After years of palming me off onto his mates, Birmingham fan David Jackson has finally stepped up and answered the LFW pre-match preview questions himself ahead of Saturday’s meeting at Loftus Road. Brum must be doing well…
Assess Birmingham's start to the season...
DJ: I think if you asked any Birmingham fan before the start of the season where we’d be after eight games, not many would have said as high as fifth. Yes, of course it’s early days and there’s little point table watching currently, but it feels like we’ve somewhat exceeded expectations so far. Despite losing against Wolves, the recent games against Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday have genuinely been great to watch, which isn't something you can always say week in, week out at St Andrews.
A good start last season petered out a bit towards the end, why was that?
DJ: It came down to a few things. Not having the strength in depth, some poor signings, a lack of quality and just tiredness. Because of off field ownership issues which are still being resolved, Birmingham isn’t in a position to spend and strengthen in ways other Championship clubs can. Turns out Diego Fabbrini wasn’t the answer to all our problems either.
Will it be different this season?
DJ: Let’s hope so. An ongoing problem over the last few seasons has the lack of an effective strike partnership. Clayton Donaldson is still running his socks off and had been for years, but he just doesn’t score enough goals. However, Gary Rowett has brought in the likes of Lukas Jutkiewicz from Burnley, Che Adams from Sheffield United and Greg Stewart from Dundee all of whom will hopefully add that much needed strength up front and support to for him.
Finish in the top six or beat Villa twice?
DJ: Easy — top six. You've got to look at the bigger picture. It’d obviously be great to beat them twice, but I’d rather take a top six finish as I’m not sure it's something they’re going to manage.
Gary Rowett was getting linked with all sorts of jobs at one point last season, is that still happening? Is it a worry? Is he as good as everybody thinks?<
DJ: Things have settled down somewhat currently, but I’m sure once but once the inevitable sackings kick in, it’ll happen again. Eight games in, he’s probably glad the Derby rumours came to nothing. It’s of course a worry to see him linked with other clubs, but equally, if a Premier League club came knocking, it’d be understandable if he wanted to make the jump the same way any player would. I don’t think you can knock someone aspiring to bigger things - as long it's an upwards not sideways moves.
Under the circumstances, what he’s achieved at Birmingham in the last couple of years has been great. He turned around a club which was doing its best to drop into League One and last season felt like more work to steady the ship. I guess the true test of his worth if he does remain manager is whether he’ll be able to mount a proper promotion campaign.
Where is the team strong and weak?
DJ: The Birmingham team is probably strongest in defence. Ryan Shotton and Michael Morrison are building a good partnership, but the work ethic of the team is its real strength. This is quite a niche weakness to point out, but Clayton Donaldson seems to have developed a penchant for penalty taking. When Troy Deeney steps up for Watford, you know he’s going to smash it into the back of the net. With Donaldson, you sometimes worry if the ball will reach the goal line. That’s a bit harsh, but if he’s going to become Birmingham’s first choice penalty taker, he needs do more than a relatively soft shot down the middle or goalkeepers will cotton on quite quickly.
Aims for this season and beyond?
DJ: I sometimes think life in the Premier League for clubs in the bottom third is a poisoned chalice and actually really enjoy the Championship as a division. However, a club like Birmingham should be aiming for a top six finish and promotion. (That’s the point, right…) In the past couple of seasons I don’t think the club has been ready on or off the field to mount any kind of promotion challenge. However, we’re in a better position this season than we have been for a long time - so that’s got to be the aspiration. Without wanting to sound like a broken record, there’s even a danger the takeover / ownership saga will be resolved this season - but come back to me on that one next season - or maybe even next month...
The Twitter @davidtjackson, @loftforwords
Pictures — Action Images