Match Thread Vs Birmingham City

At Tottenham Hotspur (47)

Results Total %

Tottenham Hotspur 30 (63.83%)

Birmingham City 9 (19.15%)

Draws 8 (17.02%)



Goals Total Av.pg

Tottenham Hotspur 108 (2.30pg)

Birmingham City 45 (0.96pg)





There we go guys my last match thread post & statistics of season 2010/11 . . . .. .

we could in theory seen them down, if wigan & wolves win they will go down , no sleep lost here, would be a sad day for them.. but i do think we will win 3.0

ionman34 wrote:
Would that make them the first relegated team to appear in Europe or has that been done before?

I'm not sure Ion but I have a feeling Milwall got in it a few years back after getting to the cup final but got relegated the same year. I could be wrong.

Mikey M

Personally I want us to win and qualify for Europe. Even if we have to play 2 games a week in the long run it can only be good experience and make us stronger. Also we would probably be able to attract top players to the club even though it's not CL than not being in it at all.

So a win is a must for me I don'r care if it's only 1-0. But remember Burnley last year. We do seem to have these last game set backs but there is more on it this year unless the players don't fancy Europa league next year which I doubt very much.

So COYS


Mikey M

Millwall were actually a championship side already so if Blackpool win the fair play league they could become the first. Mind you Spurs could still qualify through that if the
unthinkable happens on Saturday. They must go out in a positive frame of mind and send us fans home happy for the summer.

didnt boro get in the uefa cup and still get relegated

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart is a major doubt after injuring his calf last weekend, while Steven Pienaar could miss out with a groin injury.

Alan Hutton, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Jermaine Jenas are all fit, while Heurelho Gomes, Tom Huddlestone, Wilson Palacios and Ledley King could feature despite spending time in the treatment room recently.

Birmingham duo Craig Gardner and Liam Ridgewell return after completing suspensions.

Lee Bowyer, Martin Jiranek and Stuart Parnaby are doubts, while Alexander Hleb is ruled out and David Bentley is ineligible to face his parent club.

Tottenham

Doubtful: Gomes (back), Huddlestone (ankle), King (groin), Palacios (knee), Pienaar (groin),

Injured: Gallas (hamstring), Bale (ankle), Khumalo (foot), Woodgate (calf)

Birmingham

Doubtful: Bowyer (hamstring), Jiranek (ankle), Parnaby (groin)

Injured/unavailable: Bentley (ineligible), Dann (hamstring), Martins (groin), Hleb & McFadden (both knee), Taylor (shoulder), Valles (foot), Zigic (groin/hip)

PREVIEW BY MOTD COMMENTATOR SIMON BROTHERTON
A first major trophy for 48 years means it's been a momentous year for Birmingham City, but it's a season that could leave a bad taste with their Premier League future now hanging by a thread.

A run of two wins from the last 12 games has led to them almost sleepwalking into the thick of the relegation dogfight. Who'd have thought just three months on from the Wembley win over Arsenal that Blues would be in a game of potentially greater significance.

The Champions League places have all gone, but Tottenham are still playing for fifth place which brings with it a Europa League spot, and they go into the match with a one-point advantage over Liverpool after beating them 2-0 at Anfield last weekend. Harry Redknapp has bemoaned his team's inability to finish teams off in recent weeks and there's no doubt they've tailed off, with just two wins from the last 11 games.

I was at White Hart lane a couple of weeks ago and saw first-hand how Tottenham have been struggling to put chances away and it took a very late goal from Jermain Defoe to rescue a point against Blackpool.

Ian Holloway's team produced a stirring effort that day and were left wondering what might have been if Charlie Adam had put both penalties away rather than just one in a mad second-half minute.

Do Blues have the same go-for-it attitude that Blackpool possess? Birmingham could have lost by a hatful to Fulham at St Andrew's last Sunday and you could see the look of shock on the manager's face as the game unfolded.

It's 'squeaky Brum' time alright, but White Hart Lane was the venue for Alex McLeish's first match in charge of the club back in December 2007 and I distinctly remember commentating on the game that day. Sebastian Larsson won it 3-2 for Birmingham with a spectacular strike into the top corner in the very last minute. I'm sure even Colin Doyle's wife would tweet with delight if something similar happened on Sunday!

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

Birmingham have lost only one of their last five games against Tottenham (W2, D2, L1).
Blues won 3-2 at White Hart Lane in December 2007 in what was Alex McLeish's first game in charge. However, that is Birmingham's only league win away to Tottenham in the past 27 years.
Tottenham

Victory at Anfield last weekend was Tottenham's second win in 11 league games.
Spurs have suffered just one league defeat at home this season, a record bettered by only Manchester United. However, they have drawn nine games at White Hart Lane, the highest tally in the top flight.
Tottenham have won three of 11 games against sides in the bottom six this season (W3, D5, L3). Had they won all those games, they would be one point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table.
Birmingham

Blues have won two of their last 12 league games (W2, D3, L7).
Birmingham have lost four of their last five, conceding 13 goals.
Their tally of 36 goals from 37 league games is the lowest in the top flight.
LEADING GOALSCORERS

Tottenham

Van der Vaart: 15 goals (13 league);

Pavlyuchenko: 11 goals (7 league)

Birmingham

Gardner: 9 goals (7 league);

Zigic: 8 goals (5 league)

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Assistant referees: Simon Beck & Stephen Child

Fourth official: Stuart Attwell

LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS

Tottenham (W2-0 v Liverpool, a): Cudicini, Kaboul, Dawson, King, Rose (Bassong 82), Lennon, Modric, Sandro, Pienaar (Kranjcar 90), Van der Vaart (Defoe 53), Crouch. Subs not used: Pletikosa, Pavlyuchenko, Livermore, Bostock.

Birmingham (L0-2 v Fulham, h): Foster, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek (Davies 67), Parnaby (Beausejour 56), Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer (Hleb 50), Bentley, Phillips, Derbyshire. Subs not used: Doyle, Fahey, Mutch, Asante.

well said. they done there job back las febuary.

Birmingham down, West Ham Down. I Blame the Owners past and present.
(The Brady Bunch, Gold and Sullivan)

VisionarySound wrote:Thank f*ck we helped send down that horrible, cheating, fouling, diving, dirty bunch of cloggers. Au revoir (that's French you know) Birmingham you won't be missed . . . . .

I think Au Revoir means good bye for now see you later. We don't want to see them ever again in the prem thank you very much.

Mikey M

Birmingham were relegated to the Championship after they lost to Roman Pavlyuchenko's late goal for Tottenham, who sealed fifth place with the win.

With results elsewhere going their way, City seemed safe when Craig Gardner equalised after substitute Pavlyuchenko had given Tottenham the lead.

But Wolves' second goal in their 3-2 defeat by Blackburn put Alex McLeish's side back in the bottom three.

And Pavlyuchenko's last-minute strike confirmed the Blues' fate.

It was a crushing end to what has been a rollercoaster season for Birmingham, who won their first trophy for 48 years with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Carling Cup final at Wembley in February, but have been battling relegation for most of the campaign.

They went into the game knowing a win would likely keep them up, but defeat, coupled with events elsewhere - particularly Wigan's 1-0 win at Stoke and Wolves' second goal against Blackburn - proved their undoing.

For Tottenham, qualification for the Europa League is a consolation prize after their failure to secure a second successive season of Champions League football.

However, qualifying for the lesser European competition via a fifth-place finish was preferable to Spurs achieving it through Uefa's Fair Play league, which would have meant the team having to play in the early rounds in only five weeks' time.

This was a victory born out of Spurs' commitment to attack, which may not have helped them achieve their ultimate aim, but ensures it has been a good, if not great season.

The reasons behind Birmingham's plight are simple: scoring too few goals and conceding too many.

They are the division's lowest scorers with 37, which by itself is not a recipe for disaster as their impressive ninth place finish last season off the back of 38 goals scored demonstrated.

However, in the absence of regular centre-back Scott Dann for much of the season through injury, the solid defence on which City built their success in 2009-10 has looked shaky and, crucially, they conceded 11 more goals than last term.

Knowing the threat Tottenham pose going forward, even without injured attacking midfield duo Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart, McLeish sent out a team focused on frustrating Spurs and hoping to snatch a goal on the break.

For the first half, they performed the first part of this superbly, with a back four - led by the towering Curtis Davies, who marked the lofty Peter Crouch out of the game before the striker went off with a head injury after 39 minutes - holding firm behind an industrious and committed five-man midfield, that included Jean Beausejour tracking back from his striking position.

They frustrated the home side, who found themselves allowed plenty of possession in 70% of the pitch, but were harried out of it in the remaining 30% closest to the Birmingham goal.

Unfortunately, this nullified City's threat at the other end, where Cameron Jerome found himself isolated up front and too often running without support down blind alleys, where packs of Spurs defenders lurked to rob him of possession.

All the first-half chances were Tottenham's. Sandro twice drew good saves from Ben Foster, first with a shot from a tight angle, which the keeper put behind with his foot, and then with a 20-yard drive that was tipped over.

Foster was also called on to claw away a cross-come-shot from Younes Kaboul late in the half and save a long-range strike from Luka Modric.

The danger for Birmingham in adopting such a containing approach was whether they would be able to then switch instantly to a more progressive style should it be required.

This was put to the test four minutes into the second half when Pavlyuchenko, on for Crouch, curled a superb shot past Foster from 20 yards to put Spurs ahead.

The visitors initially struggled to impose themselves on the game, but were given a lifeline when the ball fell to Gardner after a corner and the midfielder connected superbly to give Carlo Cudicini no chance from the edge of the box.

Gardner then curled a free-kick just over as a buoyant, and at this stage safe, City pushed for a second goal.

But their failure to do so suddenly became crucial when Wigan took the lead at Stoke to move out of the relegation zone, soon to be followed by Wolves via their second goal against Blackburn - putting Birmingham back below the safety line.

Any lingering hope of escape for the Blues was extinguished when Pavlyuchenko rifled in his second from 16 yards with the last kick of the game.

its ironic as they tried to sign him but wouldnt pay the money levy wanted lol