Press-ups

[dave.woodhall]

http://thebirminghampress.com/2013/11/when-the-goals-go-flooding-in/

[ciggiesnbeer]

Nice piece.

I for one will happily take mid table mediocrity for a season. I am enjoying this pleasant sensation of security with the occasional look up.

All good.

[rob_bridge]

Quite correct. Mid table is fine this year. Reduce impact on various Intebsive Care Heart Units


And if league titles were decided in early November John Gregory would be a double champion as manager. What a daft point Franks makes.

[Rigadon]

Midtable is fine, but less so if we bore our way to it.  The way we finished last season was thrilling at times,  I want to see more of that if possible.

Of course, staying up needs to happen at all costs but I rather hope we're beyond that now. 

We have had some solid but uninspiring performances of late.  Now we need to build on that and show we're still the team that beat Arsenal and beat Chelsea (I know, but still). 

[eastie]

Agreed - anywhere between 9th and 12 th will be acceptable and progress this season - I believe villa , Albion, Swansea and newcastle will be battling it out in those four places come may.

[Clampy]

Pretty much agreed with all that Dave. I thought the police presence was a bit OTT personally (I lost count of how any riot vans there were on Witton Lane). Oh and a kicking for Franskey is always justified.

[Simon Ward]

I like mid-table obscurity!

[Dave Cooper please]

Good article Dave.

[not3bad]

If we're in the same position in May that we're in now that'll do for me.

[Concrete John]

Midtable is fine, but less so if we bore our way to it.  The way we finished last season was thrilling at times,  I want to see more of that if possible.

There has been a lot made of the 4 games without a goal, but in truth we could have had three against Everton and Benteke hit the bar at West Ham, plus I'm sure there were other chances as well.  I don't think we've been lacking for attacking endeavour, just that our forwards haven't really been firing on all cylinders.

We'll get better as the season goes on, so if we can keep the recent defensive improvements also, then we'll be looking quite a decent side. 

[paul_e]

Midtable is fine, but less so if we bore our way to it.  The way we finished last season was thrilling at times,  I want to see more of that if possible.

There has been a lot made of the 4 games without a goal, but in truth we could have had three against Everton and Benteke hit the bar at West Ham, plus I'm sure there were other chances as well.  I don't think we've been lacking for attacking endeavour, just that our forwards haven't really been firing on all cylinders.

We'll get better as the season goes on, so if we can keep the recent defensive improvements also, then we'll be looking quite a decent side. 

Our front line has been badly disrupted since Norwich with 1-2 strikers out injured consistently since then, that doesn't help us build any continuity in attack.  On top of that Benteke isn't fully back to match sharpness and Weimann hasn't been having the same impact (he's spent too much time coming deep to play make and not enough time making runs off the defenders, which is his real strength.

[Damo70]

Spot on with the paragraph about a mid table finish being acceptable progress but not necessarily our ambition for ever more.  Although Franks would just call you an idiot of course,

[Concrete John]

Spot on with the paragraph about a mid table finish being acceptable progress but not necessarily our ambition for ever more.  Although Franks would just call you an idiot of course,

You don't go from being relegation candidates to qualifying for Europe in one season.  Well, at least not without a massive injection of funding.  So what we need is progress and I think we're seeing that.  It's when the progress stops that we need to have a re-think.

[Ian.]

Good article Dave.

[berneboy]

Well said, Dave. We are re-building on a more realistic financial basis. I don't know how good Paul Lambert will turn out to be but currently I am happy that the team is progressing well in the circumstances. There are real frustrations but genuine hope too.

I am happier that my team is being built on teamwork, effort and youth than I would be if we were owned and financed as Man City or Chelsea.