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Deep In My Heart
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough, August 23rd, St Andrew's
James Keen
A disappointing start to the season has seen any pre-season optimism all but disappear. And let's face it, there was very little of that to begin with after our failures in the transfer market.
And so as we venture to the nation's second city and the home of the
vindaloo, we all fear the worst. We fear defeat and past results
against the Blues of Birmingham at St. Andrew's do not give us much
reason to cheer.
Our winless run at St. Andrew's lasts 27 years. 22nd August 1978 was
the last time, nearly a year to the day for you supersticious sorts. And the
signs are ominous.
After drawing two blanks from the opening
fixtures and having seen Aiyegbeni Yakubu withdrawn from the squad
after a gash to his achillies, it does not look promising for the boys
in red.
But Birmingham have also started the season poorly. Just a point from
their opening two games will not fill them with confidence at all.
But the game at St. Andrew's means more than just looking for the first win
of the season. It means avoiding defeat. A second defeat of the season
would be dreadful for either side, and so the game could potentially
turn into a very edgy affair.
Birmingham's good record against the Boro at St. Andrew's may
tempt them to fly out of the blocks, and considering Boro's
bizarre nature of not starting a game till the 46th minute, that may be the tactic that works best.
But Birmingham will need
to score early because Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are sure
to be desperate to break their duck for the season.
Boro's main concern will be trying to counter the Blues' wing play,
with Jermaine Pennant and Julian Gray looking dangerous on Saturday
against a strong Manchester City side.
Alongside a tough midfield
of Butt, Clemence, Izzet and Gray, with the newly signed Jiri
Jarosik from Chelsea waiting in the wings, Birmingham are sure to hold their own in the
game.
Boro should have the quality though and with fit again James Morrison
available it gives us midfield options and should hopefully help
provide much more vigour in an otherwise aged midfield.
And with
Downing putting in a decent performance against Spurs we should
hopefully have a bit more invention. Although it is unlikely that
McClaren will drop Gaizka Mendieta or Ray Parlour in a tough away
game.
Walter Pandiani and Mikael Forssell will also be looking to impress in
this game. Both are looking to make an impression on the Premiership
this season. They should both give Gareth Southgate and the returning
Ugo Ehiogu plenty to think about.
It will be close and Boro have the quality to win this game but
the hoodoo of St. Andrew's may just stick with the Boro this time. My
head says 1-1. Let's face it, Boro are better than Brum, but my heart
tells me a 2-1 defeat could be on the cards.
Probable Teams;
Birmingham: Taylor, Melchiot, Clapham,
Cunningham, Upson, Butt, Clemence, Pennant, Gray, Forssell,
Pandiani
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Reiziger, Queudrue, Ehiogu, Southgate,
Boateng, Parlour, Mendieta, Downing, Viduka, Hasselbaink
Form;
Birmingham DWLWDL : Middlesbrough DDWDDL
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