Alex Dicken lists his Birmingham City talking points after the 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening
defeat to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night reaffirmed it.
Former Blues loanee Riley McGree smashed home the deciding goal at St Andrew’s in what was otherwise an uneventful game. Blues had everything to play for, yet they went down without a fight and without a single shot on target.
Since Tony Mowbray stepped down for medical treatment on February 19, Blues have suffered four defeats in five matches to slip closer to the Championship trapdoor. Other than the 1-1 draw with Hull City last week, it has been defeat after defeat and Blues can’t afford many more.
Is there enough leadership?
By his own admission, interim boss Mark Venus is missing Mowbray ‘enormously’ and comes across as a reluctant leader. He dutifully stepped into Mowbray’s shoes three weeks ago and the players have let him down by failing to perform.
We could discuss the talent at Blues’ disposal all day long, but where are the leaders? How many natural leaders are there among this group of players? When Blues have been in relegation battles in the past, the team has been shorter on quality but packed with loud voices.
John Ruddy fronted up after the game and falls into that category, Lukas Jutkiewicz certainly does, and Dion Sanderson is learning to become a leader. It is plainly obvious that there aren’t enough of them in this squad.
“We’ve spoken about leaders since we came into the football club,” said Venus. “We haven’t got enough leaders in the football club, we know that. But we have to work with what we’ve got and we have to do better. We have to stand up to be counted and we have to get through this.”
Take some responsibility
Alex Dicken outlines his talking points for Birmingham City following Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough.
Get comfortable, as Birmingham City is facing relegation once again. The dull, uninspired 1-0
Tuesday night’s loss to Middlesbrough confirmed it.
Riley McGree, a former Blues loanee, scored the game-winning goal against St Andrew’s in what was otherwise a dull contest. The Blues had everything to lose, but they lost without a struggle or a single shot on goal.
The Blues have lost four of their last five games after Tony Mowbray announced his resignation on February 19 due to health concerns. This has caused them to get closer to the Championship trapdoor. With the exception of last week’s 1-1 draw with Hull City, the Blues have suffered defeat after defeat and cannot afford many more.
Does the leadership exist in sufficient amounts?
Mark Venus, the acting supervisor, acknowledges that he is “enormously” missing Mowbray and comes out as a reticent leader. Three weeks ago, he diligently took up Mowbray’s position, but the players have disappointed him down by not living up to expectations.
We could talk all day about the talent the Blues have at their disposal, but where are the leaders? How many of the players in this group are natural leaders? The Blues have historically been a loud-voiced, lower-quality squad when they have faced relegation.
Lukas Jutkiewicz most definitely does, John Ruddy came forward following the game and fits that description, and Dion Sanderson is developing into a leader. It’s apparent that this squad lacks sufficient numbers of them.
Venus stated, “Since joining the football club, we’ve talked about leaders.””We know that there aren’t enough leaders in the football team. However, we must make the most of what we have and improve. We must overcome this and rise to the occasion in order to be considered.
Accept some accountability.
How often did players pass the ball to a teammate or choose the easy route? Because so many people failed to show up for the game, they were rightfully subjected to jeers during both halftime and fulltime.
After three straight victories, Middlesbrough may be in the running for a play-off spot, but Michael Carrick’s team was clearly below average. After the goal, they were in no need of giving Blues another glove. Blues gave them the freedom to saunter out of St. Andrew’s with three points without opposition.
Many of these players—especially the forwards—have received a lot of attention from us this season due to their standout performances. Jordan James has eight goals, Juninho Bacuna has 14 goal contributions, and Koji Miyoshi has six goals and five assists in all competitions. Don’t run away just yet.
Responsibility
How many times did players take the simple option or pass the buck to one of their teammates? So many didn’t show for the ball and they deserved the boos that came their way at half-time and full-time.
Middlesbrough might be in the mix for a play-off spot after three straight wins but Michael Carrick’s side were distinctly average. They didn’t need to lay another glove on Blues after the goal. Blues allowed them to waltz out of St Andrew’s with three points unchallenged.
We have talked up so many of these players, particularly the forwards, throughout this season for their individual performances. Koji Miyoshi has six goals and five assists in all competitions, Juninho Bacuna has 14 goal contributions, Jordan James has eight goals. Don’t go hiding now.
Back to basics
With nine games remaining, none of the four Blues managers this season—including myself—would have predicted that they would be reaching for Jutkiewicz, but at this point, I would. The Blues need a player who has experience fighting their way out of this situation, and Jutkiewicz hasn’t accomplished anything of the sort in his eight years as a B9 player.
Without Jutkiewicz on the field, the Blues lacked a focal point. Many times, Jay Stansfield was surrounded by three physically powerful central defenders in the middle, and Ethan Laird was in excellent space down the right, but he refused the cross.
Jutkiewicz’s leadership abilities, experience, and physical presence on the pitch currently surpass his incapacity to press as some of the Blues’ other strikers can. Certainly worth a shot.
Watford definitely needs to prevail.
The match that every Championship team hopes to win three points from is against Huddersfield, who are presently in the final relegation spot. The Terriers’ last game before the international break is away against Rotherham.
With nine straight league losses, including 5-0 losses to Coventry and Norwich, Rotherham is in danger of being officially relegated to League One. I think we can all agree that Huddersfield will win.
With 39 points, level with Blues, QPR is one spot ahead of Sunderland, who have lost their last six games. To avoid spending the international break in the relegation zone, Blues very likely need to defeat Watford.
“It’s enormous,” Ruddy acknowledges. “It has to prevail. It was imperative that Middlesbrough win, as well as Saturday, QPR, and Preston. Every game is one that we have to win until we have enough points to be secure, and this has been the message for a while now.
“We put ourselves in this situation, and we need to use every player at our disposal to get out of it.”