience duo Lee Carsley and Lee Bowyer in the centre of the park. Sebastian Larsson (16/1 to score first) will likely continue as the go-between from the midfield to the attack, with James McFadden (9/1 to score first) and big summer signing Christian Benitez (12/1 to score a brace) leading the line.

Expecting a tough tackling, blood and thunder occasion, a sending off could well be in the offing although the forecast of a goal blitz seems less likely.

101predicts: Birmingham 1 - Aston Villa 1 (5/1)

Birmingham 12/5; Draw 11/58; Aston Villa 6/5

Full match odds here.

Folks, if Saturday managed to spring about a few surprises, Sunday wasn't to be outdone either.

The first Sunday of the new English Premier League had two games being played, Manchester United hosted Birmingham City in the early kickoff while Liverpool travelled to Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester United began their Premier League defense without several key defenders including Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Rafael Da Silva, and Nemanja Vidic, which meant Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to pair Jonny Evans with John O'Shea at the heart of United's defense.

Wayne Rooney partnered Dimitar Berbatov upfront while new signing Luis Antonio Valencia made his league debut for the Red Devils.

Birmingham had defensive problems of their own as Giovanni Espinoza, Scott Dann and Liam Ridgewell were all missing due to injuries.

Alex McCleish handed a debut to Scottish midfielder, Barry Ferguson while Ecuadorian striker, Christian "Chucho" Benitez looked on from the bench.

Cameron Jerome headed the attack on his own and was occasionally joined by James McFadden, Keith Fahey, and Sebastian Larsson.

United constantly troubled Birmingham's defense in the first half as Wayne Rooney's fierce strike was denied by the finger tips of on-loan Manchester City keeper Joe Hart in the opening minutes of play at Old Trafford.

Nani had a golden chance to put the Red Devils ahead minutes later but the Portuguese winger made a mess of Patrice Evra's cut back sending the ball into the stands.

Valencia tried to impress the Old Trafford faithful but failed to have any real impact on the game.

United eventually broke the deadlock when Darren Fletcher's long ball found Nani on the left wing, Nani's cross was met by Wayne Rooney, in the six yard area. Rooney's header teasingly rebounded after striking Joe Hart's post but Rooney was prepared and neatly tucked the rebound into the net, providing United, a much deserved lead in the 34th minute of play.

Birmingham came close when Frank Quedrue's header was saved off the line by Patrice Evra.

United lead the Blues going into the break but Birmingham came close to finding an equaliser after the interval when Cameron Jerome's long range effort went inches wide of Ben Foster's goal.

Foster also made a sensational save to deny substitute Christian Benitez late in the second half as United held on to take the three points.

Micheal Owen failed to score on debut despite being put one-on-one with Hart by Rooney's cheeky play-on.

Tottenham Hotspur played host to Liverpool at White Hart Lane and Harry Redknapp chose to leave new signing Peter Crouch on the bench against his former club.

Robbie Keane, though, led Spurs against the Reds, after his return to White Hart Lane from Anfield last season.

Liverpool started with Fernando Torres upfront, Steven Gerrard just behind him and the Dutch duo of Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel assisting the Spaniard from the flanks.

It wasn't too long before Liverpool started missing Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid earlier this month.

His replacement Alberto Aquilani still faces time on the sidelines.

Lucas and Javier Mascherano were paired together in midfield in Alonso's absence and Liverpool appeared to be missing an air of creativity.

The only spark or two provided to the Reds were by new signing Glen Johnson, who caused problems for the Spurs defense whenever he charged up the right wing.

Surprisingly enough, it appeared Fernando Torres never came to the party. The Spaniard looked a little rusty, perhaps, still settling into the new season.

Spurs took a deserved lead in the first half when Benoit Assou-Ekotto fired in an unstoppable strike after Tom Huddlestone's freekick had struck the Liverpool wall.

Wilson Palacios was absolutely brilliant in the Spurs' midfield while Luka Modric, Tom Huddlestone, and Aaron Lennon had an equally good outing.

Robbie Keane missed out on not one, but two fantastic chances to score against his former club.

His header from a brilliant Modric cutback was expertly saved by Pepe Reina, who denied him again minutes later when he tried to apply the finishing touches to an Aaron Lennon through ball.

After the interval, Liverpool levelled the scores when Glen Johnson was unsportingly brought down by Gomes in the box and Steven Gerrard blasted the resulting spotkick into the roof of the net to give Liverpool, a much-needed equaliser.

The Reds fell behind again minutes later, when debutant Sebastian Bassong headed Modric's freekick passed Reina into the back of the net and White Hart Lane went up in a roar.

Yossi Benayoun came on for Ryan Babel and Peter Crouch replaced Robbie Keane to make his Spurs debut but the North Londoners held on to collect all three points.

Phil Dowd controversially turned down Liverpool's claims for a penalty after Assou-Ekotto appeared to have handled the ball in the area, but replays showed the touch was unintentional.

Spurs were brilliant, they created a lot of chances and deserved the win.

A horrible start, then, to Liverpool's title chase on the opening weekend but all of the other members of the Big Four—Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United—began their respective campaigns with victories.

Manchester City also got their campaign off to a winning start with Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland scoring in a 2-0 away victory against Blackburn Rovers.

That's a wrap, folks!

Here's Legendary Salaar (TM) signing off, saying, "Thank God, the Premier League is back!"

Manchester United

Defending Premier League champions Manchester United come into the 2009-10 season having lost the Community Shield to Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out.

Prior to this, Man Utd won six of their pre-season matches and lost only one, this time against Bayern Munich in the final of the Audi Cup, again in a penalty shoot-out.

With the biggest news of the summer transfer window being Manchester United's £80 million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, the Red Devils have so far made two big signings in winger Antonio Valencia from Wigan and striker Michael Owen from Newcastle.

Man Utd have a lengthy injury list to start their season, with Edwin van der Sar, Nani, Rafael, Nemanja Vidic, Wes Brown, Johnny Evans, Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves all suffering from various afflictions.

Birmingham

Newly promoted Birmingham City return to the Premier League, having made a number of key signings, including Ecuador striker Christian Benitez (Santos Laguna), defender Giovanny Espinoza (Barcelona Sporting Club), defender Roger Johnson (Cardiff), midfielder Barry Ferguson (Rangers), midfielder Lee Bowyer (West Ham) as well as England Under-21 goalkeeper Joe Hart (Manchester City) on loan.

Birmingham too have a number of injury concerns, with Liam Ridgewell, Marcus Bent, and Martin Taylor all set to miss the match.

Prediction

With Birmingham being relegated at the end of the 2007-08 season, the two sides did not meet last season. However, both Man Utd vs Birmingham fixtures in 2007 and 2008 ended in Manchested United running out 1-0 winners.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish may have wanted an easier start to the season than to have to face Sir Alex Ferguson's men at Old Trafford, but a good result for Birmingham here may be just what the Blues need in order to commence a strong campaign this season.

However, with or without Cristiano Ronaldo, the Red Devils look more than capable of posting a comfortable victory in their opening match of this 2009-10 Premier League season.

Man Utd vs Birmingham Prediction: Man Utd 2  Birmingham 0

Read the complete Manchester United vs Birmingham preview with the best odds and markets for the match at the Sports Betting Review website.

Also read our previews for the Everton vs Arsenal and Spurs vs Liverpool matches as well.

This Week’s Roundtable is hosted by: The Pigskin Pathos

This week’s Big Orange Roundtable is hosted by The Pigskin Pathos, the resident Tennessee/Auburn blog, and he’s thought of some highly interesting questions…

Given the fact that Lawvol is lazy, unreliable, and has been out-of-position most of the week due to “depositions” (likely story), this week I am flying solo on the Roundtable…

Week 5

(1a) Urban Meyer is last in line to order at a Pahokee, Fla. McDonald’s. The door suddenly opens, and Lane Kiffin walks in. Urban Meyer is not above momentarily turning his head to see who enters a room, as we are all wont to do. Upon seeing each other, both coaches pause for a moment, knowing that an awkward encounter is inevitable. Lane, being the brash one, decides to initiate. Finish the conversation, use as many lines as you feelare necessary.

HSH: Sorry to be a Buzz Killington, but this a is trick question.

You see, there actually is no McDonalds in Pahokee. The closest one is in Belle Glade, which, according to Google Maps, is a 16-minute drive from the great city of Pahokee. After what Lane Kiffin said back around Signing Day in the spring about Pahokee, I was inspired to double-check of if the city had a McDonalds, and this is what I found. So maybe Kiffin’s Pahokee comments – although not necessarily wise – weren’t exactly that far off-base…they don’t even a McDonalds.

But to play along, here’s my take:

• Lane: Sup, Urbie?
• Urban: Oh…hey Lane…
• Awkward silence, tension building
• Kiffin’s phone rings, and it’s a recruit
• Urban goes on to order, the two never make eye contact again – including the postgame handshake September 19th

I think it would be the awkward confrontation between two guys that don’t have an ounce of respect for each other. These two guys couldn’t give a you-know-what about the other one, so I don’t think either would have much to say.

(1b) What do both coaches order?

HSH: Kiffin orders two double cheeseburgers, medium fry, medium drink – all off the Dollar Menu. Why, you ask? Because that’s what I get when I’m feeling some McDonalds (very rare occasions). Where else can you get a full, filling meal like that for just over $4? Kiffin’s a smart guy, too. Plus, remember how he negotiated less in his contract to pay his assistants more? Well, he’s got to watch the family budget – after all, he’s got that lovely wife and three kids.

Meyer is lame, and just orders whatever Tim Tebow tells him to order.

(2) If an asteroid were on a direct impact course with Earth, what could Eric Berry do about it? If he is successful in stopping the
asteroid and saving the world, does he win the Heisman then?

HSH: Berry would, of course, stop it. Because he can. He would catch it, and take it back 83 yards for six.

Sadly enough, even stopping a meteor from destroying the world wouldn’t be enough. Mostly because the media would be too busy fawning over Tim Tebow’s latest good deed because, you know, Tebow always seems to make sure he’s got a camera near or around his good mission trips and the like. And if the media wasn’t all over that, they’d be too busy being giddy over Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford throwing for 750 yards and 8 touchdowns on some Big 12 pansy defense (wait, they play defense in that league?).

(3) If you were on the planning committee for the Neyland Stadium renovations, what new things would you propose to be added to the Stadium and surrounding areas that are not already in the works?

HSH: Most of my changes would involve the student section and seating, because the recent stuff really seems to have taken care of most of everything else as far as I’m concerned. Here’s some of my ideas:

• No student seats in the upper deck; as in, give us another section in the South endzone, and up the ante on them. Make them competitive and use a similar system to the one they just created, except without all the confusing jargon.
• This may create some controversy, but here goes. I would have a simple little quiz – online, of course – for every student to take to be eligible to even get tickets. Just some simple questions about the game of football and about our team and maybe the SEC in general – questions most of us would obviously know. This is highly unfeasible, but the point would be to get all of the folks who either (a) don’t have a clue or (b) don’t care enough to follow the Vols out of the prime seating. Sadly enough, the inspiration for this comes from seeing girls sitting in better seats than me and texting or sitting the whole game. So yes, this is targeted at them more or less. Of course, if you pass an eye test, then what you know or don’t know is irrelevant. After all, getting the pretty UT girls on the CBS and ESPN cameras certainly makes the school look good, right?
• Spread the other teams’ way the heck out. Give them the section around their band and put the rest of them in a corner. Everyone else (ie, Florida, Alabama and Georgia) does it, why are we so nice?
• Keep the troughs in the mens’ bathroom, for sure.
• I would have kept the V-O-L-S letter signs on the top of the new JumboTron. That’s something I think we’d all agree on.

(4) I am a former Pride of the Southland member, so I’ve been always curious about this. What are your three favorite songs that the Pride plays? What is your least favorite song? What songs would you like to hear the Pride play on game days?

HSH: Ah, the Pride of the Southland. Our football program may suck at times and have fallen into mediocrity, but the band program is always at the top of their game. It’s more fun when we go on the road and march on the opponents’ field in the “Power T” formation, even though we may be down a couple touchdowns. Anyways…

• Rocky Top – obviously – but WITHOUT the “woo!”
• The real fight song, or “Down the Field.” Yes, I actually had to look up the name of it because I wasn’t totally sure. Tt’s the one the Pride plays directly following a touchdown. It’s what I’ve set my text message ringtone on my phone, and I think it’s underrated (or in the shadow of Rocky Top).
• The theme from the movie Gladiator, or, as I call it, our slower version of Florida State’s Seminole war chant. Not sure why, I just like it.
• Livin’ On a Prayer: I don’t like Bon Jovi, and I always think of it as an Auburn thing, and we’re better than Auburn.
• The Lord of the Rings theme. Obivously. The movies are great, but I’m not sure it fits on the football field.

My one, lone, easy-to-do request. I’m stealing this from the LSU band, but I’ve heard they stole it from the HBCU schools (HBCU is the term for the predominantly black schools in the southern U.S., known for their very cool marching bands) like Southern, Grambling State, Florida A&M and others, so it’s fine by me. I believe it’s based off a version from Cameo, but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lClZTjNS6xQ also have a version. Here’s LSU’s version…

Click here to view the embedded video.

My love of this song came from the 2007 SEC Championship Game, when some of my friends had seats near the LSU section, and came to me after the game lamenting Erik Ainge’s interceptions and raving on the crunk-ness of the LSU band and their amazingly fun-looking connection with their fans. You can see what the students and fans do in part – is that not cool? Unfortunately, I don’t think this will ever happen at Tennessee, even with the flair and energy of the new staff – I mean, they’re playing rap music at practice now…how dare they!

Our basketball ball pep band played this once a game this past season or so, and me and my friends – although not always sitting together – always manage to find each other doing said motion. With all the rap music blaring during our practices (and on the Neyland PA system at games, perhaps?), why not the Pride?

(5) Being a half Auburn blog, I feel compelled to ask this: since 2003, Auburn has quietly amassed a 4 game winning streak against Tennessee. How would you describe the current status of the Tennessee-Auburn rivalry (if there is one)?

I want to save the whole current state of the Tennessee and Auburn programs comparison for the week of that game, but it’s an interesting rivalry. I have no knowledge of it, but this used to be a pretty big deal because the Vols and War Eagles played every year prior to the divisional split in 1992. They played some pretty memorable games, but I have no connection with those because I wasn’t alive. Shame on my youth…

Really though, what comes to my mind when I think of the UT-Auburn rivalry is when Auburn beat Tennessee three times in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. I went to the regular season games both years. The highlights:

• 2003: Sitting in Vols section, we have obnoxiously loud Auburn woman fan behind, releasing a high-pitched squeal of glee at every Cadillac Williams 8 yard-run. Vols fall behind 28-7, before Casey Clausen starts throwing the ball all over the place. Jordan-Hare Stadium is palpable with nervousness as Vols mount final drive to tie the game.In Auburn territory, Clausen throws pick, which I still don’t think the guy caught, and Auburn wins. It was Clausen’s only loss on the road in the SEC in his career. We got lost in the dark of Auburn’s campus after words, have “War Eagle” yelled at us abou a thousand times, and sit in traffic on the only road out of Auburn for about two hours on the way back to Birmingham.
• 2004: My junior year of high school, I take a couple of Auburn buds along with me. GameDay was there, everybody was pumped. Auburn then absolutely stomped the Vols. 31-3 at half. Loudest I’ve heard the road team’s fans in Neyland Stadium in my life…EVER. Somehow, Tennessee recovered and beat Georgia in Athens next week 19-14 and won the SEC East that year…

…leading to the the crime that was the ‘04 title game. Opening drive, Williams fumbles into the endzone. Sure enough, Auburn falls on it. Vols score on 80 yard TD run? Nope, called back on an iffy holding call 10 yards behind the play. Vols stop Auburn on third down down 3 in the fourth quarter? Nope, pass interference on Vols after Jason Campbell threw the ball into the first row. Auburn scores next play. Surely the SEC wasn’t going to deny a team the opportunity to play for a national title, right?

If it sounds like I’m slightly bitter, it’s because I got to hear about those games ad nauseum for the next couple of years, as most of my friends from high school are Auburn fans that now attend the school. Most of that’s worn off now. Last year’s game was completely different because everyone walked out of Jordan-Hare that day fully aware of the abomination of a football game they had just witnessed, so no grief-giving was necessary. I never really hated Auburn, I just got sick of the constant grief. But now it’s different: I really don’t dislike Auburn at all, but it’s about time we actually beat Auburn.

The Rest of the Roundtable:

Be sure to check out what the other roundtablers have to say (in no particular order):

• Rocky Top Talk
• 3rd Saturday in Blogtober
• YMSWWC
• MoonDog Sports
• Vol Junkies
• Pigskin Pathos
• Bleeding Orange
• Losers With Socks

Also be sure to check out the round-up at Pigskin Pathos…

– … to me.

Gate 21 Tags: Basketball, Big 12, Big Orange Roundtable, Championship, College Football, College Football, Eric Berry, Florida Gators, Football, Gate 21, Lane Kiffin, Links, News & Notes, Neyland Stadium, SEC, SEC Fans, SEC Football, Tennessee Football, Tennessee Football, Tennessee Volunteers, Urban Meyer, Vols

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 4 (0)
• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 2 (4)
• Headlines, Links, & Lies: Post-BCS Hangover Vitriol Edition (3)

Barry Ferguson  

Rangers to Birmingham, £1million.

Humans are at their most dangerous when they have something to prove. This is particularly true of athletes. Whether they have suffered injuries, need to justify a price tag, or been criticised for performance, the need to demonstrate that they can still perform is essential.

In the best sportsmen, criticism burns deep in their blood helping to motivate them for the task at hand.

They need to prove they can still handle it at the top.

When Barry Ferguson accompanied international team mate Allan McGregor to a late night-drinking session following Scotland’s World Cup qualifier defeat to Holland, he compromised his position as a senior member of the squad.

When the pair were relegated to the bench for the subsequent match against Iceland, the childish gestures aimed at the gathering media all but sealed their fate—their international future was in tatters.

Stripped of both the Rangers and Scotland captaincies and told he would never play for his country again, Ferguson’s career was in tatters. He issued a public apology but it didn’t make a difference. Humiliated by the relentless press and disowned by the club he supported since a boy, Ferguson’s Rangers career was over.

The irony of the situation was that Rangers manager Walter Smith had ended what he started for Ferguson, after giving him his first appearances as a professional during his first stint as coach at Ibrox. However, it was not until Dick Advocaat was given the manager’s job in 1998 that Ferguson began to establish himself as a first team regular. In that season, he was a vital cog in the Rangers wheel that won the Scottish treble of the Premier League, Scottish Cup and League Cup.

The performances of Ferguson proved so influential that he was given a massive six-year contract the following season. High standards continued to be set by the midfielder into the new millennium, as he won the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year award in 2000 and was awarded the Rangers captaincy later that year, fulfilling a childhood dream.

He retained the armband when Alex McLeish became Rangers manager in 2001, leading Rangers to another domestic treble in the 2002-03 season, scoring 18 goals from midfield and securing another Writers' Player of the Year award, as well as the Players' Player of the Year award.

Having won everything that was possible to win in the limited environment of Scotland, Ferguson turned his attention southwards as the bright lights of the English Premier League shone. As a fellow Scot and Rangers man, Graeme Souness was a keen admirer of the talents of Ferguson and had no doubt that he could justify his £7.5million price tag and replicate the form he showed north of the border for Blackburn Rovers.

His spell at Ewood Park lasted just 16 months. While he did show glimpses of the brilliance that had earned him such a lofty reputation, injuries provided unwelcome interruptions from action. His adamant admirer Graeme Souness had left and been replaced as manager by Mark Hughes, who didn’t value him as highly as his predecessor.

Ferguson was missing his boyhood club—and particularly the Old Firm games which set adrenaline pumping so intensely.

After securing a move back to Glasgow, he spoke to BBC Sport about the difference in the Old Firm and Lancashire derbies.

"There were 27,038 at the Reebok and I have to be brutally honest. That's when I looked round and Rangers really started tugging," he said.

"I was brought up dreaming of representing Rangers against Celtic."

It was obvious where Ferguson’s heart and head lay. But his second spell at Rangers did not bring the success that his first did. Despite helping Rangers continue their march to the league title in the second half of the 2004-05 season, the following year saw the club limp to an extremely poor third-place finish.

With Alex McLeish having his contract terminated, the highly-rated Paul Le Guen took the Rangers hot seat. His tenure was a nightmare, and claimed he was undermined by certain individuals inside the club, including Mr. Rangers himself—Barry Ferguson.

The following couple of seasons under Walter Smith provided a return to success though; a UEFA Cup Final appearance in 2008 the apex. However injuries continued to affect him on a regular basis, missing the first four months of the 2008-09 season due to another ankle injury.

Regardless of his juvenile antics on the substitute’s bench earlier this year, Ferguson’s ability cannot be doubted. From the middle of the park, he provides energy, grit, and tenacity which can spread throughout a team. He is the type of player that a player would rather have on his side than on the opposition.

Yes, time is not on his side. At 31, perhaps the legs can’t do what they did five years ago. And in the Premier League, that could be fatal. Is he destined to be remembered simply as an excellent SPL player?

But providing he stays fit, he must surely be worth a gamble. Also, it can’t be ignored that Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has worked with Ferguson before—and got the best out of him. With Birmingham looking to scrap its way to 17th place or above this season, miracles won’t be expected of Ferguson.

In players such as Sebastian Larsson and Keith Fahey, they have the youth alongside Ferguson that can do his running if need be.

There is no guarantee that Ferguson is a shoe-in to start for Birmingham. The likes of Lee Carsley and Lee Bowyer will also be looking to take that role. But as Alex McLeish said after securing Ferguson’s services, Ferguson has "unfinished business in England."

A player with something to prove is a powerful tool.

Birmingham City has smashed its transfer record with the purchase of the Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez for an upfront payment of £6.2 million which could rise to the sum of £9 million if all stipulations in the contract are met.

The 23 year old is known in his homeland as “El Chucho” (the mutt) and began his career with El Nacional where he scored 29 goals in 83 games earning himself a move in 2007 to Santos Lagum who play in Mexico’ s Primera Division.

In the two seasons El Chucho spent in Mexico he bagged 31 goals in 58 games. He has built a reputation as one of the Division’s most exciting forwards and at the end of last season he was the Player of the Year award.

Standing at 5ft 6 inches Benitez is not a player who will trouble defenders in the air but he is electric on the ground. He has been blessed with tremendous pace and is most dangerous when facing defenders with space to run into or with a defender tight on him where he can spin into the open space.

The most incredible thing about this player is his acceleration, he seems to have elastic for tendons and his ability to create one yard of space to get a shot in is incredible. Although he is the same height as Michael Owen his stockier build means he is better able to fend players off the ball which will be a useful attribute in the rough and tumble of the Premier League.

For his country he has netted 10 goals in 18 games.

The player has been unlucky with injuries and has suffered a dislocated shoulder and a leg break. Furthermore, his transfer was delayed due to concerns regarding his knee.

Benitez has signed a three-year contract at the club, not that long considering his transfer fee. But as any pundit will tell you clubs promoted from the Championship generally struggle to get goals in the Premier League. Service is harder to come by and the marking is better.

El Chucho is a player who does not require service from the wings, all he needs is an early ball played to his feet or behind a defender to become a threat. This could be a great buy for Birmingham City as he can be used to alleviate pressure as well as having the ability to create something out of nothing. He could turn out to be an inspired purchase by Alex McLeish.

Video evidence of Christian Benitez can be seen here.

Alex McLeish and Birmingham celebrated their return to the Premier League by breaking the club's transfer fee record.

The recipient of this fee is a Mexican Primera Division club, Santos Laguna.

The player: Ecuadorian international striker Christian Benitez. The fee: £9 million, surpassing the previous £6.25 million paid for the services of Emile Heskey in 2004.

This is clearly a statement of intent. Birmingham is desperate to shed the yo-yo tag that the club currently bears.

Since the 2005-06 season, Birmingham has been going up and down the division. Getting off the starting blocks early (as Hull had shown this season) must be of the utmost importance in McLeish's strategy and tactics next season.

Is Benitez that one signing that can turn the fortunes of Birmingham? Yes, I say.

Benitez is one of the hottest prospects in world football. Only 23, he is already the best player in the Mexican Premier Division.

He has scored 31 goals in 58 games in Mexico and bagged 10 goals in 17 international matches. He was named 2006 Most Valuable Player in Ecuador while with El Nacional and more recently was named 2008 MVP in Mexico.

Clearly the boy has talent. Although 5'6", he has a great leap and can score goals with his head. He can shoot with both feet, something which is very rare these days. As with all South American players, he has the technical skills and flair.

Benitez possesses a great change of pace, which typically leaves defenders on the floor.

His agent has touted Benitez as the Ecuadorian "Lionel Messi." Sure, he can run at, run past, and skin defenders, but he is no Messi.

Instead, I will label him as the alternative Obafemi Martins. He has similar physique and is quick and strong. He is also more prolific in front of goal than Martins.

Benitez will have taken heart from the success of Luis Valencia in the English league.

Make no mistakes, he has the tools to succeed. With the right nurturing, he will succeed.

Tim Vickery once wrote in an article that the main reason for South Americans failing in England is the lack of club support to look after them and help them ease into life in England.

Brazilian striker Jo came over to England on a reputation of a goal in every two games but could not settle in Manchester City. When he was loaned out to Everton, he recaptured his scoring form and attributed that to the way Everton and, in particular, Phil Neville had taken the time to care and help him adjust to life in England.

If Birmingham can make him feel at home and form a proper support group around him, then Christian Benitez will be able to focus on the real task at hand—the task of firing the goals that will lift Birmingham into mid-table security next season.

It's been a long time, I've resisted this season to write anything because I knew how it would pan out.

I love my team, don't get me wrong, I will love them 'til I die. Love them over my betrothed, that's how much they mean to me, even when things don't go according to plan.

Which they haven't.

Some how, we've been playing absolute garbage all season yet we're second in the Championship. Does this mean the standard of the league is slipping? No, it does not.

It just means that Birmingham City, the strongest squad on paper in the Championship, has managed to bluff their way to an automatic promotion spot by pure chance.

I may be a dreamer, along with 20,000 other fans, in thinking that we could be a force in the Premiership, but at the end of the day I'm also a realist, and I know that if we get promoted, we will face an uphill struggle just to consolidate our position.

We've been there a couple of times, the first year we survived with our "up and at 'em" attitude, but this bred expectation amongst the fans.

Maybe we could qualify for the UEFA Cup. Yes, we could, one day, not yet though. Under Alex McLeish and the Gold brothers we have more potential than we ever had under Steve Bruce.

Karren Brady can slag us off as much as she wants in her tabloid column. She knows the score, she knows the die'hard Bluenose will never give up.

Let's never forget where we come from and who we are. We are the perennial underdogs. We are Birmingham City. We will fight them on the beaches and we will fight with growing strength in the air.

We will never surrender. Bring on the dingles...We will journey on, tho the way be long. We'll be there, at the end of the road.

The problem for Wigan manager Steve Bruce is that his current first-choice strikeforce of Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki are both likely to playing for different clubs at the start of next season. While Heskey will be available for free on a Bosman, Zaki’s one-year loan from El Zamalek will terminate this summer and it is highly doubtful that the Latics can afford to hold onto either of their prized frontmen past the end of the season.

Looking to head-off a striking headache before the summer comes around, Bruce’s attention has turned to 23-year-old Nexaca striker Hugo Rodallega who is reported to move to the JJB for £4.5m as soon as a work permit can be obtained.

Rodallega, a Colombian international, has to-date remained in his comfort zone of South and Central America where he has proven himself to a be reliable striker bagging 77 goals in 157 club games, whilst netting 6 times in 21 international appearances.

Pessimistically though, South American strikers bought in the winter transfer windows have not always lived up to their promise. Just 12 months ago a similar set of events saw Derby County throw away £2m on the highly-rated talent of Emanuel Villa—another forward offering a fine striking record in South and Central America. But since arriving in Blightly Villa has struggled to settle in at the Rams, hitting his driest goal-scoring spell so far in his career of just 8 goals in 41 appearances

Wigan will be confident however that their scouting network have unearthed yet another unknown gem. Having one of the most multi-cultural squads in the Premier League, with players from Honduras, Ecuador, Barbados, Senegal and Ghana, Steve Bruce has already gelled together a melting pot of world talent, and hopes will be high that Rodallega can prove himself a vital addition to the setup.

Nicknamed “Rodagol,” Steve Bruce is eager to meet up with his latest acquisition. Bruce: “He’s fast, about 6ft 1in, he’s good in the air, rangy rather than thick-set, can score a goal - just a genuine all-round striker.”

Bereft of any searing pace, Hugo Rodallega is a striker who likes to take position in the box, capable of scoring off either foot or his head, and looking to be the focal point of the attacks rather than involving himself too much in the build-up.

Video evidence of Hugo Rodallega can be seen here.