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Caretaker Simon Marsh has had 4 games in the role with 3 draws and 1 win to date. Marsh has shared his comments today with how he would take the club forwards if he were to remain in the helm longer.
1. No further loans in. Marsh stated "Birmingham have a young side and so full attention should be on playing their own players and not another clubs. I think Greiml is currently here to make a squad of 23 with finances so poor but its resulted in leaving out a young Birmingham player for the starting line up every week and so development is stunted. Im currently leaving Rowe on the bench every week and he needs to be playing to get him to 17-rated as soon as possible. Close season work must be completed to ensure the club has 23 of its own players.
2. Concentrate more on 11 players. Marsh added "Next season it looks like the minutes will be reduced for your 13-15 raters so this will give a good opportunity for Birmingham to increase the amount of minutes of the main 11 players. The rest of the players need not go more than a few minutes past their requirements. This season one can see Watson 11-13-7 has 290 minutes when he only needed 90 minutes. Thats 200 minutes that should have gone to Rowe or Terrats who simply havent played enough this season".
3. Sell Iturbe. Marsh suggested "I would list Iturbe. He's a good young keeper who isnt playing so will just stagnate and become very average. He needs to go to side who wish to develop a young keeper. Birmingham need to be playing Griffiths who is closing in on 22-rated. He will provide a decent back-bone to allow the younger players play wit freedom. There is no cash in the Birmingham bank at present and Iturbe may bring in some coin to stabilise the finances of the club ".
4. Write media. Marsh commented "Its absolutely essential that this club completes media every month to gain the funds necessary to improve the side. The wage bill is low and so the club is in a good position to make some small profits that can help them close the gap on others slowly".
Birmingham City 3 Luton Town 0
after a poor streak of results this was caretaker Marsh’s last game with Kaye set to resume responsibilities. The players gave marsh a great last match with their best performance of his 10 games and with 2 games left they maybe can now rise a couple of places.
marsh commented “I’ve enjoyed working with the young players despite the obvious difference in class between some sides. 10 points in 10 games was ever so slightly an improvement on the season played out before me so I was pleased with that last game victory. A fair few players are close to rating up and hopefully the club will be stronger next season after close season youth gains”.
Stockport County 3 Birmingham City 0
Well what can we say? A terrible loss after a 15-11 shot count coupled with victory for Coventry City sees the Brum in with a shocking chance of finishing bottom of the league.
Caretaker manager Simon Marsh commented "I can only apologise to the fans here for not getting more out of the players. I have 1 more game to try and help the side avoid the wooden spoon. The performance was not bad but the result very poor. My record here after a promising start is just not good enough".
Birmingham City 1 Millwall 2
Another defeat as Birmingham fall further down the league table. The home side probably deserved a point but their fire-power is astoundingly bad and goals are hard to come by. 37 goals all season, the second lowest in the league.
Marsh commeted "I thought we had managed to get a point but the late goal was a shame after a decent performance and getting back into things. I will keep fighting whilst here for every point but it looks woeful at present".
Next up a trip to Stockport and another side who look around 3-main skills better
Coventry City 3 Birmingham City 0
A terrible result for Birmingham as Coventry changed their normal tactics in a bid to get off the bottom of the league. Wright scored a great hattrick and that was that. A 15-5 shot count was a deserved win for Coventry. With 5 games to go Birmingham are in danger of finishing bottom of the pile.
Marsh commented "Its just so difficult here picking up points. 6 from 6 for me but the team just isnt good enough this season".
J_Griffiths 21 eng 22 1 1 1 26 9 1 1 1 - great news that Griffiths has improved to 22-rated.
All players have now made their retaining minutes so full concentration can be put into improving the main starting 11 from now.
Birmingham City 1 Bournemouth 1
A big basement game as both teams try to avoid the wooden spoon. Mr Brobbey danced his gigantic frame into the box to score the opener. Incredibly squaddie I_Rodrigues levelled matters after coming on to cover an injured Zabarnyi. A shot count of 14-11 was not enough for Birmingham to gain all three points.
Care-taker boss Simon Marsh commented "It was a decent performance but Bournemouth were weaker than normal so it was a shame not to take all three points. That's 7 points in 6 games for me which has been a bit of a battle. Points for this club wont be easy this season".
K_Anderson now needs just 22 minutes to be retained next season.
Gocholshvili 22 GEO 1 16 15 7 28 1 403 7 962 improved to a fake 16-15-7 player.
Cardiff City 2 Birmingham City 0
With Buchanan injured the already weak Birmingham were made defensively much weaker. In addition they lost their best outfield player to injury in the first half. The absentees contributed to a 15-8 shot count and the Blues suffered their first defeat under care-taker Marsh.
Marsh commented "Its hard enough getting a performance out of this side without missing of the better players. The positive is Anderson came on and is only 47 minutes away from completing his minutes now but with sides at the bottom gaining results the team is marooned in 18th place. 6 points in 5 games has not improved the position at all.
Bournemouth are next up at home who actually sit in 19th place. Looking at the Bournemouth roster its clearly a fair bit better than Birminghams and its hard to see why they have struggled so badly.
Good game Sanchez
Birmingham City 1 Nottingham Forest 0
A first victory for caretaker marsh. 1 win and 3 draws so far but the 6 points is not helping move up the league with other teams improving results also.
The team definitely needs the youth rerates at the season end as it appears skill levels are 2-3 lower in main than the teams faced so far. a few players are edging towards rating up so maybe next seasons target of mid table could be achieved.
Birmingham played well in this one despite losing their second best defender to injury in the first minute. A well deserved victory for the young side
Good game HD
Birmingham City 1 West Brom 1
A well placed West Bromich side arrived at Birmingham City looking to enhance their promotion claims.
Birminghams main striker Conway put the home side ahead after only 7-minutes. Lucas-Moura immediately levelled matters.
Birmingham would have the better of the remainder of the game with an overall shot-count of 17-9. Unfortunately the home side lack the fire power to score many goals and so they would need to settle for one point.
Marsh commented "The young lads played really well today without getting the full three points their endeavour deserved".
Good game Frank.
Watford 0 Birmingham City 0
Birmingham travelled to top of the table and top scorers Watford in Round 28 with very little hope of gaining a result. However, the lads dug in and with a little fortune came away with a hard fought point. The result does nothing for City's league placing but losing their goalkeeper to injury and still keeping a clean sheet was a big effort. Terrats was voted the man of the match by the clubs supporters as he moves within a millimeter of 17-rating.
Sanderson edged nearer his playing minutes with a further 97 still required. Anderson did not leave bench due to the gk injury and is still 144 minutes from safety.
Goalkeeper Griffiths will miss the next game due to concussion protocols. New signing Iturbe will get a full match debut.
Good game Lauris
Birmingham 2 Sunderland 2
First game for caretaker manager Simon Marsh. It ended in a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to fellow strugglers Sunderland but it did stop the 5-game losing streak.
Marsh commented "We could probably have hung on for all three points were it not for gaining some players their minutes but Luongo and Gozalbez have made their respective times now and will be retained. We also managed to get Brobbey up to a 17-rated striker. No further injuries and suspensions so we can play a decent team and now only need minutes for K_Anderson and D_Sanderson from the bench over the remaining 11 games of the season".
Next up a trip to league leaders Watford
Good game Dave.
1. No further loans in. Marsh stated "Birmingham have a young side and so full attention should be on playing their own players and not another clubs. I think Greiml is currently here to make a squad of 23 with finances so poor but its resulted in leaving out a young Birmingham player for the starting line up every week and so development is stunted. Im currently leaving Rowe on the bench every week and he needs to be playing to get him to 17-rated as soon as possible. Close season work must be completed to ensure the club has 23 of its own players.
2. Concentrate more on 11 players. Marsh added "Next season it looks like the minutes will be reduced for your 13-15 raters so this will give a good opportunity for Birmingham to increase the amount of minutes of the main 11 players. The rest of the players need not go more than a few minutes past their requirements. This season one can see Watson 11-13-7 has 290 minutes when he only needed 90 minutes. Thats 200 minutes that should have gone to Rowe or Terrats who simply havent played enough this season".
3. Sell Iturbe. Marsh suggested "I would list Iturbe. He's a good young keeper who isnt playing so will just stagnate and become very average. He needs to go to side who wish to develop a young keeper. Birmingham need to be playing Griffiths who is closing in on 22-rated. He will provide a decent back-bone to allow the younger players play wit freedom. There is no cash in the Birmingham bank at present and Iturbe may bring in some coin to stabilise the finances of the club ".
4. Write media. Marsh commented "Its absolutely essential that this club completes media every month to gain the funds necessary to improve the side. The wage bill is low and so the club is in a good position to make some small profits that can help them close the gap on others slowly".
Birmingham City 3 Luton Town 0
after a poor streak of results this was caretaker Marsh’s last game with Kaye set to resume responsibilities. The players gave marsh a great last match with their best performance of his 10 games and with 2 games left they maybe can now rise a couple of places.
marsh commented “I’ve enjoyed working with the young players despite the obvious difference in class between some sides. 10 points in 10 games was ever so slightly an improvement on the season played out before me so I was pleased with that last game victory. A fair few players are close to rating up and hopefully the club will be stronger next season after close season youth gains”.
Stockport County 3 Birmingham City 0
Well what can we say? A terrible loss after a 15-11 shot count coupled with victory for Coventry City sees the Brum in with a shocking chance of finishing bottom of the league.
Caretaker manager Simon Marsh commented "I can only apologise to the fans here for not getting more out of the players. I have 1 more game to try and help the side avoid the wooden spoon. The performance was not bad but the result very poor. My record here after a promising start is just not good enough".
Birmingham City 1 Millwall 2
Another defeat as Birmingham fall further down the league table. The home side probably deserved a point but their fire-power is astoundingly bad and goals are hard to come by. 37 goals all season, the second lowest in the league.
Marsh commeted "I thought we had managed to get a point but the late goal was a shame after a decent performance and getting back into things. I will keep fighting whilst here for every point but it looks woeful at present".
Next up a trip to Stockport and another side who look around 3-main skills better
Coventry City 3 Birmingham City 0
A terrible result for Birmingham as Coventry changed their normal tactics in a bid to get off the bottom of the league. Wright scored a great hattrick and that was that. A 15-5 shot count was a deserved win for Coventry. With 5 games to go Birmingham are in danger of finishing bottom of the pile.
Marsh commented "Its just so difficult here picking up points. 6 from 6 for me but the team just isnt good enough this season".
J_Griffiths 21 eng 22 1 1 1 26 9 1 1 1 - great news that Griffiths has improved to 22-rated.
All players have now made their retaining minutes so full concentration can be put into improving the main starting 11 from now.
Birmingham City 1 Bournemouth 1
A big basement game as both teams try to avoid the wooden spoon. Mr Brobbey danced his gigantic frame into the box to score the opener. Incredibly squaddie I_Rodrigues levelled matters after coming on to cover an injured Zabarnyi. A shot count of 14-11 was not enough for Birmingham to gain all three points.
Care-taker boss Simon Marsh commented "It was a decent performance but Bournemouth were weaker than normal so it was a shame not to take all three points. That's 7 points in 6 games for me which has been a bit of a battle. Points for this club wont be easy this season".
K_Anderson now needs just 22 minutes to be retained next season.
Gocholshvili 22 GEO 1 16 15 7 28 1 403 7 962 improved to a fake 16-15-7 player.
Cardiff City 2 Birmingham City 0
With Buchanan injured the already weak Birmingham were made defensively much weaker. In addition they lost their best outfield player to injury in the first half. The absentees contributed to a 15-8 shot count and the Blues suffered their first defeat under care-taker Marsh.
Marsh commented "Its hard enough getting a performance out of this side without missing of the better players. The positive is Anderson came on and is only 47 minutes away from completing his minutes now but with sides at the bottom gaining results the team is marooned in 18th place. 6 points in 5 games has not improved the position at all.
Bournemouth are next up at home who actually sit in 19th place. Looking at the Bournemouth roster its clearly a fair bit better than Birminghams and its hard to see why they have struggled so badly.
Good game Sanchez
Birmingham City 1 Nottingham Forest 0
A first victory for caretaker marsh. 1 win and 3 draws so far but the 6 points is not helping move up the league with other teams improving results also.
The team definitely needs the youth rerates at the season end as it appears skill levels are 2-3 lower in main than the teams faced so far. a few players are edging towards rating up so maybe next seasons target of mid table could be achieved.
Birmingham played well in this one despite losing their second best defender to injury in the first minute. A well deserved victory for the young side
Good game HD
Birmingham City 1 West Brom 1
A well placed West Bromich side arrived at Birmingham City looking to enhance their promotion claims.
Birminghams main striker Conway put the home side ahead after only 7-minutes. Lucas-Moura immediately levelled matters.
Birmingham would have the better of the remainder of the game with an overall shot-count of 17-9. Unfortunately the home side lack the fire power to score many goals and so they would need to settle for one point.
Marsh commented "The young lads played really well today without getting the full three points their endeavour deserved".
Good game Frank.
Watford 0 Birmingham City 0
Birmingham travelled to top of the table and top scorers Watford in Round 28 with very little hope of gaining a result. However, the lads dug in and with a little fortune came away with a hard fought point. The result does nothing for City's league placing but losing their goalkeeper to injury and still keeping a clean sheet was a big effort. Terrats was voted the man of the match by the clubs supporters as he moves within a millimeter of 17-rating.
Sanderson edged nearer his playing minutes with a further 97 still required. Anderson did not leave bench due to the gk injury and is still 144 minutes from safety.
Goalkeeper Griffiths will miss the next game due to concussion protocols. New signing Iturbe will get a full match debut.
Good game Lauris
Birmingham 2 Sunderland 2
First game for caretaker manager Simon Marsh. It ended in a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to fellow strugglers Sunderland but it did stop the 5-game losing streak.
Marsh commented "We could probably have hung on for all three points were it not for gaining some players their minutes but Luongo and Gozalbez have made their respective times now and will be retained. We also managed to get Brobbey up to a 17-rated striker. No further injuries and suspensions so we can play a decent team and now only need minutes for K_Anderson and D_Sanderson from the bench over the remaining 11 games of the season".
Next up a trip to league leaders Watford
Good game Dave.