Match Day Thread Birmingham City v Preston North End St Andrews 25/9/2021

please log in to view this image

please log in to view this image

MANAGER

LEE BOWYER

Charlton Athletic[edit]
On 22 March 2018, Bowyer was named caretaker manager of Charlton Athletic after former manager Karl Robinson left by mutual consent.[63] His managerial career began with a 2–0 win two days later against Plymouth Argyle[64] After winning his first three games, in April he was given the role until the end of the season.[65] His spell in charge ended on 13 May after Charlton were beaten 2–0 on aggregate by Shrewsbury Town in the League One play-off semi final.[66] On 14 June, Bowyer was renamed caretaker manager until further notice,[67] and on 6 September, his role was made permanent on a contract lasting until the end of the season.[68]

In Bowyer's first full season at the club, he guided the side to a third-placed finish in League One, and they faced Doncaster Rovers in the play-offs over two legs. Charlton won the away leg 2–1, courtesy of goals from Joe Aribo and Lyle Taylor.[69] Doncaster's 88th-minute goal meant the second leg finished 3–3 in normal time. Both teams scored in extra time, resulting in a 4–4 aggregate score, and Charlton won the penalty shootout 4–3.[70] They earned promotion to the Championship by beating Sunderland 2–1 in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, returning to the second tier of English football after a three-season absence.[71]

On 17 June 2019, Bowyer turned down the offer of a contract extension, with the club (and owner Roland Duchatelet) announcing that Bowyer and the club were unable to reach an agreement.[72] However, he later reversed his decision by signing a new year-long deal.[73] In October, he received a three-match touchline ban for "improper conduct and/or questioning the integrity of a match official".[74] Following the club's takeover by East Street Investments, Bowyer signed a new three-year deal on 22 January 2020.[75] Charlton were relegated on the final day of the 2019–2020 season following a 4–0 defeat at his former club, Leeds United.[76]

Bowyer resigned as Charlton manager on 15 March 2021.[77]

Birmingham City[edit]
On 16 March 2021, Bowyer replaced Aitor Karanka as head coach of Birmingham City; he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.[78]

LAST TIME OUT

MYSTIC MACS FORM GUIDE

BIRMINGHAM 10 PNE 11

PNE Team News

Both Connor Wickham and Liam Lindsay will be unavailable for the trip to the Midlands after picking up injuries in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Cheltenham Town.

Wickham picked up a muscle injury which he will see a specialist for, while Lindsay’s is not as bad as first feared, according to Frankie McAvoy.

The head coach also confirmed pre-match that this game will come too soon for Ched Evans, Matthew Olosunde and Tom Barkhuizen, while Scott Sinclair, who has had a virus, is back in training.

The Opposition

Birmingham City, known as Blues to their supporters, head into the weekend’s game on the back of defeats to Fulham and Peterborough United.

Before that, though, they took seven points from a possible nine, with that run beginning with a fantastic 5-0 victory away to Luton Town.

Head coach Lee Bowyer has had a largely successful time in charge of them so far since his arrival from Charlton Athletic, where he enjoyed promotion from League One.

Key Stats

Birmingham’s main man in front of goal so far this season has been Scott Hogan, having scored three times in the league, while the rest of their goals have been spread out between seven different scorers.

PNE have enjoyed many of their recent meetings with Blues, with four of the last five games ending in victories.

Birmingham currently sit bottom of the Championship table for possession, averaging just 40.8 per cent of the ball in their games so far this season.

Our Last Meeting





North End came out on top of the last game between these two, with Scott Sinclair’s goal in the 61st minute making the difference.

Jayson Molumby, making one of his first appearances for the club after joining on loan from Brighton, picked the ball up just inside the opposition half before running to the edge of the box, feeding Sinclair to find the far corner.

Man In The Middle

please log in to view this image

Referee for Saturday’s game will be Matthew Donohue, who has taken charge of four Championship ties so far this season.

He is relatively new to the EFL pyramid, having refereed his first game in the top four tiers in August 2018, while his maiden Championship match came a year later.

This will be his fourth time as the main official of a PNE game, with the last being the 2-0 home victory over Barnsley in the final stages of the 2020/21 season.

MACS VIEW

A trip down the M6 to the second city via a plethora of diversions due to roadworks on the M6 hence the early coach start. City have had two poor league results after a decent start three decent forwards plus a United wonder kid coming up against an improving North End side whose last away game saw us get a point at Sheff United.
Players returning to training after Covid and injuries plus a cup date against Liverpool in the offing. We have won their twice in the last two matches both 1-0 be nice to complete the hat trick.
Tough game although do admire City trying to replicate previous tenants Coventry by having half the ground closed, we've sold over a 1000 so should be a decent atmosphere.

 

I saw Lee Boyer playing against Barnet. He was supposed to be a 'wunderkind' but not fulfilled his full potential.

 

Birmingham were held to a goalless draw at home by Preston North End in a match that saw few clear-cut chances for either side.

Troy Deeney hit the post for Birmingham within the opening minutes, while Preston's Ben Whiteman cleared off the line at the start of the second half.

Neither side could break the deadlock in a match that saw both restricted to just two shots on target each.

This was the fourth consecutive draw for Preston, but means they remain unbeaten in their past six league matches.

 

Preston North End drew their fourth Championship game in a row as it ended 0-0 against Birmingham City at St Andrews.

Both sides made a lively start to the game and it was chances galore in the first 20-minutes.

Troy Deeney rattled the woodwork with a bullet header from point-blank range, while Daniel Iversen saved well from a Tahith Chong left-footed drive.

For North End, Josh Earl broke into the box and couldn't quite force his effort in at the near post, with Matija Sarkic getting down to keep it out

The biggest chance of the half though fell to Emil Riis just after the half-hour mark, when Sepp van den Berg slipped him through on goal only for the Dane's right-footed shot to be saved by Sarkic.

PNE made the brighter start to the second half but it was the home side who carved out the biggest chance after the restart.

Jeremie Bela was slipped in down the left and his cross was almost put into his own net by Andrew Hughes, but Ben Whiteman was there to clear before Iversen saved Maxime Colin's follow-up shot brilliantly.

That proved to be the final piece of real goalmouth action as North End huffed and puffed but never really carved out a clear-cut opportunity in the second half
Here are our post-match player ratings.

Starting XI
Daniel Iversen - 8

One big save in either half to deny Chong and then Colin. Stood tall and commanded his box when it was needed.

Jordan Storey - 7

A solid shift from him. Deeney got the better of him a few times but that was bound to happen. Over the piece, defended properly and fought hard.

Patrick Bauer - 6

Booked for bringing down Hogan in the first half and didn't get across to Chong in the first half, but didn't do much wrong overall. Won headers, kept it simple and defended his box.

Andrew Hughes - 6

Kept going after receiving treatment around the hour-mark and battled away until the final whistle. Another 90 in the tank from him and a clean sheet.

Sepp van den Berg - 6

Didn't quite get it going in the final third as much as we have seen from him in other games. Was solid at the other end though and made sure he wasn't caught out.

Ben Whiteman - 6

Probably not the most enjoyable game for him to play in. Created a chance for Maguire in the first-half but wasn't able to get his foot on the ball and it was pretty scrappy in the middle of the park.

Ryan Ledson - 6

Could've done with a bit more composure from him on the ball but the game never really became that type. Scrapped away and gave it his all in there but lacked the creativity & execution of pass we have seen from him this season.

Josh Earl - 7

As good as anyone in North End's team really. Offered a threat on a couple of occasions in the final third and went close to scoring the opening goal in the first half, but saw his effort well kept out by Sarkic. Improving defensively too.

Daniel Johnson - 6

Won the ball back high up the pitch on a couple of occasions but his passes didn't quite carve out the big chances he was looking to. Cut a frustrated figure at times given the type of game it was. Kept working hard throughout.

Emil Riis - 5

Had a big first-half chance which he will have been disappointed not to do better with. Linked it well a couple of times up there and threatened a tad, but didn't quite happen for him over the piece today. Lost it cheaply early on which led to Deeney's big chance.

Sean Maguire - 6

Picked the pockets of the defender's in the first half and made himself a nuisance. Also charged down a kick from Sarkic which nearly ended up in the net. Drifted out of the game in the second half and was replaced on 70 minutes.

Substitutes
Josh Murphy - 6

More minutes than he has been getting today, off the bench. Showcased his pace and willingness to run in behind. Dribbled well down the left, carrying the ball 30 yards or so before almost playing it in to Riis. An outing to build on.

Ali McCann - 7

Combative 20 minutes from him. Got stuck into tackles and duels after coming on to the pitch and kept the ball moving at pace. Might be time to give him a start.

Brad Potts - 5

Brought on for the final few minutes and put himself about.

 

Apart from the first 10 minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half this was a ale house slog fest take a point move on

 

Reads like it. But certain players played well: Maguire, Whiteman, the back 3 and Iversen, and Earl. Look forward to giving Stoke a thrashing!