Blues under Zola: What SHOULD have been

Blues 1 Brighton 2

Gianfranco Zola`s first game in charge was against highflying Brighton. Blues started the game the better of the sides and created more chances than their visitors. After Lukas Jutkiewicz put Blues ahead before Anthony Knockaert and 95th minute Glenn Murray strike stole the points in heart-breaking fashion.

Blues battled away and played some decent football. Two or three golden chances were squandered before a late Brighton rally won them the points. Should have been at least a point. 1 point.

Derby County 1 Blues 0

A Post Christmas trip to the East Midlands was meant to b e a daunting task for Zola`s men. They started the game well and played some decent football without creating any real chances. Darren Bent`s penalty just after the hour mark won the game for the hosts. Blues didn`t serve to win this game, they created very little. But Derby didn`t rip us apart and only a cheap avoidable penalty was the difference. Blues were far too easy to beat though. 0 point.

Barnsley 2 Blues 2

A poor start to the game saw Blues fall behind by two goals. A Lukas Jutkiewicz brace put Blues back on level terms to take a share of the spoils. It was a game that Blues could have easily won and lost in equal measure. Chances were missed but Barnsley were denied by a wonderful Tomasz Kusczak save late on. 1 point.

Blues 1 Brentford 3

Lukas Jutkiewicz opened the scoring but Brentford hit back with three avoidable goals. In truth, Blues deserved nothing from the game as they were carved open too easily and in the end could have lost by a bigger margin. 0 points

Blues 0 Nottingham Forest 0

This game was a totally one sided domination. Blues had all the play and created all the chances against a backs-to-the-wall Forest. Blues couldn`t force the ball into the net and had claims for a stonewall penalty turned down. 3 points.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Blues 1

Despite taking the lead early on through a Jutkiewicz penalty, Blues couldn`t build on the elad and played poorly for large parts. After Danny Graham`s equaliser on the stroke of half time, Rovers were by far the better side in the second period. Blues thanked their lucky stars for a point. 0 points.

Norwich City 2 Blues 0

Cameron Jerome and Timm Klose goals put Norwich two goals to the good and Blues offered no threat of a comeback. The Canaries will not have had a more routine victory since. 0 points.

Blues 0 Reading 1

This performance was as good as any under Zola. Blues took the game to the visitors and created numerous opportunities. Once again they couldn`t find that all important goal and eventually succumbed to a Jordan Swift goal. The woodwork was rattled as Blues searched in vain for a reply. 3 points.

Blues 1 Fulham 0

Finally, a win that Blues have been searching long and hard for. They had to remain patient as they hit the woodwork twice before Jutkiewicz (who else) popped up with the vital winner after Chieck Keita`s cross. Fully deserved albeit against ten men. 3 points.

Sheff Wed 3 Blues 0

Never has a team played so well and lost by such a convincing score line. Live on the TV cameras, Blues went started slow and went behind early on. They reacted impressively though and again hit the woodwork three times before conceding a killer second and third. The performance warranted more, the defensive side of it never. 0 points.

Preston 2 Blues 1

A dismal first half display from Zola`s men saw Bleus head into the break a goal down. But a quick second half equalier set the platform for what could have been three points. Predictably though, Blues conceded late on and lost the game despite arguably deserving more. 1 point.

Blues 1 QPR 4

The poorest performance of Zola`s tenure and possibly the most damaging as fans finally turned on the Italian. Jerome Sinclar missed a good opportunity early on and from there it was downhill as QPR ripped Blues open. Emilio Nsue`s stoppage time goal was barely a consolation. 0 points.

Verdict – Based on the assessment above, Blues could have easily been sitting here with 48 points in 11th place. They often don`t get what they deserve and have paid dearly for a lack of goal scoring ability and a leaky defence. That said, Zola’s team selections have become difficult to understand and tactics have been tinkered with too often which has seemingly confused the players.