Blackburn Rovers v Blues - Match Thread -

[bluenosekev]

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Next up for us is a trip up north on Saturday.

Are we finally finding some form ? Second half v Bristol we were superb, can we continue playing like that against Blackburn this weekend ? A win on Saturday can move us pretty close to the play off places..

Am going for a Blues win - with Burke back in the side and Zigic back to his best i think we can bring back the points.

Blackburn 1 Blues 3.

Theres a good chance there will be a live stream for this game so check out the Private Area on Saturday !

What say you ?


kro.

[bluenosekev]

Why does Ambrose get in ahead of Fahey and Gomis?

Cos Lee Clark is our manager thats why

[bluenosekev]

ht 1.1.

Blackburn started well but we came back into it and deserve to be level at ht.

A penalty from them from a poor tackle from Murphy gave Blackburn an early lead..Marlon King equalised for us..

Nicely poised !

We can win this !.

kro.

[hootie63]

Good First half just need to keep it like we are fr at least 1st 15mins and think they will be their for the taking. Defense looks shaky but only to be expected but to be honest they dont look that assured in front of goal lets hope we step up and can beat these

[bluenoseghag]

Good point

[bluenosekev]

Good point

Agreed - Cant complain.

Thought we battled well !


kro.

[hootie63]

would of certainly taken that before the game and a shame we had to make changes at the back which i think in the end restricted us as it looked like they had to support the defense more but was a decent enough display everybody seemed to pull their weight so onwards and upwards to next match

[Rob]

I guess we should be happy with a point, but I reckon we could have easily taken all three.

Not going to moan though - well done boys, the 2nd best unbeaten run this season already! Onemore game to equal the record

[lindis]

Great point yesterday but a stupid tackle from Murphy to give away the penalty.

I think the players battled well but don´t understand why not LC substituted King at the end, King was so tired so he couldn´t run.

[bluenosekev]

Great point yesterday but a stupid tackle from Murphy to give away the penalty.

I think the players battled well but don´t understand why not LC substituted King at the end, King was so tired so he couldn´t run.

Two good points lindis.

There was no need for Murphy to try and tackle in the box like he did & yes we could all see Marlon was fekked after 70 mins again like he usually is !


kro.

[bluenosekev]

Highlights.




kro

[Raters]

Highlights.

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kro

Are those highlights reflective of the game, it looked like we were battered?

[hootie63]

2nd half yes Blackburn had more of the ball but for me never looked like scoring apart from maybe once, it was as if Lee Clark had said at half time I'm happy with the Point lets shut up shop and keep them at arms length which worked this time , but 1st half was end to end with both teams creating chances to score a 2nd just some good saves or bad shooting prevented that happening.

[hootie63]

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[Raters]

I always like tatts report...

Blackburn Rovers 1 Birmingham City 1: Colin Tattum's big match verdict

Wade Elliott came out with a nice turn of phrase the other week, saying that you don’t know if you have turned the corner until you are a little further down the road.

His comment came after the uplifting and promising victory at Leeds United, ahead of the Ipswich Town game.

Unfortunately Blues then promptly lost at St Andrew’s to the Tractor Boys due to a first half described as ‘flat’ by Lee Clark and fluffed chances in the second.

So, if Blues meandered a little bit and went back on themselves, has that corner now been negotiated finally?

A resounding performance and victory over Bristol City banished the St Andrew’s malaise, and Blues followed up on Saturday with a merited away point at Blackburn Rovers, a side who should be in the Championship promotion mix by the end of the season.

Blues are a little further down the road, then, and there are definite signs that under Clark they are functioning as many hoped and expected.

Ipswich was Blues’ only defeat in the last six games and that should have been a reversed result, in truth.

Position-wise, Blues have not budged the last couple of weeks. They are stationed in 19th place, seven points from the play-offs, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Interestingly by comparison, although Blues should have been doing better by now and they had Europa League commitments last season, at this same stage a year ago they were only six points better off, in eighth position.

As it appears the Championship is shaping up to be far tighter than 2011-12, with unpredictable results occurring, much is still to be gained.

The takeover of the club can’t come quick enough and should be a significant factor in how Blues fare in the second part of the campaign.

Carson Yeung and Peter Pannu, surely, have to see sense and take what is on offer from the Gianni Paladini consortium or risk ending up with nothing and the club collapsing as parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd nosedives financially, which it will.

Until there is evidence to the contrary, the Italian bid appears to be the only serious one in town.

Armed with better resources – and there is no indication from insiders that Paladini would change manager, if he got in – Clark would be in a better position to try to galvanise and improve Blues.

And a change in the club’s hierarchy would certainly restore optimism, rid disgruntlement and the feeling of drift.

The distinct impression, from what he has been saying of late and reading between the lines, is that Clark doesn’t yet think supporters have seen a true reflection of what he likes his teams to be about, and play.

That said, football-wise Blues are beginning to perform with a little more consistency and definitely confidence.

Dynamic for a spell at Millwall, smooth at Leeds, vibrant against Bristol City, there were some very good patches at Ewood Park, particularly in the first half.

The move that led to Marlon King’s follow-up equaliser started on the edge of their own penalty area and was short, sharp, incisive.

The timing of – four minutes after Ruben Rochina put Blackburn ahead from the penalty spot – was welcome and crucial.

Blues had been stretched by Blackburn’s free-wheelin’ style, whereby Mauro Formica, Rochina and Markus Olsson tended to pop up anywhere and everywhere in support of and around Jordan Rhodes.

Yet credit should go to Blues’ defensive line and resilience. They didn’t crumble but kept at it and after equalising, they dictated the pattern themselves to the end of the half, and could have had other goals then, and later in the game.

Paul Robinson, moved to centre-half for the injured Curtis Davies, was hugely impressive.

He was never exposed, executed saving tackles, headed a Rhodes header off the goal line and alongside Steven Caldwell formed a redoubtable barrier.

He has turned into the best month-to-month signing since, well, Stephen Carr was first dragged out of retirement.

King’s goal, his ninth of the season, maintained his rich vein of form.

Nikola Zigic should have netted as he slid and prodded the ball from just in front of goalkeeper Paul Robinson, but there was King to stick it away after it bobbled on to the post.

The pair ran themselves into the ground for the cause, particularly when dropping a little deeper to help the midfield combat Blackburn’s system in the second half.

And in that midfield two of the more unheralded players deserve mention.

Elliott is not only a wise thinker about the game (witness his turned-the-corner comment), but he’s a clever footballer.

He whirred around and was very bright, central to a lot of the good moves in the first half.

Hayden Mullins has taken plenty of brickbats this season and just got on with things, without fuss.

His central partnership alongside the expressive, elegant talent that is Ravel Morrison has been productive since they came together five games ago.

Mullins again did a lot of gritty and more abrasive stuff and kept his football simple, all within the team framework.

Whether that corner has been turned, there is still some way to go before it’s open-road territory and the chance to press the accelerator. A takeover would help in that respect.

But should Blues continue to perform as they have been in general away from home and restore last season’s order at St Andrew’s, there’s reason for optimism in a league that is never dull, only absorbing.

Found this bit interesting...

Interestingly by comparison, although Blues should have been doing better by now and they had Europa League commitments last season, at this same stage a year ago they were only six points better off, in eighth position.

[hootie63]

So basically my short piece reads just the same has Tatt's newspaper piece

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