I like Chris Hughton and have good memories of his time managing Birmingham City. Brighton are a good club; free travel on the train from Brighton is provided for fans. They make away fans feel welcome Continue reading
Tag Archives: Gary Rowett
To sack or not to sack?
I was down in Devon last week, enjoying an electronic fast with no computer, TV, radio or phone. It was good to get away from the endlessly recycled rumours and the bickering on fans forums about whether Gianfranco Zola should or should not be sacked. Continue reading
Post-truth bubbles
Social media has made it possible for events to be reported almost instantly but the news and views that you read depend on what your smart phones/computers show you. There’s too much information for someone to view it all so the computer programs running social media such as Facebook filter some of it out and just give you the kind of information that you prefer. Continue reading
Where are we heading?
I’m not the only one to doubt the wisdom of sacking Gary Rowett. The headline in WSC said, “Gary Rowett wasn’t perfect but Birmingham’s move for Zola makes no sense”. Continue reading
Last Saturday
Birmingham City had more possession, more shots, more corners than Burnley but fewer goals so it ended as yet another 1 – 2 loss. Continue reading
Same result, different reaction
On Sunday, Birmingham City got the same result at Molineux as last season but it didn’t feel the same. Last season, I watched the game on TV in a bar and 0-0 seemed a magnificent score for the team’s first game under Gary Rowett. I was delighted that we had won a point, a whole point! Yesterday we dropped two points according the reports of those who were there. Continue reading
More important things
There are more important things in life than football and it’s good for managers and players to remember this. Gary Rowett and Chris Hughton opposed each other on Saturday but have some things in common. Both seem to be grounded in the world outside football, with family ties and values that help them to avoid extremes of elation or despair dictated by performances on the pitch. I may be naïve but I think Rowett is grounded enough to stick with a job half done and not snatch at a job in the Premier League. So I am inclined to believe Panos’ statement about his commitment to Birmingham City. Continue reading
Back to the future
October 21st 2015 was celebrated as Back to the future day, the day that Marty McFly travelled to in the film. Looking back at how much the world has changed in thirty years should make me realise how impossible it is to predict what will happen in the future, which is no reason not to try. Continue reading
Patience
Patience is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about sports but it’s a quality that both sportsmen and spectators need. It was epitomised in Alastair Cook’s epic innings which lasted for 13 hours and 56 minutes, which according to a BBC article, is the time that it takes Wayne Rooney to earn £24,881. (I do love irrelevant factoids.) Continue reading
Last home game
There was a lot less tension for Birmingham City’s final home game this season than for the corresponding fixture last year. Last year, the 1-0 loss put Wigan Athletic into the playoffs and left Birmingham teetering on the brink of relegation. Continue reading
Made me smile
On Saturday morning I was in two minds about going to watch Birmingham City play at Derby. I had a lot of other things I needed to do but I’d only managed to get to two previous away games, it was a nice day and Derby is so near. So I went. Continue reading
A long, long time
Young child at St Andrew’s
Tomorrow it will be two years since I wrote the first post for this blog, on February 24th 2013. On Friday it will be four years since Birmingham City won the League Cup, the high point before our plunge down and out of the Premier League. None of us had any idea of the bumpy ride that lay ahead. We were relegated in May 2011; Carson Yeung was arrested on money laundering charges in June 2011; his trial started in November 2012 but was adjourned until April 2013. So when I started this blog, it should have already been clear that the problems in Hong Kong were going to be protracted. But I was hoping that once the trial started and a verdict was handed down then the situation would be resolved. I am still hoping for a resolution to the whole complicated mess but not expecting anything to happen quickly. Continue reading
Little things make a difference
Players at a trio of West Midlands clubs have put in improved performances for their new managers. Birmingham City are not unbeatable but are still a lot better than they were before November. West Bromwich Albion are getting better results and, according to Baggies fans reacting to their 4-0 cup win, are playing better football. And yesterday, it seems that Tim Sherwood’s half-time team talk inspired Villa to score two whole goals and win the game. If he can do that just by talking, goodness knows what he can do when he officially starts work today. Continue reading
Talk about it
I came across some more reasons to like Gary Rowett in an article I read on Friday. He reads books and he has banned mobiles from Birmingham City’s training ground. Continue reading
Joys and sorrows
Keep right on is a brilliant football anthem and it expresses a fundamental truth about football: “there will be joys and sorrows too.” And you need to learn to cope with both if you want to survive in football and in life. Continue reading