BRUM IS BLUE!

A draw at Wrexham on Friday put an end to the run of defeats on the road, it’s a game I was a bit apprehensive for going into but afterwards I feel there were some real positives to take. It wasn’t a game that we looked as flustered as we have recently, in fact in the second half we looked much closer to the team that started the Championship Campaign and that alone is a positive.

The game was a bit of a game of two halves, Wrexham were the better team and deserved their goal. In the last couple of games, once Blues have conceded we seem to implode, thankfully the opposite was true at Wrexham. That said there was still a few mistakes in the first half, most notably Leonard’s mistake in the box which allowed Wrexham a shot, forcing a save from Beadle whom I was very impressed with on Saturday.

Going into the game, having seen Allsop was dropped, I was a bit worried. From what I’d seen of Beadle I’d yet to be particularly impressed so it’s only right I hold my hands up to admit that I was wrong to have doubts. At such a young age he has a solid command of the goal without it looking too daunting a responsibility. I think his long ball needs a bit of work but that will come with more games, I suppose the question now is do you keep Beadle in goal again after the International Break or revert to Allsop?

Anyway, Blues got their act together and managed a few decent chances going into the break, which was refreshing to say the least but then to come out with a renewed intensity and bag the equaliser instantly well… that meant I missed the goal at the time but that doesn’t matter! It was far more positive and Kyogo was unfortunate to be offside meaning his debut league goal has yet to come.

Overall I thought it was a good sign that we won’t lose every game away from home and our run after the break should be a little bit easier as we face a few teams around us with the same sort of form. This will be when the business really gets done so if we’re going to look at things to work on I think someone should show Iwata how to pass forward more often.

To be honest, the whole passing at the back or passing the ball all the way back when we’re a little short of options but in a decent position really winds me up. I find it needlessly risky being that deep as well but when there’s not opponents chasing it down it’s down right boring! There was a stat that flagged up showing the Blues players with the most touches being the defenders and the keeper, I just don’t feel that’s how you win football matches.

The next thing I’d do is swap out the concrete that must be in the players boots because if none of them can move due to the weight of the boots, it’s no wonder there’s never a forward pass or throw to be had. In all seriousness though there were spells in the first half where no player seemed to want the ball, movement was limited but we showed in the game we can make runs, especially in the second half, and while we don’t want them running themselves into injury problems a bit of movement opens things up much more.

Blues will need a few more of these kind of results, preferably against teams that have been established in the Championship rather than having just been promoted with us, and then I think we’ll be fine but I guess promotion this season may end up as a bit of a challenge!