“I have been here long enough, I am guessing now this is the reason why this football club has been down at the bottom for the last three or four years – because you defend like that, you are going to be down the bottom. The last few games, it’s happened too many times and I have got to fix it."
“But since then, I don’t know how many goals we have conceded but it’s crazy. Same people making the same mistake.
“Guess what? Keep doing that. Things change. I am telling them the right things from Day One to now nothing’s changed, you defend this way. But people choose not to. That’s their choice.
“I like to think I have been respectful and given certain people the benefit of the doubt. ‘Come on, I have seen you do this, don’t go back to the old ways’. Then it’s their choice as a player.
“You want to do that? OK, you don’t play. You want to do that, keep clean sheets? Then you play. It’s not just the defenders.”
Aneke and Deeney coming off the bench to little effect
I wonder if he'll be thinking of recalling Leko in January?
Chuks isn’t going to have the same impact against defenders at that level as he did against some league one-ers
Aneke is a player Bowyer knew everything he needed to know about but it's a bit of a head scratcher to me why he signed him.
There were two question marks about Aneke - whether he was capable of scoring regularly at Championship level and his ability to offer anything other than a cameo role. He made 20 appearances in the Championship for us and didn't score at that level under Bowyer following his debut goal in the 2019/20 season. At Birmingham, apart from a rather meaningless 5th goal in a 5-0 win at Luton, he has failed to find the net in nine League appearances. That's two goals in 29 at that level.
It's also strange that he started in the two EFL games but all of his nine appearances in the League have been from the bench. It's not as if Birmingham are scoring goals for fun either - they've one goal in their last five games in total and yesterday was their seventh blank this season. They also subsequently signed Deeney (one penalty to date) who has leapfrogged Aneke in the pecking order with the likes of Bela(1), Hogan (3) and Jutkiewicz (1) ahead of him too.
So why did Bowyer sign Aneke? And why is he blaming the defence when it is apparent they can't score?
He’ll eventually end up losing the players again by finding public scapegoats and singling out players in the dressing room. I’m betting he’ll be gone before seasons end but this time without the luxury of jumping ship. When he took over at The Valley I thought him surprisingly calm and measured but by the end it seemed to me he’d just become someone who blamed everyone else and a bully.
“I have been here long enough, I am guessing now this is the reason why this football club has been down at the bottom for the last three or four years – because you defend like that, you are going to be down the bottom. The last few games, it’s happened too many times and I have got to fix it."
“But since then, I don’t know how many goals we have conceded but it’s crazy. Same people making the same mistake.
“Guess what? Keep doing that. Things change. I am telling them the right things from Day One to now nothing’s changed, you defend this way. But people choose not to. That’s their choice.
“I like to think I have been respectful and given certain people the benefit of the doubt. ‘Come on, I have seen you do this, don’t go back to the old ways’. Then it’s their choice as a player.
“You want to do that? OK, you don’t play. You want to do that, keep clean sheets? Then you play. It’s not just the defenders.”
I see some wheels falling off.
Our players could have done with that honesty of late
“I have been here long enough, I am guessing now this is the reason why this football club has been down at the bottom for the last three or four years – because you defend like that, you are going to be down the bottom. The last few games, it’s happened too many times and I have got to fix it."
“But since then, I don’t know how many goals we have conceded but it’s crazy. Same people making the same mistake.
“Guess what? Keep doing that. Things change. I am telling them the right things from Day One to now nothing’s changed, you defend this way. But people choose not to. That’s their choice.
“I like to think I have been respectful and given certain people the benefit of the doubt. ‘Come on, I have seen you do this, don’t go back to the old ways’. Then it’s their choice as a player.
“You want to do that? OK, you don’t play. You want to do that, keep clean sheets? Then you play. It’s not just the defenders.”
I see some wheels falling off.
Our players could have done with that honesty of late
I suspect that they have been given some honesty. But there are ways of delivering it. The likes of Arter, Stockley, Clare and Kirk have been left out and returned playing better. Hopefully DJ, Morgan and Dobson will do likewise.
Gilbey was a totally different player under Adkins than he was under Bowyer.
“I have been here long enough, I am guessing now this is the reason why this football club has been down at the bottom for the last three or four years – because you defend like that, you are going to be down the bottom. The last few games, it’s happened too many times and I have got to fix it."
“But since then, I don’t know how many goals we have conceded but it’s crazy. Same people making the same mistake.
“Guess what? Keep doing that. Things change. I am telling them the right things from Day One to now nothing’s changed, you defend this way. But people choose not to. That’s their choice.
“I like to think I have been respectful and given certain people the benefit of the doubt. ‘Come on, I have seen you do this, don’t go back to the old ways’. Then it’s their choice as a player.
“You want to do that? OK, you don’t play. You want to do that, keep clean sheets? Then you play. It’s not just the defenders.”
I see some wheels falling off.
Our players could have done with that honesty of late
I suspect that they have been given some honesty. But there are ways of delivering it. The likes of Arter, Stockley, Clare and Kirk have been left out and returned playing better. Hopefully DJ, Morgan and Dobson will do likewise.
Gilbey was a totally different player under Adkins than he was under Bowyer.
Can you blame that on Bowyer if you read Gilbey's interview.
Just happened that he returned to fitness for Adkins first proper game against Doncaster, so hard to say that we wouldnt have seen a similar reaction from him if Lee was still the Manager... Then again whats to say it wasnt Nigel's personal touch that equally helped him.
He’ll eventually end up losing the players again by finding public scapegoats and singling out players in the dressing room. I’m betting he’ll be gone before seasons end but this time without the luxury of jumping ship. When he took over at The Valley I thought him surprisingly calm and measured but by the end it seemed to me he’d just become someone who blamed everyone else and a bully.
Given that Birmingham have had one draw and four defeats in their last five games and are only four points away from the relegation zone, the 9/1 currently available on them going down might look at bit big in a few weeks time - next two games are away to WBA and Huddersfield
Speaking of odds, we’re 150/1 for promotion, but only 13/2 to finish top 6. That seems a bit strange, as if we make it to the Too 6 we must have hit some good form as we’ve given the rest such a head start.
Speaking of odds, we’re 150/1 for promotion, but only 13/2 to finish top 6. That seems a bit strange, as if we make it to the Too 6 we must have hit some good form as we’ve given the rest such a head start.
Either way, it won’t happen.
[Paddy Power odds]
150/1 to be Champions......... only 14/1 to be promoted!
Speaking of odds, we’re 150/1 for promotion, but only 13/2 to finish top 6. That seems a bit strange, as if we make it to the Too 6 we must have hit some good form as we’ve given the rest such a head start.
Either way, it won’t happen.
[Paddy Power odds]
150/1 to be Champions......... only 14/1 to be promoted!
Ha, you’re quite right. I thought I’d clicked on ‘To be promoted’, but clearly not. Lucky I only invested £1 🙂 14/1 is a bit mean.
Given that Birmingham have had one draw and four defeats in their last five games and are only four points away from the relegation zone, the 9/1 currently available on them going down might look at bit big in a few weeks time - next two games are away to WBA and Huddersfield
Birmingham remain without a win since 10th September and have now failed to score in six successive games for the first time since March 1989. They are 6th from bottom and remain four points above the relegation zone.
"I have never had a team go so long without scoring. My teams always score. I feel for them but there are positives to take. It would have been easy for them to hide."
When we were relegated from the Championship we scored just six goals in our final 12 games. A somewhat selective memory.
The comments from their fans might have been lifted from this forum in talking about Adkins:
LeeW1875: "Unacceptable, did I expect a win? No... I do expect however a level or performance. I'm seeing nothing from them that tells me it's going to change either. The point away stops the rot but it covers up a lot of cracks too."
Rob Wildey: "That was as bad as anything served up by Karanka, Cotterill or Zola."
Jamie Wall: "Really starting to struggle to understand what the game plans are. We’ve got the 2 most immobile strikers in the league and surround them with no pace and don’t cross the ball in to them. Overload the middle of the pitch with players who can’t pass the ball and play wingers af WB."
Jacko: "Take the point but that was a poor show, think LB needs to go back to the tactics board cus we carry very little threat at the minute surprised Hogan didn't get on, McGree was lively that was about it, clean sheet only positive."
Anthony Charman: "Would have taken a point before match, but that's 540 minutes without scoring, six games, shocking."
Liam Palmer: "Not good enough. Fortune not to lose that game in the end. Gotta question bowyer making only one sub with plenty of options on the bench is questionable."
Lee Parcell: "Gotta say less than average. Why can't we pass it right? Half a dozen times a poor pass resulted in slowing the tempo down. Whats with the hoof to no one? Seriously lacking quality."
Ste: "I thought I'd be happy with a draw, but actually I'm not. We've he'd a run of poor performances and it's not getting any better. To not score in 6 games is woeful, relegation contenders if things don't change quick."
Geoff Birchenall: "The only very slight positive from that garbage was McGree. Begs the question as to why he never plays, though. A performance that delivers more questions than answers, as per usual."
For my money a brilliant sub and sometime starter in L1, but woeful in the Champ where defenders are so much better and midfields much more tactically/fitness capable. All he ended up doing was whacking players and with his belt the ball as hard as possible, he seemed to miss every half chance. Wish him the best but was never worth a bump in wages.
Comments
I wonder if he'll be thinking of recalling Leko in January?
Sounds familiar
“I have been here long enough, I am guessing now this is the reason why this football club has been down at the bottom for the last three or four years – because you defend like that, you are going to be down the bottom. The last few games, it’s happened too many times and I have got to fix it."
“But since then, I don’t know how many goals we have conceded but it’s crazy. Same people making the same mistake.
“Guess what? Keep doing that. Things change. I am telling them the right things from Day One to now nothing’s changed, you defend this way. But people choose not to. That’s their choice.
“I like to think I have been respectful and given certain people the benefit of the doubt. ‘Come on, I have seen you do this, don’t go back to the old ways’. Then it’s their choice as a player.
“You want to do that? OK, you don’t play. You want to do that, keep clean sheets? Then you play. It’s not just the defenders.”
I see some wheels falling off.
“The first goal in these games is so important and we just can’t get it at the moment."
There were two question marks about Aneke - whether he was capable of scoring regularly at Championship level and his ability to offer anything other than a cameo role. He made 20 appearances in the Championship for us and didn't score at that level under Bowyer following his debut goal in the 2019/20 season. At Birmingham, apart from a rather meaningless 5th goal in a 5-0 win at Luton, he has failed to find the net in nine League appearances. That's two goals in 29 at that level.
It's also strange that he started in the two EFL games but all of his nine appearances in the League have been from the bench. It's not as if Birmingham are scoring goals for fun either - they've one goal in their last five games in total and yesterday was their seventh blank this season. They also subsequently signed Deeney (one penalty to date) who has leapfrogged Aneke in the pecking order with the likes of Bela(1), Hogan (3) and Jutkiewicz (1) ahead of him too.
So why did Bowyer sign Aneke? And why is he blaming the defence when it is apparent they can't score?
Gilbey was a totally different player under Adkins than he was under Bowyer.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-star-gilbey-last-season-was-worst-of-my-career/
Just happened that he returned to fitness for Adkins first proper game against Doncaster, so hard to say that we wouldnt have seen a similar reaction from him if Lee was still the Manager... Then again whats to say it wasnt Nigel's personal touch that equally helped him.
14/1 is a bit mean.
Birmingham remain without a win since 10th September and have now failed to score in six successive games for the first time since March 1989. They are 6th from bottom and remain four points above the relegation zone.
"I have never had a team go so long without scoring. My teams always score. I feel for them but there are positives to take. It would have been easy for them to hide."
When we were relegated from the Championship we scored just six goals in our final 12 games. A somewhat selective memory.
The comments from their fans might have been lifted from this forum in talking about Adkins:
LeeW1875: "Unacceptable, did I expect a win? No... I do expect however a level or performance. I'm seeing nothing from them that tells me it's going to change either. The point away stops the rot but it covers up a lot of cracks too."
Rob Wildey: "That was as bad as anything served up by Karanka, Cotterill or Zola."
Jamie Wall: "Really starting to struggle to understand what the game plans are. We’ve got the 2 most immobile strikers in the league and surround them with no pace and don’t cross the ball in to them. Overload the middle of the pitch with players who can’t pass the ball and play wingers af WB."
Jacko: "Take the point but that was a poor show, think LB needs to go back to the tactics board cus we carry very little threat at the minute surprised Hogan didn't get on, McGree was lively that was about it, clean sheet only positive."
Anthony Charman: "Would have taken a point before match, but that's 540 minutes without scoring, six games, shocking."
Liam Palmer: "Not good enough. Fortune not to lose that game in the end. Gotta question bowyer making only one sub with plenty of options on the bench is questionable."
Lee Parcell: "Gotta say less than average. Why can't we pass it right? Half a dozen times a poor pass resulted in slowing the tempo down. Whats with the hoof to no one? Seriously lacking quality."
Ste: "I thought I'd be happy with a draw, but actually I'm not. We've he'd a run of poor performances and it's not getting any better. To not score in 6 games is woeful, relegation contenders if things don't change quick."
Geoff Birchenall: "The only very slight positive from that garbage was McGree. Begs the question as to why he never plays, though. A performance that delivers more questions than answers, as per usual."