Positive Progress

Another week has passed for the Premier League, and Blues are slowly but surely making progress towards that imaginery forty point marker which should guarantee us a third consecutive top flight season.

Four matches into the 09/10 season for Blues left us on 4 points, with results looking like this: LWDL, whereas four matches into this season leaves Blues 2 points better off with a record of DWDD.

With 6 points on the board, it means that Blues are now 15% towards a 40 points marker, and look to be already making progress on last seasons performances.

This shows on the like for like matches of last season. Here, I’ve tallied our results so far with the corresponding fixtures from the previous season, and it shows that as well as improving on our overall starting performance, we’ve already picked up points off teams we failed to beat last season in the same fixture.

If we can continue to pick up the extra points off those teams we may have struggled against in away fixtures last season, we could see Blues finish quite comfortably once again. However, it is early days, yet it is encouraging to see Blues making progress both on a game by game basis, and also comparatively.

12.5%

After a somewhat disappointing draw against Bolton, it can sometimes be difficult as a Blues fan to see the wider picture and keep our eyes on the overall game plan, which is obviously staying in the Premier League for yet another season.

As a match by match feature now, I’m proud to bring you to you, the reader, the stats-o-meter. I’m hoping that it can provide happiness when things seem to be going wrong for us, or it’ll point out the doom and gloom.

Quite frighteningly, we’re already 3 games into the season. Blues current points total of 5, made up of two draws and a win, is 1 point ahead of last seasons standings after 3 matches (LWD).

In my previous article, “Has the forty point benchmark disappeared?”,  my table pointed out that the average point tally for staying up in the Premier League is 38.1 points, but for safety’s sake, it is probably useful to say that we need 40 points to feel any sort of security in this league.

With 5 points on the board, we are 12.5% of the way to earning a third successive Premier League campaign, compared to 10% of the way at the same point last season.

Here is a random comparison between this and last season: This season we have scored 6 goals in the league, compared to one goal in the same number of games during the 2009/2010 season.

Girls know nothing about football

I’m incensed and enraged. I’ve spat out my morning tea and have almost choked on my toast whilst digesting today’s football news.

I shouldn’t be getting wound up about what I’m going to talk about, because its link with football is almost farcical, but I will continue to wind myself up over it.

This morning I was pointed towards this article at hereisthecity, entitled “Birmingham City Fans usually have big bellies“. If you don’t want to read the drivel, the basic premise for this article is Ivana Takitall is rating all 20 Premier League clubs according to the male fans attractiveness.

The delightful article then goes to rate each clubs fans, with no fact or reasoning flung in. Just 20 paragraphs of made up stuff about the respective male fans of each clubs. One thing I get a whiff of here is the fact she’s probably a Cockney bird or a Cockney wannabe bird, seeing as on the whole she generally gives London clubs male fans the massive thumbs up, for example Fulham, “A Fulham supporter is every girl’s dream. Well off, daft as a brush, and able to go like a train for hours” although she is massively disparaging about Chelsea “In the same way that many Chelsea fans arrived from other clubs without warning, so Chelsea man will often return home after a visit to another man’s wife. Don’t trust him, or at least accept him for what he is – a selfish, flash-harry with a Narcissus complex.”

Just by reading the pieces title, you know she isn’t going to be kind about Birmingham City, who she duly describes as “These men are a little more basic than their Brummie rivals. All those years letching after Karren Brady have take their toll. And so have all the pies and pints. The biggest thing about the average Birmingham City fan is unfortunately usually his belly”. Where is her proof that all Birmingham supporters are pie eating letches? Why doesn’t she provide the stats that show that all Birmingham loving males have big bellies? If anything, I’ve sat with some very nice looking young men at the football!

Even the opening statement is nothing more than obvious, “My research has led me to believe that couples are better off not going to watch matches together’, she continues, ‘As particularly younger men much prefer to watch their teams with their ‘proper’ mates, having a few drinks before and after the game, and stuffing pie and chips like it’s going out of fashion. Arguments can often ensue when a female partner wants to join in the fun. In many way, the perfect partner for the average football fan is one who actually dislikes football – that way, the guys will be free to support their team without any ‘interference’.”

How many people have you seen on a night out who go out as a couple and end up arguing? That is just life. Generally, couples and days out together do not mix. It only takes a snidey comment from one partner in front of the other partners friends to light the blue touch paper and it all goes up.

Saying that though, a football loving bird is sometimes a massive coup for some men. Sometimes, it is quite amusing to let the woman tear apart a friend’s football theory and their only comeback is “she’s a girl, what does she know about football?”.

I know many of you will be banging your heads against the wall right now, telling me I’ve missed the point. This is obviously a tongue in cheek piece, mildly mocking each football club, using small anecdotes about each club to validate the facts in some way. I must have had a sense of humour by pass this morning though, because it just isn’t funny.

Being a girl and writing about football is tough. Horribly tough. If you have an opinion on anything which is traditionally male, the response is usually to get back into the kitchen and have a sandwich, or people view you with massive suspicion. The only way to gain any respect as a female writing about football, in my opinion atleast, is to write about football topics that men want to hear about. On the pitch formations, transfer speculation, history of the club. Those kinds of subjects always go down well. Topics like what Takitall wrote today only add to the argument that girls really know nothing about football.

Shirt-fashion face off: The From the Press Box verdict!

Call me Gok darling! For every football team, the replica shirt is a huge money spinner for any club, and those fashion concious fans will be wanting a decently styled replica to splatter their pie of choice on.

Heres the round up of this seasons 20 teams:

Arsenal

Instantly recogniseable as an Arsenal shirt. Slightly retro looking but should be a hit for the fans. A million times better than the monstrosity of the away kit. No fancy collar which always has a thumbs up from me.  7/10

Aston Villa

There was quite a big launch of this kit in Birmingham, with the players modelling the kits for the fans, alongside a Villa supporting band performing and local schools taking part in a 5-a-side tournament. It’s a bit disappointing to have this revealed at the end however. It’s not a bad shirt, but I just think it lacks imagination. If anything, the amateur looking logo spoils it. 6/10 – Playing it safe

Birmingham City

bcfc.com

The shirt this year was chosen by a vote by the fans. A potentially flawed system in the fact that the vote could have been sabotaged. This was far from my favourite, and will probably attract comparisons with the V shirt that has been worn by Manchester United. Xtep are a unknown maker in terms of football shirt, so hoping for a high quality, hard wearing shirt for the money. Not a bad price though, considering the pre-order price of £34.99 5/10 Blues, please be more imaginative next year! EDIT – Since seeing this in pre-season pictures, it has grown on me ten fold. It’s very distinctive and actually looks smart in the flesh, if anything, we need photos of material examples next season and not sketches. 7/10

Blackburn

This picture is from the official club shop – firstly, I need to point out that they should make better effort in the pictures of the shirts for the club shop. This is so unprofessional for a top level club, and to be honest, I don’t think a massive amount of the shirt anyway. I have a thing about collars on football shirts, in the fact that I’m not a fan of them. Here it’s a sort of V-neck/collar hybrid which I’m definately not a fan of. I know there isn’t a massive amount you can do with a shirt that has to have the colours in the way they are presented. Perhaps paring the collars back and having an incredibly plain but classy shirt is the way forward? 6/10

Blackpool

Decent colour? Check. Correct shade of orange for the fans? Check. I think I’ve worked out the trend this season, and it’s obviously for terrible TERRIBLE sponsorship logos. There is just no attempt to make it fit in with the shirt, it stands out like a sore thumb. It’s just a terrible reminder of that horrible advert where a chubby man shouts Wonga at us. Obviously Blackpool fans will be hoping they can survive this Premier League season, but if they go down, would they really want this shirt as part of their Premier League legacy? 3/10

Bolton

http://www.bwfc.co.uk

Anything has to be better than the thing released last year by Bolton, whoever came up with the stripes coming out of the bottom?! This year, they seem to have played it safe with this plainer option. I always think plain white shirts look smart, but the red lines seem to detract from the overall effect. Will be a bugger to get beer spills out of aswell. Good enough effort though. Priced at £39.99 7/10

Chelsea

ChelseaMegastore.com

Actually quite a radical change of style from the Chelsea kit, with the introduction of the red to the collar, and white definition around the neck. Some fans may not be impressed by the subtle dye job but I like it. Interesting idea though, I quite like it. Priced at £42.99 8/10 – A different way of adding colour

Everton

I love this shirt. Plain, but still tonal with the different material on the front of the shirt. The shirt is instantly recogniseable just because it is so plain, and the sponsor looks like it’s meant to be on this shirt without dominating it. Many sponsors look terrible on shirts, but the Chang logo just seems to fit. A simple round neck just completes the deal. Classy. 9/10

Fulham

Cheap, cheap and cheap. I hate the novelty Kappa logos on the shoulders. I don’t like the logo – it looks like something I knocked up. Necks ok, but thats about it. 3/10

Liverpool

Liverpoolfc.tv

Gone with a retro looking feel with a change of sponsor this year. Really not sure on the round neck collar or the appearance of the pattern in the material. Maybe the kit maker thought a retro look might bring Liverpool some of the glories from the past? Needs to be seen in person to make a firm judgement, but not a fan at the moment. 5/10 – lacking imagination

Manchester City

Like the Everton shirt, this is incredibly plain. I like plain, I don’t want bells and whistles when it comes to a football shirt. As long as they get the clubs colour right and the badge is in the right place, nothing else really matters. Very much so a copycat of the template for the England away shirt, but the style seems to almost fit the Manchester City colours better. 8/10

Manchester United

This is a massive departure from last seasons shirt with the black V. I think the new AON logo actually adds to the retro feel to this shirt, which has been pared down and is quite simple really. The collar isn’t too bad, but I don’t think it’ll go down as a shirt classic. 6/10

Newcastle United

It’s difficult to make a stripey shirt look interesting, ala Sunderland but this isn’t bad. The neck is a bit strange an the position of the makers logo is slightly odd. Good thing for Newcastle fans is that the shirts don’t vary a massive amount so there isn’t much need to buy a new one every season. 5/10 – standard affair

Stoke City

scfcdirect.com

A change of kitmaker for Stoke this year, from Le Coq Sportif to Adidas. It can be hard to make a kit that has to be stripey, look individual. However, this kit seems to achieve it. I really like the neck and the slightly quirky placing of the Adidas logo – it looks like a kit which is individual, rather than a  kit design that is produced in a number of colours by the same shirt maker. The only thing I’m not entirely struck on is the appearance of the blurred lines down each stripe on the shirt, but perhaps this will again look better in person. Nice to see a little imagination on the kit here. Pre-orders are priced at £39.99 8/10 for creativity.

Sunderland

Simple, but I actually quite like this shirt. No fancy gimmicks, just the clubs colours, a decentish sponsor and the badge over the heart where it is meant to be. Umbro haven’t done too badly at all this season with kit design. 7/10

Tottenham Hotspur

Now this is what I call sexy. Spurs always seem to have nice shirts, which always seem to appear quite tightly fitted. The design is minimal yet innovative and should look fantastic on a nice toned footballer. Ooh I’m having a moment. Shame about the sponsor, but I’ll get over it. 9/10

West Bromwich Albion

There is so much wrong with this shirt. The logo – I mean, it’s cheap and tacky looking and placed far too low. The logo resembles something I’d expect to see on a lower league shirt.  The collar just reminds me of the horribly polo shirts we were forced to wear during high school. A clanger for Umbro here, even placing the logo appropriately would improve this shirt ten fold. 4/10

West Ham United

This shirt just shouts old at me. Old fashioned collar, old fashioned design. Theres nothing spectacularly bad about the shirt, its just not spectacularly brilliant either. Yet again theres a logo that lacks imagination, which matches a shirt which lacks imagination. Macron, try harder next year 5/10

Wigan Athletic

I really like this. It’s recognisable as a Wigan shirt, but at the same time it’s different to everything else in the league. The logo almost looks as if its been designed to fit in with the design, and it has a decent enough round neck collar. I really don’t think Latics fans can have anything to moan about in terms of the shirt design here. 10/10

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves shirts are never going to be radically different, sticking to the template of Gold with a bit of black. I’m not sure about the collar though, it looks like a dodgy Harry Hill impression. The fabric is meant to be full of technology in the fact that it is meant to draw moisture away from the body – brilliant for you sweaty betty fans. Costs £40 for an adult shirt  6/10

Who is Moussa Dembele?

Since I said in this blog that the transfer window was a series of gentle tremors, the name of this striker has been popping up and now is being linked with a £5 million move to the Midlands club. He might have a name which sounds like a culinary dish, but who is he?

1) Dembele turns 23 today. The young striker transferred from Willem II to AZ Alkmaar in 2006. In 2009, he was linked by Mirrorfootball.co.uk with a move to Arsenal, and football.co.uk linked him with a move to Chelsea.

2) Since his move to Alkmaar in 2006, Dembele has starred for the side 118 times, scoring 24 goals in the process, roughly equating to a 1 in 5 strike rate. During his full career, he has played 155 times, scoring 37 goals in the process and contributing with 16 assists.

3) Dembele won the 2008-2009 Eredivisie whilst at Alkmaar, as well as the Dutch Super cup in 2009

4) Dembele was part of the 2008 Belgian Olympic team. Belgium went on to beat Italy in in quarter finals, with Dembele contributing 2 of the goals to the 3-2 scoreline. They then went onto losing to Nigeria in the Semifinals, and lost to Brazil in the 3rd place play offs.

5) Here is the obligatory video of Dembele looking like a world beater:

A loan to Celtic? A load of Bull(ard)

I’ve blogged about Jimmy Bullard’s Hull deal before. The player is meant to be on around £50,000 per week, and Hull who are marred with financial problems themselves are understandably keen to offload the player to any club stupid enough willing to take on his financial demands, especially as the future  uncertainty surrounding his knees which appear to be made of cheese.

A chink of light appeared for Hull in the shape of Celtic football club, who looked set to take Bullard on a one year loan deal which would lighten Hull’s financial load somewhat, even though they would appear to be offering to pay part of his wage package.

It’s all gone horribly wrong though, with Jimmy apparantly doing a u-turn on the deal and now it looks like he’ll be back training with Hull this summer rather than making moves north of the border. The Guardian article includes quotes from Adam Pearson, head of Hull’s football operations, who described Bullard’s antics as the club being “strung along”.

I wish I couldn’t see an argument both ways but I do.

Hull are in the doldrums financially and are desperate to lighten their wage bill. Jimmy Bullard is a name for the club, but his worth has dwindled due to numerous injuries which have prevented him from playing regularly. On the one hand, some fans may share the same anger as Pearson. Hull have paid Jimmy Bullard generously since he moved to the club, and perhaps they’ll feel that due to his injury problems, Bullard owes the club something and should be keen to make moves which will help the club during these testing times. A move to Celtic, on paper, seems like a great opportunity as they are a club with a reputation, and Jimmy can play in the highest league of Scottish football for a decent wage packet.

On the other hand, Hull set about their own problems really. £50,000 per week for Jimmy Bullard seems ludicrous for the player. He is very good yes, but £50,000? For a team who weren’t entirely established in the Premier League? It was a mad move in the first place, and I’m sure the player was well aware he wouldn’t get as great a deal anywhere else.

Celtic may be a great team with a good reputation, but what is the incentive for Bullard to move to Scotland for the season when he can quite comfortably carry on for Hull?. What fans need to remember is that players like Bullard have no affinity for Hull, it is quite simply a job. As long as Hull keep paying his wages, it would seem that Bullard has no real incentive to move anywhere else.

Unless someone moves in with a better package for Jimmy Bullard, then I don’t think we’ll see him leave Hull for the time being. He seems quite content to carry on picking up his healthy salary, despite knowing his employers are struggling financially. As fans, this is a hard pill to swallow and will lead to resentment as a player. What’s hard to grasp as outsiders to the business of any club, is that football is simply a job to some people and a way to bring the cash in. The reality of the game is that there are probably fewer players who would move elsewhere to help out their employers. In todays world, everyone seems to focus on me, me, me rather than us, us, us, and this certainly seems to be the attitude in this saga.

That end of tournament feeling

Maybe I’m alone on this but whenever I go on holiday, I always have this rather odd feeling when it comes to the end of it. It’s a combination of not wanting to leave and wistfully looking back at the best moments of the trip, whilst also the longing to get back to normal life. It’s usually mixed with a sickly feeling if I’m thinking about getting on the plane.

I may not have been on a holiday, but I have a similar feeling at the end of this World Cup tournament. Firstly, I can’t believe that four weeks has really passed me by. The first half of the tournament was dense in football, and I made it pretty much part and parcel of my day to watch pretty much every group match. The weeks have flown in a flurry of group stages, following with the English heartbreak during the final 16, and we’ve motored towards this weekends final, which was opened by an entertaining match last night which saw the Germans being placed 3rd.

I’ve enjoyed the tournament, there is no doubt about that. My summer would have been depressingly football free if there hadn’t been a spectacle in South Africa. I won’t lie though; I’m suffering from football fatigue.

It’s almost as if I’ve been spoilt with too much on the pitch action. I’ve grown accustomed to watching matches day in and day out, and the novelty has worn out. Football stopped being my weekend passion, and literally took over my life, well for the first half of the tournament anyway. When we experience a tournament free summer, football can somewhat dissipate from your mind, and the build up to the football season seems more abrupt. If anything, the World Cup has only made me crave the start of the Premier League season more.

Tonight will be the end of the international football feast, and I’m looking forward to the build up of the domestic season – the football I’ll be watching every weekend next season. I’m waiting for the transfer window to hot up, the count down to the opening games, and the trepidation of how the season will begin.

The World Cup is the greatest footballing stage in the world. It’s like going on a great holiday and realising your probably not going to experience anything like that in your normal life, and its a great side show to the mundane 9-5. The failures of the national team may have flagged up apparant flaws in the Premier League, but I don’t care. The Premier League is mine. It’s something I can experience, something that doesn’t happen just once every four years. It’s exciting, frustrating, causes heartbreak and elation and is ultimately fairly predictable.

Thank you South Africa for a good tournament, but now it’s time for me to bid you adieu and to switch off holiday mode. If the Premier League represents home, then thats where I want to go.  August 14th, you cannot come quick enough.

Birmingham City lookalike 11

There has been a couple of days of down time in the World Cup, and there has been a temporary lull of football for me to talk about.

Football can be quite a serious game, and this lead to me think about some lighter topics I could talk about. England’s Emile Heskey is often likened to a Donkey, so why couldn’t I reach out to my fellow Blues fans to see if we could liken our players to famous people. Here I present the Birmingham City lookalike 11 (and the gaffer!)

Manager

David Caruso and Alex Mcleish, suggested by many!

Caruso is described on imdb.com as having “low-keyed intensity, deep-voiced somberness, pale skin”. Sounds just like our Scottish leader. The lookalike which is actually quite scarily like him!

Goalkeeper

Aaron from Emmerdale/Ben Foster (Daz, Smallheathalliance.com)

Newcomer Ben Foster has been likened to Aaron from country soap Emmerdale. Aaron has been involved in controversial storylines during his time on the soap – will Foster prove a controversial signing during his time at Birmingham?

Defenders

Mickey from Only Fools and Horses/Liam Ridgewell as suggested by John Cheeseright (Smallheathalliance.com), Kaje (joysandsorrows.co.uk) and bluenose89 (bcfcforum.co.uk)

King of the windmill arms Ridgewell was nominated by more than one person as looking like Mickey from Only Fools. The suggestions for Ridgewell weren’t exactly kind, with another suggestion of Cletus the slackjawed yokel from The Simpsons. He should be somewhat heartened that Oldham from Smallheathalliance.com suggested he looked like Keanu Reeves, which has to be better than the previous two suggestions combined!

Scott Dan and Matthew Fox, suggested by Spike014 bcfcforum.co.uk

Matthew Fox starred in one of the most intriguing and frustrating programmes of all time. Scott Dann plays for a team who are possibly the most frustrating of all time. Theres some similarity between the two men here, lets just hope that Dann doesn’t get Lost in defence next season.

David Murphy and James Nesbitt, as suggested by Duttyo (Smallheathalliance.com)

David Murphy didn’t feature much in last seasons line up, but he’s pushed his way into my lookalike 11 due to the fact I lack defenders who look like anyone remotely famous. Well done David, count this as an achievement.

Stephen Carr and Hannibal Lector as suggested by Sutton Blue (bcfcforum.co.uk)

Same staring eyes? Check. Lack of hair? Check. Is Stephen Carr just as scary as Hannibal Lector after injustice during a Villa match? I wouldn’t bet against it!

Midfielders

Bear Grylls and Barry Ferguson, as suggested by Skan (bcfcforum.co.uk)

Bear Grylls is a well known TV survival expert. Before the start of last season, Barry seemed like he’d need top survival skills against internet boo boys who classed him as a failure before he’d even arrived. 38 games later he emerged as one of the players of the season, and key to our continuing Premier League campaign.

Tim Roth and Lee Bowyer, as suggested by Elvis (bcfcforum.co.uk) and bluewing (Smallheathalliance.com)

Roth played a robber in 1994’s Pulp Fiction, some may argue that a combination of Bowyer and Ferguson in the middle last season robbed the Premier League of the chance at laughing at Birmingham City, and left them dumbstruck by our outstanding form which took us to the upper echelons of the league.

Fran from Travis and James McFadden, suggested by Flatnose (Smallheathalliance.com)

McFadden could be described as a marmite player for Birmingham: you either love him or you hate him. A player with startling similarities to Travis’ Fran Healey, McFadden is usually told to Turn in the box, and probably asks the question Why does it always rain on me? when things are going badly (poor, I know).

Strikers

Josh Hartnett and Nikola Zigic, as suggested by Lukey_H (bcfcforum.co.uk)

New boy Zigic has been linked with Hollywood star Josh Hartnett here. Will Zigic prove to be A list for Birmingham, or will he end up in the equivalent of the football bargain bin by May?

Lemarr and Cameron Jerome, as suggested by Kaje (Joysandsorrows.co.uk)

Jerome has been likened to singer Lemarr who doesn’t seem to be in the limelight as much nowadays. Jerome was top scorer for Birmingham last season, so if there’s any justice in the world, Jerome should surely see his fair amount of game time next season.

Jason Gardiner and Kevin Phillips as suggested by Kaje (joysandsorrows.co.uk)

Jason Gardiner plays the bad man on tv’s dancing on ice, but his doppelganger was nothing short of a hero next season when he popped up with his vital goals to save the points for the Blues. Now he’s signed another deal, Blues fans can look forward to super sub Kev doing more of the same next season.

I had some great suggestions which also included:

Gary O’Connor/Graham Poll

Craig Gardner/ Craig Coates

Alex McLeish/Goldmember

Thanks to bcfcforum.co.uk, joysandsorrows.co.uk and smallheathalliance.com for all the input!

One to watch

It may be the Champions League final tomorrow, but I’m more pre-occupied by a different type of final tomorrow – The Championship playoff final.

It’s a massive game, in terms of the boost it will give to the winning club, as well as in financial terms. Figures of around £90 million are being banded around, which is a frightening amount of money, and adds to the pressure for the clubs to win the match.

It’s not only Blackpool and Cardiff fans who will be interested in this match. Fellow Championship clubs will be keen to find out which team remains in their league next season, whilst Premier League fans will be eager to discover whether we’ve got a seaside away day next season, or whether we’ll be travelling to a different country.

Neutral support at the moment seems to be driven towards Blackpool, as it would almost be a fairytale for this club, with attendances averaging only 8000 per game, stepping into the bright lights of the top league in this county. Everyone is also looking forward to the chance to a boozy away day on the beach, and are secretly thinking of the potentially easy 3 points on a weekly basis.

Cardiff cannot be written off, and perhaps the reason that people are siding with Blackpool, is the fact they believe that Cardiff could legitimately challenge in the Premier League, to stay up at least. Some will also not be looking forward to the prospect of going to Cardiff and facing some of the “passionate” fans that reside there. Cardiff would be a good addition to the Premier League though, bringing loud away support to games, and a fantastic stadium to play matches at.

Lets hope that all attention will be on the winners of tomorrows matches, and it doesn’t become another scathing attack on the Wembley pitches. This is the biggest match of the year for these two teams, and they should enjoy it. I don’t envy the fans right now – their stomachs will be doing somersaults in anticipation, the nerves will be at top level, and they’ll have to brace themselves for the potential heart break.

Good luck to both teams tomorrow, lets hope it can be a good day out and a good experience at Wembley for once. Come on you oranges!

Birmingham’s new additions

It’s been a good week in terms of numbers of the squad at the Blues, as the club have moved to strengthen our paper thin squad with two new additions, one being crucial.

Ben Foster arrived at St.Andrews yesterday and put pen to paper on a three year deal. The former United keeper needs to get first team football, and we are desperate to secure the services of a good keeper in the long term. Foster is a massive coup. It’s easy to forget his England experience, and the fact that Alex Ferguson saw something really special in him when he paid £1 million for him. His career had started to stagnate however, and now he has the chance to emulate the heroics of Joe Hart next season, and can push to get back within the England set up.

The club have done fantastically well to target their man and to move quickly to secure his services. It was becoming ever apparant that with the length of time the fantastic form of Joe Hart went on, we were losing a grip on ever seeing him in a Blues shirt again. Joe Hart will be first choice at Manchester City next season, and has received a massive career boost due  to a season of first team action. Ben Foster can take heart from this, and all Blues fans will warmly receive the keeper who will slot into our defence nicely.

The second signing, Enric Valles Prat, to give a full name, isn’t somebody I can talk about at length. There seems to be very little known about the player, and it could be the case that he’s signed for a year, and we’ll see very little of him. McLeish must have signed him for a reason though, so we shall see during the pre-season friendlies whether the player will see any competitive time for Birmingham City.

With a bid that was tabled for Charles N’Zogbia, the clubs intentions seem to be good, and they seem willing to spend the money to get the club to push forward. With the relative speed that the Ben Foster deal was conducted at, lets hope we can go about our transfer dealings in the same way all summer. Excited? You bet I am.