Plodding through games and getting the odd point, describes Birmingham City well at the moment.
Apart from the Luton game, the last fifteen have produced very few points. Victories are rare and, sadly, supporters are expecting not a great deal more. The winning positions that Blues find themselves in, numerous, but seeing games out are not in our locker.
Clotet and co. may well feel we have turned the corner as is stated, but in reality we are stuck in the middle of the bottom clubs desperately trying to reach a point of safety and hopefully finishing with a mid-table slot.
Have we the players to reach a higher status in the league, and have we the know-how to get there is debatable at best.
At home, without Davis and Gardner in midfield, we look fragile, whereas away we do look more solid. The key question is whether you chop and change or stick to a formation that the team knows and plays to each week. Picking up the odd point when in winning positions is disheartening and needs addressing fairly quickly if this season is going to be resurrected.
We have the FA Cup, which may prove a Godsend for hope and take away the league stutterings, but a more thought out plan has to be worked on at Wast Hills for seeing games out. Mental attitude also has to be included in this.
February will be the testing month with games defining where we are likely to be, and come the frantic Easter period, clubs hovering at the lower end of the table will get desperate. Blues certainly don’t want that scenario.
My opinion is that with the games left, this season could turn for the good. Players with pace such as Bela should start every game regardless of the odd below par performance, Davis and Gardner likewise as a holding pair in midfield. Seventeen games is a decent number to have a go and get a healthy league position which is what most supporters want, but it can be a laborious number if we plod through them like treacle just picking up the odd points.
Clotet, if still around, needs to rethink this formation business and stick to a proper plan, and more to the point that we supporters relate to and understand. At the moment most other Championship clubs can bully us particularly at home with direct football. We have the players to succeed to a certain level which is the above the safety line, but my concern is that it’s this meagre points return from winning positions, that questions the Coaching staff’s ability to read the game and see us end the season on a high.