Birmingham

In an ideal football game, two yellow cards amount to a red card and a suspension from the next two games.  In the case of a straight red card it is usually 3 games suspension.

But shouldn’t there be extra punishment for grave offences?

Imagine, a player that ends a fellow player’s career with a serious tackle getting the same punishment with one who pushes the referee away or is involved in a fist fight with other players, is there any justice?

This season, the English Football Association has tried to clamp down on two footed tackles with referees given strict rules to brandish a red card every time a two-footed challenge has been made.

Already, players like Ricardo Carvalho, Mikel Obi, have been dismissed for those challenges.

In the case of Carvalho’s tackle on Gabriele Agbonlahor, he deserved the red card and a 3 game suspension that ensued but for Martin Taylor to get the same punishment, is completely nonsensical.

The guy broke Eduardo da Silva’s leg in three places, and every one is going on with normal service while some have the audacity to say Taylor “isn’t malicious and that he has no violent bone in his body”.

This to me is “murder” in football!

As long as the crime is committed the culprit is charged with murder and jail beckons there after.

Whether it’s a first timer or not, unless the defending council pleads self-defence, I don’t think Martin Taylor can use that get-out- of- jail card because this was St. Andrews, a football pitch not a battle field or gladiator park.

In the heat of the moment, Arsene Wenger said, “Martin Taylor should not play football again,” which to me is too harsh a punishment.

If the tackle is to end Eduardo’s playing career why should Taylor continue playing? Though Wenger retracted his statement, I feel he should have stood by it.

People may find it hard to believe that Eduardo forgave Taylor, but even Moses was willing to forgive the remorseless Pharaoh.

Players should know that it’s not only a matter of winning football games, but also a matter of life, career and family. Some of the tackles made are violent and life threatening. 

It is players like Martin Taylor who deprived the world of geniuses like Marco van Basten and Sebastian Diesler.

Imagine if Eduardo was English and he was leading the Three Lions to the euro championships in the summer and Taylor was a foreigner, would the English be going on about ‘non-malicious’ intent?

Any one remember Pedro Aldo Duscher who broke Beckham’s third metatarsal before the world cup and how he was castigated by the English press, or Alpay who was forced out of Aston villa because of the tunnel fight he had with Beckham in a world cup qualifier?

Is it that there are different rules applying to foreigners in the English premiership or is it a way of trying to limit the number of foreigners in the league?

Imagine if the premiership was deprived of players like Ronaldo, Fabregas, Torres, and Berbatov and it remained only with players like Wright Philips, Aaron Mokoena, Kenwyn Jones and Marlon Harewood.

Would it be the global brand it is right now?

Instead of teaching young footballers the finer details of football like finesse and intelligent play, there is too much emphasis on huffing, puffing and gang ho approach to games.

You cant believe how hard players like Wes brown, Steven Gerard, Joey Barton, Allan Smith, Robbie Savage, and Nicky Butt go in on players to win the ball, yet players like Javier Mascherano, Andrea Pirlo, Daniele de Rossi are excellent ball winners, with out necessarily going in hard on others because they know the brain as a powerful organ and tend to utilise it to greater efficiency.

So whether there is malicious intent or not, as long as a player breaks a leg because of an opponent's challenge, let the length of ban be longer than that of a normal red card offence.

Maybe a period of 10 games could be fair enough. FIFA should also try to look at some of the rules that govern the beautiful game.

Imagine a player gets injured and needs touchline treatment leaving his team a man down, is it fair?

Why doesn’t the offender also go out until the injured player gets back to his feet and then on to the pitch?

I thought FIFA was so intent on fair play. They even have a fair player and team of the year award.

Ironic, isn’t it?   

Aston Villa vs Portsmouth - Saturday March 15th

In two weeks' time, Aston Villa and Portsmouth will face off at Fratton Park with, hopes of securing spots in their respective European competitions.

After nearly pulling off a huge upset at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon, Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa side are making their own bid for fourth spot in the Premier League. Hoping for a slip up from both Everton and Liverpool, there is an outside chance that Villa could slip into the fourth and final spot for the Champions League.

As for Pompey, securing a spot in the UEFA Cup would be a major accomplishment for Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth. Currently sitting in 9th place with 44 points, Pompey still has a chance of leapfrogging one of their table rivals with a spell of good form.

Birmingham City vs Newcastle United - Monday March 17th

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Once considered to be legitimate contenders for Europe, Newcastle United had fallen on hard times under both Sam Allardyce and Kevin Keegan. Sitting only three points above the relegation zone, Magpie manager Kevin Keegan has yet to win a game after being called into duty by club owner Mike Ashley.

Birmingham City, on the other hand, are coming off a remarkable performance against Tottenham after demolishing the 2008 Carling Cup winners by a scoreline of 4-1. New boy James McFadden looks in good form as he looks to help steer his club away from relegation by coming out on top against Newcastle when the two sides square off at St. Andrews Ground on Monday night.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea - Wednesday March 19th

Speaking of Tottenham, Juande Ramos' side will be looking to pull off another repeat victory over their London rivals in a repeat of the 2008 Carling Cup Final at White Hart Lane. As for Chelsea manager Avram Grant, he will be hoping to silence the critics after receiving excessive criticism for failing to win the Carling Cup last month. 

Birmingham City vs Reading - Saturday March 22nd  

In another relgation battle at the Madejski Stadium, Reading welcomes Alex McLeish's Birmingham City side to their ground in a crucial encounter. With both sides hovering around the danger zone, Birmingham and Reading will be hoping to get the result they need to stay for another season in the Premier League.

Newcastle United vs Fulham - Saturday March 22nd

New Fulham manager Roy Hodgson will need his club to dig deeper as they travel to St. James Park to take on rival relegation candidates Newcastle United. After ludicrous spending, Fulham have failed to produce the results needed to establish themselves as a Premier League side. 

For Kevin Keegan, he'll need to grab all three points if he wants to keep his job—or his short lived return could be in serious jeopardy.

Super Sunday II - Sunday March 23rd

A) Manchester United vs Liverpool

In the first part of the so-called "Super Sunday", Manchester United takes on their hated rivals Liverpool in a battle between the two most historically sucessful teams in England at Old Trafford, Sunday afternoon. United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping to lock up the Premier League title, where as Liverpool manager Rafa Benitiez will be hoping to catch up to their Merseyside rivals Everton for fourth place.

B) Chelsea vs Arsenal 

In the final part of "Super Sunday", Avram Grant's resilent Chelsea squad will be hoping to close the gap between them and the current league leaders in Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. The clash between the two cross-town rivals could potentially determine the winner of the Premier League with the surging Red Devils keeping a close eye on this match.

Derby County vs Fulham, Saturday March 29

Similarly, both Derby County and Fulham find themselves currently battling the odds to stay alive in the ever competitive English Premier League. The March 29th encounter should help clear up the relegation picture for both Roy Hodgson and Paul Jewell.

Liverpool vs Everton, Sunday March 30th

Perhaps the biggest match in recent history between the two Merseyside rivals, Everton travels to Anfield for a crucial match in the "Friendly Derby". After being robbed of a result when the sides first met back in October, Everton manager David Moyes' hopes for a Champions League spot could very well rest on this match considering the presence of Liverpool.

Birmingham City's great form under Alex McLeish came to a crashing hault on Tuesday night with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of relegation rivals Sunderland.

I'll be honest and say I hadn't watched a worse game this season, but the game was far more important than trying to play decent football.

Birmingham were found wanting by a passionate Sunderland side.

The Blues had no answer!

Where do the Blues go from here? Well, they couldn't ask for a better game to recover their form.

Birmingham are at home to Derby County today, but they will need to show a lot more character than on Tuesday to get all three points.

Birmingham had been outstanding lately, but the fact that they crumbled so easily to the relegation pressures will be a huge concern for boss Alex McLeish.

So what needs to be done to avoid the drop?

First, they need to get the ball into the feet of the front three. Cameron Jerome, Olivier Kapo, and James McFadden are all skillfull players, but are not going to win you many headers. All Birmingham could do on Tuesday was smack it long!

I'm pretty sure Maik Taylor just had an off day, but he wasn't really helped by Liam Ridgewell (who I think is a quality player, but seems to occasionaly lose his concentration) with the seconnd goal.

In general I'm happy with their defence, especially after David Murphy slots in ahead of Franck Quedrue at left back.

They simply have to use what they have. The skill of Kapo and McFadden, the pace of Jerome, the strength of Garry O'Conner, and the experience of Captain Damien Johnson.

The one bright spark on Tuesday for Birmingham was Mauro Zarate who played well after coming on and will surely start today.

Strangely enough, I was 100 percent sure the Blues would stay up before I watched them on Tuesday night, but now it's up to them to prove to me that they aren't going down. How times change.....

It's a funny old game really!

Halfway through the Premier League season, we have a pretty good idea which teams will end up where.

Here's my take on the fate of the five bottom-feeders...

 

20. Derby County

Derby, still on single-digit points, look bound for the Championship after just one season.

The big question is whether Paul Jewell and his backroom staff can turn it around. As it stands, Derby are eight points adrift of 19th-place Fulham—and a long, long way from the 40-point safety landmark.

To their credit, Derby have brought in some experienced players, namely ex-England international Danny Mills, former Newcastle winger Laurent Robert, and Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage.  They also continue to be linked with players such as Spurs' Hossam Ghaly and Rangers' goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

Robert has public stated he expects to be playing in the Championship next season.  Can these acquisitions pull a miracle?

 

19. Fulham

This is Fulham's eighth year in the Premiership. Is this the season the run finally comes to a halt?

Fulham have been underperforming this year. They normally sit comfortably at mid-table—but they haven't improved since last season, when manager Lawrie Sanchez avoided relegation.

I personally really like this team, especially the American presence of Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, and Brian McBride.  Fulham have a better chance than Derby—let's hope's the new gaffer can get the job done.

 

18. Sunderland

Sunderland had a pretty good start to the season.

But the Black Cats, led by Roy Keane, have since dropped back down the relegation zone with 17 points, tied with 16th-place Wigan, although with an inferior goal-difference.

Boasting many former Red Devil players including Dwight Yorke, Kieran Richardson, Paul McShane, and most recently Johnny Evans, the club look like a good bet to escape relegation.  

 

17. Wigan

Most football fans will remember that Wigan's debut season in the Premiership saw them climb as high as second, and produced a respectable top-10 finish.

Well, one-and-a-half seasons later, things have been changed.

With the departure of Paul Jewell, Wigan seem to have lost "it."

Wigan do in fact have the talent—skipper Mario Melchiot, and vice-captains Emile Heskey and Kevin Kilbane.  In addition, they have the pacey winger Antonio Valencia to provide depth.

The club's form has shown improvement in recent games.  Whether they have the ability to stay up is another matter.

 

16. Birmingham

The Blues sit two points ahead of Wigan, and at this stage are still not very safe from  relegation.

This club has drawn my special attention, as a businessman from my native Hong Kong, Carson Yeung, has the controlling stake in Birmingham.       

All told, Birmingham are decent team.  They showed their solid defence when United barely scraped a 1-0 win against them.  It was quite a nervy final 10 minutes for United fans, as we saw U-21 Dutch winger Daniel De Ridder run down the flanks and pose a constant threat.

With Djourou rejoining Arsenal, Birmingham have a diminished defense that needs some shoring up.  In my opinion, they won't ride the "relegation elevator" this season.


This is the first part of a four part series of articles that will provide insight on every team in the Premiership.  Although the standings will change over the weekend,  I'll pick up with the next five teams on the table.

It’s not easy being a Birmingham City fan, y’know.

Every time there’s a hint of silver lining, a dirty great cloud comes along and covers it up.

No doubt most of the country has been laughing over the recent publicised goings-on at St Andrews, none moreso than our neighboring unfortunates from B6.

For Blues fans, though, it was more a case of "here we go again."

When the papers were screaming "CRISIS!" most of us were looking at them, amazed they’d even allocated more than their usual solitary column space to our club. Crisis? What crisis? A takeover on the verge of collapse is nothing new, and it’s hardly like we need the money is it?

We changed personnel, and probably at the right time too. The old ways had gone stale and it’s a brave Bluenose who will defend the decision to play 5-4-1 at home in a local derby—a game which ended up being Steve Bruce’s last game before he and half the coaching staff upped sticks for Wigan Athletic.

But let’s not dwell on the negatives. We’re all thankful for the work Steve Bruce did at the club—unfortunately, like Blues legend Trevor Francis before him, Bruce fell into a routine.

Far from the up-and-at-’em attitude we displayed upon first being promoted to the Premier League, we’d become predictable and lacking in ideas.

For all Brucie’s talk of bringing in young, hungry players—only to see them revert to negative tactics and shut up shop when level—it was becoming clear that he was running out of ideas.

Now a new and exciting era has begun at St. Andrews, with Alex McLeish at the helm, a manager with both European and International experience. The man who made Scotland play with more heart than England ever did during qualifying, and took them to within a whisker of Euro 2008.

As for the takeover? Let’s assume that it has indeed flown back east, and wait for Mssrs. Gold & Sullivan to give Big Eck a few quid in the January transfer window to strengthen the squad.

So, up next for Blues? A game against another side apparently in crisis, Newcastle United. Most of us are still re-living that 93rd-minute Seb Larsson rocket from Sunday to notice what’s going on at St James’ at the moment, but this match won’t be easy and we know that.

Sam Allardyce is feeling the pressure, and the Geordie faithful are demanding success, even though it’s been a couple of generations since they won anything of note. I think it’s crazy that they’re getting on his back after only four months of the season—after the defensive shambles he inherited, it’ll take him time to rebuild.

Taking a point against league leaders Arsenal tonight would’ve given them a boost, but I’m convinced we can go up there and do the job on Saturday. We’ve got the players to do it—and being Blues, we’ll Keep Right On.

Being promoted to the Premiership is the holy grail for second-tier football teams in England—but in many cases the dream turns out to be an utter nightmare.

In the past five seasons, at least one (and usually two) of the three promoted teams have gone straight back down.

This season, Derby County, Sunderland, and Birmingham City are the upstarts—and so far Derby have looked to be by far the least-equipped to succeed.

Derby County

After conceding 17 goals in the opening quarter of the season, Derby need to get better if they're to last more than a year in the Premiership.

At the other end of the park, Derby have only managed five goals—all at home. They remain the only side in the league not to register a goal or a point on the road, despite spending over 9m € on strikers Rob Earnshaw and Kenny Miller.

Derby will hope that the return of midfield prodigy Giles Barnes will help them establish some sort of form over the coming weeks. At present, they lie just two points out of 17th place, and their next game against Fulham is shaping up to be a must-win.

Funds have been promised in January to buy new players, but Billy Davies and his team have a long way to go before then.

My Prediction: Relegation.

I don't think Derby will get enough points between now and the New Year to give themselves a chance of staying up, regardless of who they buy in January.

Birmingham City

Steve Bruce's men are 13th place in the table after the opening nine games.

They may not be lighting up the league, but at least they've managed to grind out points.

The early season form of Cameron Jerome has been a real plus, with his three goals helping Birmingham to victory over Derby in August.

One advantage for Birmingham is their depth on attack: McSheffrey, Kapo, Forssell, Jerome, Vine, and O'Connor have all vied for starting places, though Vine has now left on a short-term loan deal.

An impending takeover by Carson Yeung could complicate matters for Birmingham, with rumours of a new manager swirling around the team.

An away match against Man City will be a demanding one, given City's recent form—but decent play at home could give Birmingham a real chance to avoid relegation.

My Prediction: Safety.

Birmingham's firepower will give them an edge over teams like Wigan and Reading. Look for them to stay up.

Sunderland

Roy Keane's ability to turn Sunderland from Championship stragglers to league winners in the space of a few months had some pundits proclaiming the Black Cats to be dark horse contenders for a European spot.

Not so thus far.

Eight points in nine fixtures shows that Sunderland are capable of picking up points at home, but they've struggled away from Wearside.

Big-money deals for Craig Gordon, Paul McShane, and Michael Chopra raised some eyebrows, but Keane clearly has faith in his signings.

Though the loss of Dean Whitehead was a blow, Etuhu, Miller, and Yorke have filled the midfield fairly well so far.

Sunderland's next game is away to West Ham, who are only two points above them at the moment. Keane knows his side need to keep ticking off points to avoid the relegation zone.

The best thing Sunderland have going for them may be the fact that Keane will certainly have one or two tricks up his sleeve before the end of the year—if he learned anything from Alex Ferguson, that is.

My Prediction: Relegation, just.

Sunderland will be competitive, but unless they buy a couple more players in January, I think their inexperience will doom them.