SkyBet EFL Championship
at St. Andrew's Stadium
Birmingham City (0) 0
Aston Villa (0) 1
Jack Grealish 67
Jack Grealish 67
Attendance: 26,631 (inc. 2,074 away fans)
Camp, Pedersen, Kieftenbeld, Adams, Jutkiewicz, Dean, Maghoma (Mahoney, 71), Jota (Mrabti, 58), Davis (C Gardner, 79), Morrison, Harding.
Unused subs - Trueman, Roberts, Vassell, Dacres-Cogley
Aston Villa:
Steer, Taylor, Whelan (McGinn, 63), Grealish (Bjarnason, 84), Hourihane, Abraham, El Ghazi, Elmohamady, Hause, Adomah (Green, 63), Mings.
Unused subs - Kalinic, Jedinak, Davis, Kodjia
And you thought that the big talking point in West Midlands football circles, was going to be about fourth placed West Bromwich Albion sacking their manager Darren Moore after his team drew at home against bottom placed Ipswich Town yesterday.
I don't think that it is any secret that I'm not particularly fond of several football teams, and Aston Villa rank quite highly among that number.
But even that wouldn't justify me revising the narrative of today's events, in an attempt to tone down the impact and relevance of what really happened, in the tenth minute of this highly charged encounter.
There are times (such as 12.12PM this afternoon) when you simply have to be honest with everyone, including yourself, and not even attempt to try to defend the completely indefensible.
Jack Grealish, he's a horrible player, with his unlimited arsenal of flamboyant theatrical and gamesmanship (another word for cheating), the PHD in advanced assimilation... and the way that he thrives on being a hate figure for opposition fans, especially those who wear the royal blue of Birmingham City.
From time to time, these kind of individuals emerge in football, and become the type of 'cult' hero you love when they're in your side, but who you'd see a completely different side to, sans the blinkers, when they're playing against your team.
That said he could be one of the most talented players in the Championship at the moment, and certainly the pick of the bunch at Villa Park. And that could be clearly seen today, as they played the ball to his feet and built up momentum through him, as often as was humanly possible.
No doubt he'll probably be playing in the Premier League, in the not too distant future, with or without his current teammates... but if he aspires to such a thing, then he's got to offload his baggage (all of it), and concentrate on being a footballer.
I don't think that it is any secret that I'm not particularly fond of several football teams, and Aston Villa rank quite highly among that number.
But even that wouldn't justify me revising the narrative of today's events, in an attempt to tone down the impact and relevance of what really happened, in the tenth minute of this highly charged encounter.
There are times (such as 12.12PM this afternoon) when you simply have to be honest with everyone, including yourself, and not even attempt to try to defend the completely indefensible.
From time to time, these kind of individuals emerge in football, and become the type of 'cult' hero you love when they're in your side, but who you'd see a completely different side to, sans the blinkers, when they're playing against your team.
That said he could be one of the most talented players in the Championship at the moment, and certainly the pick of the bunch at Villa Park. And that could be clearly seen today, as they played the ball to his feet and built up momentum through him, as often as was humanly possible.
No doubt he'll probably be playing in the Premier League, in the not too distant future, with or without his current teammates... but if he aspires to such a thing, then he's got to offload his baggage (all of it), and concentrate on being a footballer.
But, regardless of any of the above, the moment that Paul Mitchell (his name's been officially released, so it's not as if I'm indulging in some kind of public naming and shaming at this juncture) encroached onto the field of play, before charging towards the Villa captain and throwing a badly aimed punch at him, from behind, none of the above really mattered very much anymore.
Because, whatever else Grealish is, the pitch invader had clearly overstepped the mark of what is acceptable, whoever the targeted victim is... and as a consequence, everything else after that just paled into virtual insignificance.
Even the composite elements of this encounter, that would usually have been relevant and worthy of meriting discussion, as they combined to bring this contest to some kind of conclusion, will be completely forgotten about in the blink of an eyelid, whereas the assault (of sports) on Grealish will be talked about as a reminder of this game for years to come.
And it is worth remembering at times like this, that football is indeed just that.... a game.
From then on in, the outcome of this highly anticipated Derby, was almost inevitable, inasmuch as if only one goal was going to separate these two rival sides, it would doubtless be Grealish who was going to score it... and sure enough, that is exactly what happened.
Because, whatever else Grealish is, the pitch invader had clearly overstepped the mark of what is acceptable, whoever the targeted victim is... and as a consequence, everything else after that just paled into virtual insignificance.
Even the composite elements of this encounter, that would usually have been relevant and worthy of meriting discussion, as they combined to bring this contest to some kind of conclusion, will be completely forgotten about in the blink of an eyelid, whereas the assault (of sports) on Grealish will be talked about as a reminder of this game for years to come.
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| Che Adams: SkyBet EFL Championship player of the month, kicks off. |
From then on in, the outcome of this highly anticipated Derby, was almost inevitable, inasmuch as if only one goal was going to separate these two rival sides, it would doubtless be Grealish who was going to score it... and sure enough, that is exactly what happened.
Once all of the finger pointing, moral high ground soap-boxing, holier than though posturing, undignified bickering and disgusting posts on social media (and their subsequent fallout) have settled down, the cold hard facts of the matter are: a football player, whoever he was and whatever team he was representing, had been assaulted by a spectator, who had no business being on the pitch.
In the aftermath of the game, Grealish, played down the incident... before going on to say that it had been 'the best day of my life'. Things might've been different if Paul Mitchell had even thrown anything like a halfway proper punch,; because lets face facts, Tyson Fury and his ilk, wouldn't even bother putting their gum-shield in if they met an opponent with such a feeble technique and bad aim.
It was four minutes into the game, before Maikel Kieftenbeld tackled the Villa number ten, with a firm yet (borderline) fair thundering challenge, which is three minutes longer than he took to announce his presence during the game at Villa Park earlier this season.
But rather than withstanding the challenge to show 'Dutch Mike' that he wasn't going to be put off of his game by such close marking, Grealish hit the deck in a manner that the Blues fans felt suggested that he'd just faced a firing squad... and Kieftenbeld was subsequently yellow carded.
The home crowd were frustrated by and angered even, at what they saw as their rivals 'golden boy' getting up to his old tricks again, while seemingly being molly-coddled by Tim Robinson, the match referee/babysitter.
A Sky/BBC reporter, Jonny Gould, went as far as blaming Garry Monk, the Birmingham manager, for what happened in the tenth minute, when Mitchell came running out of the family section of the Main Stand paddock and headed towards Grealish.
Gould's gutter journalist spin, was that Monk had made the visitors captain a potential target and scapegoat for the home fans, by telling his players to keep tight on him and not allow Villa's captain any time and space to be creative.
What a stupid analogy! The one time that Blues players relaxed momentarily and gave Grealish some space to operate, and virtually backed off from him, he scored. And that was exactly why he was being so closely marked, not as a means of enticing a pitch invasion and violence towards the player.
You evidently don't need to be very bright to work for Sky or the BBC, it would seem, just as long as you're capable of churning out a few knee jerk reactionary sound bites, that have no resemblance whatsoever to the reality of the situation.
At the opposite end of the scale, I also listened in disbelief, when a purportedly professional scribe claimed that: 'Taking into account, that there is always a heightened and highly charged atmosphere, whenever these two sides collide head on, that should be taken into consideration when analysing the assault in it's proper context'.
That's a load of bollocks too!
Players have a responsibility when winding up volatile fans, and behaving in a manner that is likely to goad people and potentially provoke them into taking what they see as retribution, or to behave in what they see as a retaliatory manner. But, when Mitchell took a swing at Grealish, the player had his back turned and was walking away from his attacker, unaware that he was even there, at which point he was hardly being an agent provocateur.
There is no other kind of context to be taken into account, save for the facts, that are: an individual had a rush of blood to his head, acted in a grossly stupid way in the heat of the moment (though it was quite a long moment, by the time he had actually been allowed to reach the player)... and without a moments thought or consideration, as to what the consequences might have been if Grealish had been seriously hurt, or what the ramifications might be for the club he claims to be a fan of and the rest of their supporter base, Mitchell acted abysmally.
This isn't merely about Blues and Villa, it's about right and wrong.
There are Blues fans who I know will disagree with me; but though that is their prerogative, what if that had been a Villa fan attacking a Birmingham player from behind, on the pitch... would it be a laughing matter and something to write off as part of a long standing rivalry during what is seen as a grudge match then?
And how stupid would anybody defending the assault look in your eyes if the roles were reversed?
Mitchell is now banned from Birmingham City for life, as is the young keyboard warrior Alfie Perkins, who posted on Twitter, glorifying in the death of Grealish's brother. What the fuck kind of mentality must he have!?
Added: Monday 11th March - Mitchell has been charged in court and will be locked up for the next fourteen weeks. He must also pay £150 in court costs and £100 in compensation to his victim, which will probably keep him in Brylcreem products for the next week.
The match itself, for the benefit of those of you who've been away on a Kibbutz all weekend, wearing ear plugs and a blindfold, was won by Aston Villa, when a player called Jack Grealish netted the only goal of the game, before piling over the perimeter wall and into the visiting supporters, followed by his teammates in a joyous, but quite dangerous act of celebration.
The Birmingham Mail hailed the Villa players jumping into the crowd as a 'brilliant' moment... though personally I think that while fans need to keep off the pitch, players should stay on it.
It's understandable that when emotions are running high, celebrations are never likely to be restrained, but Grealish, of all people, ought to have respected the fact that boundaries are there for a reason. Just saying.
There wasn't very much to separate the two sides for most of the afternoon, until things tilted in favour of Villa, after they made a double substitution, with John McGinn and Andre Green, coming on in place of Glenn Whelan and Albert Adomah.
McGinn in particular was instrumental in the 'Villans' getting a foothold in midfield.
Indeed it was McGinn who threaded the ball forward for Grealish to take in his stride, before being allowed to move it forward and picking his spot just beyond the reach of Lee Camp.
Conor Hourihane almost doubled the visitors lead, when he collected a sideways pass from Grealish and crashed a dipping shot against the bar.
Tyrone Mings and Courtney Hause, had been hand picked to man mark Che Adams and Lukas Jutkiewicz respectively, and though they made a very good job of sticking to their task, I don't recall a certain Sky/BBC reporter calling foul as regards any of their excesses, as Che Adams was felled inside the Villa area (but the referee waved play on)... and Hause clattered Jutkiewicz with his flailing arms several times, without any kind of punishment being metered, even when the Blues striker left the field at half time with a bandaged head.
Maybe Mr Gould never saw any of that as he watched the action through his claret and sky blue tinted spectacles. Both teams applied some strong-arm tactics at times, but neither was actually inciting their fans to attack any opposition player. It was a robust and, at times, physical game... but in truth I don't think anybody expected anything less.
Right at the death, Craig Gardner, who'd replaced the tiring David Davis for the final ten minutes, had two chances to steal the bragging rights of the afternoon, but he lashed the ball over from close range in the first instance, before heading narrowly wide from Connor Mahoney's stoppage time delivery.
FT: Birmingham City 0 v Aston Villa 1
Sadly, a day that won't be remembered for the quality of the football on display, but which will occupy a lot of column inches over the next week or so as the 'great and good' of the game (and a few dregs too, no doubt) are wheeled out to advocate draconian measures being dished out, by way of a punishment to Birmingham City, for the actions of one grossly stupid individual.
Both teams return to action on Wednesday night, with Dean Smith's Villa travelling to Nottingham Forest, while Blues entertain Millwall at St. Andrew's, for a game where the club have set the price of admission at just £10, as a goodwill gesture to fans, who have been turning up in good numbers, both home and away, throughout the season.
It was four minutes into the game, before Maikel Kieftenbeld tackled the Villa number ten, with a firm yet (borderline) fair thundering challenge, which is three minutes longer than he took to announce his presence during the game at Villa Park earlier this season.
But rather than withstanding the challenge to show 'Dutch Mike' that he wasn't going to be put off of his game by such close marking, Grealish hit the deck in a manner that the Blues fans felt suggested that he'd just faced a firing squad... and Kieftenbeld was subsequently yellow carded.
The home crowd were frustrated by and angered even, at what they saw as their rivals 'golden boy' getting up to his old tricks again, while seemingly being molly-coddled by Tim Robinson, the match referee/babysitter.
Gould's gutter journalist spin, was that Monk had made the visitors captain a potential target and scapegoat for the home fans, by telling his players to keep tight on him and not allow Villa's captain any time and space to be creative.
What a stupid analogy! The one time that Blues players relaxed momentarily and gave Grealish some space to operate, and virtually backed off from him, he scored. And that was exactly why he was being so closely marked, not as a means of enticing a pitch invasion and violence towards the player.
You evidently don't need to be very bright to work for Sky or the BBC, it would seem, just as long as you're capable of churning out a few knee jerk reactionary sound bites, that have no resemblance whatsoever to the reality of the situation.
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| "It was a foul Jack, but I'm just going to talk to you again, just like last time, the next time and the one after that". |
That's a load of bollocks too!
Players have a responsibility when winding up volatile fans, and behaving in a manner that is likely to goad people and potentially provoke them into taking what they see as retribution, or to behave in what they see as a retaliatory manner. But, when Mitchell took a swing at Grealish, the player had his back turned and was walking away from his attacker, unaware that he was even there, at which point he was hardly being an agent provocateur.
This isn't merely about Blues and Villa, it's about right and wrong.
And how stupid would anybody defending the assault look in your eyes if the roles were reversed?
Mitchell is now banned from Birmingham City for life, as is the young keyboard warrior Alfie Perkins, who posted on Twitter, glorifying in the death of Grealish's brother. What the fuck kind of mentality must he have!?
Added: Monday 11th March - Mitchell has been charged in court and will be locked up for the next fourteen weeks. He must also pay £150 in court costs and £100 in compensation to his victim, which will probably keep him in Brylcreem products for the next week.
The Birmingham Mail hailed the Villa players jumping into the crowd as a 'brilliant' moment... though personally I think that while fans need to keep off the pitch, players should stay on it.
It's understandable that when emotions are running high, celebrations are never likely to be restrained, but Grealish, of all people, ought to have respected the fact that boundaries are there for a reason. Just saying.
McGinn in particular was instrumental in the 'Villans' getting a foothold in midfield.
Indeed it was McGinn who threaded the ball forward for Grealish to take in his stride, before being allowed to move it forward and picking his spot just beyond the reach of Lee Camp.
Conor Hourihane almost doubled the visitors lead, when he collected a sideways pass from Grealish and crashed a dipping shot against the bar.
Maybe Mr Gould never saw any of that as he watched the action through his claret and sky blue tinted spectacles. Both teams applied some strong-arm tactics at times, but neither was actually inciting their fans to attack any opposition player. It was a robust and, at times, physical game... but in truth I don't think anybody expected anything less.
 |
| Some pathetic miscreant had stuck these all over the lampposts en route from the city centre to Bordesley. But lets not judge all of the Villa fans, based on the actions of one solitary cretin. |
FT: Birmingham City 0 v Aston Villa 1
Sadly, a day that won't be remembered for the quality of the football on display, but which will occupy a lot of column inches over the next week or so as the 'great and good' of the game (and a few dregs too, no doubt) are wheeled out to advocate draconian measures being dished out, by way of a punishment to Birmingham City, for the actions of one grossly stupid individual.
Prior to the game today, a bucket collection to help to pay for legal costs for the Justice For The 21 campaign, raised the sum total of £4,390.04 in donations from supporters of both clubs. A great effort by all concerned.
It was a peaceful and pre-arranged bucket collection, yet a disgusting slur in a national newspaper... you'll all know which one, claimed that the West Midlands Police had their hands full dealing with a Justice For The 21 protest at the game. It wasn't a protest at all... and it certainly didn't require any police involvement.
Why on earth do people still waste their money on this stinking piece of shit rag!?
