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MIDDLESBROUGH v BIRMINGHAM - A VIEW FROM THE AWAY END
Kym Smith is News and Features Editor of West Midlands football website VBB Football (link below). Kym very kindly took time out to be interviewed by Andy Morgan and James Bassett. James was interviewed by VBB and you will find his interview on the VBB site later today.
COB: After last season's solid performance surely you would have hoped to be pushing the top six rather than be in the bottom three. Are you surprised by this? How are Birmingham fans taking this?
KS: We are all surprised by our form this season - particularly the home form. We'd always been pretty solid at St Andrew's, and to have our worst run of home defeats for a zillion years had fans scratching their heads and ranting and weeping about it (not necessarily in that order!). Naturally, a lot of the fans are despondent, scared for what is going to happen in the next few weeks, and a significant number of them are angry. Even us normally patient Blues fans have been getting stroppy on the terraces.
COB: What do you think the reason is for Birmingham's demise this season? Is there a lack of team unity, desire or passion as you have players who do not suit the position you are in.
KS: One of the principle reasons has got to be the number of injuries we've sustained. For our FA Cup game against Reading we had fifteen players unavailable, with only a couple of those losses due to suspensions. There have been a lot of mutterings as to whether Steve Bruce has lost the dressing room, and at some points I've begun to wonder whether this was actually true. Sadly as well, there does seem to be a lack of passion amongst certain players, who really don't seem to have got the hang of the "never-say-die" attitude that we've had in previous seasons.
COB: How influential have Sullivan, Gold and Brady been in re-establishing the club in the top flight? Do rumours of them selling the club cast doubt in the minds of the players and supporters?
KS: I think our board have been massively influential. They came in with cash and passion - yes, we know they're the Porno Squad to most people, but they've been very good to us - and slowly but surely raised the standard of the team. As for the rumours, they come and go - it's well-known that David Sullivan doesn't enjoy the amount of travelling that he has to do every day, and he has been linked with Cardiff City before. When Karren Brady originally arrived at the age of 23 (or thereabouts) to take on such a massive job, even other female fans like me wondered whether she'd manage it. She's managed it in spadefuls, and I'm pleased to say that the last we heard was that she's making a good recovery from her recent major surgery.
COB: Best/worst summer signing.
KS: Best: if he can start sticking the ball in the net, DJ Campbell could prove to be the bargain of the year for us. He seems to be adapting to the Prem very quickly, seems to have no fear and is pretty damn quick. Worst: erm.... Nicky Butt I'm afraid. the Barcodes can have him back with pleasure as far as I'm concerned, unless we see a massive upturn in form from him very quickly.
COB: Was the signing of DJ Campbell just a little knee-jerk?
I don't think it was - we'd been surviving on three strikers, which I personally think was a collosal error. I think the kid could prove to be a real surprise - and if I stick my realist's goggles on for a second, if we can't beat the drop he ought to be a player that will stick around next season.
COB: Most disappointing/pleasing player this season.
See above for disappointing...... *cough*. Also, for no fault of his own, it's been really disappointing to see David Dunn still battling with injuries, as the kid is a class player and we're a so much better team with him on the pitch.
Pleasing? In a lot of ways it's Emile Heskey - I realise that everybody thinks he falls over easily for such a big bloke, but he gives his all in every single game.
COB: How do you rate Middlesbrough, as a club, stadium and a town?
I have to say I've never been to Middlebrough sadly, and my only experience of it is from what I've seen on TV. The Riverside stadium looks pretty smart and I'd love to make a visit up there next season if we can survive (cue for a song there maybe?). Boro as a team seem to have had a bit of a chequered history, but you've proved that patience is a virtue in the hunt for trophies.
KS: Memory of past Boro v Brum game plus prediction of the game on Saturday.
Our last game against Boro was utterly horrendous, and probably the worst home game I've ever had the misfortune of suffering. I won't mention this season's away game at Manchester City at this point or I'll cry. Prediction - I'm sure on our current form it will be at least a goal in your favour, but I would just love it if we could nick a point.
COB: How do you feel about the trouble that marred your recent FA Cup tie at Stoke?
That was appalling - it was crowd violence that stopped me going to games when I was a kid, and meant it was many years before I returned. From match reports on the radio, it sounded like certain sections of the fans were goading each other from the kick-off. Lock 'em up, it's bloody reprehensible.
KS: How important is this game to you when compared with the six-pointer against the Baggies next week.
In the grand scheme of things, the Baggies is the one that we've really GOT to win, but if we could nick a point or three from you, then we could start to steal a march on them, particularly as they have the completely unenviable task of taking on Chelski.
COB: Which is the most important, the League or the FA Cup? Would you happily go out of the Cup against Liverpool if it allowed League survival? How do you rate the FA Cup this season now you're down to the last-eight? Is this surprising to you considering your League form?
KS: I've been a bit surprised that we've got this far in the FA Cup this season, although we have done it by the skin of our teeth rather - but, I would trade it now for Premiership safety. On a personal level though, I'm a bit hacked off with the way the sixth round is being played this year, with all the ties at night (rake in the TV fees and sod the away fans) and the sudden moving of the goalposts with regard to replays.
COB: Who are your main rivals, Villa or the Baggies? What is your opinion of each of them?
KS: Villa, without a doubt! They are the locals that we love to beat. Of course, Villa are the club that have enjoyed a lot of success in the past (which their fans love to remind us of!), but at the moment they're languishing a bit too near the drop zone as well, along with the Baggies. I have a sneaky love for the Baggies - I was so chuffed when they pulled off the Great Escape last year, and if it's them that does down instead of us, I will be truly gutted, as I'm a fan of Midlands football and I want to see us keep three teams in the Prem.
COB: Tell us how your website started and how it operates? What is the ethos of the site and what do you provide?
This website started just about a year ago, and it's a long and rather convoluted story that I won't go into here. We're a home for fans of all three of the West Midlands teams (plus a few supporters from other clubs) and at the moment we're a chat forum and news/features site. However, the guys that run the place are full of ideas for the future and who knows what we will expand into over the next couple of years.
Check out VBB Football right here
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