Career Blue Moon Rising

[KennyMiller27]

Hi guys, and welcome to Blue Moon Rising - a career where I will be using Birmingham City!

 

Why Brum?

- Well, with Villa in the same division this season with them and Wolves, there's going to be a lot of pitched battles with rivals! Also it'll be fun to use a club that's pretty much just been through ownership hell(no thanks to those hucksters Yeung and Pavlakis!) and try to build something good!

 

Objectives:

Entering our second season in the Premiership, the board have set the following objectives:

1. Consolidate in the Premiership (anything up to 15th is acceptable)

2. Retain the EFL Cup

3. Move past the FA Cup Round of 16

4. Reach at least the Europa League Round of 16

5. Have a player win an individual award

Updates will be quarterly and be posted in a bit!

Edited March 4, 2017 by KennyMiller27

[ZakFC]

I thought blue moon rising was a City thing, anyway, this seems like an intersting series, Im interested to see what goes on

[xWilemannnnn]

Blue Moon Rising IS a Manchester City thing! ???

[Rjgreeno]

At least I'm not the only one that clicked on this thinking it was a Man City career

[mcandrew003]

This looks quite promising, will be keeping an eye on it 

good luck!

[KennyMiller27]

On 2/13/2017 at 19:46, xWilemannnnn said:

Blue Moon Rising IS a Manchester City thing! ???

 

On 2/13/2017 at 17:03, ZakFC said:

I thought blue moon rising was a City thing, anyway, this seems like an intersting series, Im interested to see what goes on

 

LOL got around halfway through the 1st quarter of season 1 before realizing it ??? kinda fits Birmingham as well though since the "red" side of town's down a bit xD

[KennyMiller27]

Preseason #1  - Damn you BIH!

 

So I’ve decided to set myself up as a Youth coach to dovetail with the stated objective of regenerating the squad in a younger direction, and taking stock of the backroom staff I only made 2 changes, replacing erstwhile assistant manager Kevin Summerfield and coach Darren Robinson with Fitness coach Simone Lucchesi and Attacking coach Alex Morris – fully knowing I would need to ride the limited striking options Brum has, I needed to maximize the coaching on that side. The scouts and physios were unchanged due to their being fit for purposes.

 

Players in:

Ziggy Gordon(Partick Thistle) for 1.5M

Sid Nelson(Millwall) for 1M

Connor Ogilvie(Spurs) for 600K

Conor Townsend(Scunthorpe) for 350K

-          These 4 deals represent the bulk of freshening up the back-line and bringing in younger players.  Between Jonathan Spector being on the wrong side of 30, Jonathan Grounds stalling on a contract and Paul Caddis falling out of favor, replacing them with a 20-year old prospect and a couple of young veterans seems a  better development, and bringing in Sid freshens up the center-back rotation and offers an option to get it out on the  break faster from his end.

 

Fabian Bredlow(Hallescher,3.Liga) for 75K

-          What a bargain. He definitely brings a younger dimension between the posts and his potential is very high – I could definitely see him sticking around until at least a hypothetical 3^rd post-promotion season.

Denis Genreau(Melbourne City) on a Bosman

-          Definitely a prospect at 17, but bundles of promise make it an easy choice. Besides, if he does stall , his transfer is still profitable.

Daryl Horgan(Dundalk) for 825K

-          Needed a second left-winger to push Jacques Maghoma while offering no drop-off and Daryl fits the bill.

Players out:

Jonathan Grounds and Paul Caddis to Peterborough for 2.6M – Their transfers effectively funded their replacements, and considering both of them were rolling off contract, I’ll take it.

Jonathan Spector to Lens for 1.2M – another expiring contract, another vital piece of the puzzle moved on.

Tomasz Kuszczak to Lierse for 600K – Still have some fondness for the ex-United man, but he had to move on for the good of the project.

Adam Legzdins to Luton for 130K – Not needed, and thanks for the extra couple hundred quid Luton.

 

Pre-season fixtures:

 

1-0   (Stewart) against Eastleigh – July 2

2-0 (Stewart 2x) against Notts County – July 16

2-1 (Stewart, Donaldson;Reid) against Exeter –July 23

2-2 (Tesche, Jutkiewicz; McCartan 2x) against Accrington Stanley – July 30

 

Over-all thoughts – solid preseason performances and was able to bring in young blood in the squad despite relatively shallow finances(No thanks to those wankers in Hong Kong!) fills me with hope that we can at least finish above 10^th and possibly make a playoff run.

 

Next time we talk about the Championship run and a spanking! See you then!

 

[ZakFC]

Daryl Horgan seems interesting! Also just putting this out there, Martin Caceres- the Uruguay international- can be found without a club when you start a new save. He was very useful in my QPR Career and really bolstered the defence for me. Just an option though, Im interested to see what other transfers you make! Goodluck!

[KennyMiller27]

17 hours ago, ZakFC said:

Daryl Horgan seems interesting! Also just putting this out there, Martin Caceres- the Uruguay international- can be found without a club when you start a new save. He was very useful in my QPR Career and really bolstered the defence for me. Just an option though, Im interested to see what other transfers you make! Goodluck!

True!Shame the AI will blow you away on an offer if you meet Dundalk's asking price lol and on Caceres - tried but his wage packet is above what I could offer(I could only go up to 10k/week)

[KennyMiller27]

Part 2 – The First Signs of Life

With the preseason behind us, Birmingham City entered  the 16-17 Sky Bet Championship season with high hopes that a better finish (or even a spot in the playoffs) would be in reach. Will the results go their way?

 

August fixtures:

3-0 (Morrison x2, Stewart) v Cardiff @ St. Andrews, 8/6/16

-          Cardiff stumbled out of the blocks and a refreshed and motivated Blues squad came in and steamrolled them in the box, grabbing all 3 points.

1-2 (Jutkiewicz/Roofe,Hernandez) v Leeds @ Elland Road, 8/13/16

-          Leeds played us for chumps here, completely swamping the midfield. Bredlow played well and basically stood on his head to lower the of defeat.

8-2 (Solomon-Otabor,Adams x3, Maghoma, Donaldson, Shinnie, Fabbrini/ Powell x2) v Wigan @ DW Stadium, 8/16/16

-          Spanking. What a response by the Blues after that Leeds defeat and just beating on Wigan.

 

0-1   (Mason) v Wolves @ St. Andrews, 8/20/16

 

-    Cagey match and a late Wolves winner denies the Blues a seemingly well-deserved  point after throttling Wolves offense for the entire match.

 

2-0 (Jutkiewicz x2) v Norwich @ St. Andrews,8/27/16

-          Early Jutkiewicz blitz helps us upset the apple-cart and knock off a Norwich side that threatened mightily but kept aiming right at Bredlow’s chest.

August results: 3W,0D,2L, 14GF,5GA

Signings in August (both loans):

Yann Valery(Southampton) – second right-back

Erik Palmer-Brown(Sporting Kansas City) – SKC let him go to us and I needed another young CB to allow Paul Robinson’s old bones to stay on the dugout.

 

September fixtures:

 

2-1 (Adams, Fabbrini/Ayite) v Fulham @ Craven Cottage, 9/10/16

-          A late Diego Fabbrini thunder-bastard saves our bacon in London against a  Fulham side that looked good for 3 goals and actually had a goal disallowed for offside. Greg Stewart suffered an injury that kept him out for 2 months here.

 

1-2 (Jutkiewicz/Kermorgant x2) v Reading @  Madejski Stadium, 9/13/16

-          3 days later and we suffer the same fate Fulham did – beat by a late thunder-bastard. Diego Fabbrini suffered an injury here which kept him out for the rest of the month.

 

Signing in September:

Emmanuel Oyeleke(formerly of Exeter City) – signed to provide depth at CM after the Fabbrini injury.

 

0-1   (Joao) v Sheffield Wednesday @ St. Andrews, 9/17/16

 

-          A game we deserved to lose after conceding early and failing to beat Keiren Westwood despite 10 shots on target. Simply dreadful.

 

2-1 (Jutkiewicz, Brown/ Washington) v QPR @ Loftus Road, 9/24/16

-          Cracking response by the lads after laying into them – and a clinical late winner by young Reece Brown breaking R’s hearts.

 

2-1 (Solomon-Otabor, Donaldson/ Doyle) v Preston North End @ St. Andrews, 9/27/16

-          Another quality win and another flat-tracking game, though we were fortunate to have a late Preston equalizer flagged offside.

 

September results: 3W,0D,2L, 9GF, 6GA

 

 

October fixtures:

2-1 (Cotterill, Adams/ Graham) v Blackburn Rovers @ St. Andrews, 10/1/16

-          Nice way to go into the international break – dominating Blackburn and extending our nascent win streak to 3 matches. Could we carry on post-break?

1-3 (Shinnie/ Dumitru, Assombalonga x2) v Nottingham Forest @ City Ground, 10/14/16

-          We return on the wrong foot with a humiliating defeat to Forest on their patch where we looked more like a Conference side than a Championship front-runner.

 

2-2 (Jutkiewicz x2/ Forde, Henderson) v Rotherham United @ St. Andrews,10/18/16

-          One of those matches where a draw is viewed positively – Rotherham were hard done by and probably deserved the win due to our profligacy and their jumping into an early lead, while we lucked out into equalizing

0-0   v Burton Albion @ Pirelli Stadium, 10/22/16

-          Pathetic. Burton were already a rag-tag squad before this and we couldn’t muster more than 8 shots. Simply pathetic and the hairdryers came out especially with the derby day against Villa up next.

1-0   (Horgan) v Aston Villa @ St. Andrews, 10/30/16

-  Response met. An early goal and dogged defending throughout means we take the spoils against the Villans and erstwhile city supremacy until the next derby day.

 

October results:   2W, 2D, 1L, 5GF,5GA

 

Next time, we wrap up 2016 and meet the physios! See you all on Blue Moon Rising!

[BatiGoal]

Very much a rollercoaster of results till now. I hope you manage to get some consistency in the team's performances and climb in the league table. KIU!

[KennyMiller27]

2 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Very much a rollercoaster of results till now. I hope you manage to get some consistency in the team's performances and climb in the league table. KIU!

Thanks mate! After that Villa derby I ended up 6th in the table and equal on points - which is surprising considering that I was bedding in a completely new back-line and working with a squad known for collapsing!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 3 - A Festivus for the Physios (Not)

 

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! We last saw our intrepid Blues take the spoils at St.Andrews on derby day, and with the turn of the year coming in, how would the Blues handle the fixture crunch? Let's find out!

 

Birmingham's record so far: 15P, 8W, 2D, 5L - 26 points, T-6th in the Championship

 

November fixtures:

5-5 (Maghoma, Adams x2, Fabbrini, Donaldson/ Wells x3, Kachunga x2) v Huddersfield Town @ the John Smith's Stadium, 11/5/16

- WHAT A CRACKER!Although the defensive lapses on the last 2 goals Huddersfield scored are unforgivable, the flowing play gives me hope we could push forward.

3-1 (Jutkiewicz, Horgan, Solomon-Otabor/ Paterson) v Bristol City @ St. Andrews, 11/19/16

- A hot start catches Bristol City napping and leads us to victory in a game where possession flowed freely but Bristol runs were choked in midfield.

1-1 (Shinnie/ Hofmann) v Brentford @ Griffin Park, 11/26/16

- A draw where we were both hard done by that late equalizer and lucky to have drawn since wasteful finishing was the theme of the day. A returning Greg Stewart suffered another injury that knocks him out for another 2 months.

November results: 3P, 1W,2D,0L, 9GF, 7GA, 6th in the table

 

Signing in November:

Bobby Zamora - nothing more than a depth striker/ mentor to the young bucks.

 

December fixtures:

2-1 (Zamora, Jutkiewicz/ Armstrong) v Barnsley @ St. Andrews, 12/3/16

- Comprehensive victory over a scrappy yet ultimately over-matched Tykes side. Diego Fabbrini suffered an injury here that knocked him out for the festive period.

0-1 (Gayle) v Newcastle @ St. James' Park(apologies if I've mistyped and named the Exeter patch!) , 12/10/16

- Despite having majority of the possession, a poor performance from us meant a bad loss. Bredlow standing on his head saving our goal difference again shows he's done well despite early season wobbles, and a well-deserved MotM for him. Clayton Donaldson suffered an injury here that knocked him out for the festive period.

2-2 (Cotterill, Smith o.g/ Sears, Shotton o.g) v Ipswich @ St. Andrews, 12/13/16

- A late Tommy Smith howler saves our bacon after another poor performance marked by profligacy in front of goal and incessant sideways balls.

PHYSIO ALERT:

This is when injuries absolutely decimated the squad, with at least 7 guys on the physio's table. Alongside the aforementioned trio of Stewart, Fabbrini and Donaldson, this period saw Ziggy Gordon, Viv Solomon-Otabor, Erik Palmer-Brown, Sid Nelson, Stephen Gleeson and Andrew Shinnie see at least 15 days in the physio room, with almost everyone in the squad bar Bredlow, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Che Adams, Ryan Shotton and Michael Morrison see time out for injuries. To wit, we ended up promoting young center-backs Chuks Baird and Lucas Edmonson to play!

4-1 (Jutkiewicz, Adams x2, Maghoma/ Hemed) v Brighton @ St. Andrews, 12/17/16

- Thank God Jacques Maghoma decided to put his scoring boots on; this match marks the start of a rich vein of form for the DR Congo international.

3-3 (Cotterill, Maghoma, Tesche/ Weimann, Blackman, Robinson o.g) v Derby County @ iPro Stadium, Boxing Day

- Cracking draw where we did well to push a imperious Derby squad despite having half the squad seeing the physio.

2-2 (Stewart, Horgan/ Winnall x2) v Barnsley @ Oakwell, New Year's Eve

- This draw though was u-g-l-y, with Barnsley slicing our makeshift back-4 at will (so makeshift Maikel Kieftenbeld had to play right-back!) and their profligacy saving us from an upsetting loss.

December results: 6P, 2W, 3D, 1L, 13GF, 10GA, 6th in the Championship; 5 points from 5th and 5 points from 7th.

Overall a good wrap-up to 2016! Next time, we cover the start of 2017 and something I've been skirting around if you notice! See you next time on Blue Moon Rising!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 4 - New Year, New Blues?

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! Today we tackle the Championship results for January and February, and discuss the academy reload!

January Transfers:

(All pre-contracts)

GK - Yanno Vanwelkenhuysen(Truidense), Daniel Azevedo (Benfica)
RB - Alan Wanya(Truidense)
LB - Jari de Roover(Zulte Waregem)
CB - Arne Verboven(Mechelen)
CM - Ferran Sarsanedas(Barcelona), Theophilus Awua(Spezia), Kristi Kullaj(Zulte), Denis Pousset(Truidense), Younes Teghmas(Antwerp), Dani Wilms & Andreas Tindermans(both Mechelen)
LW - Finidi Vandendriessche(Zulte)
RW - David Alfonso(Barca)
ST - Kel Appiah(Westerlo), Massimiliano D'Errico(Tubize), Laurenz Simoens(Cercle Brugge), Daniel Tshiani(Zulte), Dani van der Moot(PSV)

- All these young players follow the Genreau principle - evaluate and then farm out as necessary, and if they break for worse, at least I'm making a profit on the transfer.

Birmingham's record so far: 24P, 11W, 5D, 6L, 38 points, 6th place

January fixtures:

2-2 (Nelson, Adams/ Hogan, Kaikai) v Brentford @ st. Andrews, 1/2/17

- Blues begin 2017 with a heartbreaking late draw against Brentford where a knackered back-4 just could not keep the line late and let Brentford equalize late.

1-0 (Horgan) v Nottingham Forest @ St. Andrews, 1/14/17

- A tetchy match with Forest dominating and being profligate opens the door for a late Daryl Horgan thunder-bastard to nick the 3 points.

1-1 (Stewart/N'Zogbia) v Blackburn Rovers @ Ewood Park, 1/21/17

- Another match much the same as the Forest one from the previous week, only with Rovers pegging Blues back earlier.

1-0 (Maghoma) v Reading @ St. Andrews, 1/31/17

- Vital 3 points in a close match with MASSIVE playoff implications, and brava to a heroic return for Ziggy Gordon from injury.

January results: 4P, 2W,2D,0L, 5F, 3A, 6th and 1 point behind 5th-place Reading.

February fixtures:

 

0-0 v Fulham @ St.Andrews, 2/4/17

- A sapped and punchless Blues squad(ONLY 4 shots, none on target) manage to eke out a draw and keep Fulham at arms-length in the race for 6th (at day of game, Fulham were only 2 points off Blues with a superior GD). Another MotM performance for Fabian Bredlow standing on his head to keep Fulham's strikeforce out.

1-0 (Stewart) v Norwich @ Carrow Road, 2/8/17

- A profligate Norwich side are put to the sword late in another close game that sees Blues extend their unbeaten run to 10 games and fend off another side threatening to run at 6th.

 

1-1 (Jutkiewicz/Forestieri) v Sheffield Wednesday @ Hillsborough, 2/11/17

- A match where Blues should have won if not for a goal being waved off, but it extends the run to 11 games and keeps us in the hunt for the playoffs. Important to note that on this matchday, 7th-place Preston got to within 1 point of us riding a 13-match run of their own.

 

1-0 (Edmundson) v Preston @ Deepdale, Valentine's Day

- Dream unbeaten runs collided here - 11 for us, 13 for Preston and heartbreak ensued for the Lilywhites as Lucas Edmundson's first senior goal proved the difference in a close-run match.

 

1-0 (Shinnie) v Wolves @ Molineux, 2/22/17

- A definitive turning point here, as then-3rd Wolves were pegged back, and a win for Villa against then-2nd Newcastle stopped them from running away with the automatic promotion place, with GIGANTIC implications in the run-in towards the end of the season.

February results: 5P, 3W, 2D, 0L, 4F, 1A, 5th and 6 points behind the 2nd-3rd-4th mass of Newcastle-Wolves-Villa, while 2 points ahead of 6th-place Reading.

Thank you for checking out Blue Moon Rising! We'll be heading down the run-in towards the promised land in a while, but first....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbM86eiczAg

See you again!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 5 - The Great Gazoo Loves Me (?)

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising, and a special cup-run themed edition where we talk about the runs in both the EFL Cup and FA Cup!

EFL Cup run:

Objective - better than Round 1

Round 1 - 2-2 v Luton (4-3 on penalties, Adams 2x/ McQuoid, Robinson o.g) @ Kenilworth Road, 8/9/16

- Credit to the Hatters for taking us to penalties in an early-season banana-skin tie we managed to edge out on spotkicks.

Round 2 - 2-0 v Sheffield Utd (Shinnie,Maghoma) @ St. Andrews, 8/23/16

- Typical flat-track bullying win that exemplified the early part of the season; important to note that the Blades never got a shot off.

Round 3 - 2-1 v Portsmouth (Shinnie,Maghoma/ Doyle) @ Fratton Park, 9/20/16

- A more even-pitched tie than the Blades earlier, but the gulf in class won out and saw us through.

Round 4 - 0-0 v Nottingham Forest (4-3 on penalties) @ St. Andrews, 10/25/16

- The Great Gazoo smiled down on me inn this tie, as a profligate front-line was not punished in the penalty shootout.

Quarter-Final - 2-1 v Cardiff (Jutkiewicz, Davis/Immers) @ Cardiff City Stadium, 11/29/16

- A perilously close match was settled by a David Davis thunderbastard, seeing us into the Semi-Final.

Semi-Final - 6-4 on aggregate v Wolves (5-1 and 1-3) ties played 1/10/17 and 1/24/17

Scorers: Jutkiewicz, Stewart, Brown, Horgan, Fabbrini, Donaldson(Blues)/ Bodvarsson, Zyro, Mason x2 (Wolves)

- Simply glorious, and the 1st leg is what I believe triggered the chain of events that impacted the run-in. Winning that well allowed me to rest the major squad members for the 2nd leg, and for the 2nd time we head to Wembley for the League Cup Final against....

CHELSEA. Well f***.

LEAGUE CUP FINAL 16/17

- Football, bloody hell.

Objective? Bloody blown away!

FA Cup run:

Objective - better than Round 3

Round 3 - 6-2 v Bolton Wanderers (Maghoma x3, Adams, Gleeson, Kieftenbeld/ Clough, Proctor) @ Macron Stadium, 1/7/17

- This tie was the Jacques Maghoma show - completely blowing away Andrew Taylor so much I'm surprised he didn't get knotted up.

Round 4 - 2-1 v Cardiff (Adams, Stewart/ Jarvis) @ Cardiff City Stadium, 1/28/17

- Neil Warnock must bloody hate my guts - to wit, we'd played Cardiff 3 times this season and beat them all 3 times AND dumped them out of both cups.

Round 5 - 2-4 v Everton (Maghoma, Stewart/ Niasse x3, Valencia) @ Goodison Park, 3/1/17 (Replay)
        - Original tie ended 0-0 @ St. Andrews on 2/18/17

- Sadly the FA Cup adventure ended at Merseyside, but not after taking them to a replay.

Objective? Completed.

See you for the run-in!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 6 - Of Miracles and Maniacs

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! We're headed right into the fire here and the run-in towards the finish of the Championship season!

Birmingham's record so far: 33P, 16W, 7D, 6L, 55 points, 5th place

Run-in fixtures:

2-1 v Leeds (Shinnie x2/ Roofe) @ St. Andrews, 3/4/17

- A game where Leeds controlled the majority of the traffic turned late when Conor Townsend was tugged in the box during a corner and Andrew Shinnie stuck the winner from the spot.

4-2 v Wigan (Jutkiewicz, Fabbrini, Maghoma x2/ Burn, Grigg) @ St. Andrews, 3/7/17

- With everyone back in fighting fitness, another easy win against Wigan served as a warning to the big boys above us. Important to note as well that Reading pegged Newcastle back on the same day, which brought the gap between 2nd and 5th to 2 points.

2-0 v Cardiff (Fabbrini, Stewart) @ Cardiff City Stadium, 3/11/17

- P4, W4. Not the most beloved man in Cardiff - probably didn't help matters that I whipped out a black-and-white scarf for the match and did the Ayatollah at full time.

2-0 v QPR (Adams, Jutkiewicz) @ Loftus Road, 3/15/17

- The defence just keeps on rolling and the gap stays steady at 2 points.

3-0 v Newcastle (Jutkiewicz, Maghoma, Fabbrini) @ St. Andrews, 3/18/17

- TYNESIDE COLLAPSE!TYNESIDE COLLAPSE!This match absolutely ratcheted up the drama for the 4 chasers. To wit:

Start of day - Newcastle/Wolves/Villa/Brum, 2 points between 2nd-5th
Results - Wolves 2-2, Villa 0-3
End of day - Brum/Wolves/Newcastle/Villa, Wolves 3rd on goal difference,Villa 1 point off in 5th

2-1 v Ipswich (Maghoma, Shinnie/ Varney) @ Portman Road, April Fools' Day

- The flat-track bullies return! Ipswich were absolutely swamped here, and the goal they scored seemed unfair on us.

1-1 v Brighton (Kieftenbeld/Hemed) @ Falmer, 4/4/17

- A match where we definitely counted ourselves lucky to scrape the draw, with a tired squad getting cut up.

1-1 v Derby (Jutkiewicz/ Russell) @ St. Andrews, 4/8/17

- A creditable result against the run-away leaders on a day where Villa staked their claim on 3rd with a big win and losses for Wolves and Newcastle strengthened our hold on 2nd.

1-0 v Rotherham (Maghoma) @ New York Stadium, 4/14/17

- Grinding out the wins and extending the stranglehold on 2nd - at this point, 3rd-place Wolves were 5 points off, and after the weekend's matches Newcastle supplanted Wolves at 4 points off.

2-0 v Burton (Adams, Nelson) @ St. Andrews, 4/17/17

- With draws for the chasing trio, Blues' magic number for promotion dropped to 3.

1-1 v Aston Villa (Kodjia/Shinnie) @ Villa Park, 4/23/17

- Villa fought us tooth and nail here, with a late Andrew Shinnie equalizer dropping the magic number to 2. I bet Steve Bruce was like "Do not let them win promotion here in our house".

5-1 v Huddersfield (Horgan, Kieftenbeld, Shinnie, Adams x2/ Wells) @ St. Andrews, 4/29/17

- With Newcastle and Wolves drawing, and Villa having an inferior head-to-head, there was only one thing it meant - PROMOTION TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!

2-3 v Bristol City (Cotterill, Shinnie/ Abraham, Flint, Morrison o.g)

- A dead-rubber match meant less intensity coming in, with Newcastle and Villa pulling up to within 2 points of us.

Run-in period results - 13P, 9W,3D, 1L, 28GF, 11GA

Final Championship results:

46P, 25W,14D,7L, 86GF,49GA, +37GD, 89 points and 2nd place!
Newcastle - 26/10/10,+33GD, 88 points,3rd
Villa - 24/15/17, +36GD,87 points, 4th

WE'RE GOING UP!

Club top-scorer - Lukas Jutkiewicz, 19 goals/15 league
Club player of the year - Jacques Maghoma, 16 goals/12 assists, 9 MotM; also runner-up in Championship Player of the Year
Club youngster of the year - Che Adams, 18 goals,14 league/9 assists; also awarded Championship Young Player of the Year

See you next time on Blue Moon Rising where we tackle preseason #2! Will the upcoming Premiership season prove to be our undoing or will the Blues thrive in the pressure cooker of juggling a season back in the top-flight and playing in Europe on Thursday nights(is it still on Channel 4?)? We'll find out!

[xWilemannnnn]

On 02/14/2017 at 12:43, KennyMiller27 said:

 

 

LOL got around halfway through the 1st quarter of season 1 before realizing it ??? kinda fits Birmingham as well though since the "red" side of town's down a bit xD

???

[ZakFC]

Forgot to read up on this career these last few days. Amazing job on that Chelsea win! Hope to see to how top flight football plays out. Keep it up ?

[KennyMiller27]

4 hours ago, ZakFC said:

Forgot to read up on this career these last few days. Amazing job on that Chelsea win! Hope to see to how top flight football plays out. Keep it up ?

Thanks mate!Just about elbowed the person next to me on the bus while I was playing that match - and here's to hoping as well!

[KennyMiller27]

Preseason  #2 - The One where Birmingham got back to the Premiership before Aston Villa

Hello, and welcome to Blue Moon Rising! We rejoin our intrepid Blues in the midst of preparations for their first season in the top flight for seven years, and a Europa League appearance via winning the EFL Cup the season prior. What wonders will this season hold for Blues? Let's find out!

Promotions - Derby, Us, Newcastle
Relegations - Burnley, Hull, Sunderland

Club updates:

After our successful season, the Board have decided to grant my requests to upgrade the training and youth facilities, moving them into Excellent/Excellent from the previous Impressive/Great levels. The upgrade also allowed me to add a 4th coach, 3rd scout and 3rd physio, whose slots were filled by the following:

Coach - Matthew Busby (extra points for this Utd fan!), 37-year old Gold Defensive coach with Natural aptitude
Scout - Miguel Rios(hired from Fulham), 42-year old Silver Bargain Hunter(necessary to establish supply of relatively cheap talents while Prem money filters into the club)
Physio - Mark Taylor(made redundant by Sunderland), 52-year old Gold Rehabilitation specialist(desperately needed after that ugly pile-up of injuries last season); also replaced Peter Shaw with 37-year old Gold Prevention specialist Stephen Symington, hired away from Dungannon.

Transfers!

In:

Michael Gillett(RB) & Sean Angol(RW) from the Youth Academy - pair of excellent prospects that reinforce the right side of the pitch; loaned out to Cheltenham and Exeter respectively to get first-team action.

Martin Samuelsen(CAM) from West Ham on a pre-contract, 700K compensation agreed - an absolute steal of a signing after someone at the Olympic Stadium dropped the ball,Samuelsen provides an excellent young spearhead to work the alternate 4-2-3-1 we'd been playing.

Jack Barmby(LW) from Leicester on a pre-contract, 220K compensation agreed - another excellent depth signing that provides security for us on the wings in case of injury.

Matthew Pennington(CB) from Everton for 1M - with Paul Robinson hanging his boots up and SKC hiking the price up on Erik Palmer-Brown, he comes in from a loaded Goodison Park back-line to provide a combination of potential and relative Prem experience.

John Lundstram(CM) from Oxford Utd for 1.5M - he comes in to provide a younger and calmer replacement for Maikel Kieftenbeld, who had major discipline issues last season.

Josh McEachran(CM) from Brentford for 3M - The former Chelsea prospect slots in right in the center of the park to provide a forward-moving option, which was another issue with the side-moving midfield.

Alex Smithies(GK) from QPR for 5M - The ex-Huddersfield #1 has been brought in to provide a 1a/1b 2-headed goalkeeping monster with Fab Bredlow, especially with Fab playing all 58 fixtures last season.

Max Clayton(LW), Myles Kenlock(LB), Dionatan Teixera(CB), Luke Amos & Junior Mondal(CM), Stephan Lichsteiner(RB) on Bosmans - Teixera and Lichsteiner were brought in for both defensive depth and experience,with the Swiss international and ex-Juventus man named captain for European ties, while Amos, Kenlock,Mondal and Clayton were brought in for both depth and as prospect signings.

Nacho Monreal(LB) and Patrick Bamford(CF) on loans - the pair of London-based players were brought in on loan to assess their fits, with Bamford having an agreed-upon buyout of 1.5M

Jackson Irvine (CM) in a trade for Clayton Donaldson - the ex-Burton man and Australia international was too good to pass up, and Burton's attacking dearth made it easy to facilitate a swap for Clayton.

Out:

Robert Tesche to Freiburg, 3.8M - Freiburg came in with an offer and I was not to refuse free money, especially when it helps open a spot for younger players.

Maikel Kieftenbeld and Jacques Maghoma, 3.4M and 2.3M respectively - Charlton offered money for the pair to reinforce their squad after promotion from League One, and with Maikel's disciplinary issues and Jacques stalling on a new deal, took the offers.

Conor Townsend to Wolves, 2.5M(375K going to Scunthorpe) - another case of another Championship side offering us cash for one of our guys, and another fee taken.

Andrew Shinnie to Fleetwood, 575K - he wanted to leave, refused a contract offer and threw strops that lowered his value astronomically, so he's Fleetwood's issue now.

Denis Genreau to AFC Fylde, 300k - his development stalled massively due to injuries and influences from the lazier members of the squad, and Fylde wanted to make a splash after being promoted to the National League.

Friendlies:

2-0 v Stevenage(Samuelsen x2)
4-0 v Bolton(Samuelsen x3, Adams)
4-0 v York City(Gleeson x2,Adams,Samuelsen)
1-1 v Blackburn(Bamford/Marshall)

Overall, I'd say it's a great preseason with a lot of moves made to both add depth and ability to the squad - and we enter the Premiership season with hopes of at least making a fight of staying up!Next time we'll be tackling the first quarter in the Prem and a surprisingly hot start!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 7 - Growing Pains

Hello all and welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! This section of the career sees the Blues make their Premiership bow once again! What's going to happen? Let's find out!

August fixtures:

2-1 v Newcastle (Adams, Bamford/ Armstrong) @ St. James' Park, 8/6/17

- Two of the new boys resume hostilities from the previous season on opening day, as a late Patrick Bamford breakway spells the difference on Tyneside in a cagey yet flowing match.

0-2 v Tottenham Hotspur (Berahino,Sissoko) @ St. Andrews, 8/12/17

- The first Premiership home fixture in 7 seasons ends in defeat after a 5-minute blitz from Spurs early in the 1st half and a head-standing performance by Hugo Lloris give the Londoners all 3 points.

2-0 v Everton (Gleeson, Bamford) @ Goodison Park, 8/20/17

- Revenge for the FA Cup defeat last season as Stephen Gleeson broke Everton spirits with a 32-yard thunderbastard early.

2-1 v AFC Bournemouth (Samuelsen x2/ Surridge) @ St. Andrews, 8/27/17

- Dogged Blues defending and a pair of Samuelsen rockets from outside the box put a wasteful Cherries side to the sword to close a hot August for the Blues.

August results - 4P, 3W,1L, 6GF, 4GA

September fixtures:

0-3 v Manchester United (Smalling, Rooney, Lingard) @ St. Andrews, 9/9/17

- Sadly, we could not carry on the momentum from August into September as the Europa League holders stamp their class on our side and walk away regretful they could not score more.

0-2 v Crystal Palace (Tomkins, Benteke) @ Selhurst Park, 9/17/17

- A ding-dong battle ends with us taking nothing home from this trip to London after an all-world performance by Eagles keeper Steve Mandanda.

1-1 v Derby County (Keogh o.g/Bryson) @ Pride Park, 9/25/17

- Another poor performance from the boys. Their being wasteful and failing to build on Derby's early mistake left the door open for a late equalizer. Definitely a point gained rather than two dropped.

September results - 3P, 1D, 2L, 1GF,6GA

October fixtures:

4-1 v Middlesbrough (Cotterill,Bamford x2, Horgan/ Rhodes) @ St. Andrews, 10/1/17

- Exactly the kind of performance a club needs to show after a bad slide, and bravo to the boys for putting their heads down and playing well.

0-1 v Swansea City (Borja Baston) 0@ Liberty Stadium, 10/16/17

- A hard pill to swallow after a encouraging performance against Boro, and many will feel Blues should have taken at least a point after Greg Stewart had several goals waved offside.

4-2 v West Ham United (Gleeson, Bamford x3/ Feghouli, Valencia) @ St. Andrews, 10/22/17

- Almost a carbon-copy of the performance against Boro, and now you would hope the boys carry on with more consistency.

3-1 v Stoke City (Samuelsen, Brown, Adams/ Diouf) @ St. Andrews, 10/28/17

- An encouraging end to October sees the Blues take their chances and clog the midfield against a high-flying Potters side with a hotter start to the season.

October results - 4P, 3W, 1L, 11GF, 5GA

Birmingham at this point: 11GP, 6W, 1D, 4L, 18GF, 15GA - 25 points, 9th place.

Next time on Blue Moon Rising, we wrap up Premiership action in 2017 and see how the boys handle the festive crush! See you next time!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 8 - Where's the Bovril?

Hello all and welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! We rejoin the Blues as they enter the winter  fixture crush and see what happens!

November fixtures:

1-0 v Southampton (Fabbrini) @ St.Mary's, 11/5/17

- The momentum from the end of October carries on as we break a sustained Southampton attack and score late, despite injuries to both Stephen Gleeson and David Davis.

0-1 v Manchester City (Jovetic) @ St. Andrews, 11/18/17

- The encouraging stretch of results ends in a dour result against a City side that decided to shut shop after going 1-up.

0-1 v Arsenal (Welbeck) @ Emirates Stadium, 11/26/17

- This defeat, however, was just dire, and Arsenal's profligacy only served to ease the pain of defeat.

November results - 3P, 1W,2L, 1GF,2GA

December fixtures:

1-1 v Leicester City (McEachran/Vardy) @ St. Andrews, 12/3/17

- One of those typical winter dead-rubbers where both sides would be grateful to walk away with a point.

0-1 v Liverpool (Coutinho) @ Anfield, 12/10/17

- The mid-winter swoon continues as a Coutinho rocket gives us our 3rd loss in 4 games.

0-2 v Watford (Okaka, Capoue) @ Vicarage Road, 12/13/17

- 5 losses in 6 and a disappointing capitulation in Hertfordshire against a Watford side then rock-bottom of the Prem. Absolutely dreadful and a hairdryer treatment type of day.

3-0 v Chelsea (Brock-Madsen, Horgan x2) @ St. Andrews, 12/16/17

- And then days like this happen, where you sit back and lump the ball up to your number 9. Absolutely great response by the boys comprehensively beating a Chelsea squad in fine form.

0-1 v West Bromwich Albion (McManaman) @ St. Andrews, 12/23/17

- The Ben Foster Show,as the ex-United man kept several clean shots out to preserve an early lead.

1-0 v Newcastle (Stewart) @ St. Andrews, Boxing Day

- Bounceback performance against a then-sliding Newcastle side to keep our heads above water.

1-0 v Spurs (Horgan) @ White Hart Lane, 12/30/17

- A dogged defensive effort by the boys in driving winter rain sees an early Daryl Horgan howitzer the difference between us and Spurs, who had 2 goals deservedly flagged offside.

December results - 7P, 3W, 1D, 3L, 6GF, 5GA

Birmingham at this point: 32 points, 6th place

Next time on Blue Moon Rising, we head into January and see how the Blues enter 2018! Before that however, we take a special look at our European escapades! See you next time!

[Seth Anacondas]

Decent team effort from the lads, some tough results against the big sides but things starting to pick up in that regard.

[KennyMiller27]

Part 9 - So who's got the tune to Tom Hark?

Welcome to a Blue Moon Rising special, where we look at how Birmingham City are doing in the Europa League so far!Would we be able to match the 2011 vintage where they missed out on the Round of 32 by a point? Would we even make it to the Group Stage? Let's find out!

3rd Qualifying Round  - 5-0 on aggregate (1-0 and 4-0) v Slovan Bratislava(SVK), matches played 7/27 & 8/3

Scorers: Gleeson, Brock-Madsen x2, 2 o.g

- An early start to competitive football sees us defeat our Slovakian opponents handily and advance to the Play-off Round

Play-Off - 3-2 on aggregate (1-1 and 2-1 aet) v Levski Sofia(BUL), matches played 8/17 and 8/24

Scorers: Irvine,Horgan, van der Moot/ Dimitrov, Merebashvili

- A hairy 1st leg result and an even hairier trip to extra-time in Bulgaria sees a late Dani van der Moot winner book our place in the Europa League Group Stage. What would our draw look like?

Europa League Group G:

Birmingham City
AZ Alkmaar(eliminated by Juventus in Champions League Playoff)
Steaua Bucharest(eliminated by Atletico Madrid in Champions League Playoff)
Shaktar Donestk(eliminated  by AZ in Champions League 3rd Round; beat IF Elfsborg in Europa League Playoff)

.... Welp. Let's see!

Matchday 1 - 2-0 v Shaktar @ St Andrews, 9/14/17

Scorers: Adams, Stewart

- A surprisingly dominating performance against the Ukrainian giants showing the boys had no nerves heading into European nights.

Matchday 2 - 1-1 v AZ @ AFAS Stadium Alkmaar, 9/28/17

Scorers: Samuelsen/Jahanbakhsh

- Dogged AZ defending kept the Blues out at bay apart from a Martin Samuelsen flare and ensured both sides shared the spoils.

Matchday 3 - 3-1 v Steaua @ St. Andrews, 10/19/17

Scorers: Samuelsen x2, Brown/Gheorghe

- A surprisingly dominant win against the former European Cup winners sees us take control of the group.

Matchday 4 - 2-1 v Steaua @ Stadion National Bucharest, 11/2/17

Scorers - Brock-Madsen x2/Lobont

- Route 1 football in Romania sees us take all 3 points and edge closer to advancing from the Group Stage.

Matchday 5 - 1-0 v Shaktar @ Lviv Arena, 11/23/17

Scorer - Brock-Madsen

- Knockout stage football is secured after another dominating show in the Ukraine where it was a shame to only score once.

Matchday 6 - 3-1 v AZ @ St. Andrews, 12/7/17

Scorers - Horgan Adams, o.g/Jahanbakhsh

- A dead-rubber sees us cruise against the Dutch side into the Round of 32.

Champions League dropouts: Partizan Belgrade,PSG(Fuck!), Man City, Anderlecht, Sevilla(Fuck!), Dinamo Kyiv, Napoli, CSKA Moskva

Round of 32 Draw sees us matched against Group J runners-up PSV Eindhoven!

See us soon for recaps once the knockout rounds commence in February!

[BatiGoal]

2 hours ago, KennyMiller27 said:

Round of 32 Draw sees us matched against Group J runners-up PSV Eindhoven!

Nice. Facing my favourite Dutch team. Not making any predictions but hoping to see an entertaining match. Goodluck!

[KennyMiller27]

On 2/20/2017 at 20:17, Seth Anacondas said:

Decent team effort from the lads, some tough results against the big sides but things starting to pick up in that regard.

It happens when you're still effectively a Championship side with a bunch of add-ons LOL thanks mate!

added 0 minutes later

On 2/20/2017 at 23:14, BatiGoal said:

Nice. Facing my favourite Dutch team. Not making any predictions but hoping to see an entertaining match. Goodluck!

I think you'll find it entertaining enough man =) Thanks!

[KennyMiller27]

Part 10 - Anyone headed to Russia?

Hello all and welcome back to Blue Moon Rising! 2018 sees the Blues with pokers in 4 seperate fires, and let's see what happens to the most important one in the Prem!

 

TRANSFER NEWS:

Birmingham(AP) - Birmingham City sign Rangers and England U-21 midfielder Jordan Rossiter for 8.5M pounds. The former Liverpool academy product had been dissatisfied with the dysfunction at Rangers and agitated for a move back down to England, and Birmingham stumped up the cash fighting off interest from West Bromwich Albion and Derby County to clinch the transfer. He is expected to provide a fulcrum for Birmingham's midfield, and shield the back four from opposing strikers.

Other deals:

Jai Quitongo(ST) from Greenock Morton for 900K - reloading the front-line

Rolland Sallai(CAM) from Puskas Akademia for 200K - a player I'd been eyeing since the Championship days but could never prise away until now, he comes in to provide attacking options across the front 3.

January fixtures:

3-0 v Everton (Horgan x2, Bamford) @ St.Andrews, New Year's Day

- Blues welcome the New Year with a bang, press-ganging the Everton defense into mistakes and capitalizing well.

0-1 v Crystal Palace (M'Vila) @ St. Andrews, 1/14/18

- The encouraging stretch of results ends in a dour result against a Palace side that locked us down and stymied every attacking attempt we made.

3-2 v Bournemouth (Adams x3/ Surridge, Gosling) @ Dean Court, 1/17/18

- The Che Adams show rolls into the South Coast, as late heroics off the bench get us the win in a lucky game.

1-0 v Manchester United (Adams) @ Old Trafford, 1/21/18

- One of those games where you get lucky, as United's wasteful finishing is punished by a Che Adams curler early.

 

January results - 4P, 3W,1L, 7GF, 3GA

 

February fixtures:

3-1 v Derby (Bamford, Adams, Stewart/Weimann) @ St.Andrews, 2/3/18

- Che Adams continues his hot form by scoring his 5th goal in 3 Premiership matches as Derby are beaten handily.

3-1 v Middlesbrough (Samuelsen x2, Bamford/ Rhodes) @ Riverside Stadium, 2/11/18

- A 4th straight Premiership victory over another struggling side sees us guarantee at least a Top 7 finish in our first season back in the Prem.

February results: 2P, 2W, 6GF, 2GA

 

Next time on Blue Moon Rising, we cover the Blues' cup runs! Will they be able to defend the EFL Cup? Will they go deeper in the FA Cup? Is glory in the offing? Find out soon!

Edited February 24, 2017 by KennyMiller27

[KennyMiller27]

Part 11 – Get the Ribbons!

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising, and a special cup-run themed edition! Can Blues defend the EFL Cup successfully, and advance farther in the FA Cup than last year? Let’s find out!

EFL Cup run:

Objective – Reach at least the QF’s

Round 3 - 3-1 v Manchester Utd (Bamford x2, McEachran/ Rashford) @ St.Andrews, 9/20/17

- Revenge for the earlier defeat in the League, and sweet revenge for the ex-Chelsea products against their former gaffer as we dominate the Red Devils and dump them out at the first hurdle.

Round 4 – 2-2 v Watford (4-2 on penalties; Bamford x2/Sinclair, Deeney) @ St. Andrews, 10/25/17

- A wasteful barrage from the Watford front line ends up biting them in the bum as they miss half their penalties.

Quarter-Final - 2-1 v Leicester (Stewart, van der Moot/Vardy) @ St. Andrews, 11/29/17

- Dani, you beaut. The young Dutchman saves our skins from extra-time after a Jamie Vardy rocket looked set to take us to extra time.

Semi-Final – 2-1 on aggregate v Manchester City (1-1 and 1-0) ties played 1/10/18 and 1/24/18

Scorers: Adams, Samuelsen(Blues)/ Berardi (City)

- Where last year’s semi against Wolves was wide-open and flying, this one against City is grinding and tense, with Martin Samuelsen’s late rocket in the second leg sealed our win, and a chance to defend our League Cup against…. CHELSEA. Again. Antonio Conte must hate my ass right now.

LEAGUE CUP FINAL 17/18

- Another pitched battle between us and Chelsea at Wembley sees us have a stroke of good luck with Eden Hazard having two goals waived offside, and Che Adams puts Chelsea away with a late brace to ensure the League Cup stays in the Midlands.

Objective? Accomplished – defending the Cup is a huge boon and gave us enough financial leeway to begin an expansion of St.Andrews to 36,000 seats.

FA Cup run:

Objective – At least the QF

Round 3 – 1-0 v Bristol City (Barmby) @ Ashton Gate, 1/6/18

- We begin our FA Cup campaign with a lucky win against a Bristol City side who benefitted from our being wasteful in front of goal until late.

Round 4 – 3-0 v Preston (van der Moot x3) @ St.Andrews, 1/27/18

- Dani van der Moot basically took this game as an opportunity to announce himself, romping past Preston almost by himself and good for a hat-trick.

Round 5 - 2-0 v Sheffield Wednesday (Forestieri x2) @ Hillsborough, 2/28/18 (Replay)
              - Original tie ended 0-0 @ St. Andrews on 2/18/18

- A frustrating day out for the boys during the replay sees an early Wednesday blitz dump them out of the FA Cup at the same hurdle as last year, after a heroic defensive performance earned them a draw 10 days before.

Objective? Failed – obviously not getting past the 5^th round of the FA Cup 2 years running is disappointing, though sometimes it happens that something had to be sacrificed.

See you for the run-in (and a special surprise)!

 

[KennyMiller27]

Part 12 – The one where Brum made friends all over the place

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising, and a special Europa League edition! The last time we covered our Thursday night sojourns, we’d been drawn to face PSV in the Round of 32! Would we be knocked out by the former European Cup holders? Let’s find out!

Europa League Round of 32 vs PSV Eindhoven(NED)

2-1 on aggregate (1-1 and 1-0); ties played 2/15/18 and 2/22/18

Scorers: Bamford, van der Moot(BIR)/ Maher(PSV)

- A tense, defensive battle across both legs is sealed with a Dani van der Moot thunder-bastard @ St Andrews in the second leg, dumping out the Dutch side and seeing us through to the Round of 16.

Round of 16 vs Sporting Lisbon(POR)

5-3 on aggregate (0-0 draw in the second leg); ties played 3/8/18 and 3/15/18

Scorers: van der Moot x2, Horgan, Brown, Brock-Madsen(BIR)/Spalvis,Dost,Tanaka(SCP)

- A banging contrast to the Round of 32 here, where an offensive explosion @ St. Andrews led into a defensive approach @ the Alvalade for us to go through to the Quarter-Final, though the amount of opportunities for Sporting to pull us into the lurch were numerous.

Quarter-Final vs Dynamo Kyiv(UKR)

4-0 on aggregate(2-0 over both legs); ties played 4/5/18 and 4/12/18

Scorers: Bamford, Horgan, van der Moot x2

- A lucky draw for us sees a thinned-out Kyiv side(the weakest of the Champions League drop-ins) comprehensively dumped out and our ticket punched to the Semi-Final.

Semi-Final vs Fiorentina(ITA)

3-1 on aggregate(2-1 and 1-0);ties played 4/28 and 5/3

Scorers: Bamford, Horgan, Quitongo(BIR)/Babacar(ACF)

- A surprisingly flat Fiorentina side(likely tired out by their Quarter-Final against AZ Alkmaar) stumbled out of the gate, and our 2-1 win at the Artemio Franchi effectively clinched the tie for us.

Where next now?

2018 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

Amsterdam ArenA

V SSC Napoli(ITA)

MAY 16,2018

If you told a Blues fan they’d be playing in a European final they’d tell you to lay off the dosh – but here we are. A Blues side with equal parts flair and scrappiness, flying to Amsterdam with the spotlights on and the world at their feet. This is one of those moments where win or lose, you’ll say that it’s mission accomplished.

 

How Napoli got here:

-         3^rd in Champions League Group G

-         Dumped out Fenerbahce in the Round of 32 on away goals, 4-4

-         Beat Sevilla in the Round of 16 2-1

-         Beat Manchester City in the Quarter-Final 4-2

-         Beat Porto in the Semi-Final 4-3

 

 

-         Absolutely gutted. We pressed Napoli hard but their goalkeeper Rafael basically stood on his head and denied us again and again and again, while our defense was tight until extra time and our collapse at that clinical strike by Duvan Zapata handed Napoli the trophy and their 2^nd UEFA Cup/Europa League in club history.  We can hold our heads up high though as Birmingham reached their 1^st continental cup final in 56 years.

 

 

[KennyMiller27]

Part 13 – Keep on Keeping On

Welcome back to Blue Moon Rising, where we rejoin the Blues and look at the run-in towards the end of the Premiership season. With another season of European football locked up via the EFL Cup win, and an opportunity to make a late run at 4^th, would we be able to keep our nerve? Let’s find out!

March fixtures:

3-0 v Stoke (Solomon-Otabor, Bamford x2) at the Britannia Stadium, 3/3/18

- A 5^th straight league win for us tightens our grip on a Top 5 finish and elevates us into 4^th place at this point with a cracking performance.

1-1 v Swansea (Horgan/Borja Baston) at St. Andrews, 3/11/18

-  A late disallowed goal for Dani van der Moot spoiled a performance where Swansea would count it as a definite point gained.

3-0 v Southampton (Quitongo x2, Adams) at St. Andrews, 3/25/18

- Jai Quitongo’s first 2 goals for us sees our unbeaten streak now at 7 with 4^th firmly in sight.

1-3 v West Ham (Adams/Nordveit,Obiang, Valencia) at London Stadium, 3/28/18

- And then we are brought down to Earth in a wasteful performance against the Hammers that sees our unbeaten run judder to a halt.

April fixtures:

0-2 v Arsenal (Rodriguez, Welbeck) at St. Andrews, April Fools’ Day

- Well, it was April Fools’ alright. Shame the boys decided to celebrate by not showing up and rolling over for a resurgent Gunners side that had found their groove under Ronald Koeman.

0-0 v Man City at Eastlands, 4/9/18

- A spirited response by the lads but not enough to break down the doors at Eastlands sees us pick up a first point in 3 matches to get our Top 4 challenge back on track.

0-0 v Leicester at Filbert Way, 4/15/18

- Top 4 challenge OVER for us, as a 4^th straight match without a win sees Spurs build a 4 point lead against us with 4 matches remaining.

2-1 v Liverpool (Horgan, Brown/Awoniyi) at St. Andrews, 4/18/18

- A bounce-back performance at home sees the Blues win their first in 5 and create some separation between 5^th and 6^th.

2-0 v Chelsea (Stewart, Courtuis o.g) at Stamford Bridge, 4/29/18

- A scrappy match against Chelsea sees us pull level with Spurs in 4^th.

1-2 v Watford (Barmby/Deeney, Penaranda) at St. Andrews, 5/7/18

- And then Watford take 4^th away from us in a late blow.

3-0 v West Brom(Adams x2, Bamford) at the Hawthorns, 5/13/18

- The last match of the season sees us demolish an already relegated Baggies side and end our first season in the top flight 5^th.

 

Final results – P38, 20W, 5D, 13L, 54GF, 36GA

Top scorer – Patrick Bamford(20 overall, 13 league)

Club player of the year – Daryl Horgan(13 goals and 12 assists in 32 matches, 7.78 average rating and 9 MotM)

Club youngster – Che Adams(17 goals in 32 matches; also runner-up in Premiership Youngster of the Year)

I was also named Premiership Manager of the Year ahead of Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola for finishing in the Top 5 and getting to 2 Finals.

Join us next time as we advance to season 3 – can we finally break our FA Cup hoodoo? Can we take that next step up the table? Let’s find out soon!

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by KennyMiller27