REDMOND POINTS TO FITNESS

Posted on by isport

Birmingham City youngster Nathan Redmond has said that the superior fitness of the team is certainly responsible for them to find a number of late goals this season.

Birmingham City have become the Manchester United of the Championship after finding a way to success in the last few minutes of the match.

It was once again the case during the weekend when they managed to beat Portsmouth in the 86th minute through goal from 17-year-old youngster Nathan Redmond.

Following the match, the youngster spoke of the highly involving training methods used by the coaching staff and also the incredible fitness they have within the squad as being the chief items responsible for bringing out the best of them during the closing minutes of the match.

Apart from Portsmouth, Birmingham city have also denied Ipswich and Doncaster over the last few weeks. As a result of these crucial late goals, Birmingham city have now risen to the third position in the table, which looked almost impossible at the start of the season when they were plagued by many financial problems. Even though the financial problems have not dissipated a lot, the amazing response from the squad at Birmingham City is truly remarkable.

“It’s definitely a fitness thing, the staff have been superb with us having Europe and playing more games than most teams. We’ve a really tight squad, that’s why the gaffer didn’t really bring anyone in and tried not to let too many people go. That’s just what we do here at St Andrew’s, a lot of late winners,” Nathan Redmond told the BBC.

Birmingham now face Reading in the FA Cup with the latest FA Cup betting putting them as slim favourites to progress.

If Birmingham City carry on with this incredible run, it will not be long before they catch Southampton in the automatic promotion spot. West Ham United currently leads the table with 56 points to Birmingham city’s 52 points.

JEWELL IN HOT WATER

Posted on by isport

Former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell was at the centre of other controversy after he criticised the female match officials.

Andy Gray was one of the last high-profile names to be charged with the sexism row, and Paul Jewell has become the latest one to be embroiled in this situation.

The criticism from Paul Jewell came after the 2-1 defeat Ipswich town suffered at the hands of Birmingham City, a result that leaves Ipswich town just two places above the relegation zone heading into the weekend’s match against Blackpool. Ipswich town were coming on the back of a poor run of form, which has seen the side drop alarmingly low down the table. The latest football betting online markets now place Ipswich as one of the favourites to go down.

Nikola Zigic opened the scoring for Birmingham City as early as in the ninth minute. However, Lee Martin helped Ipswich back onto level terms in the match when he scored in the 18th minute. After that, it was a game of cat and mouse, as both teams tried to take the lead with failure.

However, in the final few minutes of the match, Nikola Zigic stepped up to score a winning second goal. Ipswich then went into all-out-attack mode, and had a penalty appeal turned down, sparking a rage of anger in the Ipswich town boss, who later criticised the match officials – most particularly the assistant referee Amy Fearn.

“I think everyone to a man thought it was a penalty. Unfortunately to every man, but not a woman. Although the referee didn’t have a good view, I thought the lineswoman, or whatever she’s called, had a great view” Jewell said after the match. “It wasn’t given, and you know the rest.”

Probably better off having a bet on Norwich rather than Ipswich right now then (sorry tractor boys…!)

HIGH HOPES FOR BUTLAND

Posted on by isport

Jack Butland is the new name that is being whispered on the mouths of the fans of Birmingham City. This 18 year old lad has shown quite some skill on the training ground and has been selected by Chris Hughton to make his debut for Birmingham City very soon.

Jack has shown immense skills since his return from his loan spell at Cheltenham Town – a spell which has seen him become hot property in the January transfer window by other lower league football clubs keen to use his talent.

Manager Chris Hughton is confident that Butland will probably go out on a loan again once the windows open up as plenty of clubs want to sign a talented young goalkeeper.

Until then, Hughton is keen on keeping the young goalie at the club to see whether he can perform well enough to fight for the first-team spot, and prove to the fans that Birmingham are worth placing Championship bets on!

Having such young and talented players will help the team grow in the long run, and Hughton seems ready to gamble on some of the younger players in his squad, knowing that it could be beneficial for the team as well as players like Jack’s career.

Having personally seen him performing in the Under 21s with immense skill and technique, Hughton hopes Butland can improve further by taking part in the more intense training sessions of the first-team.

There is no hard and fast decision on Butland’s future – whether he continues to play for the reserves or heads out on loan again to somewhere like Tranmere Rovers – but one thing is for sure, Birmingham have an immense talent on their hands.

HUGHTON STILL CONFIDENT

Posted on by isport

Birmingham city manager Chris Hughton has said that he is still confident that the club can make a challenge for the play-offs position at the least.

Chris Hughton took over as the manager of Birmingham City under difficult circumstances and he has been able to get the club to a respectable 15th place in the table. They currently have 30 points on the board with a more than sufficient nine points separating them from the relegation zone. Initially, relegation was a major concern for Birmingham City, whose financial situation is also not that great.

However, the chances of Birmingham city qualifying for the play-offs position seems to be fading fast, but Chris Hughton refuses to give in. Currently, a six-point gap exists between Birmingham City and the final play-off position.

Further, Birmingham also have two games in hand, which effectively puts them level on points with sixth placed Reading if they take maximum points out of their matches. Birmingham City fans would have been feeling extremely confident following the club’s recent match against West Ham United. Despite playing against one of the top clubs in the Championship, Birmingham city showed no fear and eventually came back to draw the match 1-1.

“Can we come from the pack? I hope so. We are not even halfway in the campaign yet. With the amount of European games we’ve had it feels as if we’re a very good way into the season. But we’ve played 21 games, we have another 25 league games to go. There’s an awful lot of football to be played,” said Chris Hughton when asked about his side’s chances of making it into the play-offs position. It would be interesting to see whether Chris Hughton makes use of the January transfer window to strengthen his squad.

ZIGIC NETS POINT

Posted on by isport

Nikola Zigic, a second-half substitute, proved to be the vital link for Birmingham city, with the giant striker helping them to net a point against Blackpool.

Birmingham have made a lot of progress in the League this season, despite struggling with a lot of financial issues. Thankfully, these financial issues have not prevented them from making an impression on the pitch.

They opened the scoring in the match against Blackpool after 29th minute through Marlon King, though their lead didn’t last long – Blackpool equalised through Crainey within two minutes.

They went in level going into the second half, with both teams struggling to create any clear-cut chances to break the deadlock. As the teams came out of the break, it was Blackpool who created the first opportunity and scored with Eardley in the 57th minute.

Blackpool held on going into the final few minutes of the match, and just when it looked like they might be able to contain Birmingham, the Blues struck back. Birmingham city manager Chris Hughton brought on the giant Nikola Zigic as a substitute late on in the second half. He proved to be the inspiration for Birmingham city, as he claimed a late equaliser for the Midlanders. He scored with 3 minutes of the normal time remaining.

Blackpool didn’t have time to muster a response, and the match finished level with both teams sharing the spoils. It keeps Birmingham in contention with Blackpool in the play-off position, although this result has allowed Cardiff to stretch their lead to 7 points.

It now seems extremely difficult for Blackpool to finish in the automatic promotion positions. Birmingham city, on the other hand, will be extremely happy with an opportunity to get into the play-off position given the struggles they had earlier in the season.

CALDWELL CONFIDENT

Posted on by isport

Steven Caldwell is quietly confident that Brimingham City can progress to the next stage of the Europa league, and has admitted he would be devastated if they crashed out now.

The Blues face Club Brugge for the second time this season knowing that a win will guarantee them a place in the knock-out stages of the draw. The omens are looking good – they have already beaten them once, and Brugge sacked their manager on Saturday night after a torrid 5-4 defeat to Genk.

Caldwell can’t wait. “It’s a crucial game. I am certainly looking forward to it. It’s been fantastic playing in Europe and I think it has actually helped our league form a lot, the confidence we’ve got from the results, especially the last two away from home.

“Back here hopefully it’s going to be full at St Andrew’s, or very near to full.

“I think it’s important we do well in it to push on with the league form. Hopefully we can get the victory and that will set us up nicely.”

HUGHTON NAMED BIRMINGHAM BOSS

Posted on by content

Birmingham have appointed former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton as the manager. The 52-year-old is said to have beat Roberto Di Matteo in the battle to be manager of the League Cup winners, who were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the season.

According to the club’s official website, acting chairman Peter Pannu felt that Hughton was the perfect fit for the job and was impressed by the coach’s vision and theories, in particular his thoughts on developing youth talent and playing attractive football.

London-born Hughton began his coaching career with spells at Tottenham, where he spent 13 years as a player, before being approached by Newcastle United in 2008.

YEUNG INCREASES STOCK

Posted on by content

Carson Yeung, Birmingham City’s biggest shareholder has increased his stake in the club to 24.9 percent according to a statement.

Yeung acquired 315,000,000 shares in Birmingham International Holdings in a private transaction for an undisclosed amount from an “independent third party” through his company Great Luck Management Ltd., the statement said.

One fan likened the move to Yeung “taking a gamble on the future of the club – almost like having a free football bet“.

The announcement comes as League Cup winner Birmingham’s long-term financial structure is being examined by the Premier League after auditors for the soccer team cast doubt over its future.

JOHNSON HAPPY WITH BIRMINGHAM CITY STAY

Posted on by content

Roger Johnson is set to reject bids from Liverpool and Tottenham to stay with Birmingham City as he is happy there.

The defender, who was signed from Cardiff City for £5 million in 2009, will stay at St Andrew’s after the Blues beat Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday.

Birmingham will now play in the Europa League next season as a result of their cup win, and this will apparently be enough to keep the highly rated defender at the club for at least another season.

However, negotiations to extend his current deal have stalled, meaning if Birmingham lose their fight to stay in the Premier League then they may be forced to cash in on the defender to reduce their wage budget.

BIRMINGHAM AGREES TOWARDS CHANGES

Posted on by content

Birmingham City Council has agreed to change the employee payments. If approved next month, about 26,000 staff could be affected as the council looks to save £212m in 2011/12.

Unions have warned of industrial action after the council said on Friday that 7,000 jobs must go by 2015.

Workers could now be asked to work evenings or weekends for no extra money, Roger Jenkins from the GMB said.

The lowest paid workers would be most affected, he added.

Some 30 union officials and workers lobbied councillors ahead of the cabinet meeting on Monday.