Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Nope, Premier League website says he assisted their only goal in their 1-2 loss against Bolton. Benitez played 90 minutes.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) They scored and tied around the 82 and then f+cked up two minutes later to give up the second and the one hwich handed them the L.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) I just saw it, I was expecting him to run past 5 players or something. It was a nice little pass.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Does anybody know what's going on? I got up this morning and in Copa were saying that Benitez arrived this morning in Quito, doesn't Birmingham play this weekend??
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) ok for what i gathered English newspaper said that he is here because his dad was involved in a car accident. Strangely newspaper from Ecuador do not mention anything like that. Makes me wonder if he lied to get an early release from his club. If so i hope they don't figure this out because it could cause him problems with his club. Birmimgham has a key fixture againts Burnley and he would've played an important part in this match.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) What is confirmed by both sides is that he needed to take care of some family stuff. I think Ecuadorian press said it's arranging the paperwork and planning for moving his family to England with him. As for the car accident, I'm not sure. He'd need to be in Quito as of this coming Sunday anyway because of the game against Uruguay on the 10th.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Here to pay my respects to Chucho! I watch Birmingham to see him play, Santo por vida!
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Yeah, he's quoted in today's El Universo as saying he's back early to fix paperwork for his children. There's photos of him practicing yesterday with El Nacional. This actually concerns me a bit, as I'd think he needs to prioritize his new club right now.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Agreed to an extent, but considering the timetable and him having to report back to Quito by Sunday, it made sense for to let him take care of this stuff now, instead of having to miss games when there's no WCQ to be played. He's already at that level of the starting XI and maybe one of the better players on the pitch, this won't affect him whatsoever. If anything, I'd rather have him in Quito adjusting to the altitude before everybody else, he is key for us winning the next game.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) According to BCFC's site his father was involved in a serious car accident. http://www.bcfc.com/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10412~1812146,00.html
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) How about this team, huh? 11 games unbeaten, in 8th place right behind Liverpool and 3 points from a place in Europe. They are the hottest team in England right now. 1 Chelsea 20 14 3 3 45 16 9 1 0 27 6 5 2 3 18 10 29 45 2 Manchester United 19 13 1 5 40 18 7 1 1 19 8 6 0 4 21 10 22 40 3 Arsenal 18 12 2 4 47 20 8 0 1 28 7 4 2 3 19 13 27 38 4 Tottenham Hotspur 20 11 4 5 42 22 7 0 3 26 8 4 4 2 16 14 20 37 5 Manchester City 19 9 8 2 38 27 6 3 0 22 13 3 5 2 16 14 11 35 6 Aston Villa 20 10 5 5 29 18 6 2 2 17 7 4 3 3 12 11 11 35 7 Liverpool 20 10 3 7 37 25 6 2 2 26 11 4 1 5 11 14 12 33 8 Birmingham 20 9 5 6 20 18 5 3 2 8 5 4 2 4 12 13 2 32 9 Fulham 19 7 6 6 24 19 6 2 2 15 6 1 4 4 9 13 5 27 10 Sunderland 20 6 5 9 28 31 5 3 2 18 13 1 2 7 10 18 -3 23
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Read this comment the other day at the red cafe forums. http://www.redcafe.net/f7/signing-season-so-far-279267/index3.html Could this be true?
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...p-on-the-bench-by-New-Year-article242505.html interesting thought put out in that blog or whatever it is....If Birmingham has some cash to spend during the transfer window, then they have to bolster their attacking options because even with fanciful dribbling and good pace, the dude isn't doing his job----which lets not forget is to score goals. And with the expectations coming in for him after Santos Laguna, he should have about 7-9 goals right now and only has 1. PFFFT! The dude isn't doing anything, and that's my problem...Plays a hell of a game, misses the screamer or the easy shot and later is accurate on the harder shots that aren't gonna go in...what the hell is wrong with this dude
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) I signed up on the Blues forum at bcfcforum.co.uk and I've been reading and posting regularly. There are a couple of Chucho doubters, but by far the majority support him and think he could be a big star for them. My view is that despite not scoring much, he's the ONLY player on Birmingham that is a consistent threat, there's no way they would be on such a streak if it wasn't for him. He is the only link between the midfield and the attack. The problem was expectations were always too high. Big mistake to buy him and expect that he will immediately tear up the scoring charts. There's no way he would have scored so many goals at Santos without Vuoso and Luduena. Now at Birmingham he doesn't have players like that beside him, instead they are hard workers, so Chucho supplies 90% of the creativity for them. Problem is, that means he is marked very tightly. I think if Blues go out and buy more of a pure striker that would be a good idea, but still think they would need Chucho to run and dribble and create opportunities. And if the other guy starts scoring goals, they have to mark him tighter and that creates room for Chucho to score more.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Birmingham needs to let this clown go...it's the same story all the time. Played a good game, but didn't score. Birmingham seriously wasted their money on him, I was screaming that out from the start...and look now, 2 goals. He isn't a threat at all. He makes his teammates a threat...I'm sure Birmingham could have spent that money on a player who is a 1.) goal scoring threat and 2.) a good play maker. Benitez does 50% of his job just about every game. No ones expecting for him to be a goal scoring machine in a team like Birmingham, but 2 goals is just beyond pitiful. So much for making fun of Hugo Rodallega... Either Birmingham gets a good striker to keep this mamon company up front or they should just loan him out back to El Nacional so he can restart his career all over again. FAIL...
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) completely wrong a lot of there goals have started because of benitez even tho hes not scoring he starts and allows his teammates to score.. i still dont see why he hasnt been changed to an attacking midfielder....
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Well, here's the thread from the Blues forum - if you didn't know any better, you could say this was the Ecuador national team discussion. Same virtues, same defects. I think it's pretty clear - he is not a goalscorer. He is a playmaker who can score. If you put him as your main attacker, like at Ecuador and Birmingham at the beginning of the season, he will fail. If you put him behind one or two guys who can score, you will win games because he creates chances.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) but they hired him to score goals...I mean, we all understand the point that he creates chances and to that note, I totally agree with you. My beef is that when he's got the sitter, he's still missing them- that shot that went clear over the crossbar a few games ago...that was just embarrassing. Also, Birmingham would have won a few more games if he scored those easy shots. I know there's a lot of pressure, but either he's terrible at channeling it positively or he's still mentally in Mexico where futbol is a few notches below England. Lets not forget that Birmingham is only averaging one goal per game, and almost conceding one per game as well...so it's almost null and void, from a perspective of his overall contribution. 18 games and 2 goals and he's billed as a striker...that's a problem in my opinion. Either way, it almost looks like he's not ready for primetime. He also falls victim to that hubris that Guerron is notorious for....sometimes he'll take the stupid shot instead of the easy pass. He can be a bit of a glory hound. I hope he can start scoring quick, or he'll be riding the bench. If the pressure on Valencia is 100 times greater and he's already got like 6 or 7 goals to his name, then Benitez should really be embarrassed being in such a small market and underachieving.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) truth. attacking midfielder...NOT a striker! If he ever has the balls to show his face in our NT again it better be as an attacking midfielder and never EVER as a forward or a striker. It's pretty clear by now.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) if you read my comment...I did not state AT ALL that he was a bad play maker. Every person on this forum knows Benitez and his great ability to dribble, pass, and create chances for his teammates. I think no one on this forum would ever argue that fact. BUT like LDU4ever said, he was hired as a STRIKER aka a GOLEADOR. And 2 goals is shameful at this point. I also said, no one is expecting him to be a goal scoring machine in a team like Birmingham...if he were in Manchester Untd, most people would be expect him to be scoring all the time (although he still wouldn't be a goal scoring machine there either IMO cuz he sucks hardcore at finishing). Whoever told Benitez he was a forward/striker was an complete idiot. He's been playing the wrong position his whole career... and the mexican league is a completely different story. I remember saying Benitez wouldn't be ish in the EPL and so far I'm right. The man struggles to get a goal against defenders in the Qualifier (and YES I KNOW playing at NT level is totally different) when we had a powerful midfield plagued with talent to help him score...and he only scored 3 goals. What makes anyone think he'll be more successful at Birmingham then he was in our NT?? that, I would love to know.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Guys, this isn't soccer with your buddies at the park. Coaches have put Benitez in his position. And if they didn't like what he was doing, they shouldn't have selected him. But despite lacking goals, he is a guaranteed starter at Birmingham and Ecuador. Why? Because there's nobody better available. So the story is not as simple as "get rid of him". Valencia is a perfect example - 7 goals in 3 years at a small club. Why? Because it's HARD to score when you're defending 75% of the time. Now Valencia is on a team where the other 10 players are all fast, skillful, and creative which creates more opportunities for him. I disagree with the notion that Benitez would not score if he was at Man Utd. Of course it makes a difference what players are around you. Has nothing to do with the Mexican league being supposedly a lot worse than the EPL. It has everything to do with what team you play for, and how they play. Rodallega is doing very well at Wigan, so according to that logic of the Mexican league is so much easier, he should have broken every scoring record in Mexico. He also should have scored a lot of goals for Colombia, but that didn't really happen either. Different teams, different opportunities.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) The reason Rodallega can't score for Colombia is that there midfield lacks creativity,and that lack of finishing touch at the end. Besides when your on national team duty it is alot more pressure on you than when your playing for your club team. Also, i agree that if Benitez had a proper partership at front he would probably score way more.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Not making excuses for Benitez, but I think he should have at least 3 more goals this season. I have watched most games and have seen some of the most amazing saves from his shots. Also, a couple off the woodwork and that disallowed goal from the weekend. He still should score a few more though.
Re: Birmingham City F.C. (R) Ha! Wouldn't this be ironic after all our arguing on these boards - Birmingham might be after Rodallega!! http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...gan-striker-Hugo-Rodallega-article274749.html