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The big freeze and the dismal failure of England’s 2018 World Cup bid will not stop the Premier League from rolling on. Its game week 16, time to forget the disappointment, put the heating on and enjoy another weekend of Football.
Spurs enjoyed a much needed rest midweek and will be hoping to capitalise on any signs of a Birmingham hangover following their Carling Cup exploits. Both sides are on a good run and Harry Redknapp will be desperate to keep the pressure on the teams above them. The Blues have a fantastic home record but I have a feeling Tottenham are going to leave with all three points.
Birmingham will be relieved to see that Rafael Van der Vaart is once again doubtful, but Jermain Defoe(8.6), Aaron Lennon(7.5) and Luka Modric(7.2) are looking good, and they will need to be on their game if they are to breach a Birmingham back line that boasts some impressive points tallies. Ben Foster(5.0) 71 points, Liam Ridgewell(5.8) 65 points and Roger Johnson(5.2) 56 points, are in the top five points scorers so far this season in their positions. “If you score two we will score three” seems to be Spurs attitude, so there will be chances at the other end too. Cameron Jerome(5.7) and Nikola Zigic(5.3) are the cheaper alternatives in a match that promises goals.

Man Utd have been on the receiving end of a fair amount of criticism this season, yet they are undefeated and top of the Premier League table. United are off to the seaside Saturday evening and a certain Wane Rooney(11.5) will be desperate to get back in the goals after failing to get on the score sheet during the massacre of Blackburn Rovers last week. A special mention this week for Rooney’s team mate Nani(9.3) for reaching the 100 points mark this season.
Game week 16 concludes with a slightly rejuvenated Liverpool hosting a Villa side that are on the slide. The Reds are still missing inspirational Captain Steven Gerrard but the usually ineffective Lucas has added some steel to Liverpools midfield. The Brazilian is available for a mere 4.5 million and could be a shrewd acquisition in Gerrards absence. Jamie Carragher is facing three months on the sidelines after dislocating his shoulder against Tottenham. It could mean a recall for Sotirios Kyrgiakos(5.1) and the Greek will be hoping to recapture his early season form.
Villa rallied well in the second half against Arsenal but they are struggling without Marc Albrighton, skipper Stiliyan Petrov and punch-line Emile Heskey. Robert Pires(5.0) who has a wealth of experience and young Ciaran Clark(4.5) could prove to be important players for Gerard Houllier in the run up to Christmas.
That’s your lot for this week. If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ the code you need to join is 13413-5300

Fantasy League Tips &#8211; Gameweek 16

Fantasy League Tips - Gameweek 16 - World Soccer Talk

Fantasy League Tips – Gameweek 16

<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/news/alexander-hleb-birmingham/image/9851363?term=birmingham+city" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9851363/alexander-hleb-birmingham/alexander-hleb-birmingham.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9851363" border="0" alt="Birmingham City/Wigan Athletic Premiership 25.09.10 Photo: Tim Parker Fotosports International Alexander Hleb Birmingham &amp; James McCarthy Wigan Photo via Newscom" width="500" height="513"></figure></div></a></div>
Being unbeaten at home for one of the smaller Premiership sides is something that should always be celebrated but at Birmingham City, things are never that simple. They have now equaled the clubs longest unbeaten home record of 18 games, it hides another story entirely. Now, 6 games in, the club have 7 points and sit mid-table but once again, the crowd was just over 2/3rds of the capacity.Fingers could be pointed towards the Wigan fans, not known for their travelling exploits yet that doesn’t cover it every other week.
City have had something of a stand off with the previous owners, when prices were kept at Premiership prices following relegation. A perceived lack of entertainment added to the fans frustration and despite a return to the top tier and the club being sold to Carson Yeung, attendances still leave the ground looking bare in certain areas. Despite the 18 game unbeaten home run, Birmingham have only won 2 of their last 12 Premiership matches.

Fans frustration can often be judged on what we call the George Graham formula. An often repeated mantra by fans who stop going is the lack of real football being played. This attitude is then criticised by others, who will often use George Graham’s period at Arsenal as proof of success over entertainment. The feeling is that if you win matches, then fans will come to see the team but as Birmingham City’s fans have proved over the last few seasons, it’s not necessarily true.
Of course, playing wide open attacking football gets the fans off their feet but it does leave you open to counter attacks. Against the better Premiership sides, this is akin to soccer suicide, offering the opportunity for the Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s to run riot. Crucially for promoted sides, keeping it tight, especially away from home can be all the difference. Yet, as Derby County showed under both Billy Davies and Paul Jewell, using those tactics doesn’t necessarily negate better sides.
After Liverpool had dismantled a Derby County side 6-0 who were playing what seemed to be a 5-5-0 formation, rather than the 4-5-1 it was supposed to be, fans were harsh towards the tactics. The feeling that by playing for a draw, they’d invited defeat left a bitter taste in the mouth. They were getting hammered and Davies kept to a tactical plan that clearly wasn’t working.
Birmingham yesterday entertained Wigan Athletic and played Cameron Jerome up front as a lone striker for an hour. I appreciate that using Hleb and Bowyer to bomb on as support helps but everyone seems to be playing 4-3-3 with just one striker and no wingers. Safety first at home against Wigan Athletic? Come on Alex Mcleish, show the fans some credit.
Birmingham City fans would be right in feeling that playing at home against anyone apart from the top 6, the side should at least show a little more attacking invention. No-one is expecting a side to go gung ho, but really, games like this are what keeps sides up in the Premiership, not what they achieve against the big clubs. The fans, as they did yesterday at St. Andrews, have a right to make their frustrations known.
If the fans begin to chant a formation or simply don’t bother turning up should tell you all you need to know. Alex Mcleish has been around football long enough to appreciate the fans concerns but yesteray had 3 strikers on the bench. For me, Birmingham’s best results in the last couple of seasons have been when they’ve gone with at least two strikers up front, rather than looking to negate the opposition.
The World Cup was full of sides playing a 4-3-3 system that employed wingers and strikers that could drop back when defending. Unfortunately, the new season has seen plenty of sides simply revert to a 4-5-1 and no option for width and balance. By replacing the attacking options with the safety first choice, the fans vote with their feet and their voices and no amount of unbeaten games will change that.
The frustration is born from playing so negatively against sides they consider at best, equals that they stop attending. When you’re only charging a top price of £34 for an adult ticket, cheap by comparison to some in the Premiership, you’d look to be selling out every home game. With almost 8,000 empty seats, that clearly isn’t the case. It may be value for money, but for some it certainly doesn’t represent entertainment value for the Birmingham fans.

Birmingham City Are Tough To Love

Birmingham City Are Tough To Love - World Soccer Talk

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A week after Manchester United’s shock FA Cup exit, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a side with immense respect for Birmingham City’s Alex McCleish at St. Andrews. A match that was 1 of only 2 to survive the inclement weather on Saturday saw a 4-5-1 with Wayne Rooney in a lone striker role supported by Ji-sung Park and Antonio Valencia on the wings. Ferguson’s five man midfield attempted to dominate the flow of play and supply Rooney up front. With the fantastic form Birmingham City has been on as of late, McCleish’s squad seem to pick themselves. Cameron Jerome and Christian Benitez led a subdued attack for Birmingham City.
Joe Hart was again superb in goal for the Blues, he denied Rooney the break through after 24 minutes when Rooney latched on to a Valencia cross, the two Englishmen found themselves mano-a-mano with Hart winning out.
It took some time for the match to get going as both sides attempted to dominate the play in midfield with only Manchester United creating the odd chance on goal. Birmingham City defended well but showed little in attack in the first half. McCleish’s game plan was obvious: keep it tight and close in the first half, counter when applicable. It worked.
The breakthrough came against the run of play when Cameron Jerome tapped in from a few yards out. Manchester United were unable to clear a corner from James McFadden and when the ball ping-ponged off Johnny Evans, Jerome took his chance. The Blues had their lead albeit, based on the balance of play, undeserved. There wasn’t enough up front for United in the first half to create viable and consistent chances. Ferguson would have to partner someone up front to support Rooney in the second half if the champions were to win. With Dimitar Berbatov not even on the bench, Michael Owen or Ryan Giggs would be the obvious choice.
United’s defense looked shaky in the opening moments of the second half, the champions would have conceded a second had it not been for a fine save from Tomasz Kuszczak who was superb in goal all day for United. Birmingham City looked happy to sit back on their one goal lead and keep the play compact and organized.
In a moment of controversy, United drew level when Birmingham City defender Scott Dann bundled the ball into his own goal. After replays, it looks like Rooney was in an offside position but to no matter. Because a Manchester United player didn’t touch the ball, the goal stood. Referee Mark Clattenburg discussed with his linesman and got the call correct.
After Ji-sung Park made way for Ryan Giggs, the sparky Christian Benitez challenged Kuszczak in goal only to be denied by another fine save from the Polish keeper. Birmingham City were looking increasingly dangerous on the counter. The match looked set for a winner in the last 15 minutes, only question is, from who?
Paul Scholes came close with a trademark blast before making way for United debutant Mame Biram Diouf, who United have high hopes for. Soon after, Darren Fletcher who had yet again been solid for United saw his second yellow, a cheap leg out on goal scorer Jerome, and United were down to 10 men. In all honesty, Birmingham City were the side most likely to claim a winner, they fought hard and created chances while United’s attack continued to not impress. After 6 minutes of added time, Birmingham remained undefeated in 12 Premier League games, while United claimed their first away draw of the season.
Manchester United will lament not being able to take advantage of Arsenal’s draw earlier in the day and if Chelsea win their next match, they’ll have the chance to go 4 points clear of the current champions. Overall it was a hard fought game and deserved to finish equal.

Manchester United 1-1 Birmingham City: Champions Fail To Capitalize On Arsenal Draw

Manchester United 1-1 Birmingham City: Champions Fail To Capitalize On Arsenal Draw - World Soccer Talk

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They seemed as if they’d thrown it all away, but they pulled themselves together on the last match of the season to gain automatic promotion. Birmingham City always seem to do things the hard way and they just about squeezed over the line. The fact of the matter is that they should have never been relegated from the Premiership, but the board have continually refused to accept the blame for the Carson Yeung fiasco.
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2319202/Carson-Yeung-warms-to-Birmingham.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yeung hilariously rolled in to Birmingham</a> in the summer of 2007 claiming to have the financial muscle to make them one of the top teams in the world. “Next year Birmingham will be the most popular team in China,” he said. “The whole of China and Hong Kong know very well about Birmingham City, and want this club to be successful.”
Of course it never happened and the main ramification of this dalliance was that Steve Bruce left to join Wigan Athletic. Alex McLeish came in to replace him, but Birmingham couldn’t hold on to their Premiership status and were relegated. Last season, they were expected, quite rightly with the squad they had, to run away with the league but it never materialized.

I saw plenty of Birmingham City last year and they never blew me away football wise. On paper, they had a fantastic team that simply never got going throughout the season, they spluttered and stuttered. They only scored more than two goals in a game on five occasions in the league and for a team that boasts the firepower they have, that simply wasn’t good enough.&nbsp; Kevin Phillips was the only player to hit double figures in the league, with 14.
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The Blues have looked to bolster the attack by signing Ecuadorian Christian Bentitez, breaking their transfer record to do so, but it’s a hell of a risk.Fair enough, the lad is 23, scored 10 goals for his country and hit 31 league goals in the last two years in the Mexican League but doubts persist over his fitness and his build. With Birmingham struggling to kill sides off in Championship, can they honestly hope to score goals in Premiership?
Yet, maybe I’m being too negative, but when your top scorer left West Bromwich Albion when they got promoted citing that he didn’t want to be in a relegation struggle, it makes you question why he feels Birmingham City will be in a better situation. If anything, Phillips would have had a hatful of chances for the Baggies and would have possibly been the difference for them last season. Are the Blues such a superior team? With 3 International strikers at his disposal in Benitez, O’Connor and McFadden, McLeish now has to get them scoring more goals.
Or will he finally release Cameron Jerome and give him a real run of games. There is no doubting the boys pace, he is fast, and he has had a taste of Premiership football before with Birmingham, netting 7 goals. He now needs to respond to signing a new 5 year contract with consistency and increasing his goal tally.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/cache.daylife.com/imageserve/04eLdPzdudegk/340x.jpg" alt="" width="313" height="380"></figure></div>The rest of the side has Premiership experience running all the way through it, from the two Lee’s, Carsley and Bowyer, to the back line with Franck Queudrue, Stephen Carr and Martin Taylor. Of McLeish’s new signings, only Bowyer is a midfielder, but that concerns me. Carsley and Bowyer are players that are not afraid to put it about a bit, so having the quality in reserve will be paramount to cover for those two when serving the inevitable suspensions.Of course, bringing another quiet soul in Barry Ferguson may be more <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/scotland/5099853/Barry-Ferguson-and-Allan-McGregor-banned-for-life-from-playing-for-Scotland.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trouble than it’s worth</a>, but maybe Ferguson can actually try and save his career with this move. It surely can’t get any worse for him can it?
At the back, is probably where Birmingham are at their strongest. The loan signing of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/5621697/Joe-Hart-joins-Birmingham-City-from-Manchester-City-on-season-long-loan.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Hart is an inspired piece of business</a>, Hart is easily the best of the young English goalkeepers out there and he can really add a bit more quality for the side. The big changes for the team will be at Centre Half. Liam Ridgewell broke his leg in April so he’s not due back until October at the earliest and Raidhi Jaidi has been released. In for them have come the Cardiff City defender Roger Johnson, who looked impressive for the Bluebirds and another risky international signing, Giovanny Espinoza.
Yet Espinoza has 80 caps for Ecuador, showing he’s no mug and one season in European football already under his belt. A big, uncompromising defender, if he dovetails with Johnson, it could be an inspired signing. The full back positions are full of Premiership experience and shouldn’t need much tinkering with. Carr and Queudrue, once he recovers from a calf strain, have seen it all before and can be relied upon to keep it simple.McLeish has made no secret in his attempts to cover the left back area, so he knows Queudrue has to eased back.
Overall, Birmingham have a sprinkling of experience but need to make sure they score. They have the fan base and financial strength but the biggest task will be scoring more than they concede. That may seem obvious, but the Blues strength will see them hard to beat, so for them to stay up, they have make those draws victories.If they can get one more season out of Phillips, Benitez and Jerome scoring in support and the two Scottish enigma’s, O’Connor and McFadden finally begin to deliver, they’ll be fine.

Premiership Promotion Preview No.2 : Birmingham City

Premiership Promotion Preview No.2 : Birmingham City - World Soccer Talk

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