Hanky Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Papers reckon they are going to sign Robbie Keane from 'under our nose' now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Like they did with Zigic I suppose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Irish papers are convinced Keane is moving to Birmingham but not sure which club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 They can have him atleast we'll stop hearing about Robbie Keane speculation every year to Villa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parisvilla Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 a lot of noses i know are delirious at this keane to the sty rumour :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fran_villa Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Irish papers are convinced Keane is moving to Birmingham but not sure which clublets hope its the sty.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONO Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Lmfao @ some believe they can get Ireland. Christ almighty. What is it about our cast offs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I hope they do get Ireland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderstudy Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Seconded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracker1234 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Stale Birmingham plod towards relegation – and they won't be missed Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City have been stitched up. The least entertaining team in the Premier League is Birmingham City. What is more, they will probably be relegated. None shall mourn their passing. The memory of several other aspects of their game, however, may continue to cause sobbing. Birmingham can pass the ball in basically competent fashion, albeit mostly in front of the opposition, and they retain a certain defensive sturdiness which is padded out by a fine goalkeeper, who occasionally enables his team to scrape improbable victories such as the one over Chelsea. Beyond these qualities Birmingham offer nothing. They have little creativity and no cutting edge. They have no pace. They do not even have the power of Blackburn and Stoke, nor the dynamism of Wolves, who inflicted an emphatic 1-0 defeat on them in their last outing. And Alex McLeish can do little about these shortcomings, since he has been told that there is no money for purchases in January. Birmingham need at least one effective striker. Nikola Zigic has been a flop so far, lacking the strength, nous and, despite his huge height, the aerial prowess to be a dangerous target man. Cameron Jerome lumbers around diligently but does not have the class regularly to trouble even middling Premier League defences. Kevin Phillips is on the wane. Birmingham's next match is away to Everton. At St Andrews in October Everton won 2-0 and the home side could not muster a shot on target. That has been symptomatic of their season: they have managed fewer shots on target (and off target) than any other team in the league. That is only partially the fault of the blunt strike force. It is also because of the poverty of the play behind them. Barry Ferguson remains influential, but he rarely penetrates. Lee Bowyer, too, looks to be in decline. Birmingham's principal supplier to the forwards has been the inconsistent Sebastian Larsson, who can deliver a mean set piece. Defend the Swede's corners and free-kicks and you have nullified Birmingham. And you don't have to defend them regularly: Birmingham have won fewer corners than any team in the league. When Larsson's deliveries fail to arrive, Birmingham's fall-back option tends to be to launch long balls towards Zigic, irrespective of the fact that the Serb seldom makes meaningful use of them. That is not something Birmingham did when Christian Benítez was up front, which is not to say that McLeish should have kept the Ecuadorian, who, for all his admirable energy and trickery, was infuriatingly wasteful. McLeish has been unlucky with injuries. Alexander Hleb was a worthy acquisition and would probably have brought some unpredictability, but he has featured only fleetingly. Injury and loss of form have also afflicted James McFadden, who was once the team's chief conjurer. Craig Gardner has brought much-needed vim – plus shooting of rare ferocity – to midfield when he has been able to play, but that has not been often enough. In the absence of these players, and with Jean Beausejour yet to make an impact, the Blues have plodded. This is also backed up by Opta statistics: Birmingham have completed fewer dribbles and through-balls than any other team in the league, and have the lowest tackle success rate. There is a staleness about Birmingham. Without the injection of a lot of new blood, it is hard to see how they can finish above at least three teams. Guardian Cheered me up just reading that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brittain22 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 A good piece of sensible journalism, always like Paul Doyle.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 laughable really as if carew would even go to the sty McLeish rules out Carew move Thursday 23rd December 2010 15:19 Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has played down the possibility of trying to sign Aston Villa striker John Carew in the January transfer window. But he has "not closed the door" on LA Galaxy striker Edson Buddle who has returned home after training with Blues for the past week. Carew, Villa's leading scorer for the past three seasons, has struggled to make an impression during the first half of the current campaign. He was also involved in a public fall-out with Villa manager Gerard Houllier. But McLeish is cool on the idea of signing the Norwegian international - out of contract in the summer - should he become available in January. He said: "I have always liked John Carew as a player and I tried to take him to Rangers. "But he is not someone I have thought about." As regards Buddle, McLeish said: "He has gone back and we will keep the door open. "We are not in the position to make any offers at the moment because we are looking to try and bring a more experienced player into the club. "We've not closed the door. He did okay." McLeish is aware of the need for Birmingham to strengthen during January. He believes the current financial climate will mean players being available. He said: "We are looking at one or two situations and I am working closely with the board in trying to add to the squad. "It is difficult to bring in players you don't know because it does become a risky game in January. "Prices are inflated as well but I do sense there will be players available because a lot of teams want to off-load. "I don't know if there is massive debt in the game but I certainly feel a lot of clubs are feeling the pinch." Meanwhile Birmingham reserve winger Enric Valles is facing several months out Carew isnt big enough for small fry blose apparently haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderstudy Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 :notworthy: Kudos to the Guardian! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted December 25, 2010 Share Posted December 25, 2010 he has been told that there is no money for purchases in January. The best one from the comments section No money to spend? But I thought that Hong Kong Hairdresser was loaded? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troglodyte Posted December 25, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted December 25, 2010 Not the biggest fan of Paul Doyle. That said, I'm more a fan of his than I am a fan of Small Heath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderstudy Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 No matter how shit we are, SHA have to go one better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracker1234 Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Typical Bluenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderstudy Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Broken link is broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracker1234 Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Click the link Funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts