Comment: Birmingham City fans must lay off Alex McLeish

Sep 30 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

Likewise, at Spurs, Blues lost because Stephen Carr trod on the ball and gifted possession to the opposition.

And, sorry to mention this Blues fans, but Villa claimed a victory because their Second City opponents lacked concentration and, again, didn’t defend set-pieces correctly.

Dare I say it, Spurs and Villa also have better players.

They are the harsh realities of the English Premier League where one mistake, one lapse of concentration, one tiny misjudgment, one poor pass, will inevitably lead to an opposition goal.

It doesn’t matter if Big Eck goes with a three-man, four-man, five-man or ten-man midfield. It may be a cliche, but players win games, not formations.

Formations can help or hinder occasional games but Blues will not stay up or be relegated on the strength of whether they play 4-4-2 or any other combination.

It will be down to whether they score enough goals and defend well enough.

So get off McLeish’s back – he will know his players better than anyone else at St Andrew’s.

■ AFTER another Formula One procession, this time under Singapore’s lights, the sooner the FIA ban fuel stops, the better.

Time to eliminate the strategists, throw away re-fuelling rigs and let drivers do the racing.