Birmingham City 2013 Pre-season Review

I’ve forgone a holiday this summer so I could go to every one of our pre-season games thus far, although I didn’t make the one in Ireland. I thought it’d be a good idea to score each player who has featured significantly, analyse their performances, and speculate on their role for the season ahead.

Flying Start - Randolph

Darren Randolph- 8. Even though he’s not made relentless saves in the games he’s played, he’s only actually conceded 1 goal. And that was from a wrongly-awarded penalty for Hull. An excellent start, a steal from Clark’s point of view, and he’s a dead cert to be our number one keeper this season.

Colin Doyle- 2. I would unfortunately go this low for Doyle, a keeper I massively admire for his loyalty over the years. But romanticism aside, he just hasn’t been good enough. Conceded 10 goals from 315 minutes of football, and he’s looked shaky in goal. I never find myself trusting that he’ll save and hold onto a shot that comes in.

Paul Robinson- 6. Has been a real leader on the pitch, which is important for an otherwise young defence. Although he was beaten too easily at Shrewsbury, this had more to do with the organisation of our midfield, and he looked a lot more solid against Hull, which suggests his fitness is returning.

Dan Burn- 3. In 2 of the 3 games I’ve seen him play 90 minutes, he’s disappointed. His height, rather than enabling him to bully strikers in the air, has meant he’s been very susceptible to pacey attacks, and he’s lacked the agility to turn quickly. Not impressive so far.

Kyle Bartley- 7. Looks like a decent all-round defender, and doesn’t seem to have any particular weakness in terms of pace, height or reading of the game. The fact that he’s been fairly quiet in games, if anything, is a positive given his defensive role.

Shane Ferguson- 5. I’m pleased to have Ferguson back, and it’d be pretty harsh to analyse him on barely more than one game - but I’m going to anyway! Didn’t make much of a difference against Shrewsbury, and had in the main, a quiet game against Hull. He would get a 4, if it weren’t for his assist against Hull, and the fact that he’s only just come back.

Hardworking Hancox

Mitch Hancox- 8. If Ferguson got injured, I think Hancox would slot into the left wing-back role very well. He’s got bags of commitment, firm in the challenge, and has the stamina to get up and down the pitch. He’s already contributed a couple of assists at Swindon and Oxford, which highlights his ability to get forward.

Neal Eardley- 7. He’s at his best when we have an inside forward on the right, perhaps Chris Burke, because it creates more space for him than when he’s isolated on the flank. He doesn’t add much pace to our game, and he’s rarely played 90 minutes which isn’t the best indicator of his fitness, although his crossing ability is good.

Ryan Higgins- 6. This being slightly generous, seeing he’s only completed 87 minutes of football out of a possible 540. But in the little I’ve seen of him, I’ve been mildly impressed, he got a nice assist for Shinnie in his run-out at Swindon, and has good positioning skills for a young player.

Hayden Mullins- 6. He’s been played in a centre-back sweeper role, more than defensive midfield like last season, and his performances have been reasonable. He had a poor game against Oxford in which he seemed to be struggling for pace, but in other games that hasn’t been an issue. Interestingly, we’ve only conceded 1 goal in the time Hayden Mullins has featured.

Chris Burke- 5. It’s been a bitter-sweet pre-season for Burke. He’s put in some strong performances, was our best player at Swindon and scored a brilliant goal against Shrewsbury. But, Clark’s 3-5-2 system doesn’t accommodate the use of a winger, and the only ways we can keep Burke is by either converting him to a right wingback, or to an attacking midfielder. In both positions, we’ve already got enough depth, so I could quite easily see Burke being sold in January.

Wade Elliott- 7. Generally, he’s been a good deep-lying playmaker, and his experience has been key as ever. Always comfortable on the ball, never looks like giving it away, and ran the show for us against Swindon. The only problem with Elliott is that in a 3-5-2, having players with energy in midfield who track back a lot, is most important. I wouldn’t want to have both Elliott and Allan in midfield, as it lacks defensive protection, which was what part of the problem was at Shrewsbury.

Kobe Arthur- 6. His pre-season has started well, yet it’s gone off the boil a little since, perhaps partly due to the arrival of Scott Allan. Against Alfreton, he looked very confident, and ready to make his mark on the team, he scored a really well-taken goal as well against MK Dons on video. His performance at Swindon wasn’t quite as good, as he often ran into cul-de-sacs and didn’t play the simple pass often enough. With Shinnie, Burke and Allan in the advanced midfield role for this season, it may be best for Clark to look to loan Arthur out. Most League One clubs would consider taking him.

Ever Improving Reilly

Callum Reilly- 8. Perhaps a bit generous, I might not feel this way if he wasn’t a local Bluenose, but in my eyes Reilly has improved even more since last season. Last season, he was a ball winner who would use his sheer energy to support his teammates. In matches so far, he’s developed a certain intelligence to his games. He’s always offered himself as the man in space to pass short to, but he’s developed his long passing, and I think he’s onto an even better season.

Olly Lee- 6. I was definitely among the sceptics on this transfer when he was brought in, but after his performances thus far, I’m prepared to be swayed on him. He scored our first goal of pre-season at Alfreton, with a firmly struck shot, and put in a comfortable performance against Swindon. Contrary to my earlier claims that this was a bit of a ‘mates rates’ deal between Clark and his old friend Rob Lee (Olly’s dad), I now wonder if this could be one of Clark’s gems.

Andrew Shinnie- 8. And I’m convinced ‘Shinniesta’ is going to be another. His movement has been classy, he adds a real creative edge to our attacks. To be able to sign the man who has just won the Scottish Players’ Player of the Year award on a free transfer, presumably on very low wages, is an excellent piece of poaching from Clark. He already has 3 goals to his name, and has been one of our stand-out performance from pre-season. Watch this space.

Tom Adeyami- 5. Not hugely impressive, and an injury has perhaps set his progress back a little. He looks like a big, powerful player with a physical presence, which may help us control games. He put in an improved performance against Hull which provides brief encouragement.

Scott Allan- 7. I’ve liked the look of him so far, although with Burke and Shinnie already cable of playing behind the front man, his arrival may mean a lot less game time for Kobe Arthur. I’ve heard very good things about him from the Hawthorns, and he’s very good at dictating the tempo, and spraying passes out to the flanks whilst breaking forward.

Nikola Zigic- 1. His only performance from pre-season was 45 minutes at Alfreton, and that showing was horrendous. First, he was in acres of space and fired a shot over from the edge of the box first time, secondly, he rounded the keeper, charitably waited for the defence to get back into position, and lobbed the ball past the back post to no-one in particular. To cap it off, he did no chasing down or running all game. Nicklas Bendtner style, but without the finishing quality.

Green - A Goalscorer?

Matt Green- 7. The next Jonathan Hunt? A gamble from the lower leagues, but 3 goals from pre-season so far - in spite of an injury halfway through – suggests that Green is far from out of his depth at this level.

Lee Novak- another 7, another attacker to have scored 3 goals despite picking up an injury. He looks a very hardworking forward. It was a bit of grafting from him which created space for Shinnie’s goal at Alfeton, his two goals at Swindon were tap-ins but he had the work rate to get into those positions, and was deserving of his goals. Hopefully the injury won’t rule him out for long.

On a final note, I would like to say goodbye to Christian Benitez. He signed my programme once and smiled at me, seemed like a really nice, humble guy. Whilst he wasn’t the best finisher, his contribution to our 15-game invincible team was significant, because he never stopped running for the team and his pace was magnificent. 27 is too young for anyone to leave us, once the news dawned on me it genuinely brought a tear to my eye, and I can only feel for his loved ones.

RIP Chucho x