After a season break that feels like it has lasted for three years Blues will be back in competitive action next week. We actually start on Tuesday with a home game against Barnet in the first round of the Capital One Cup before the visit of Charlton Athletic in the league opener on Saturday. So how are we looking with just over a week to go?
Compared with previous years it has been a quiet pre-season as the new manager and players have been in place for over a month. On-loan Ravel Morrison is the only recent new arrival and there have been no further departures. I’m a little concerned about Morrison as he comes with a bad reputation and has been known to be disruptive in training, if he turns up at all. The fact that his first act was to get his first name on the back of his shirt suggests that the “Big Time Charlie” stories I got from a West Ham fan are not far from the mark. He has a lot of talent but it sounds like he’s just as likely to be in prison in two years’ time as in the Premier League.
There have been good results in the friendlies (Apart from against Cheltenham) and Lee Clark has had the opportunity to get the players fit and decide on his starting line-up. With all the new midfielders and utility players we have bought I can imagine that there may be a change of formation from the tried and tested four-four-two. I’d like to see us try the four-two-three-one formation that was popular in Euro2012 and I believe we have the players to make it work. It works out well that they have the Barnet match in the week as this will help get the fitness up ahead of the visit of Charlton. Promoted sides usually start the season well so it’s a difficult start with The Addicks followed by Sheffield Wednesday.
So how is everyone feeling about the new season? Can we improve on last season without Chris Hughton? Well it’s not long until we find out.
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