Birmingham boss Alex McLeish wants keeper Hart to stay
Hart has been a revelation in the Birmingham goal
English Premier League News – BBC Sport : Birmingham manager Alex McLeish wants to keep on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart at St Andrew’s for at least another season.
McLeish would like to make the 22-year-old keeper’s move permanent but failing that he hopes to extend the loan deal.
McLeish said: “I’ve put into the system that our chief executive should be talking to City about next season.
“Joe loves it here and we’d like to think we have improved him with some of the things we have worked on.”
Hart has made 66 starts for City since joining from Shrewsbury in 2006 but his first-team chances have been limited since the arrival of Shay Given from Newcastle last February.
Hart has been at St Andrew’s since the start of the season and has impressed in Birmingham’s run to eighth in the top flight.
Only Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa have conceded fewer Premier League goals than Birmingham’s 26 this season.
“We spoke to City a couple of months ago but not since then, and Joe has had no contact from them,” added McLeish.
“Joe loves his team-mates here, he loves the club and the ambience. When you have the feelgood factor, the players can give their best and play without fear.
“If I can’t get Hart permanently, would I settle for another loan season? Yes.
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“We have ironed out a few rough edges and I hope City recognise that and give us a bit of goodwill for next season.”
McLeish believes that Hart should go to the World Cup with Fabio Capello’s England squad, but not be first choice goalkeeper.
“I met Fabio at a dinner and he expressed his delight at Joe,” said McLeish. “He is pleased he is playing games every week. I am sure Fabio will have his name ticked for the trip to South Africa.
“But it would be a massive step to throw a young keeper who has only one cap into a World Cup.
“Joe could handle it but it would be better to be fed into the system before you embark on a World Cup finals.
“If he was to make one error in South Africa, it is there for the whole world to see.
“You are scrutinised and the media are relentless in their persecution of people who make a mistake at that level.
“He should be eased in. I would think Capello will rely on experience in South Africa in terms of who plays.”
Stoke 0 – 1 Birmingham
English Premier League Football News By Phil Dawkes
Birmingham climbed up to seventh in the table after extending their run of unbeaten Premier League matches to 11 with a hard-fought win over Stoke.
Cameron Jerome scored the game’s only goal, swivelling to bundle home from close range early in the second half.
It was a rare moment of incisiveness in a match high in tempo but often lacking in attacking efficiency.
Ryan Shawcross missed two good chances for Stoke, who remain just four points above the relegation zone.
The win continues a superb run for Birmingham in what has been a fantastic first season back in the top flight so far for the Midlands club.
They have now matched a 101-year-old club record of 11 undefeated games since a run of three wins and eight draws in 1908.
Pulis frustrated by bad luck
Their success owes a great deal to a rock-solid backline, forged around the central defensive duo of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, and once again the pair performed well to repel a regular aerial assault from the home side.
Stoke may have been unbeaten at the Britannia Stadium since September, but they have won only one of their last nine games and are currently the Premier League’s lowest scorers.
Once again, they will be left ruing their inefficiency in front of goal which meant that they failed to capitalise on the rare lapses made by the Birmingham defence.
That was highlighted as early as the fourth minute when Shawcross was left completely unmarked from a corner but flashed his header across goal.
Then from another set-piece, this time a free-kick, Barry Ferguson’s misdirected header fell to Robert Huth in acres of space in the box but the defender fluffed his shot wide.
Shawcross missed another glorious opportunity soon after when Matthew Etherington’s corner cleared everyone at the near post and the defender needed only make contact in the six-yard box to score a certain goal, but he missed the ball completely.
Birmingham’s diligence in defence meant that their attack often lacked the numbers to fashion anything meaningful during the first half.
Their only real chance came just after the half hour when a corner sparked a goalmouth scramble which Stoke were unable to clear and Lee Bowyer’s hooked return found Liam Ridgewell at the far post but his header lacked the power to trouble Thomas Sorenson.
However, from their first meaningful foray forward after the break the visitors took the lead.
From a corner, Dann’s header struck Shawcross and fell to Jerome who was able to swivel and get enough purchase on the ball to bundle it past the flailing Sorenson.
Stoke responded well and produced two efforts on goal, but Birmingham keeper Joe Hart was a match for both.
Lawrence’s cross was just beyond the reach of James Beattie but beyond him Etherington was able to fire goalwards only to see Hart pull off a stunning one-handed save to deny him.
Minutes later the England keeper produced another stunning save, this time to palm away an Abdoulaye Faye header from a corner.
Stoke also had an appeal for a penalty turned down by referee Martin Atkinson after Huth appeared to have been pulled back by Stephen Carr as the centre-back moved to meet a cross in the box.
Stoke continued to pepper the Birmingham box with long balls aimed at starting striker Beattie and replacements Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller but they lacked accuracy and were met by firm resilience from the visiting defence.
Unfortunately for Stoke, they had no guile to complement their work-rate and Birmingham had only to remain disciplined to earn their ninth win of the season.
Source: English Premier League Football News, Stoke – Birmingham Result, Soccer News at BBC Sport Football.
Alex McLeish – Birmingham City F.C. Manager
Alex McLeish – Manager of Birmingham City F.C. – English Premier League Football Club
Alexander “Alex” McLeish (born 21 January 1959) nicknamed “Big Eck”,[2] is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Born in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, he played for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for Scotland.
He started his managerial career with spells at Motherwell and Hibernian, before guiding Rangers to two championships and five cup wins in five years. McLeish spent ten months as manager of the Scotland national team which narrowly failed to qualify for the finals of the 2008 UEFA European championship. He then resigned this post in November 2007 to become manager of Birmingham City, who were in the English Premier League at the time. Birmingham were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season, but McLeish guided the club to promotion back to the Premier League in the following season.
In recognition of his distinguished service to Scottish sport, in 2008 McLeish was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Aberdeen.
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander McLeish | |
| Date of birth | 21 January 1959 (1959-01-21) (age 50) | |
| Place of birth | Barrhead, Scotland | |
| Playing position | Central defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Birmingham City (manager) | |
| Youth career | ||
| Glasgow United | ||
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1978–1994 1994–1995 |
Aberdeen Motherwell Total |
493 (25) 3 (0) 496 (25) |
| National team | ||
| 1980–1993 | Scotland | 77 (0)[1] |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1994–1998 1998–2001 2001–2006 2007 2007– |
Motherwell Hibernian Rangers Scotland Birmingham City |
|
Birmingham City
Premier League Birmingham City’s approach to the SFA for permission to speak to McLeish about their managerial vacancy was refused,[33] but on his return on 27 November 2007 from attending the draw for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in South Africa, he resigned his post as manager of Scotland[34] and was announced as Birmingham’s new manager the following day. His assistants with Scotland, Roy Aitken and Andy Watson, were to accompany him. McLeish said he wanted to return to working with players on a daily basis and had “always harboured a desire” to manage in the Premier League.[35]
Since his arrival, McLeish has improved the club’s backroom staff and training procedures, appointed David Watson as goalkeeping coach, and overhauled the scouting setup, bringing in Paul Montgomery – the scout who recommended a relatively unknown Didier Drogba to West Ham United – to oversee player recruitment.[39]
On 3 May 2009, McLeish secured Birmingham’s return to the top flight of English football at the first attempt with a 2-1 away victory over Reading
.
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingham City Manager, Alex McLeish information at wikipedia.org
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City F.C. – English Premier League Football Club
Birmingham City Football Club (LSE: BMC) (pronounced /?b?rm???m ?s?ti/) is a professional football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham F.C. in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City F.C. in 1943.[3] At the end of the 2008–09 season, they were promoted from the Football League Championship to spend their sixth season in the Premier League.
As Small Heath, they were founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division in the 1955–56 season and reached the 1956 FA Cup Final, progressed to the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960 and 1961, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963, beating Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate. They have spent the majority of their history in the top tier of English football,[4] though their darkest era came between 1986 and 2002, when they were continuously outside the top division. This period included two brief spells in the third tier of the English League, during which time they twice won the Football League Trophy.
St Andrew’s has been their home ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, with whom they play the Birmingham derby. The club’s nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses.
| Full name | Birmingham City Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Blues |
| Founded | 1875 as Small Heath Alliance |
| Ground | St Andrew’s Stadium (Capacity: 30,009[1]) |
| President |  Carson Yeung[2] |
| Chairman | Vico Hui |
| Manager |  Alex McLeish |
| League | Premier League |
| 2008–09 | The Championship, 2nd (promoted) |
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Birmingham City F.C. information at wikipedia.org