Malcolm Crosby and Richard Beale will be in charge for tonight’s game away at Ewood Park. Birmingham are on a poor run of form and have taken the decision to sack their manager in a bid to change their fortunes.
Blackburn are enjoying a stable start to their season with 16 points from their opening 12 games. They will be hoping to replicate the form they produced last season finishing with a run of 12 games unbeaten.
Birmingham on the other hand are hoping to climb away from the relegation zone sooner rather than later.
Vital Quotes:
Malcolm Crosby talking to bcfc.com
‘I’ve been asked to take over as a caretaker manager, along with Richard Beale the first team coach. You do it because it’s your job. As Lee has always said this is a great club and hopefully we will go out there tonight and play well.’
‘The team hadn’t been finalised, so I’ve picked the team and I know what team I want to play. The players will find out first thing on Tuesday.’
‘The last three away games have produced good results and performances. We`re so close at home as well because we’ve created lots of chances but haven’t been able to take them. It’s like anything; defenders and goalkeepers are always much better if the team is winning two or three nil. We’ve never really got into that position which is unfortunate. When we play at home we’ve got to have that little bit of luck and that break, and can you go two or three nil up in a game? But away from home they’ve played very well.’
‘When you get the chances that we’ve had, you have to take them. That’s not bad luck, that’s bad finishing. That goes across the board. It’s not just forwards that miss chances. There is a responsibility there to have a bit more composure when we get in and around the box and can we try and finish better than we have?’
‘I don’t think major changes are needed. Like I say, the personnel have got to take more care when they get the opportunities. There’s no getting away from it, we have had lots of good opportunities and we can work on that and maybe get that little bit of luck that we haven’t had.’
‘I think it’s a big test because they have got two of the best strikers in the league and if you have got two top strikers then you have always got a chance of scoring goals. We’ve got to nullify that. Now, that might not be just sitting back and defending, the best way to nullify it might be to have a go at Blackburn and see if we can score.’
Blackburn Rovers Team News:
Not available at the time of writing
Player to watch: Jordan Rhodes
Rhodes is hugely important to Rovers and is set to be the central figure for them in most of their fixtures.
With a new five year deal to tie him down, he will be happy and confident of upsetting the score line this time out.
Birmingham City Team News:
Randolph will miss the game through suspension. Colin Doyle is coming in to replace him.
David Davis has recovered from his knock in time to play tonight.
Mark Duffy, Jonathan Spector, Matt Green and Gavin Gunning remain sidelined.
Player to watch: Demarai Gray
Blues young gun is really taking off in recent games, albeit the only shining light out of some pretty poor performances.
He will be key to getting Blues anything out of this game.
Match Facts & Stats
Not available at the time of writing
Next Fixtures:
25 Oct – AFC Bournemouth – 15:00 (A)
01 Nov – Wolves – 12:15 (A)