BCFC: A Good Week

Saturday saw Birmingham City lift themselves to 19th in the Championship table after comfortably beating nine-man Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 at Hillsborough. The result means Blues now lie more than three points from the relegation places and within touching distance of lower mid-table.

Birmingham City FC

Honestly, I did not expect a positive result yesterday.

It’s true that Sheffield Wednesday have had some horrible fortune with injuries of late and prior to yesterday’s game hadn’t scored a league goal in 2018 but fresh in my memory was that three of our last four visits to Hillsborough had seen Blues lose by three goals.

Throw in an injury to the recently talismanic Jacques Maghoma, and I’m sure you’ll understand why I thought a point would have been a good result.

Only now, the 2018 version of Birmingham City though has been much different to the one of last year and even though they may have been fortunate to have profited from two horrific individual errors, the improvement is there for all to see.

Now the team is playing as a settled unit and confidence is flowing throughout – with all credit I think having to go to Steve Cotterill.

The manager certainly some fearsome stick over the autumn – I’ll admit that I was less than impressed myself – but now Cotterill has got Blues playing some half decent football and right now, the team are an impressive fourth in the form table.

However, next week is one that could define our season.

Even though the cup replay against Huddersfield could easily be viewed as a distraction, I’m sure that the powers that be will be hungry for victory and a fifth-round clash with Manchester United – not only for the money that will come in from a televised fixture, but the prestige back in China.

Victory might be important in that game for the owners but Sunday is the more important one for me as it sees Blues make the trip across the Expressway in the away leg of the Second City Derby, against a team that are currently six wins on the spin and hoping to win the only cup final they’ll be in this season.

I hope that Cotterill understands how important that game on Sunday is to the fans.

Lie as some might, I’m going to be honest and say that victory in that game would probably ensure Cotterill’s good favour with the fans for a while.

Let yourself imagine the scenes when Cheick Ndoye scores the winner off his backside in front of the Holte End. I hope you’re smiling at the thought, because I certainly am while typing this.

All being said and done, the last week has been one of the best ones as a Blues fan this season. Let’s hope next week matches it – because it might just be that despite all the crap going on behind the scenes, 2018 could be a good year on the pitch at least.

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