Autumn has arrived with a vengeance. The day broke to heavy rain, grey skies and a chilly breeze. Mrs Bazza and I needed to be up and into the day however – since we had been called forward for our flu jabs, which we dutifully attended at the crack of 08.00 at our local surgery. It was a remarkably efficient process as we got through in three minutes and we were soon back in the car home in plenty of time for a spot of breakfast before I left for the walk down to Blackwater station to catch the 10.33 train to Reading. I transferred to the platform for the Manchester Piccadilly service when I spotted two people wearing the colours of the faithful. I drew attention to my own shirt with badge and introduced myself. David and his daughter Nicky live near to me in Sandhurst. David asked me if I was the author of the Joys and Sorrows blogs and I was gratified to hear that he and Nicky actually read my stuff. We had a most convivial conversation on the journey until I reached Coventry but having fellow sufferers of the blue and white persuasion to talk to made the journey pass quicker than usual.
Chris was just pulling into the station when I alighted onto the concourse. The weather remained wet and miserable as we made our way back to Baginton for a pint and an excellent burger of prime Angus beef and chips for lunch. We were soon on our way to St Andrew’s. Our band of pilgrims on this occasion was Chris, grandson, little Seb and me. I suggested that it might be better to go via the M6/A38 into Brum in view of the roadworks on the Coventry Road. It wouldn’t have bee too bad a decision had there not been a broken down car on the Aston Expressway which left us tight for time but we got into the upper tier of the Gil Merrick stand just before kick off. In the first ten minutes of the game Blues were all over Forest like a rash and really should have taken the lead. Frankly, we could and should have been 3-0 up but of course you know what happens when a volley takes the paint off the bar, you hit the post and are denied a tap in at the far post due to a deflection? Yep! The opposition score!
Who else? Lewis Grabban! Tahith Chong made a poor decision in midfield. There are times to just pop the ball off to a team mate, hoof it upfield or concede a throw in; anything but what he did. He tried to go between two opponents, one of whom was Jack Colback, out on the touch line forty yards out who robbed him of the ball and suddenly a slip pass to Grabban who was then running at our back four with support either side of him. There has to be pressure on the ball! What you don’t do is back off to the edge of your box because you know what? Yes, the player will accept the invitation to shoot. The ball was duly deposited into the top corner giving Sarkic no chance. Look, it was a cracking strike but poor defending at this level of football. We find ourselves 1-0 down against a side under the cosh to that point. Blues to their credit went straight back on the offensive and we all remained confident that we could recover from the early setback as further chances came and went through Harlee Dean who smashed a volley from 15 yards just wide and Lukas Jutkiewicz glanced a header from a Bela cross from the left onto the same upright that Chong had struck a few minutes earlier.
Blues were aggressively going forward but their capacity to shoot themselves in the foot just seems to know no bounds at present. As it seemed an equaliser must come, Bela sprayed a back pass towards Sarkic without the due care and attention required and most of all, enough pace. It was a perfect pass to Grabban who seized on the chance gratefully. Sarkic stood his ground and pushed the dangerous striker wide onto his right foot. The keeper managed to keep pace and toe end the ball for a corner. From the resulting kick Ryan Yates was afforded far too much space for a free header bang in the middle of goal from eight yards. 2-0 down against the run of play to two totally shocking and avoidable goals. Hope seemed to have been restored when Lukas Jutkiewicz – who worked tirelessly all afternoon – fired a fierce cross shot from the inside left channel where Scott Hogan ran onto it for a tap in at the far post. Up went the offside flag and down went our jubilant cheers. Football, like life, ain’t fair sometimes; a goal would have been the least Blues deserved for their efforts but the scoreboard remained 0-2 at the break.
Over a pint, Chris and I mused that the next goal had to go our way. Unfortunately, another poor piece of midfield play resulted in loss of the ball in our half and the speedy Forest attack countered on us again. I cannot believe the space Philip Zinnckernagel was given and he was spoiled for choice for people to pop it off to. He chose Djed Spence to his right who had the easy task due to absence of cover of crashing the ball in past Sarkic’s near post hand. The pace on the shot gave the keeper no chance in fairness and the game was up. In credit to our lads, they never gave up but still continued to squander decent chances. A corner on 59 minutes from Chong was met by Krystian Pedersen who headed the ball down – forcefully into the turf and over the bar from a similar position to Yates for Forest. Head in hands again! Another effort from another corner by the Dane was cleared off the line and Samba then saved brilliantly from a free kick from a direct free kick from Chong round the red wall of Forest defenders. Marc Roberts glanced a lovely header near the end across Samba but the keeper pushed that one away as well. It was not our day and the comprehensive score line stands for history to judge but perhaps not tell the full story.
I don’t know why it is that whenever Birmingham City come up against struggling teams at St Andrew’s that you can virtually guarantee that said struggling team is going to get its season back on track! Yes, Blues were unfortunate to strike the post twice and have a goal dubiously chalked off (I thought Hogan was behind the ball when Jutkiewicz’s shot came in and he ran onto the ball but we have to accept the lineman’s decision I’m afraid) but we squandered a shed full of good chances and more importantly, gift wrapped three totally avoidable goals. Nottingham Forest weren’t particularly good; they didn’t have to be. They merely accepted the gifts that Blues bestowed upon them and did their basics properly. They defended steadfastly, worked really hard and rode their luck and on that basis were worthy winners. In the final analysis, Nottingham Forest didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves!
In the international break, Lee Bowyer has some serious thinking to do. The defending in this game was shambolic and some of the decision making by midfielders catastrophic. Teams have worked us out in my view and it may be that we have to go back to a back four and be more compact. A back three at present is not working and I dread to think what the Baggies will do to us at the Hawthorns if we continue to play like this. We have one point from the last five games with one goal (that a penalty!) and 12 conceded. It simply has to change; hard work in training in the next fortnight along with some home truths methinks because presently, it isn’t good enough.
The Good: The company of new friends David and Nicky. Great to talk to them and particularly to share stories of Blues teams past. (Wish we had the likes of Barry Bridges, Geoff Vowden, Johnny Vincent, Jimmy Greenhoff and Fred Pickering now!)
The Bad: Catastrophic defending. Blues allowed a very ordinary Forest team to walk away with a comprehensive victory because they did the basics correctly and we didn’t. Taunting chants of “Forest are back, Forest are back” were ringing out from the away contingent. Whilst this was a good win for them, they are a pale shadow of their glory days; ordinary at best. They will find it tougher against better teams and a less generous referee.
The Ugly; Our prospects if we carry on like this. It is pointless playing decent, having eighteen attempts, nine shots on target if you fail to score and defend like schoolboys!
Matija Sarkic 6, Marc Roberts 4, Harlee Dean 4, Krystian Pedersen 5, Maxime Colin 5, Ryan Woods 5, Ivan Sunjic 6 (Troy Deeney 69, 5), Jeremie Bela 5 (Riley McGree 57, 6), Tahith Chong 5, Scott Hogan 6 (Chuks Aneke 57, 4), Lukas Jutkiewicz 7.
Subs not used: George Friend, Dion Sanderson, Jordan Graham, Connal Trueman.
Goals: None.
Yellow cards: Jutkiewicz 32.
Nottingham Forest: Brice Samba 8, Joe Worrall 6, Tobias Figueiredo 6, Scott McKenna 6, Djed Spence 6, Ryan Yates 6, Jack Colback 6, Max Lowe 6, Brennan Johnson 5 (Alex Mighten 84, N/A), Philip Zinckernagel (James Garner 71, 5), Lewis Grabban 8 (Lyle Taylor 77, 5).
Goals: Grabban 11, Yates 29, Spence 53.
Subs not used: Ethan Horvath, Joao Carvalho, Gaetan Bong, Joe Lolley.
Yates 36, Lowe 59, Grabban 67.
Referee: Keith Stroud 3; I have to include the whole official team here. The refereeing was simply abysmal. Jutkiewicz was manhandled continually during the game and far too many blatant fouls went unpunished. The continual time wasting and dark arts again wasn’t nipped in the bud. Professional players will push the boundaries of what they can get away with and this set of officials were played by the Forest players for all they were worth. I don’t blame them but it does not make for fair play or indeed entertainment. They are not the reason why Blues lost this game; sloppy decision making and defending was responsible for that.
Attendance: 15,148 (1,188 away – made all the noise. There wasn’t much for the home contingent to cheer in truth)
Bazza KRO
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