[St Charles Owl]

Did Hutch get injured or did CC take him off with Monday's game in mind ?

To be honest I didn't even notice that he went off today!!   I am hoping it was just to get him off with 10 mins to go with the game won.

[consilio]

Hutch didn't look injured

[Jacko The Flopsy Piglet]

Hutch had a long conversation with CC before going off and they seemed to change sub, looked like Semedo may have been coming on but instead they brought on Wiggins. Looked precautionary to be honest, but this is Hutch so you never know!

Other than that it was almost a perfect performance. Being really picky it would have been nice to keep pushing and not let them have a sniff, still, it gave Wildsmith the chance to make couple of very good saves and cover one that hit the bar.

Birmingham never got close enough to us and we looked a class above them. Forestieri scored one of the scruffiest goals and one of top quality in the same game. He is a great player to watch and he's not the only one we've got. Last season seems like a distant memory already. Long may it continue.

[St Charles Owl]

Cant wait for rowetts interview after the game ( wanker) last year he slated us to **** about the pitch etc !! like birmingham can play **** football stroll on you twat !!

Didn't blame the pitch this season, this time it was ref's, Nuhiu's and FF's fault!!!!

"They got the opening goal and it was a very poor goal from our point of view, but I've seen the replay and you can quite clearly see there's a foul from Atdhe Nuhiu and then the ball comes off Forestieri's hand."

[Imre varadi]

yep just heard him !! they where unfortunate ?? they lost by 3 xxxx goals ffs !! what a complete twat !!

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Arsenal 4 down at the saints ? Man city its on a plate knowboday wants to win the damn thing ?

[Kimmyowl]

Hutch had an injury and wasn't running freely for about 15 mins before he went off, hunt picked up an injury too late on but we'd made all our subs, hope it's not too serious

[madsteve]

S6 Is a Bastion of Invincibility!

For far too long, we haven't been able to rack up win after win at home but now I feel confident that we will beat most sides at home this season. Birmingham are no-ones fools and came into the match with only two sides having won more away points. They did pretty much what was expected. They were well organised, they got behind the ball well and looked to steal something on the counter attack. The fact that despite these well worked plans, they largely looked inept is down to how well we played.

We looked bright from minute one and even though it was hard to create opportunities, we continued with great patience until the chances came our way. Wildsmith replaced the injured Westwood while Nuhiu replaced Joao, who wasn't considered fit enough to start. Clearly CC had seen that the 433 (4321) formation worked against Wolves & wanted to continue in the same fashion.

It was tougher without Joao because the threat of his pace forces defences deeper and the movement of FF & Hooper can exploit those spaces around the box. Interestingly, Birmingham defended zonally from open play, which meant that no-one was singled out for double marking. It did mean that we often gave the ball away with Nuhiu heading the ball on to a cluster of defenders or through to the keeper. Gradually though, we played increasingly to feet. Hooper & FF were already stretching the defence and with Hunt & Lee getting involved, opening started to appear thick & fast.

We had the ball in the net when Hooper burst clear on the right side of the box from Wallace's clever through ball but unselfishly squared to Nuhiu, who failed to get a decisive touch but the ball broke back to Hooper, who lashed it home. Unfortunately, the assistant flagged him offside. It was certainly an unlucky decision. It also reflected well on Hooper because many loan players play for themselves but Hooper always seems to go for the best option for the team.

Shortly afterwards, Hunt got behind the defence & cut the ball back for Hooper, whose shot was deflected past the post for a corner. The pressure was building and we created again from a cleverly worked corner with FF curling the ball in but Nuhiu took too long with a chance from close in. It seemed like a goal was inevitable and it soon came. Good work by Hunt and the ball fell for FF in the six yard box, who reacted quickly to poke it home courtesy of the post.

Two minutes later & it was 2-0 with Lee taking advantage of a defensive mix up and slotting the ball home easily. We won't get many easier goals than this one all season. A minute later, Nuhiu, Hooper, Bannan & Loovens all had shots in the same move but somehow the defence survived.

The match was won unless we did something stupid but we continued to press and it opened up nicely for Nuhiu but his 20 yard shot went wide. Minutes later & Hooper's super pass sent FF away down the left before he cut inside and fizzed a shot into the top corner. I was right behind the shot & it was a goal, the moment it left his foot. It is brilliant to have a player who might just score any time from any where.

After that, we relaxed and saved our energy for more important battles ahead. Helan replaced Wallace, McGugan replaced FF and late on Wiggins replaced Hutchinson.

Have to say that the CB combination of Loovens & Hutchinson was outstanding. Some might argue that they had little to do but they passed the ball around well and dictated the whole pattern of play. Also in the latter stages when Birmingham had a few attacks, Hutchinson picked up just about every loose ball.

Wildsmith - 7 - couple of good late saves
Hunt - 7 - gave the ball away less & attacked with venom
Loovens - 8 - led by example
Hutchinson - 8 - real quality, need him on a longer contract
Pudil - 6 - did what he had to do
Wallace - 6 - quiet but some top passes
Lee - 7 - steady plus a goal
Bannan - 8 - never stops & links defence with midfield & midfield with attack
FF - 9 - constant threat, two more goals
Hooper - 7 - great team ethic, stretched Birmingham defence
Nuhiu - 6 - better than recent efforts
.................................................................
Helan - 6
McGugan - 6
Wiggins - 6

Stat Attack:

Goals: 2 - FF, 1 - Lee

Assists: 2 - Hooper

Tackles: 5 - Lee, 3 - Hunt, 2 - Loovens, Pudil, FF, 1 - Hutchinson, Bannan, Hooper, Nuhiu

Interceptions: 1 - Pudil, Wallace, Bannan, Lee, McGugan

Clearances: 6 - Loovens, Hutchinson, Pudil, 5 - Nuhiu, 1 - Wildsmith, Hunt, Wallace, FF, Wiggins

Attempts: 5 - FF, 4 - Nuhiu, 3 - Bannan, 2 - Hooper, 1 - Loovens, Lee, Helan, McGugan

Attempts On Target: 4 - FF, 2 - Nuhiu, 1 - Lee, Hooper, Helan

Key Passes: 2 - Hunt, 1 - Pudil, Bannan, Nuhiu, Hooper,

Dribbles: 1 - Hunt, Helan

Dispossessed: 6 - Nuhiu, 3 - FF, 2 - Hunt, Hooper, 1 - Pudil, Bannan, Lee,

Bad Control: 3 - Hooper, 2 - Bannan, 1 - Hunt, Wallace, FF, Nuhiu, Helan

Crosses (Accurate in Brackets): 3 - Hunt (1), 2 - Bannan (1), 1 - Wallace (0), FF (1), Nuhiu (0), Hooper (0), Helan (0), McGugan (0)

Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):

Loovens - 95% (59)
Bannan - 86% (97)
FF - 84% (31)
Pudil - 84% (43)
Hutchinson - 82% (55)
Helan - 82% (11)
Lee - 80% (56)
Wiggins - 80% (5)
Hooper - 79% (33)
Wallace - 78% (41)
Hunt - 71% (49)
McGugan - 67% (9)
Nuhiu - 63% (30)
Wildsmith - 60% (25)

Generally pretty good statistics but Nuhiu & Hunt still tend to give ball away too often. Also CC has a formula & formation that is winning home matches. The question is can he do the same in away matches. Will he go with the 433 away or will he go for a more defensive formation?

I think that he might go more defensive against Middlesbrough because of the lack of rest after yesterday's game and the quality of the opposition. Maybe our best chance there is to keep it tight for 70 minutes then look to sneak one on the break at the death. However, at Fulham, we should play the way we played yesterday.

Another good day at the office with three points picked up in second gear against an obdurate side who should finish in the top half. Tomorrow will be far tougher but our season will probably be defined by how many away wins we get over the next four months.

[Imre varadi]

I thought wildsmith did very well yesterday , also hutch at center back gave us confidence to play from the back as bannan and hutch had the understanding that when you get the ball hutch give it to me and ill distribute !! so agian more proof that we should send turner back to norwich !!

[madsteve]

Having Hutch as a CB option is useful but we are likely to need him in midfield again eventually. While Hutch has been great at CB, Loovens form has been excellent and his ability on the ball has far exceeded what most fans expected.

I have no concerns over Wildsmith. he is pretty much as good as Westwood already & has age on his side as well.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

BML Update - Pei and Imre both get for getting the 4 other results right and Jacko got the attendance one.  No winners in the score and scorer prediction.  

Boro thread will be up later today, but it will be a short one.  Sorry!!!

Yeah. Let's have three cheers for pei.

Hip Hip.....................  Replacement

Hip Hip...............   Replacement

Hip Hip.................  Replacement