VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM CITY vs WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Being a bit of a traditionalist, I’ve never been a great fan of Sunday football even though it has been part of the fabric for many years. My other pet hate is an early kick-off and this is another feature of football that we have had to get used to either in the interests of security at the behest of the Police or television which dictates so much of what we do in society in general. A noon kick-off was therefore not something I was relishing and even less so my youngest son, Ben who like his brother, is not great at getting up in the morning. Reveille at seven o’clock was therefore not greeted by Ben with “Ooh Daddy, Oh let’s!” Several monosyllabalic grunts, muffled cries of “leave me alone,” and “go without me” eventually died out to be replaced by complaints about the requirement to leave so early as he was invited in the direction of the bathroom. Movement and action were eventually initiated by threats of buckets of cold water and the like.

We eventually set off from home at about 07.45 in the direction Guildford to meet up with Will for a rendezvous at about 08.15. We stopped for coffee and fuel before getting on the M25; Ben’s mood was cheered up by the purchase of a sausage sandwich, Will and I decided we would wait until we got to Baginton and the promise of a bacon sarnie which are legendary around those parts! Knowing Ben, I was fairly sure that he would be up for one of those as well as like most 19-year-olds he possesses the appetite of the horse.

On the journey up it was noticeable that there were a lot of open top, kit cars and old vintage sports heading in the direction of Stoneleigh near to where we were going. Will informed us that there was a meeting taking place there that day and it was fun to see Morgans, old Ferraris, Lotus and other makes making their way north up the M40. Will could not resist poking fun at me since I wear driving gloves when I drive my BMW Z4 and he suggested that I should go the whole hog (thinking about bacon sarnies!) and invest in a leather helmet, goggles and a scarf with a coat hanger in it to complete the ensemble. Ben chirped up from the back of the car that I should also get myself a large car sock as well which I could then tuck down the front of my trousers! At this point, we nearly didn’t complete our journey as Will had such paroxysms that he nearly drove into the central reservation barrier. Such rib tickling fun from the driver and the rear seat passenger continued unabated until eventually even the small-minded became bored. 😛

We arrived at The Oak in Baginton at just after 10.00 and tucked into a long-awaited and promised bacon sandwich washed down with a nice cup of coffee. It was not long before the on the road again along the M6 towards the ground. We had just enough time to grab a pint in the Royal George before getting into the ground for the kick-off.

Blues set up with a 4-4-2 formation with Foster in goal, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek and Ridgewell across the back. The midfield quartet comprised of Larsson, Gardner, Ferguson and Bowyer behind the front two pairing of Jerome and Phillips. I think this was the line-up that most people would have favoured prior to kick-off although it was disappointing to see that once again Zigic had not managed to make the squad. He has been sorely missed as has Obafemi Martins whom we are led to understand will be out for the rest of the season.

Wolves made a positive start and after an early Jamie O’Hara shot that bounced wide of the post and presented no danger, Foster gifted Wolves an early lead when he miscued a clearance straight to Matt Jarvis whose well weighted pass to Stephen Ward resulted in the Blues’ keeper bringing down the Wolves man as he attempted to claim the ball at his feet. I have looked at this incident several times on the Match of the Day recording and there is some validity in Ben Foster’s protest that he got his hands to the ball. However, in accordance with Law 12, the goalkeeper is like any other player when challenging for the ball. It is immaterial whether the ball is played or not what the referee has to decide is whether the challenge is reckless or dangerous and there can be little doubt that Foster’s challenge on Ward falls into at least one of these categories. The award of the penalty was absolutely correct and Steven Fletcher had no problem whatsoever in despatching the kick into the bottom corner of the Tilton Road net sending the keeper the opposite way.

This was an awful start for Blues with only seven minutes on the clock. The atmosphere was tense and highly charged and situation was not helped by Fletcher’s completely unnecessary inciting the crowd just below where I was sitting in the Kop. Fletcher was fortunate to not be the first name in the referee’s book as a result of this and he has his team mates to thank for having the good sense to drag him away before things got too out of hand. Yellow cards did follow however fairly rapidly after this incident when O’Hara committed a dreadful challenge on Gardner in midfield. From where I was sitting the tackle looked far worse than subsequent replays showed. Mr Friend was therefore correct to show O’Hara a yellow card rather than a red but this is in no way to condone the nature the tackle which was violent, unpleasant and wholly unnecessary. Some referees would have deemed the challenge a red card and had his victim stayed down Mr Friend’s view may have been swayed. Unfortunately, Gardner leapt to his feet instead of staying on the deck and retaliated by pushing O’Hara in the chest. His displeasure was wholly understandable but under the letter of the law it earned him a yellow card which was to prove crucial to later events. I did feel at the time a little common sense by the referee could have avoided what happened next and a good talking to to both players for the ‘handbags’ could have avoided the game being completely spoiled as turned out to be the case later on. If the laws of the game are going to be rigidly enforced, it could be argued that O’Hara, in addition to his violent challenge on Gardner which was deserving of a yellow card, could also have been punished for his part in the altercation afterwards. He was just as guilty as Gardner of pushing and shoving that went on and could therefore have received a second yellow card within a couple of seconds. As it was, equal punishment was meted out which just proves that sometimes life is unfair.

Blues began to recover their composure and were starting to look threatening going forward. After 14 minutes, Gardner was chopped down unceremoniously by Richard Stearman right on the edge of the penalty area. Once again I have reviewed this incident and the tackle is arguably right on the line of the penalty box and the visitors can be very thankful that Mr Friend chose to award the free kick right outside the area. As for the Wolves defender, he completely escaped any punishment for his agricultural challenge especially as an excellent opportunity to score was prevented. This was equally as deserving of a yellow card as O’Hara’s challenge minutes earlier.

Larsson stepped forward and curled a free-kick that had Wayne Hennessey beaten all ends up but the ball crashed back off the bar. The equaliser when it did come was a simple a route one goal as you are ever likely to see. A punt by Foster dropped near the edge of the Wolves box but instead of Michael Mancienne heading the ball away decisively he succeeded only in placing the most delicately cushioned header off the back of his head straight into the path of Sebastian Larsson who had run all the way from his own half to seize on the ball which bounced invitingly for the Blues’ winger. Larsson drilled the ball through the legs of Hennessey who helped the situation by doing a star jump in front of the Blues’ man.

Birmingham now looked to be the team in the ascendancy and I felt, like many in the crowd I’m sure, that Blues would go on to take charge of the game and the points. Unfortunately, the game was killed off as a decent contest when Gardner, running through towards the edge of the box, once again appeared to be fouled under a challenge from Jody Craddock. To the astonishment of the crowd, the referee brandished a second yellow card to Gardner for diving and the red card inevitably followed. The lack of common sense a few minutes earlier by Mr Friend regarding the O’Hara incident had now come back to haunt him and with less than half an hour gone Blues were down to only ten men. This meant the sacrifice of Kevin Phillips and so in one fell swoop, virtually all of Birmingham’s attacking goal threat was removed and with it any hope of winning the game. Jean Beausejour came on in place of Kevin Phillips and remarkably Blues were the better side for the remainder of the first half despite their numerical disadvantage. Jerome came close to putting Blues in the lead as his bending shot curled a couple of yards over the bar.

Lee Dixon, last night on Match of the Day, said that he had taken notes on the game and showed two pieces of paper; one for the first half and second after the break. The second sheet of paper was blank denoting that little of any note had taken place. I am bound to say that I completely agree with him as the second half became a matter of attrition and resolute defending by the ten men of Blues against the Wolves side whom Mick McCarthy described as lacking the craft and guile to break down a solid Birmingham rearguard. As ever, the Wolves manager was very fair in his assessment. He did try hard to change things to secure all three points replacing the injured Stearman with Adam Hammill to provide more attacking thrust and the former Barnsley player found himself clear on the right wing early in the second period. Foster raced out to challenge him but on this occasion stayed on his feet and did well to shepherd the Wolves man away from goal. Foster completed the clearance with a sliding tackle and although successful it is not the sort of thing that most fans wish to see their goalkeeper doing. Later on, Hammill was harshly pulled up for a free kick for an alleged challenge on Ridgewell in one of the comedy moments of the game as it was obvious to everyone apart from the assistant referee and Mr Friend that the Blues left back have simply lost his footing with the innocent Hammill nowhere near him!

Very little else happened in the second period as Wolves, despite enjoying the lion’s share of the possession towards the end could not create an opening. They hoofed the ball into the box from the flanks repeatedly but the deliveries were meat and drink to Johnson and Jirenek. There was one heart in mouth moment in the 86th minute when a scramble in the blues box nearly resulted in an unlikely winner the visitors but Hammill inadvertently handled the ball before placing his snatched effort into the away fans behind the goal anyway. Lee Bowyer shot well over when well positioned in Birmingham’s only real chance of the second half and Matt Jarvis should have done better with a chance that fell to him on the edge of the 18 yard box which he screwed well wide. Birmingham held on comfortably for a point in the end and given the circumstances of the way the game panned out it was a point with which the home side were satisfied. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mick McCarthy will undoubtedly feel that this was an opportunity missed to grab all three points and what would have been a vital win in their quest to stay in the Premier League. They do have to eminently winnable games at home and a trip to the woefully out of form Sunderland to come and they therefore have their own destiny in their hands. Nevertheless, if this performance is anything to go by, I still fear for them as apart from the penalty kick Wolves never looked like scoring even with the advantage of the extra man the most the game. Teams with more goal threat than us will also give them trouble.

As for Birmingham City, the team seems to be limping towards safety, indicative of the continued injuries to key players in the squad. Although there is still some work to do there is no doubt that the teams below us would much sooner be in the position we find ourselves rather than theirs. The end of the season in a safe position cannot come soon enough.

The Good: The bacon sandwich prior to the game, the resilience shown by the team in adversity and the performance of Roger Johnson who was immense throughout.

The Bad: The stupidity exhibited by Craig Gardner in getting himself sent off and costing the team the win which are I am convinced was there for the taking with 11 against 11.

The Ugly: The reaction of Steven Fletcher towards the home crowd having scored the penalty; uncalled for, stupid and unnecessary, the dreadful challenges by O’Hara and Stearman.

BIRMINGHAM CITY: Ben Foster 6, Stephen Carr 7, Liam Ridgewell 7, Roger Johnson 9, Martin Jiranek 7, Seb Larsson 8, Barry Ferguson 7, Lee Bowyer 6, Craig Gardner 4, Cameron Jerome 7, Kevin Phillips 5 (Jean Beausejour, 7, 32).

Subs (not used): Colin Doyle, Stuart Parnaby, Curtis Davies, Alex Hleb, Keith Fahey, Matt Derbyshire.

Goal: Larsson (27)

Sent off: Gardner (29)

Bookings: Foster (5), Bowyer (78)

WOLVERHAMTON WANDERERS: Wayne Hennessey 7, George Elokobi 7, Richard Stearman 6 (Adam Hammill 46, 7), Jody Craddock 8, Karl Henry 7, Steven Fletcher 8, Stephen Ward 8 (Sam Vokes 83, N/A), Matt Jarvis 6 (Stephen Hunt 67, 5), Michael Mancienne 5, Jamie O’Hara 9, Kevin Foley 7.

Subs (not used): Marcus Hahnemann, Christophe Berra, Nenad Milijas, Adlene Guedioura.

Goal: Fletcher (pen) (7)

Bookings: O’Hara (8), Craddock (33), Henry (54)

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) 5: This was a mixed performance by the referee since to be fair; he appears to have got the big decisions namely the penalty and the simulation by Gardner correct. However, I think he failed to show commonsense early in the game when things were a little feisty and by showing early yellow cards, left himself with very little room for manoeuvre when Gardner went to ground unnecessarily. The sending-off spoiled the game as a contest and any hope that it ever had of being entertaining spectacle. The officials did miss an obvious push by Elokobi on Johnson in the box when the centre half went up to head the ball when well positioned; definite penalty as Elokobi is beaten by the flight of the ball. The referee was not helped by his assistants who were simply atrocious.

Attendance: 26,072 (2,492 away fans)