Saturday 22nd February 2020
SkyBet EFL Championship
at St. Andrew's Stadium
Birmingham City (2) 3
Jacob Murphy 6 OG,
Lukas Jutkiewicz 30,
Scott Hogan 90+2
Sheffield Wednesday (2) 3
Barry Bannan 20,
Fernado Forestieri 34 pen,
Jacob Murphy 65
Attendance: 22,120 (inc. 2,614 away fans)
Point & hope match photos: click HERE
This afternoon marked the first time that Garry Monk had returned to St. Andrew's since he was dismissed as Blues manager during the Summer.
When these two sides met back in November at Hillsborough, they shared a point apiece following a 1-1 draw.
In the build-up to the game Monk had an undignified hissy-fit and behaved like a twelve year old girl with underwear problems, bitterly spewing his guts in public about his ex-colleague Pep Clotet, in a pre-match interview, then refusing to shake the hand, or even acknowledge the presence of, his former assistant on the night, who had taken over his role when he departed Birmingham City, while Clotet merely smiled (or possibly grimaced) to himself, as he walked away from the embarrassing (for the Owls boss) spectacle, to take his place on the visiting team's bench.
The views of many of those present, within the ranks of Blues followers, in the upper tier of the West Stand/Leppings Lane End, who had previously thought that Monk was a class act, dissipated somewhat that night.
The visiting fans marked the occasion, serenading their former manager, with an adaptation of 'Sloop John B', whereby the words had been altered to: "Garry Monk, your football is shit!", in response to his dummy spitting episode... and just in case anybody was in any doubt about where their loyalties lie pertaining to the matter, followed that up with a chorus of: "Pep Clotet's barmy army... Blues!"
I've not actually heard that second one sung anywhere previously... nor since, although I have noticed a steady movement towards the Spanish head-coach on the popularity swingometer of late.
Incidentally: apologies to any twelve year old girl with underwear problems, who might have taken offence at being compared to Garry Monk.
Last Saturday's draw against high-flying Brentford, that saw Blues chalk up their tenth unbeaten game in a row, won't have hurt Mr Clotet's reputation any either, even though that total includes those two ugly as sin FA Cup ties against Coventry City at St. Andrew's.
But hey! 'Any port in a storm', 'needs must' n' all that... and some of the Championship results and performances along the way to extending that impressive run into double figures, have actually been quite impressive. Particularly since a 4-4-2 game-plan has been implemented in favour of some of the over-complicated stuff favoured by Blues hierarchy earlier in the season. The promotion of Craig Gardner through the ranks into a coaching role, has also had a positive effect to this end too and his input shouldn't be understated.
For what it's worth, in my estimation; during the time that Monk was still in charge of the team at St. Andrew's, he steadied a sinking ship and galvanised the fan base behind a common cause, while encouraging everyone with the best interests of the club at heart, to pull in the same direction and read from the same hymn sheet... during what was an otherwise difficult time for Birmingham City.
Nobody can dispute the fact, that at the time, he genuinely did connect with the fan base.
And while-soever that momentum lasted, he was a breath of fresh air around Birmingham City.
Alas, all things must pass, and it is a repeatedly time proven adage, that whenever anything or anybody seems to be too good to be true... it/they invariably will be in the final analysis.
The thing with Garry Monk is: he never seems to stay anywhere for very long and whenever he moves on, as is his wont, it is (apparently) always somebody else's fault, according to Monk himself.
However, subsequent events and revelations have sullied his reputation somewhat round the blue half of the Second City... to the extent that a lot of the good that he did, has all but been forgotten about in some quarters.
Personally, I was hugely disappointed, on a number of levels, when Monk's tenure at Blues ended. But football has a massive turnover cycle (and recycle) of players, managers and personnel, at all clubs... and some of that perpetual state of flux is bound to contain a few elements of acrimony along the way.
I dare say, that there are people at all levels of the game, who are quick to besmirch the character of anybody that leaves their club, be it in an enforced manner or by their own vocation, in a bid to taint them with lies, damn lies, fake news and statistics... such is the nature of the beast in this competitive world. With so much mud being slung about, some of it is bound to stick, either unfairly or otherwise. Regardless of the absence of any actual concrete evidence to back-up the launching of any of the brown sticky stuff in the first place.
I wonder what the Blues supporter who had a portrait of Garry Monk tattooed on his bum makes of it all now?
Either way, the two managers shook hands and went through all of the pre and post match protocol and rigmarole formalities today, even though, no doubt, neither of them really would have wanted to lose this particular game (not that they ever would, of course).
In the word's of Pep Clotet himself: "It's not Clotet versus Monk. This is Birmingham City v Sheffield Wednesday. I turn the page on this. I never mix professional matters with personal matters. The manners make the man."
The gutter press elements who'd viewed the 'handshake-gate' incident at Hillsborough, with a collective hard-on, while salivating in anticipation over the fall out of two former friends, like a circle of infant school kids, crowding around a playground spat, would have had to write about something completely different today, i.e. report on the actual game itself instead... it's your job!
There are a number of decent writers amongst the press corp that follow the fortunes of both of these clubs, so credit where it's due on that score. But the sensationalists and click-bait headline types, who are all too busy fighting for a good place under the lighting, to be bothered to learn anything of use from the good guys, are also way too prevalent in football as well.
And, while I'm on my soap-box, you have to really watch out for those bloody bloggers, who operate outside the parameters of any kind editorial control and say what they see, instead of what they're told to say they've seen ;-)
But I'm meandering (again), so getting back on topic... It hasn't gone unnoticed, that away from all of these smoke and mirrors type distractions, there is a groundswell of antipathy growing towards Monk among the Sheffield Wednesday faithful of late... though I'm quite sure that they would happily have snatched your arm off, if you'd offered them a 3-3 draw prior to today's kick-off, given the Owls slump in form, since they peaked around Christmas, but then tailed off, after scaling the giddy heights of third-place for a while.
Earlier in the week, Monk had spoken about getting away from a cycle of losing games. So he achieved his aim to that end, against an in-form side, who in all probability were expected to beat the faltering Owls this afternoon.
Following this game, both teams now have forty-five points apiece (as do Derby County (who also drew last night, against Fulham), with Blues remaining in fourteenth place as they added an eleventh unbeaten game to their current run, with a ninety-second minute Scott Hogan equaliser, in a game where they had been ahead twice in a topsy-turvey first-half.
By my reckoning, a draw was a fair outcome, because even though Blues did marginally (fractionally even) better than their visitors stats-wise, there wasn't much in it... and while the hosts had more or less the best of the first half, the Owls were just about the better side in the second.
Blues piled on the pressure from the off The rule of thumb appears to be, if the currently out of sorts Owls go a goal behind, their heads drop, they lose their shape are then there for the taking.
Another rumour pertaining to today's visitors, was that when/if they lose any more ground in the Championship, then an imminent managerial change is likely to be in the offing.
But, as things transpired, the stories of Mr Monk's imminent public flogging and subsequent beheading, have been ever so slightly exaggerated.
Although it did look from the outset, as though one of his former clubs were more than happy to contribute to his demise and rough him up a bit while he was down, just for old times sake.
The hosts took the lead in the sixth minute, when Jeremie Bela whipped a corner kick in from the left, with so much backspin on it, that as Jacob Murphy swung a boot in an attempt to clear his lines, all he could do was look on in horror as the ball glanced off his boot and past the Owls keeper Cameron Dawson.
This was the moment when Wednesday were supposedly at their most vulnerable... and though they were nervously absorbing a lot of pressure, as their five man defence treated the ball like a piping hot potato, they ripped up the script and were on level terms after twenty minutes when Kieran Lee stabbed the ball forward's to Barry Bannan who made light-work of not having a lot of options, by planting the ball just inside the right-hand post from all of thirty yards out.
Blues were stung into action and regained the lead, when Lukas Jutkiewicz pricked up the ball from Marc Roberts, before running from right to left across the visitors area and picking up a return pass from Scott Logan while Jude Bellingham removed two defenders from the equation, allowing Blues number ten enough room to shoot past Dawson on the turn on the half-hour mark.
But before the home crowd had even had time to aim a "Garry, what's the score!?" brickbat towards the visitors bench, Maxime Colin mistimed a challenge on Kieran Lee inside Blues penalty and the match referee: John Brooks, wasted no time in pointing to the spot, from where Fernando Forestieri calmly levelled things up again.
HT: Blues 2 v Owls 2
Monk made two half-time substitutes, with Connor Wickham and Morgan Fox replacing Joel Pelupessy and Dominic Iorfa, in a bid to change the shape of the game and offset the effectiveness of Bela, Bellingham and Sunjic. And the second-half tactical switch worked well for the visitors, to a point.
Gary Gardner combined with Scott Hogan, whose dipping cross narrowly evaded the incoming Bellingham, but it was now the visitors who were making most of the running.
Having gone behind for the first time this afternoon, Blues had to push forward, which left space for Murphy to exploit, as he motored forward from inside his own half, as far as Camp's goalmouth, where he was thwarted by an excellent reflex save from Blue number one.
Whickham then tested Camp, but he stretchedd and pushed the ball over his bar.
The Wednesday fans were baying for the referee to blow for full time as the clocked ticked towards the ninety-second minute (a total of five minutes of stoppage time had been added)... and it was time for Blues to hatch another episode of the 'late, late show, as Roberts hit a long ball towards Jutkiewicz, who rose like a salmon to meet it and glanced a header down into the path of Hogan, who struck the ball cleanly first time as his volley whistled past Dawson, to deny Wednesday what would have been only a second win in their last eleven league games.
That was Hogan's fourth goal in five games since he began his loan spell (with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season) at Blues. I wonder if he'll still be available come May.
FT: Birmingham City 3 v Sheffield Wednesday 3
Both teams will feel that they could've won this windswept tussle... and to be fair, there were enough chances at either end, in both halves for one of them to have claimed all three points.
But in conclusion, I don't think that either manager could've claimed that their particular side were unlucky not to have won, even though the one whose return to his former place of employment this afternoon, saw his defence breached so late in the day, still had plenty to say on the subject.
Give over Garry Monk! Let the football talk for itself today... and give your rattle a well earned rest, in front of any microphone that is thrust before you tonight. Just saying.
Both team's are in action again on Wednesday night, when Blues travel south to face Gary Rowett's Millwall, while Lee Bowyer's Charlton Athletic travel north to take on Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Next weekend, Birmingham are in London again, when they visit QPR, while the Owls are at home again, against Frank Lampa... whoops nearly, I meant: Wayne Rooney's Derby County ;-)
Enjoy your football!
