Birmingham City: Colin Tattum's promotion season review
Blues found their niche as a dogged and resilient team. In patches they played well, but it always seemed to be when the chips were down they really stirred.
Many were taken aback at the way the opposition raised their game against them; they wanted to take down the perceived top dogs. Blues got everyone’s best shot. Then again, it wasn’t so much of a problem against the better sides as Blues finished with the best record against top-half clubs.
It’s been forgotten that, in fact, Blues had their best start to a league campaign in their history on their way to the summit by the end of October.
A seven-game unbeaten run followed, but then defeat by Reading at home, then the mind-numbing 0-0 draw with Swansea City at St Andrew’s heightened the gripes and grumbles, and brought a re-think.
Other teams seemed to have more zest, pace and pinged the ball around (never mind that Blues would still end up suffocat-ing them). McLeish changed the team dynamic by adding loanees Scott Sinclair, Hameur Bouazza and Lee Bowyer and letting go the enigmatic Quincy and Nigel Quashie.
Keith Fahey was signed too. Ironically, Blues did begin to play more pleasing-on-the-eye football with speed and width, but still the chances weren’t taken, and still the results were up and down. Still they didn’t sing as the fans wanted.
Then again, Wolves and Reading got bogged down in poor performances and poor runs of form. When the transfer window came round, there was the farce of allowing Stephen Kelly to join Stoke City on loan when Blues had no fit recognised right-back and subsequently failed to find a replacement, or Matt Mills or Calum Davenport.
Coming to the rescue from his retirement home in Dublin was Stephen Carr. Blues got lucky, but Carr has been an absolute star. His addition was ridiculed at the time, as was Ulises de la Cruz as cover.
Even the MD got in on the act and her newspaper column barbs, that poked fun and ridiculed management and players, were not well received at Wast Hills. “I think we have entered Phil Scolari territory – our team is much inferior to the sum of talent at our disposal,” was the stinging comment.
Showing his pragmatic nature, McLeish went a different way again as March came.
The pitch at St Andrew’s meant Blues couldn’t pass their way through, they had to get it forward into the channels quickly, so a more base, pressuring style was adopted.
With Bowyer outstanding in driving the team up the pitch, Franck Queudrue providing inspiration here and there and Blues, collectively, playing on the front foot rather than allowing the opposition to settle and have an easy time of it, there was a distinct menace and purpose in the air.
The way Blues swamped Bristol City, the tempo set by front two Jerome and Bent, was the template for the nine-game unbeaten run to the dramatic season climax.
That victory was massive, a turning point.
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