Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk

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Player ratings
Taylor - did enough with some fine stops and saves - 7
Upson - slow start but grew in stature as he watched Cunningham - 6
Cuningham - MOTM. He just seems to get better. A captain's performance - 9
Clapham - Some nice work on the left marred by wayward balls forward - 7
Johnson - learning the role of right back - 7
Clemence - Showed the others how to bounce back - 7
Savage - quiet game and started to get impatient near the end - 6
Dunn - stuck to his right role a little more than usual - 7
Lazaridis - Stan at his best. Great crosses and deserved goal - 8
Dugarry - clearly not match fit. More simple stuff please - 6
Forssell - Good runs to draw defenders - 7

Tebily - Solid showing - 7
Cisse - getting back to his old self - 7
Lucy - small part to play but slowly adapting - 6

Blues went into 4th in the league and top of the table in terms of the tightest defence and number of clean sheets. My man of the match domainted the back and obvioulsy disheartened the Pompey team as each move they made was countered by the Blues captain. Upson looked a little sluggish but he seemed to feed off Kenny's confidence, leaving Taylor with little to do. However, Taylor did his job when called and the 3 of them meant Blues earned another clean sheet. Clapham and Johnson complimented the central pairing by playing some nice moves forward and getting the ball out of the defensive third of the pitch.

It was a different story up front. Dugarry seemed content to treat the game as an exhibition and wanted to please the crowd more with tricks than attacking football. 1-2's with back heels looks good and does unsettle a defense but I prefer to see the basics until we're comfortably in the lead.

Forssell soon realised he wasn't get the usual service so he intelligently ran at defenders to create gaps for our surprise strike force of Lazaridis and Clemence. Clemence, the midweek villan, shrugged off the embarrassing publicity by scoring one and creating one, both goals seeing him and Stan link to breach the stubborn seawall.

Dunn showed his strenghts by not only running at players with the ball at his feet but he also broke down a few of their attacks. I would prefer to see him in a more central role with Savage out on the right, who looked lost and not at the races.

Cisse soon stamped his presence on the game with an early booking but the Portsmouth players heeded the warning and were quick to release the balls when they saw him steaming towards them. I would like to see Cisse as a sweeper in front of a 3 man back line. Tebily looks a much better player than last season and I think has a role to play in shoring up the midfield once we're in the final third of a game.




posted by kwacky at 11:40 am

 
I'm really fucked off

Blues go into 4th place in the league and what does the ITV Premiership show do? It gives 27 minutes of coverage to Man United and Blues get 27 seconds.

Not that it'll do any good, but I've sent them an e-mail:-

"Why do you give 30 minutes each week to eitehr Man U or Arsenal leaving less than 30 seconds for other clubs?

A lot of people want to know what's going on in other games, even Man U and Arsenal fans want to see the other teams in the league so they know what they are up against.

I realise that my club, Birmingham City, isn't a glamour club, but we're 4th in the league, have the best defensive record, more clean sheets than any other club and we're playings some nice football.

So what do we get? 27 seconds of highlights and no comments from your team. On the other hand, Man United got 27 minutes and, if that wasn't enough, you put them on the end credits.

There are 20 teams in the league, please spare a thought for fans of other clubs.

If you want to have your penny's worth, spam away:- ITV Premiershite


posted by kwacky at 9:14 am

 
Squealy feels all sad because no-one knew that 19th September was "Talk like a Pirate Day".

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!


Avast poor Squealy for he's pally with too many lubbers. Maybe it's his lack of horizontal action that's making him feel like a teenager again? He needs to do something before he makes the local papers with reports of desperation Or is it due to the fact that his childhood hero is really a Red? Maybe he should adopt a new nickname to impress the ladies? Mine's Hans Van den Bonck and I'm 80% Dutch, so now you know!




posted by kwacky at 8:29 am

 
Blues v Fulham

It was a Sunday afternoon and the air was heavy with the smell of stale beer and tales of last nights exploits. Many recalled reports from the News of the World whilst others listened, smoking their way out of a hangover and hoping the peak on their Burberry cap would stop the sun from shining in their bloodshot eyes.

Sunday football is the same all over the country; players with a point to prove hack their way for 2 hours to gain bragging rights in the bar.

The crowd, the cameras, the badges on the players sleeves all suggested this was Premiership Football. The style of play, the players and the referee all proved how wrong those assumptions were.

Blues looked like they had al been round to Bruce's mum's house for Sunday Lunch. Those extra yorkshire puddings took their toll. We kicked off, they scored. 3 points gone in under 60 seconds. Fulham soon rocked St Andrews by scoring in 38 seconds. The crowd went quite. As did the team. We tried to get something going but our midfield frailities showed and Coleman's squad bossed and bullied their way to possession whilst bypassing Savage, rendering him wholly ineffective. Dunn looked out of place and Purse looked out of sorts. Upson clearly had no understanding with the player the Bluenoses once reckoned would play for last seasons second place premier outfit.

Clapham and Clemence both forgot how to play and their passes (if they won the ball) went out of their way to find the feet of a Fulham footballer.

Stern and Forssell soon struck a chord and with Dunn pushing forward we applied pressure but it came to nothing without midfield support. This was not the Birmingham we had come to see. The football was disjointed and irritating. The crowd had nothing to sing about. But, somehow, we got the equaliser before the break.

In the second half Teiliby, replacing Kenna, started to push forward and encouraged a more attacking game which seems to suit us. So, it was only a matter of minutes before Fulham went back into the lead with what looked like a blatant barge on Taylor. The goal stood. The ref saw nothing wrong with out goalie being pushed aside.

We did draw level but Purse decided to dampen spirits by showing the England XV how to bring down a Wallaby or Springbok.

Robbie went walkabout, Purse stole centre stage, Taylor will be accused of match fixing and the ref forgot which set of rules applied - a barge on the goalie is permissable, as is showing your studs in a 2 footed tackle.

Blues v Fulham is never going to be a game for the romantics and today showed why. Nore yellows than a canary fanciers convention and less guile than a fat ninja in a pair of ski boots.


We could have won. We should have won, but we cetainly didn't deserve a win. Let's hope Bruce tears up Mr Purse's contract, that the Blue faithful realise that Robbie is already out of date and that we need to think about safety before success.

In the next game I would prefer to see Stan on the left thus freeing Dunn to support the lone forward. Teiliby looks very good going forward and could be a decent replacement for DJ who is far too defensive.

As for Purse........



Team scores:
Taylor - unlucky and unprotected 6
Kenna - out of the game 6
Upson - looked solid but missed Cunningham 7
Purse - twat 5
Clapham - did someone spike his drink? 6
Tellytubby - better going forward and some nice passes 7
Clemence - so stealthy his absence wasn't missed until the second half 6
Savage - the game passed him by until the last 15 minutes 6
Dunn - quality shines through but his position isnt left midfield 8
DJ - a better right back than right winger 6
Lazaridis - when the team finally realised he was on the pitch he looked quite good 7
John - he not be Horsfield but he's got some nice touches 7
Forssell - when can we buy him? 8
Morrisson - he came on did he? 6


posted by kwacky at 8:03 pm

 
Yes! I'm back!

Loads of stuff to tell you, including:-

My new job
Little Kwacky
Blues Stuff
Bike Stuff
The Stag Weekend
and some new links to crap.

I can't get them all in today but I always was a tease ;-)

New Job

Someone got in touch with me and asked me to apply for a job. I wasn't looking but I did know some people who had or do work for Beachcroft and they all seem to like it there. With nothing to lose I sent in my CV.

I didn't hear anything for a while but I wasn't bothered. I wasn't looking to leave Lee Crowder so I forgot about it. Then I get an e-mail at home "interview on such a date". I get into e-mail correspondence with their head of human resources (don't you love these modern job tags? :-S ). When I get a job description it appears that the post was a little junior for me. So I sent them a "thanks but no thanks" reply.

Next day I get anpother e-mail inviting me to apply for a more senior role. I go along to the interview and what an intervew it was! They give you a great big bundle of papers including court proceedings, medical reports and copy correspondence. You have to advise the client. prepare notes for a telephone conversation, identify key strengths and weaknesses (and how you counter them) and find conflicting evidence.

Then you get some verbal reasoning tests (last one I did was for my 11+!)

Then you get a grilling from the head of department.

I was told I would hear within 7 days but by the time I got home from my 5 hour ordeal the 'phone was already ringing. Always a good sign. After some wrangling over personal terms I accepted the job.

The fools have put me in carge of my own team }:-) Bwahaahahahaa.

I'm really looking forward to it. It's a more senior role and it gives me the the opporunity to specialise which is something I can't do at the moment. I'll miss my current place but I need to move on. Plus, I won't have to work the silly hours I've been know to put in and take work home ona regular basis. And the hours are shorter which will give me more time to spend with the wee one and Mrs Kwacky.

Talking of which....

Little me

She's almost 20 weeks old and she's really growing. 16 pounds 1 oz and really taking to her food. It doesn't look like she'll crawl; she doesn't like being placed on her belly but she'll stand up if you support her.

The little toe rag has learnt to smile when she pisses you off. It works everytime so far. We'll soon learn.

Last week she learnt to scream! Oh joy. Little and large welps non-stop all day and into the evening.


My mate Mike
Keep my mate Mike in your prayers (for those that do). Late on a Friday night Mike was packing his things getting ready to move house the next day. He tripped on a box at the top of the stairs, tumbled, took a blow to his head and passed out. He woke up in the wee hours and couldn't move his legs. HIs phone was upstairs. He dragged himself up using his elbows and called for aid.

He woke up the next time to find himself in a neuro ward. He had broken his back. He was told he would probably never walk again and that he would be permanantly doubly incontinent. He's got to lie flat on his back for 6 weeks to allow the damaged vertebrea to fuse. He's currently on week 2.

I went to see him last night and he's in great spirits. I'm not sure I would be able to cope if that was me.

The good news is that he has movement in both of his legs and he's starting to get more range of movement in his feet. They hope that they can fit him with a body brace so that he'll be able to have some limited walking capability. The wife of one of the partners at work specialises in this sort of disability and she might be able to introduce more range in his feet so that he won't have drag foot syndrome.
posted by kwacky at 12:01 pm