BRUM IS BLUE!

Blues succumbed to their third defeat of the season last night as a lacklustre Blues came up against a determined Bolton, there’s no doubt they were the better team last night and Blues looked lost.

I’ll get it out of the way to begin with, Peacock-Farrell isn’t good enough. I don’t want to lay into him though as I don’t think that’s fair, it’s just he isn’t the guy. He is still a Blues player and despite his inability, he definitely tries. Of course, trying isn’t the same as keeping the ball out the back of the net and as the first goal went in I think we all knew it was going to be a long night.

We all know that there is certainly question marks around the 28 year old and I can’t see him still being associated with the club next season. It’s a feeling on the stands without a doubt but I think it’s also a feeling on the pitch. I’ll get onto the general performance later and it surely can’t all be laid at the feet of PF but there is definitely the feeling that even the players look nervy with him in goal.

It leads me to the question of why? Why is it that just because we have a different keeper in goal do the players suddenly look so concerned, especially in defence? Is it because they don’t have confidence in their own ability? Is it because the players rely too much on Allsop to get them out of trouble? I mean, I can’t find numbers but we know that Allsop is like an 11th outfield player, a rush keeper as it were, so he does find the ball going back to him more often than many keepers no doubt. That doesn’t make it right but without this option surely they have the football intelligence to seek out other paths, perhaps ones that move the ball forward rather than backwards?

Watching the game though there was a series of issues I felt, whether or not the players felt a lack of confidence because of PF doesn’t really matter as they themselves didn’t hold up their own end of the bargain. Blues are used to dominating in possession, dominating in shots, being creative down the wings but literally all of that was absent last night. Once the first goal went in Blues looked devoid of any inspiration as to how to get back into the game, probably for the first time under Davies. There was an air of panic that is definitely uncharacteristic for this Blues side.

There is a suggestion, aligned with my own opinions, that Blues are looking a bit tired. Our starting 11 has rarely changed much, except as a result of injuries for brief spells, but one thing that does concern me is that I don’t expect for a couple of injuries to so significantly derail the team. Blues will no doubt be looking forward to the international break with a chance to rest and recover and hopefully see a return of a few injured players.

That said I don’t think we utilised the right options. I said before the game I expected Bielik to start and to play a tad more defensively because PF was in goal and Laird missing. I think ultimately Davies made a mistake, that said when you see the post match comments it does seem like a logical mistake. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say and I suppose there was no logical reason not to start Gardner-Hickman who has played well recently, you can’t foresee a yellow card, and as Davies points out it initially did work with Hansson getting the opener.

All in all a disappointing night but I don’t think it’s worth getting too hung up on. I’ve seen fans basically signalling the end of the apocalypse and even pointing the blame at the Vertu Trophy. I imagine these fans won’t be turning up to Wembley and care more about participation than winning things. On the night, Bolton just got it right and fair play to them.

Yes we’re now just 9 points clear with a game in hand but Blues can afford it. I’ve still not worked out the mathematical point at which Blues can win the league and so I’ll have a little gander at that later tonight ready for tomorrow.