Soccernet: St. Andrew's Postmortem

Really a well-written article (especially if, like me, you have a particular distaste for the Big Club). Some of the notable excerpts:

Then there is a fact that those irritated by a particular ostentatious Welshman are reluctant to admit: Robbie Savage has proved irreplaceable. Salif Diao and Nicky Butt have tried and failed and the supporting cast - whether Jamie Clapham, Stephen Clemence or even the wholehearted Damien Johnson - have been unable to exert the same influence.

No one else, from the centre of midfield, has been able to knit the Birmingham team together and Bruce has shown a marked reluctance to use either of the attacking options, top scorer Jiri Jarosik and the injury-prone David Dunn, there.

BIRMINGHAM VERDICT: Their immediate future looks bleak. A spell outside the top flight seems to beckon. Acquiring the winning habit as well as a team capable of winning promotion within three months is unlikely. It may get worse before it gets better.

Now I'm left with a dilemna... who is our most hated Premiership opponent for next year?

Ohhhh that could be priceless, Neil. No doubt we'll be in the bottom half, possibly the bottom five--though he was a bit more positive toward the end of the year.

Between Lawro and everyone else's predictions, this thread should make for some good reading next week then.

Philly,perhaps you can start ciphering to see who was most accurate in their prediction tables?The table makes for fine reading right about now!

Florida Rover

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I was going to start figuring things out after Sunday's matches. Just a warning, that it is finals week for me and so I might not have it done until Monday night sometime... but it's always fun to see who did well, right?

Poetic justice methinks.

A chance to help send the Big Club down and we're plain and simply not taking advantage. Come on Rovers.

Maybe I'm more of an optimist, but I take it as a compliment. He was probably asked about the manager of the opposing side this weekend, and that's about the highest praise you can give a former Man United player who is now in management.

I don't want Hughes to go anywhere--not yet, anyway--but I don't really see anything malicious in Whelan's comments.

Soccernet Insider: Man U 3 - 0 Brum

An article mostly about Giggs, but some interesting comments regarding the Big Club and its manager.

At least, [bruce] may reflect, a second successive thrashing was averted though, after Liverpool hammered Birmingham 7-0, it briefly appeared that United might try to emulate them. Bruce's former club were in a more charitable mood, which was perhaps just as well in a week where one poll suggested 48 percent of Blues fans wanted a change at the helm.

So after the heaviest loss of Bruce's career, respectability in defeat may almost appear an achievement. It still means Birmingham's problems mount, however. They remain rooted on 24 points, and it is hard to envisage their stay in the Premiership extending to a fifth season without a rapid improvement.

Indeed, as Birmingham negotiated the first minute successfully, the comment 'at least they haven't conceded yet' was uttered in the press box. It was only true for a further 70 seconds.

It was further proof that Birmingham's offside trap is about as impenetrable as the Maginot Line.

I quite liked the last one.

Well, Germany is certainly back on track.

An absolute farce of an effort from the U.S. defense has seen Germany score 4 in the opening 25 minutes of the second half. They're probably not done yet, either. I'm still not that incredibly impressed, however. If the U.S. had had Onyewu and Pope at the back, there wouldn't have been the complete defensive ineptitude that was on display today.

Ballack looks phenomenal though. Just what Chelsea need--another world-class player to play every other game.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

I had them 11th in my preseason predictions, and I don't think I've ever been happier about being wrong.

Greening: Gold slight fired us up

"Their chairman said they had more quality than us. We all heard what he said and our captain Kevin Campbell mentioned it just before we went out," [Greening] revealed.

"To be honest, that wound us up a bit. We happen to think we have got a lot of quality in our team. We were the ones playing football while they were launching it.

"We were devastated not to have won it."

I was devastated too. Leave it to the Big Club's idiot chairman to provide bulletin board material to motivate the opposition.

A name that I thought of the other day is John O'Brien.

Formerly of Ajax, now of ADO Den Haag in the Dutch Eredivisie, O'Brien played left back for Ajax but plays central midfield for the U.S. and is quite influential in that role. He's 28 and has had his share of injury problems--he's out now, and has been since September--but when on song, he's excellent technically, a natural defender and is a superb distributor of the ball. He's also one of my favorite players, so perhaps I'm being a bit biased.

Perhaps American or seahawkdad or some of the other Americans on this board have heard what's wrong with him recently... I think he's an excellent player and, if Rovers could convince him to come to England, the fee would be miniscule (if any at all) and he'd be an excellent gamble worth taking. Best get him now before he plays well in the World Cup.

Of course, philip, it can often be that the manager isn't good enough, not the players--which I clearly believe to be the case at the Big Club.

The only players I can realistically see Hughes going after are Dunn and Taylor. Heskey is on too much money, Pennant is too much of a headache, Davies and Gera would be chased by a host of clubs, and the rest probably wouldn't go straight into the first team, a requirement for Hughes and JW if they're going to consider most players.

That being said, there are plenty of names that could help us, but I can't see Rovers going after any of Kanu, Mendes, Davis, etc.

Just as a point of information--what type of player is Gary O'Neil?

although david is still learning the game, he has more awareness, team ethic and end product than joe cole had at his age.

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I think that's something important to remember. Cole was a showboating trick-pony until Mourinho helped him get his head screwed on straight--and that was last season, when Cole was 23 going on 24 years old.

I'm not sure if Bentley can be the next Tugay (I personally think he plays too far up the pitch to assume that type of role), but based on what he's shown us so far as only a 21 year old the future is very, very bright for him.

Sounds completely undeserved from how Rovers have been playing this half too.

Sounds like the pace provided by Pongo and Bellamy is a handful for Spurs... come on Rovers!!!!!

What he said..  However if Hughes does sign him I will not be complaining.

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Enough said, really. I'm sure if he signs, no one here will be complaining - because he'll be a success! If he doesn't sign, few of us will be complaining - because he's not good enough/fit enough.

Simple as that

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This is where the debate should begin and end. I'd personally like to have him back, but I'll trust Hughes' judgment either way--he's earned at least that much from us. I just hope the speculation dies until summer comes.

Yes, I'm also stubbornly refusing to get carried away (miserable sod that I am). We're in the middle of a hot patch just now, but the wheels could just as easily come off with a few injuries.

8th would be a remarkable finish for us given the (understandable) negativity that was largely prevailent before the season kicked off - I for one would have been very happy with a 12th place finish, yet now that would represent a massive disappointment. Happy days.

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Couldn't have said it better myself.

I really and truly believe, and have said since the beginning of the season, that Rovers would be better next year than this... so for a place in Europe looking like a very real possibility so soon, I can only say that there are very good days ahead for the club.

QOTSA, that's an excellent post and we're all glad to hear that.

These are exciting times for the club--what Sparky has been able to do with limited resources in so short a time is nothing short of astounding.

Perhaps the only silver lining in our loss today is that the Big Club is now five points adrift of seventeenth place.

Peter on for Tugay.

Edit: "Has he got Paul and Mary with him?" Oh, what a hoot these commentators are.

Just one lucky bounce..... come on Rovers.

I'm having flashbacks to the World Cup.

YEAH BIG BRAD!!!!!!!!!!

Pure guts from Rovers right now. Gotta love it.

That's what they said.

Also, as the Rovers commentary points out, it's almost double last night's attendance at the JJB.

24,348... well done Roverites.