Pressing On

[dave.woodhall]

Another week, another bad headline:

http://www.thebirminghampress.com/2011/09/12/so-far-so-not-bad/

[lovejoy]

A good piece Dave, my concern is Eck is making us difficult to beat but we seem to be drawing a lot and may struggle to score...like Blues last season.

[eamonn]

I think people baulked over the length of Given's contract more than the transfer fee. Once you get a bad back injury there's only so much you can do to persevere with it. Hopefully it won't hamper him and us too much for the next couple of years at least.

[JJ-AV]

Good read, and a fair assessment. Especially the Everton bit.

As for us, I totally agree with us needing to take a few more risks. Our next 3 league games will give us a better view of how McLeish sees us this season, a bit of ambition there and we could be in a decent position going into the Autumn.

[taylorsworkrate]

Nice piece Dave.

However, saying that Gabby is as good as any striker in the country when on form is pushing it a fair bit imo.

[Toronto Villa]

We needed to become hard to beat again, and not know when to quit. We've seen the exact opposite in Villa sides over the years, and for a bit it reared it's ugly head last season. Too many players throwing in the towel. If AM can get the belief back, much like MON was able to in his first 18 months, it will serve us well in the long run. Richard Dunne has been a revelation and Shay Given is the signing of the summer. Simply superb. We need to work on the creativity a lot, but that will come. N'Zogbia, Jenas, Ireland, Bannan, Albrighton can all contribute and will. Bent has been a 20 goal man in worse sides than us in his career. Very good players always find a way to stay that way.

[Chris Smith]

We're in the nice position of knowing there is more to come from the squad. Neither Bent nor N'Zogbia have been on top form so far this season, Jenas has yet to play and we have Bannan, Albrighton, Ireland and Clarke who will all be desperate to take the chances that will come their way as the season unfolds.

I have no problems at all with the manager opting to largely use the more experienced players up to now, as that solid platform means that those mentioned above will not come into a squad short on confidence.

[Concrete John]

We're in the nice position of knowing there is more to come from the squad. Neither Bent nor N'Zogbia have been on top form so far this season, Jenas has yet to play and we have Bannan, Albrighton, Ireland and Clarke who will all be desperate to take the chances that will come their way as the season unfolds.

I have no problems at all with the manager opting to largely use the more experienced players up to now, as that solid platform means that those mentioned above will not come into a squad short on confidence.

I don't think it's a matter of a choice of experience or not, but rather the all round blend between the defence and Bent.  We have good players, even if no specialist midfield holding player, so we have to get the balance right.  Ultimately, what we may see is a 4-4-2 with Gabby alongside Bent and a midfield of Albrighton, Petrov, Jenas and N'Zogbia. 

[mattjpa]

Good piece although I'm guessing calling given the start of the show was a typo? Either way, I agree that ECM needs to start taking risks, I be inclined to try and get bannan in the team with Ireland-possibly try two up top with bent and gabbs too

[Rigadon]

Maybe Everton fans have a kind of you're-too-similar-to-us dislike for us.  Only room for one underachieving, traditional, rich in hoistory team often found in upper/ mid-table!!

[mattjpa]

Good piece although I'm guessing calling given the start of the show was a typo? Either way, I agree that ECM needs to start taking risks, I be inclined to try and get bannan in the team with Ireland-possibly try two up top with bent and gabbs too

I understand the irony of two typos in my previous message...damn iPhone keys....

[TheSandman]

Excellent piece Dave. Agreed with all of it. In particular the hope that now that we seem to have a solid foundation and belief within the squad we can start to be more adventurous.

I had my reservations over the length of Given's contract but his form has gone a long way towards dispelling them.

[cheltenhamlion]

Did you nick your headline based on mine for my latest article?

[Toronto Villa]

Excellent piece Dave. Agreed with all of it. In particular the hope that now that we seem to have a solid foundation and belief within the squad we can start to be more adventurous.

I had my reservations over the length of Given's contract but his form has gone a long way towards dispelling them.

I imagine Arsenal fans are beside themselves that we have Given. As Dave pointed out in the article clubs have no issue paying stupid money for proven forwards/midfielders etc, but they seem to be hesitant when it comes to keepers. Arsenal went and lashed out 12m or whatever it was on a 17yr prospect yet didn't want to pay for Schwarzer last summer, or even what we paid for Given. Madness.

[VillaAlways]

I'm sure I read that ARsenal were interested in Given but ManC would not sell to a direct competitor