TF Preview - Birmingham City (a), The Cup, fourth round
Time to tear your attention momentarily away from mid-March travel plans and dream of May instead. Lee Forster has your TF Cup preview.
Admit it, you haven’t come down yet have you?
For me, Wednesday was genuinely up there with the best nights I’ve witnessed on Barrack Road – men, women, and children collectively bedecked in black and white at their malevolent, feral best, players adorning the very same colours feeding off the cacophony of noise raining down from the stands, top-quality opposition wilting before our very eyes as a result of the on and off field ferociousness they were faced with. For me, you can now add Arsenal to Man Utd (96), Barca, and PSG when it comes to ‘nights under the SJP lights’ folklore.
But – and with Newcastle United there is always a but - if there is one thing Newcastle United have been extraordinarily skilled at during my lifetime supporting the club, it’s kicking the fans in the proverbial scrotum when we dare to make the mistake of feeling that all is well in the black and white universe.
Enter 3rd Division Birmingham City, and an F.A. Cup 4th round tie at St Andrews... what could possibly go wrong?
Make no mistake, there is a reason that Saturday’s game has been chosen for prime time viewing on terrestrial TV – the men in suits at the BBC will have been knocking one out at the thought of Newcastle United suffering another televised cup humiliation at the hands of lower league opposition. Let’s be honest we have history - as fans of Hereford, Stevenage, Cambridge, and Sheffield Wednesday will testify.
Having spunked what can only be described as ‘a mental amount of moolah’ on their squad last summer and with home attendances regularly exceeding 27,000, Birmingham are - as you might expect- unbeaten on home turf this season and currently sit 4 points clear of Wycombe Wanderers at the summit of League 1. They are also unbeaten anywhere since a 3-2 reverse at Shrewsbury back in November – a defeat that would have undoubtedly had co-owners Tom Wagner and Tom Brady choking on their thanksgiving turkey when you consider they could have bought Shrewsbury Town Football Club in its entirety for a similar fee to the one they paid for their centre forward that day, Jay Stansfield.
At £15m, it’s fair to say that Stansfield’s 18 goals this season have provided the assorted Toms with a decent return on their investment, and whoever Eddie chooses to play across our back line on Saturday will have to keep a close eye on the ex-Fulham man, who will be ably supported by Alfie May (11) and ex-Mackem Lyndon Dykes.
Wednesday’s 2nd leg will have taken huge physical and mental toll on the eleven that started the game, and with Man City on the horizon, I’d be surprised if Eddie didn’t employ a similar approach to the Bromley fixture when he made 9 changes to the lineup from the previous game (Arsenal, 1st leg). Saturday, however, promises to be far trickier fixture than a home tie against a team from the lower echelons of League 2, so it is time for the squad members to stand up and be counted.
During his presser earlier today, Eddie confirmed that we will be missing Botman & Joelinton and that he will be looking to rotate “where possible”, so I’d suggest that it is likely we will see Isak, Gordon, Bruno and Tonali benched and only used in a ‘Break Glass in Case of Emergency’ scenario. As a result, I’d expect to see run outs for Krafth, Longstaff, Willock, Miley and Pope, with Livramento also coming back in as a result of his relative freshness having sat out in midweek.
Saturday will also present the perfect opportunity to give Wilson and/or Osula some much needed game time – Wilson’s body has failed him (and us) over the past 12 months, and this will provide a perfect opportunity to convince us (and himself) that those toned hamstrings aren’t actually made from cheese. Osula meanwhile has shown in glimpses that there is a player in there – his howitzer against Bromley hopefully being a taste of things to come once he has benefitted from a full year under the tutelage of Eddie & Co.
And so 5,000 Mags will descend on the 2nd city intoxicated with thoughts of a trip to Wembley - the players who take to the field this weekend however will be presented with a huge opportunity; take us one step closer to another Wembley visit, whilst showing that they deserve to have more than just a watching brief come March 16th. Don’t waste it, eh lads?..
Lee Forster @LeeDForster