Southampton v Birmingham: Saints Suffer as Blues Class Tells?
Southampton face the Championship favourites Birmingham this week in what should be a tough encounter for the South Coast side. The Saints financial problems are well documented and this has left new Head Coach Jan Poortvliet with a squad lacking in numbers and experience but perhaps more importantly a desire to do well for the club. However, they face a Birmingham side brimming with players of Premier League quality this weekend particularly up front.
Alex McLeish is the envy of every other Championship manager for the amount of goal scoring talent he has at his disposal. The Scot already had Cameron Jerome, Garry O’Connor and James McFadden at the club but also added Marcus Bent and last season’s top scorer in the Championship and former Saints striker Kevin Phillips. The Blues also have the exciting on loan Ghanaian star Quincy Owusu-Abeyie available after receiving international clearance and he scored on his debut in midweek. This collection of attacking stars should be too strong for a young Saints team that lacks the experience of established Blues stars such as the veteran midfielder Lee Carsley.
Poortvliet’s first two matches in charge at Southampton have resulted in a defeat and a win. They narrowly lost due to a last minute goal at FA Cup finalists Cardiff on the opening match of the season whilst avoiding a potential Carling Cup banana skin by beating Exeter 3-1 away in midweek. They also have a striker in form in the shape of David McGoldrick who has scored 3 goals already this season. The 20-year-old has spent the early parts of his fledgling career on loan at Notts County, Bournemouth and Port Vale but has now been thrust into the Saints side with excellent early results. Perhaps a sign of Southampton’s problems is the fact this youngster has been given a chance. After all, he only managed 2 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions in a lower division for Port Vale last season. However, faith in the youngster is paying off.
Despite early signs of potential from this young Saints side I would expect the big hitters of Birmingham to find holes in the home defence so I’d back them to overpower the opposition on Footy 15 this weekend. This is all despite Birmingham not recording a League win at Southampton since May 1983. However, that stat is relatively misleading as they’ve only made 5 trips to the South Coast in 25 years (4 wins & 1 draw).
Pundit’s Pick: Birmingham Bare their Attacking Teeth at St Mary’s (AWAY WIN)
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Tags: Birmingham, Championship, footy 15, Southampton
