Blues are back at home this Monday night against Crystal Palace who are finally getting to grips with the WSL2 after the hangover of relegation. And on Sunday there beat Bristol City 2-1 to close the gap to a point and four points behind us it’s going to be another one of those seasons. Yet again I spoken to Michael from the brilliant Eagle Eye View podcast to talk about Monday nights game and what he thinks of the team manager and his prediction for the game hope you enjoy it.
WHAT FORMATION DO YOU PLAY
We generally play a 3-5-2, or 5-3-2 depending on how you want to look at it. Three centre backs, wing backs, three in the middle and two up top. We have changed occasionally but rarely, because we only have one actual full back at the club!
PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Ashleigh Weerden is our standout player. Pace and trickery, even when we have played badly, Ash has caused the opposition all sorts of problems down the wing. Abbie Larkin has had her best season for us. She has pace and a wicked shot from outside the box, although she did get hurt on Sunday, Hayley Ladd has replaced Shanade in the heart of midfield, a quality player who loves a tackle, but we do still miss Shanade.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Our biggest strength is our ability down the wings, with total flair down the left through Ash, and then hard work and determination down the right with Molls(Molly Sharpe). Both work their socks off and can find the back of the net. Another strength has been our ability to dig deep. We have been less fluid than our promotion season, with a mixture of last season’s struggles and unbalanced transfer activity, but the group have found their way to push through it. We have turned a run of draws into a run of wins and have been picking up points against teams at the top such as yourselves and Bristol City. Our weaknesses come at both ends. At the back, we lack pace. Last season it was exposed all the time and this season it has been found out a few times, mostly by Southampton. At the other end, we aren’t as lethal/productive in the box as we should be. We get regular balls in, but aren’t making the most of it.
WHAT ARE THE FANS THOUGHTS ON JO
With Jo, it’s a mixed bag. The way a couple of players have been frozen out/overlooked has not sit well with some of us, and at times her line up choices have been odd and cost us. At times, she isn’t getting the best out of the tools she has. You can’t overlook the fact that we struggled to win for almost a third of the season and while we got several draws, some like the one against Newcastle we somehow blew a comfortable 2-0 lead with 7 mins to go. The Portsmouth away defeat, we looked like as team not playing for our manager if I am honest. But since then, it has clicked and, on the whole, we look a much better side and have dragged ourselves back into the promotion picture. She also isn’t afraid to change things at half time and correct her error, which I have a lot of time for. I also can’t ignore the fact that in my view, she has been let down by the club in terms of the squad, which has seen us too many times with barely any bench.
SCORE PREDICTION
If I’m honest, I would say 3-1 Birmingham. You are big spenders, have been every season and it has not paid off in terms of promotion. This season you have gone hard again, including in January and I think you will finish top two. If we still had Shanade, then I think we win it, because in the reverse fixture you weren’t as impressive as I expected. But now you have Shanade, and I fear that will tip the scale and she will score.
WHATS HAPPENING ON MONDAY
You can still buy your alcohol drinks and drink them in the stadium there are food vendors outside the stadium and you can buy your matchday programmes from the ticket office or club shop for two pounds.
BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN OSC
Stacey will be there asking people to join the Blues Women OSC and also has got some stickers for the kids has well has matchday programmes. If you want to join the Women’s OSC the link is below.
Birmingham City Women Supporters Group – Birmingham City Football Club Official Supporters Club
TICKET AVAILABILITY
Tickets are now on sale with the link below.
https://www.eticketing.co.uk/bcfc/EDP/Event/Index/5268?position=3
STEPHEN GILL KRO
Thank you Stephen. Extremely informative