It is fair to say that Blues fans have not had much to cheer about since the club dropped out of the Premier League at the end of the 2010/11 season, may be excepting the European adventure.
Our dreams of making an immediate return to the top flight were shattered by Blackpool in the play-offs the following year and things have gone from bad to worse since then. We have have then failed to finish higher than tenth in the Championship in the last eight years and are on course to end the current campaign in the bottom half of the table, although unlike previous years – no relegation fight this year. What will we do with ourselves?!
Issues off the pitch have left fans frustrated, and many are probably looking forward to watching the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar as an escape, before then enduring another year in the second tier. Things have not been helped by Witton re-establishing themselves in the Premier League recently.
Blame has been placed firmly on the shoulders of the club’s ‘faceless’ Chinese owners, with anger at their lack of leadership and communication. It should be noted in fairness that some attempt of communicating with fans has been attempted.
We have finished in the bottom third of the table in each of the five years of the present owners in charge, and have gone through several permanent managers, (although some of those weren’t good enough), and suffered a points deduction due to breaking financial regulations.
In recent times, there have been a number of protests including a banner campaign near the training ground at Wast Hills. These protests have been organised by a fanbase which have grown increasingly disillusioned by the situation surrounding the club. Whether these protests will make any difference remains to be seen. Having said that, a new appointment of Ian Dutton as Managing Director hopefully will help to bridge the gap. Mr Dutton knows the club and fans, so that’s a positive. How much freedom he will have is a question that will only be answered in time.
With the club issues off the pitch, manager Lee Bowyer deserves praise for keeping the Blues away from trouble this season, even if recent results have been mixed.
The recent 2-1 victory at Bristol City moved us up to 18th in the standings. A draw at home to Hull, and defeat this evening to Boro dropped us a place – however we are 15 points clear of 3rd from bottom, (Barnsley), and 19 points clear of Derby with just 8 games to go. It’s difficult to see either of those teams turning that around even with Barnsley having a game in hand.
When Bowyer replaced Aitor Karanka 12 months ago Blues were in 21st place – progress has been made, but it has been painfully slow. While the style of play has undoubtedly improved under Bowyer, injuries to key players have hindered their hopes of pushing towards the top half of the table.
However, the additions of Juninho Bacuna and Onel Hernandez in January have boosted our play and with injured players coming back – we should fare better next season. We will definitely need investment over the summer, and that would be an opportunity for the owners to show they care or are actually interested in the club!
Blackburn Rovers suffered a similar spectacular fall from grace under Venky’s, but they are currently riding high in the Championship. Rovers’ manager Tony Mowbray was forced to sell top scorer Adam Armstrong last summer, and was given little in the way of finances to work with this season. Their wage bill is one of the lowest in the Championship, but Mowbray has built a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. Rovers’ climb into play-off contention highlights that our fans that things can change for the better, whether that will be with these owners or new ones – remains to be seen.
If Bowyer can get his recruitment right this summer, with that investment, who knows – we might be able to look up the table for a change rather than down!
Bowyer got it all wrong again last night with his set up.One up front was garbage and to play Richards ahead of Chong or Bacununa was just inept.
Blues will never go anywhere under the present owners. In fact I would go as far as to say things are actually getting worse despite the fact that relegation is less likely this season. If you remove the loan players Blues need a completely new squad and there is no chance of that. So it will only go from bad to worse. The prime objective must be to get rid of the owners even if that means starting again from scratch.
Woeful following each season.Major surgery needed from top to tail.Ground needs to be opened properly and new management structure needs professionals and not temporary sticking plasters.My doubts surrounding every area of club to improve gets more and more bigger with each passing season.