Blues 0 Wigan Athletic 0 .. Ron's Report

Last updated : 26 September 2010 By Richard Barker

They've played six and only lost once - good stuff.  However, they've also only won once - not so good.  They have (at times), looked decent.  However, on other occasions they appear to have lost all the consistency that they worked so hard to achieve last season.  When Blues have been bad this season, they've been very bad.

They weren't overly bad today, but they were an awful long way off being good.  The simple fact is that the season just hasn't really got going yet.  The optimists will point to the one defeat and confirm that all is rosy in the St Andrews garden and anyone saying otherwise isn't a real fan.  The pessimists will point to the one win and fear relegation.  The realists (of which I like to hope that I'm one), will find some middle ground.

The middle ground is often where I find myself when it comes to Alex McLeish.  He's done an excellent job - of that there is no doubt.  However, I still think that there are a number of areas in which he lets himself down.  One of those is his over-cautious nature and also his loyalty to certain players who've been with him for a while.  Both of those I feel manifested themselves in the team selection.

McLeish picked the same side as that which started at Albion last week - a side that got beat 3-1.  He tweaked things slightly, with Alexander Hleb moving to the left, Lee Bowyer moving inside and Craig Gardner playing off Cameron Jerome.  So, what's overly cautious about that?  Well, it's Wigan Athletic at home, for a start.  Blues' only win this season (in the league) has come playing 4-4-2.  Blues' good result at Sunderland came from playing 4-4-2.  In the previous two games to this one, playing 4-5-1, Blues had mustered one goal and one point.  Granted, the performance against Liverpool was a good one, but they are (just) a tougher set of opponents than Wigan.  I'd have thought, with Kevin Phillips, Matt Derbyshire and Nikola Zigic all available, reverting to 4-4-2 in a home game against opposition you should beat would be the way to go.  I'm not football manager, so what do I know?  I suspect I'm not alone in thinking that though.

How about the loyalty then?  Well, Lee Bowyer appears to be getting shoehorned into the side at present, wherever he can.  I can't help thinking that it's out of sentiment given what he's done in the past 18 months.  He's played on the left lately and today was put back into the middle.  Now, I have nothing against Bowyer and only a few weeks ago was saying what an asset I thought he could be from the bench, but he's struggling when he starts now.  He was poor at Albion and had to be taken off and he was shocking today.

When you add to that the form that Craig Gardner is in from a central midfield position (one of two, alongside Barry Ferguson), why would you want to change his position?  What possible logic is there to that?  He's been the catalyst to a lot of Blues' good work this season, but always as one of two central midfielders.  Why move him further up the pitch and effectively remove him from the role that he's been so successful in?  It would appear that the reason for doing that was to accommodate Bowyer.  Was that wise?  With hindsight, it appears not.

Let's get one thing straight though, regardless of the formation Blues weren't at it properly today.  Barry Ferguson had one of his poorest games for the club.  Roger Johnson wasn't much better and was more intent on resuming hostilities with Hugo Rodellega after last year's clash in Wigan.  He was pretty foolish in wanting to bounce back up and attack Rodellega after two fairly innocuous challenges in a minute.  Blues weren't up to the task anyway.

I'm often critical of Cameron Jerome, but he led the line as a lone striker to the best of his ability today and wasn't too bad.  It doesn't suit him though.  I've said it about six hundred and forty eight times previously, and I'll keep saying it - it simply doesn't suit him.  He can give the role a go, but you waste so many of his attributes in doing so.

As worrying as anything was how Blues appeared to tire.  In the last 15 minutes or so the gap between midfield and strikers was so vast that there was simply no structure to their play.  Wigan remained fresh, bright and lively, but Blues could barely run.  Ferguson and Gardner in particular seemed to stop and just settle for positions in front of their back four.

In the ten minutes before his sending off, Gardner had pulled up on a few occasions and was literally unable to run.  No doubt his challenge was borne out of frustration too, but it was also a result of his tiredness.  Mark Clattenburg got stick for the decision, but live, I thought it was probably right.  I've not read, heard or seen anything about the challenge (I'm writing this an hour after the game finished), but as soon as Gardner went in on Franco di Santo I said "horrible challenge".  His right foot went well over the ball into di Santo's shin.  Clattenburg didn't give the decision instantly, which is perhaps what drove Blues fans to react as they did, but seeing it at the time I thought it was a bad challenge.

It's hard to say a lot else on the game really, but Blues have lost a lot of cohesion.  Last season you knew what you'd get from Blues, but you don't get the same feeling this season - not so far anyway.  As I say, one win, four draws and one defeat is one of those records that will be interpreted by various people in very different ways.

What's my interpretation though?

Well, I think it's a worry that Blues led at Bolton and Albion and couldn't see the games out, and then dominated against Liverpool but couldn't win (a draw that, as Liverpool's season progresses, may look more of a disappointment), before failing to win a home game that they really should be winning.  They seem to have lost the knack of winning, and that has to be a concern.  They seem unable to get over the line and get a result.  There seems to be a confidence issue in that regard.  Sure, they're still resolute and determined and all that (hence not many defeats), but wins seem to be very, very hard to come by, even when Blues appear well placed to get one.  That does have to be a concern.

Another concern has to be goals.  Cameron Jerome is the only forward to have scored in the league this season (one goal) and Blues have only scored once in their last three games.  Goals look increasingly like they'll be hard to come by.  We all know that's the case in the Premier League anyway, but it's beginning to become all the more apparent.  Blues aren't the most creative of sides at the best of times (in terms of volume of chances created), and the simple fact is that if you're not scoring goals, you're more reliant on your defence and if the defence wobbles, you're in trouble.

Finally, I do think that the complete lack of fluidity has to be something of a concern now.  Blues simply haven't strung together any sort of consistent football yet this season.  Liverpool aside, none of the performances have been particularly impressive and have been patchy throughout - some decent moments but some poor ones too.  There seems to be a lack of creativity and drive at times and the easy option of knocking the ball backwards is being taken more often.  It's a simple fact that Blues need to look to be more creative and more direct at times.

So, as I say, there's a middle ground - I'm sure there'll be plenty of people telling everyone to stop moaning as "'we've only lost once all season and haven't lost at home for a year".  Then again, there'll be others telling everyone to panic as "we've only won once all season".  The truth is somewhere in the middle, as it so often is.  I'll be honest though, that after six league games I see more to be concerned about than to be positive about.  Blues don't appear to have kicked on from last season as I'd certainly hoped that they would.

On a very final note, after the MK Dons game I commented on the fact that Zigic will generate an awful lot of debate this season.  I bet he will again after this game.  In fact, I bet he will after every game.  My thoughts after the MK Dons game remain the same, but fans are already starting to turn on him and that's the last thing anyone needs.  Ironic cheers when he wins a header or verbal abuse being hurled at him isn't going to do anyone any favours - not him, not the fans, not the team.  I hope it's not the case, but I'm beginning to suspect that we may end up with another Jesper Gronkjaer situation where a player's effectively driven out of the team and the club by fans before he's even had the chance to settle.  We'll see.

Actually, one more final note.  This genuinely is the last one.  Regardless of all of the above and the disappointment of this result, all those involved need to receive a huge amount of credit for the side going over a year unbeaten at home.  That truly is a remarkable achievement for a club who, when they started that run, had only been promoted a few months previously.  That year has included home games against Manchester United, Arsenal, Rochdale, Chelsea, and Liverpool (twice).  It's a fantastic achievement and the fact that it's the longest unbeaten home run by a Premier League team other than those teams mentioned in the line above since Notts Forest's in 1995/96 only serves to highlight that.

Well done Blues.  You were just a bit crap today, that's all.