Not Quite There Yet

Birmingham City have had a very positive start to their campaign. The side are sat 9th and still have a game in hand on every team above them. But could they be even higher?

Gary Rowett’s men have faded towards the end of each game, dropping points and putting results at risk. First of all credit is due to the team seeing out results such as the 2-1 home win against Reading, when the away side probably deserved something towards the end.

Again away at Burnley the Blues did so well until the final half an hour of play, where the home team were able to hold the ball for longer periods and leave Blues pegged back. We also saw similar symptoms arise against Derby, an open-ended game of which Blues did really well, but towards the end did the away side shade it?

Thankfully it would appear that Rowett is well aware of what is going on. He told bcfc.com when speaking about the teams good play so far ‘”Our challenge is to maintain that, which takes a lot of energy, concentration and discipline and at the moment we can`t quite do that.’

Perhaps if Blues had a bit more of a plan b to play it longer and hold it up top towards the end of the game, things may change. The new signing of Brock-Madsen may be a telling point there.

I do think this problem will fade away, considering the teams Blues have had to face so far. The likes of Reading, Derby and Burnley all have individuals in their team that can really control a game late on, especially when they’re chasing something.

Perhaps teams like MK Dons, which Birmingham play on Saturday 29 August, will have the energy and desire to give Rowett’s men a test but that technical class needed towards the end may be something limited the teams at the top of the division in terms of budget.

All in all you have to be very pleased with what Birmingham have produced so far this season. Indeed it is almost a privilege to be disappointed to not see out victories against Burnley and Derby, given where Blues were just last year.

What have you made of Birmingham’s start to the season?