CLARK HAPPY WITH DRAW

The Birmingham City manager Lee Clark has said that he is extremely happy with the performance of the team in the recent 1-1 draw with Blackpool.

However, he has said that the state of the pitch meant that his side were not able to win the match. Tom Ince managed to give Blackpool the lead after just 17 min on the clock. However, Curtis Davies managed to equalise things early in the second half from a corner. Birmingham did not offer a lot of attacking threat in the first half, but the improved significantly in the second half.

The manager Lee Clark has said that he is extremely happy to come away with a point from this match, which has helped them to keep their noses above the relegation zone.

Birmingham are coming into this match on the back of two consecutive defeats in the league, and the 1-1 draw helped them avoid the third one. Their recent form of just one win in the last five matches has left them in the 19th position having played 19 matches in the league. Clark has said that he is happy with the performance and the attitude of the players, who would have done well had the pitch not been as bad as it was on the night.

“We didn’t cause them enough problems, we didn’t deal with the pitch. We didn’t manage the pitch because the pitch was difficult for both teams. Blackpool did the right thing in the first half. Overall the attitude and application and defensive side of the game for the full game I was happy with. The attacking side was a big improvement in the second half,” said Clark after the match. The team will be facing big guns in the form of Wolverhampton and Crystal Palace in the next few matches.

Birmingham v Burnley

On 22 December Birmingham City plays Burnley at St Andrews Stadium, and the home side seem to be on fire at the moment. Their recent draw with Crystal palace, from a two goal deficit, suggests that some of the struggles the club had coped with this season might be easing; there really might be light at the end of the tunnel.

A win against Burnley would help Birmingham to put a gap between itself and the teams facing possible relegation at the bottom of the championship table. Currently a Birmingham victory is priced at around 5/4 with Burnley priced at 9/4 and a draw at 12/5.
Currently Birmingham with 25 points is sixth from the bottom of the table, two points ahead of Ipswich and 7 above Bristol City, Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough. In terms of possible relegation, while some bookmakers are offering 8/1 on Birmingham City being demoted, others are pricing it at around 14/1.

Fans are eagerly awaiting a return to fitness of the midfielder Darren Ambrose who has been plagued with injuries and illness ever since he was recruited from Crystal Palace last summer. He has only played five games, but in one he scored and in three others he was involved goals. Lee Clark, the Birmingham manager, said that he is still betting on Ambrose’s return to form in the near future.

Once the planned City of Birmingham Stadium is opened, Birmingham City will have the fourth largest stadium in the UK. With a seating capacity of around 55,000 only Wembley, Old Trafford and Emirates stadia are larger. It had been planned to build a upper casino within the stadium, but those plans are currently on hold while alternative locations are considered.

If is it built elsewhere, then Birmingham fans will have to content themselves with playing online on Lucky Nugget as they wind their way home from matches – this is probably already a favoured past-time of many fans considering the range of games available including football-themed slots games.