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FTK Blog: Birmingham City will tarnish Carling Cup Final

By 2011/02/25 20 Comments

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OK lets get this one off my chest. The Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday will be one for the football purists to miss in my opinion. There will be no feast of football excellence as manifest during the game between Barcelona and Arsenal. Neither will there be fair play displayed from Alex McCleish’s team. Expect plenty of gamesmanship and nasty professional fouls a plenty. Add to this mistimed tackles, and the prospects of our players coming out of the final without injury is unlikely. I am sad to say that even though The Blues have got to the final on merit, it is my belief that Birmingham City will tarnish the Cup final by the playing tactics that they will adopt.

But why such a damning indictment of our opponents in advance?  Well I challenge Birmingham City to come and play real football, and make this competition worthy of the thousands who will attend to be entertained. Try playing positive football, and refrain from the thuggery that occurs when teams go out to win at all costs rather than play football.  If you do not believe me then listen well to the comments that will be made by TV pundits over the next 48 hours as to how Birmingham City might achieve victory.

I predict that you will hear the phrase  

“If Birmingham City try to play football and pass the ball, then they will get slaughtered by Arsenal.”

But why not play decent football? This is after all a professional sport. Professional sportsmen should pride themselves upon achieving high levels of excellence in their sport surely? Why is it that the football skill deficiencies of the rest of the Premier League teams needs to be compensated for by winning at all costs by negative tactics?  If you are unable to match Arsenal in your passing ability, then the solution lies on the practice ground where you can improve to our level, and not by resorting to anti-football.

There is the perception that teams have the right to foul and use aggressive tactics in order to win football games. Actually fans have the right to expect an attractive game of competitive football, we pay enough for it! This negative mindset is encouraged by the media as a legitimate method of winning a game of soccer against supposedly superior opposition. Yet it only results in potentially career threatening injuries to players and a miserable spectacle for the fans. These are the common phrases used and my interpretation of the real hidden meaning.

“Get in their faces”

Which should actually mean closing down players and putting pressure on the opponents ball, but instead, it will mean holding shirts and barging people off the ball or standing on Goalkeepers toes at corners.

“Put your foot in”

Which means  late tackling and over the top of the ball challenges with all the risks of injury that we have seen inflicted on our players

“Get about them”

Another euphemism for professional fouls, late tackles and negative footballing, Alan Brazil of Talksport is one such fan of negative footballing tactics and it is a common phrase used by him.

“Let them know you are there”

A clear incitement to potentially injure the other players, by following through a tackle, getting the ball first and ensuring maximum aggressive physical contact with which ever body part presents, so that pain is inflicted, hence making that player more anxious about the risks of injury.

So sadly, my belief is that Birmingham City will come to Wembley and try to win at all costs by negative football, the consequences will not be pretty and potential injuries to our players will result, the other reason why the game will be spoiled, is that the referee will take a lenient approach to such tactics in the first 20 minutes in an effort not to have to show a red card for two yellow card offences. Thus Birmingham City will know that fouls committed in this early period will almost certainly go unpunished. I would love to be proved wrong, but keep your ears open over the next two days as people discuss the game, and see if I am wrong… I hope for the sake of football generally and the young fans watching the game that I am wrong, and that we get a festival of attractive footballing skills.

FTK.

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Fabregas_The_King

Tony aka FTK co founded Arsenalinsider.com in November 2006. often found on the site having a rant about the topic of the day.

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  • Durham Gooner

    Spot on FTK. It’s so frustrating that bad tackles, negative tactics and thuggery are ALWAYS excused, almost condoned, when teams play Arsenal because, as you say, ‘if you let Arsenal play they’ll walk all over you’.
    This is why we are never allowed to protest bad tackles against us and also why any hint of a bad tackle by us is seized upon.
    I heard Ian Danter on Talksh*te prior to the Stoke game justify Shawcross’s tackle on Aaron Ramsey by stating “But what about Wilshere’s tackle on Zigic?”….
    When you’re up against ‘journalism’ like that what chance do we have??
    Good luck Arsenal, but make sure you’re wearing full body armour.

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @Durham Gooner
    I also really get very angry when media pundits are so dishonest about tackles that seriously injure other players. They claim that they was no intent. Well
    the very phrases that are used imply the intent NOT to play football

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  • Gooner4Ever

    Very good post
    Mike Dean is going to control the match,and hopefully will not tollerate nonsense from the thugs.
    He should warn at the earliest to play and entertain and not be negative with rough tackles

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  • james mc daid

    Lets hope we destroy them and i also hope that the last thing PAT RICE says to the lads as they go out the door is,GET IN THEIR FACES,PUT YOUR FOOT IN,GET ABOUT THEM,LET THEM KNOW YOUR THERE,2-0 to the ARSENAL,happy days,onwards and upwards.

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @Gooner4Ever

    I hope that you are right, and if he shows a yellow card within the first 10 minutes, it will signal his intent as long as the next bad tackle gets a yellow card.
    The problem is that will he then show a yellow card to the same player later on and send him off?

    referee are under pressure to make sure that the event is not spoilt by sending off players, but if both teams play football, then no cards will be needed…

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @James mcD
    Honestly…
    I dunno why I bother writing blogs, they are wasted on you…. :D

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  • james mc daid

    fab,keep writing,your blogs are very funny,but remember its not called football for nothing,WE HAVE TO WIN THIS GAME,SIMPLE.

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  • Bluenose69

    What a load of utter B*llox.. I was at the Emirates earlier this season when blues played you guys, just a reminder…who got sent off????, who nearly sliced Ridgewell in half with a kung foo type tackle, (take a look at the fair play league to see where we both stand!!!) ,typical up your own arse blog here fellas!
    Yes you are faves to win on sunday, but you must be mad if you think we will just roll over and die just so arsenal can bag a trophy. We will play to our strengths which may be direct but it wont be dirty!
    K.R.O

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  • shir

    as a must,it’s a straight win.

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @Bluenose
    Listen I never said that Arsenal are a clean team as the fiar play league suggests, but we have had to react to the aggression shown to our players.
    How many blues players have had their legs sliced in half?
    We’ve had Eduardo and Ramsey.
    Lee Bowyer takes a leaaf out of the Joey Barton book, which is hit em first and pretend nothing has happened.
    No-one expects you to roll over,
    But try playing footie eh?

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @shir
    Well said Sir!!!

    C’mon You Gunners!!!

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  • oz gunner

    im sick to death of hearing that fair play shit brought up all the time (they mentioned it again during the stoke game). Yeah Wilshere’s tackle was reckless, but he young and thats after he copped an elbow from zigic. The fair play league means nothing when sagna and diaby were sent of due to anger,squide got sent off as he has deemed last man back, as was kozza was he not. Song gets yellows for professional fouls.

    Compare that to thug teams like birmingham (ridgewell who went through walcott last season and was unpunished), last time we played RVP copped hit after hit from Dann, and Bowyer…enough said!
    Teams like you have to play dirty and physical to even compete, because if you actually play football for once who will get blown apart!

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  • harper

    Spot-on, FTK. Unfortunately, I don’t think this game will be esp. good to watch – we don’t have Cesc’s creativity or Theo’s pace to rely on – and Birmingham will just come and park the bus and bore everyone to death with their negative tactics. Tho if Hleb’s available maybe he’ll be able to lessen the bordeom by bringing in some creativity from the opposition. Whatever you say about Hleb, he’s a good creative midfielder. Of course McLeish doesn’t know how to use him to his strengths so he’ll probably be too suffocated to try anything decent.

    Have to admit I’m very worried about this game. Worried that Bham’s tactics will successfully keep us from scoring and worried that they’ll injure one or more of our players.

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  • Fabregas_The_King

    @Harper

    I don’t have any problems with teams “parking the bus” in front of goal, it actually means that Arsenal needs to develop better one touch “give and go” patterns between midfielders and strikers to by pass the Bus, Arshavin is very good at this and the combination of him and Nasri will unlock most defences

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  • SuperRob7

    Don’t forget Diaby

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  • Mr Blue Sky

    Interesting post. I’ll have to post two replies.
    Let me make one thing clear: I love watching Arsenal play football. The style of football they play is fantastic to watch as a neutral and the Barcelona game was a highlight of the football season. As a neutral, Arsenal are very much my ‘second team’, based purely on the way they play football. And I am certainly looking forward to Sunday’s game. We couldn’t have asked for better opposition for a final.
    However, I’m disappointed with such an indictment on our team. I’m a season-ticket holder and a regular away game supporter. I’ve watched Birmingham City non-stop over the years, in particular the last few ‘McLeish years’. Yes, we are a big, physical, solid defensive unit. But we are also fair. We have players that are punching above their weight by playing to their strengths – big and strong. Arsenal are playing very well because their players are playing to their strengths – silky and smooth creativity. Both set of principles, defensive and creative, are within the rules and, let’s face it, necessities to win a football match.
    I watch the Blues week in, week out. All due respect, but I do not believe you can honestly say that you watch the full 90 minutes of every game that the Blues have played this season. We are a strong, defensive team – granted. But we are certainly not a dirty team. Not by a long stretch. If you watch old footage, football was way more physical and dirty than what it is now. Football is still a contact sport. Birmingham shouldn’t be labelled a dirty team just because we are good defensively.

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  • Mr Blue Sky

    Our boys are strong and good tacklers of the ball. Arsenal are silky and are excellent at moving the ball around. Sunday’s game will be a good clash of two very different footballing units. But just because Arsenal play football in such a beautiful way, I don’t think it’s fair to lay such a damning indictment on the Blues just because they are defensive and at the opposite end of the spectrum. As long as tackling and using your physical strength fairly is still within the rules of the game, then the Blues will stick with their principles, just as Wenger will stick with his.
    I love watching teams play real football like Arsenal, Barcelona and (ahem) Doncaster Rovers, but strong tackles are allowed and these teams should get no extra protection from referees just because they choose to play this way.
    One thing’s for certain: if the Blues do win on Sunday, it will be because of the determination and grit that these players show every week. If Arsenal win, it will be because they have passed us off the park.
    Please don’t attempt to make potential excuses in advance, because that is what this post seems like. You cannot make such a damning – and false – indictment on Birmingham City Football Club unless you have paid as much attention to their games that I, and other Bluesnoses, have.
    May the best team win on Sunday. I look forward to a fantastic game of football.

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  • CYRUS 99

    We don’t call your team ‘dirty’ because you have a solid defense, we call your team ‘dirty’ because of what happened to Eduardo, Sagna, Cesc & Marouane when we played you, that’s what makes your team ‘dirty’.

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  • Mrs Blue Sky

    I think you require a new crystal ball FTK! Your prediction was way off the mark. It was a brilliant and entertaining game with strong performances and fair play from both sides. Very coherent and well argued point Mr Bluenose. I think I shall look to your predictions from now on

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  • Mr Blue Sky

    I would personally appreciate a sincere comment from FTK, merely stating that Birmingham City Football Club were fair, determined and worthy winners of the Carling Cup Final, and that the occassion was definitely not tarnished. Over to you FTK…

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