8/18 Kirovski: Arsenal vs. Birmingham City [R]

I think he'll get more time than that. I would say he's 50/50 to start.

 

If I was a betting man, I would bet he would start. Partly because Bruce likes him a lot and also because of injuries to the Birmingham midfield.

 

after missing all of preseason training? Was he training with Palace?

 

No, he was not training with us. The last time he was with the Palace squad was on a trip to a tournament in Spain a week after the season ended. However, as he has been out of contract, there has been nothing to prevent him from training with Brum since they started their own pre-season, whether he had actually signed or not.

Assuming he is 100% fit, I would think there is a chance of him starting because, if Bruce does the same as he did with us, he will actually build his team around Kirovski, rather than fit Kirovski into his team. He is the lynchpin player that makes the system work. Also, given that Sunday is a big game for Clinton, I would imagine that it would help him to have service from someone with whom he's familiar with playing.

Kirovski will not be an impact player in the Premiership as he was with us (largely because he's probably half a step behind the pace at the higher level) but he will do well. He's got a football mind and he reads the game well.

 

Do you see his role then, as holding the ball up in the forward third and then distributing it with the hope of creating chances?

 

Lets hope that Jovan starts. The beginning of last year seem encouraging after watching years of this mans career slip away. It seems as though Bruce knows how to use Jovan to get the best out of him, something few others have figured out.

 

Morrison Losing Fitness Battle for Sunday

with some comments and quotes regarding the Blues forward situation for Sunday.

http://www.soccer365.com/US_home/Americans_Abroad/page_40_37419.shtml

Looks like Jovan will likely get a chance to get in the game.

This is the PPV match on Sunday but does anyone know if FSW will show a replay. Usually they do but it's not on their schedule.

thanks, rgr

 

I can argue (maybe not convincingly, but here goes) that he'll benefit from better pitches, more balls played in to his feet, and more protection from the referees. Of course, if I were Kirovski, I'd rather be passing to Dougie Freedman than Stern John!

 

I think he'll get a shot to play this weekend, maybe even start. He has all the tools to do well in the Premiership. Whoever said he'll benefit from the better quality of field, better refs, etc. hit the nail on the head. He can't create in a vacuum, but with good teammates and superior surroundings, he should be able to display his passing and creativity. He really could be a "poor man's Bergkamp" (no disrespect) this year.

 

I checked for the next two weeks and no mention of it. Looks like they are airing ManUre-WBA (the Saturday PPV match) midweek.

With Morrison now very doubtful Jovan has a great shot.

 

I'll be rooting for the blues all season, I think Kirovski got a lot of good soccer in him. I think he's finally in a situation that will bring it out of him. I think after a couple seasons playing with BCFC he'll be a dangerous man in Deuthchland for the nats. He'll be in his prime.

 

I may be wrong but from what I can tell, neither the Arse nor Birmingham City have free commentary.

Pisser.

 

Match Preview and Team News

Trio in line for debut

Aliou Cisse, Kenny Cunningham and Jovan Kirovski are set to feature for Blues trip to Arsenal but Robbie Savage and Clinton Morrison miss out...
TeamTalk

Arsenal match preview

History of the Arsenal v Birmingham City fixture

Blues travel to take on Arsenal at Highbury on Sunday afternoon, needing to turn around their fortunes at the ground. The Blues will be hoping to improve upon a record which has seen them taste defeat on 35 occassions, and draw 16, from the 55 games played...
Singing the Blues

Kenna urges Blues to stand up to champions

Birmingham City's stand-in skipper Jeff Kenna has warned his team-mates not to run scared when they open their Premiership campaign away to champions Arsenal on Sunday...
The Beautiful Game

We'll show them!

Geoff Horsfield today warned that Blues are determined to prove the pundits wrong on their return to the top-flight at Arsenal tomorrow...
icBirmingham

Clint's day is made

It was somehow inevitable that Clinton Morrison and Kenny Cunningham should end up playing together at Birmingham City...
icBirmingham

Blues aiming to catch Arsenal cold

It has taken Birmingham City 16 years to drag themselves back into the top flight yet Steve Bruce's side will realise in a few, short weeks the mountain they must climb to simply stay there. Birmingham open their campaign away at last season's Double winners Arsenal today and their next four fixtures include matches against Leeds and Liverpool...
Independent Sport

There's no place for fear, says Kenna

Skipper Jeff Kenna has urged his Birmingham team-mates to travel without fear into the cauldron of Highbury tomorrow...
Express and Star

Warning signs from the Gunners

Arsenal have fired an ominous warning shot across Birmingham's bows on the eve of tomorrow's Double Winners v New Arrivals showdown at Highbury...
Express and Star

Bruce enjoys the smell of success

Steve Bruce can smell the hot dogs again. When he was a Manchester United centre-half, striding around the dressing-room as the clock ticked down towards a massive match, Bruce would declare that he could "smell the hot dogs" - for him, the scent of a special occasion. "We always used to say it before big games," Bruce reflected this week, sitting in the manager's office at Birmingham City's training ground...
The Telegraph

The Times: Match Preview and Team News

Live on PPV tomorrow at 11am EST. Price: $14.95

Come on Brummies!

 

Match tracker on soccernet.com:

http://www.soccernet.com/home.html#

 

BBC Match Preview

TeamTalk will also have match updates.

 

so is he in the first 11?

 

Game doesn't start for another 40 minutes.
No announcements as of yet.

 

I keep forgetting England is an hour earlier...

 

According to planetfootball, JK does not even make the bench.

So much for that.

 

same at BBC

 

Well, he did have a knock in training on Friday--oh well.