It’s re-published here with his permission.
If there has been a subject that has divided Blues fans this year, it’s been our goal-shy striker Cameron Jerome. For many he typifies why we went down – not many goals, no real chance of scoring and the antithesis of a top striker; others (and I include myself in the second camp) think he’s a bit misunderstood and a bit unlucky to have suffered so badly in front of goal.
The big problem for anyone who tries to defend Cameron Jerome is the stark statistics. Three goals in 35 League games, and 5 goals in all competitions isn’t good enough for a striker who starts the majority of games for Birmingham City. Twenty-seven consecutive league games without a goal is a drought of Saharan proportions. It got to the point where it was almost painful to watch him, you felt almost embarrassed as his only chance in a game ballooned wide.
It would be unfair to typify Jerome as lazy, or as someone who isn’t playing for the team. Often he was left to plough a lone furrow upfield, chasing humped high balls and generally struggling to make an impact because he’d been left so alone by the midfield. Jerome is a pacy striker who likes the ball to his feet to run onto, so naturally we pumped high balls at his head to win, with no one within thirty yards of him. Playing the way Blues played, particularly after the Carling Cup triumph it’s not surprising Jerome never looked like scoring.
But still fans got on his back. Still supporters derided him on messageboards, declaimed him as a stupid footballer who didn’t know how to make a good run, who couldn’t score in a brothel. It must have got to him in some ways; upset already by a parody account on twitter, he joined the social networking site and immediately got into “banter” with fans of rival clubs. A professional footballer needs belief in himself and his ability, and it’s rational to wonder if this constant barracking online and mutterings on the terraces were getting to him. It didn’t help that there was no backup – Zigic crocked by a mysterious hip complaint; Martins needing an operation; Phillips tried his hardest but his age is finally getting to him along with the non-existent midfield, and in Matt Derbyshire Blues probably possessed the only Premiership striker less likely to score than Jerome.
So now we find ourselves relegated, and I think our Cam has got to be looking at his future. He’s been with the club for five years now, and I can’t imagine he fancies another spell in the second tier of English football. He must know that the interest in him is out there – for instance Stoke tabled a bid at the very end of the transfer window in January that was rebuffed. As much as I think Jerome works hard for us, and as much as I know that losing another striker with Derbyshire, Martins, and Phillips pretty much already gone and Zigic in all probability on the way out, I know in my heart of hearts that it’s time for Cameron to move on. Not just for our sake, but for his. I think in a team set up the correct way, he’ll score a few goals. He’ll work just as hard for them, and maybe they’ll have a team that will be able to utilise his strength.
He’ll go with my thanks and good wishes for a successful onward career. I hope he does well, God knows he doesn’t deserve the vitriol he gets week in week out here.
why did he score 11 goals the season before ? because he had a) support up front for about 3/4 of the season fron Chucho & b) how many chances were created in that season compared to this season?
don’t blame jerome for this blame eck for not signing chucho or someone similar at the start of the season and when he did with martin’s he was never fit and hardly paired with him.
if eck saw jerome get 11 goals with the partner he did why buy a striker who was the total opposite of chucho? it didn’t make sense.
the one thing that lets him down is his first touch, we saw AJ perform the role perfectly against us the other week, but his first touch keeps the ball his second takes him into space with the use of his pace, then looks for the support coming up the pitch , lays it off then moves for a return or into the middle.
i believe we need to keep him but add someone else with pace aka chucho , but who? bothroyd who’s out of contract at cardiff??
Well, I for one will not be sorry to see him leave, he’ll never be a good enough premier striker as long as I have a hole in my a**e. I don’t blame him for relegation though, I completely lay the blame at Mcleish’s door, for failing to buy wisely,continuing to blindly play jerome despite his inability to score, and for his reluctance to play a decent formation ( even defending at home against supposed lesser teams).
I agree with the sentiment in the article.. if we were ‘set up right’ then maybe he would’ve scored more as last season. Whilst I also think he’ll never be prolific I do have a sneaky feeling he’ll move on and another club will use his pace correctly and he will score 10 plus a season alongside the right partner. He won’t be the first striker that’s left Blues and done so. He won’t either be the last forward that scores well elsewhere but fails in a Blue shirt. Whether CJ is OK or not it’s immaterial really to the bigger picture. Its team / player choice and tactics that are our problem and they have been for some time now! I think the blame has to be for the guy that fails to set the team up to defend 0-0 at home from the first whistle.. ECK!!
I think CJ should try another position. I certainly don’t think he’ll ever be a player who gets many goals, he has no composure when placed in clear cut situations. I don’t think anyone can deny his pace, he’s quick, he seems to have a good passion for the game. why don’t we try him at centre half, I think we’ll need one soon.
This is a good article and I like the comments made. I myself feel that that he will do better with another team that plays more 442 as I do feel that he is not suited to be a lone striker. His pace and work ethic are impressive but he does not have the touch and control to suit the route-one approach that we have seen tried so often. I wish him well for the future; nothing would please me more than to see him be succesfull with another premiership team.
I agree totally with those who feel that the problems with the way that Blues play on the pitch lie with the manager and I felt that he should have been replaced. I’m not in favor of knee-jerk reactions but it’s obvious that AM is simply too cautious and defensive minded and while that may mean you don’t turned over too often it will not win too many games in the long haul as we have seen. However I think it’s more fundamental than that. The owner, who I know very little about (his wife/girl-friend/mistress is HOT though!!), needs to show some leadership of his own. Now is the time to see if he is going to take this team to greater heights or is he just along for the ride? Now I’m not advocating a meddlesome approach like what happens at Chelsea (and happened at Liverpool earlier) but a serious intent to achieve consistent success. The product has to be improved in order to generate more interest from the paying public and get more people to go and watch games. Football is an entertainment business and the guy at the top is responsible for the performance of that business. Simply grinding out draws, the odd 1-0 win, and many disappointing losses week after week is not going to inspire season ticket sales. Just how do we go about doing it? Well I’m not the guy in charge and I don’t make the big money. That’s Carson Yeung’s job; is he up to it? We shall see.
If workrate counted for everything CJ would be one of Blues all time greats. I can’t criticise him for not being good enough in the role he was given, that is not his fault. I can criticise the person / people who did not get us a new striker of the Phillips mould when it was patently obvious that that was what we needed, and who did not alter the system to make the most of CJ’s abilities. As previously stated he was far more effective with Chucho alongside him last year.
If he leaves my worry is that next year we will do what Scotland did in an international earlier this year and play with no forwards at all, that seems to be the way McLeish’s tactics are heading.
i agree that Jerome has not exactly set the Thames on fire this season – but there again he has too often had the thankless task of being the lone ranger in a 4-5-1, and i blame that, not him, for the lack of goals. I’d keep him on the books – he has shown before for Blues (and Cardiff) that he can score quite a few in the Championship, and hit the net quite a bit in the Prem League last season. His problems this season have in my view been (a) being the 1 in 4-5-1 far too often; (b) the absence of a Chucho to play off – letting Chucho go was in my view one of Eck’s biggest mistakes: he mnay not have scored many, but he did create his fair share of havoc and prob would have done even better in a second Prem League season.
I should not be surprised if Jerome comes up trumps in the next season for us, but that depends a lot on how we play, and on the manager. Despite those supportive comments, I have to say I would also be surprised if anyone in the Prem League wants to buy Jerome, so all this may yet be academic!!
He’s had two opportunities in the Championship before with us and never replicated the form at Cardiff. I think 09/10 was his best season.
Sadly, I can’t see him getting any better and to blame Jerome’s failings on McLeish isn’t the true picture. However, I’ve constantly felt sorry for him that he never gets subbed when he’s clearly run his socks off and can’t do any more.
If we had a good offer for him, sell him; if we don’t, then it’s good to have a hard working and committed player at the club.
Think big al may be onto something. CJ at CB? Hmm… Big? Tick. Fast? Tick. Strong? Tick. Ruthless?
No. Can put ball into Row Z with consummate ease? Tick.
Bit of coaching about reading the game, and…………….damn.
Got another plan, al?