Birmingham City Vs Bristol Rovers, St Andrews, Birmingham, FA Cup 3rd Round, Tuesday 14th January 2014, Kick Off 7:45pm please log in to view this image Vs please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Birmingham City Info please log in to view this image Founded: 1875 as Small Heath Alliance Club Nickname: The BluesAddress: St Andrews Ground, Birmingham B9 4RL Capacity: 30,016 (all seated) Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards Year Ground Opened: 1906 Under Soil Heating: Yes Main Telephone No: 0844 557 1875 Fax No: 0844 557 1975 Ticket Office No: 0844 557 1875 Shirt Sponsors: Nicolites Kit Manufacturers: Diadora Home Kit Colours: Royal Blue & White Away Kit Colours: Black With Pink Trim 3rd Kit Colours: Pink With Black Trim Official Web Site: www.bcfc.com please log in to view this image
If Anyone is interested Have a VIP night out Fancy a special VIP night out at Birmingham on Tuesday? Rovers face the Blues in the third round of the FA Cup, and the home club are offering hospitality deals for away fans at St Andrews. Boardroom Club - £150 Per Person - Prime positioned KOP Directors’ Box seating - Private dining table in The Boardroom Club - Luxury à la carte five course meal - Complimentary bar throughout the day - Post-match man-of-the-match interview - Exclusive waiter/waitress service throughout the day - Match day programme and team sheet for each guest - Parking Pass for KOP Car Park Legends Lounge – £79 Per Person - KOP Directors box seat to watch the game - Pre-match 2 course meal - Cash bar facility throughout the evening - Post match Man of the Match interview - Fun prize Quiz - Match programme for each guest - Parking pass for KOP Car Park For more information, or to book a spot, email [email protected] Gasheads will be seated in the Gil Merrick Stand, lower level. The seating is unreserved, and we have been given 1,200 to sell in advance. Tickets are priced at: Adults: £10 Seniors (65+): £5 Students (with valid NUS card): £5 13-18 Years: £5 Under 13s: £1 Disabled tickets are priced as above but come with a free carer ticket. Any under 15s must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are on sale now and will also be available on the night. The Supporters Club coaches cost £15 and will depart from the Memorial Stadium 4.15pm at and Kingswood at 3.45pm.
Birmingham's defeat yesterday was their first loss in 10 games and only second defeat since the begin of November thought they were doing ****
I hope we get a draw. There's early signs of a recovery and the buzz a home tie will bring with the reward of a home match against a Premier League side would be good; and it will bring in some dosh. If it's a midweek replay we might get on the telly too and that would mean more dosh.
Match Info Tickets: Gasheads will be seated in the Gil Merrick Stand, lower level. The seating is unreserved, and we have been given 1,200 to sell in advance. Tickets are priced at: Adults: £10 Seniors (65+): £5 Students (with valid NUS card): £5 13-18 Years: £5 Under 13s: £1 Tickets are on sale now and will also be available on the night. How To Get There: Leave the M6 at Junction 6 and take the A38(M) for Birmingham City Centre. Continue past the first turn off (Aston, Waterlinks) and then take the next turn off, for the Inner Ring Road. Turn left at the island at the top of the slip road and take the Ring Road East, sign posted Coventry/Stratford. Continue along the ring road for two miles, crossing straight across three islands. At the fourth island turn left into Coventry Road going towards Small Heath. Birmingham City's ground is about a 1/4 of a mile up this road on your left. There is a small car park directly outside the entrance to the away end, but availability of space for cars is determined by how many away coaches are expected as they park in the same car park, which may mean for certain games that there is no space available for cars at all. There is though plenty of street parking off the left hand side of the ring road. SatNav: B9 4RL Distance: 88.5 miles Duration: 1 hour 36 minutes. Away Facilities: Away supporters are housed on one side of the Gil Merrick Stand, which is at one end of the stadium in the lower tier. There are Birmingham fans housed above the away supporters, as well as to the other side of the stand (fans are separated by plastic netting). The facilities and the view from this stand are pretty good. Last visit: Rovers' last visit to St Andrews was in the League Cup in September 1999 - the home side won 2-0.
Manager on tomorrow's game John Ward is expecting his side to be ready for tomorrow’s big FA Cup clash against Birmingham. Although Rovers go into the game as underdogs, the manager expects his side to give a good account of themselves. He said: “Birmingham are something like 51 places higher than us in the league, so it is another opportunity for us to go and pit our wits against a team in a higher league, and against players we only see on TV. So it is really good occasion for the team and the supporters. “I expect us to do well. I expect us to be ready for the game and be up for the game because it is our biggest game. “It is a little test for the Birmingham boys, to get their attitude right in a ground that might not all be open. “I want my players to have a go – if we win it is fantastic, but if we get beat there is a bit of glory still to be had, and we will move on to York City.” The manager knows that his team will have to be on top form to take anything from the game, but with confidence high, he anticipates his side will give a good account of themselves. He said: “We have to play better and work harder to be in with a chance of winning. ”We have done well in the last couple of games, we have scored four goals, so there is a confidence factor about that, particularly getting the winner as late as we did on Saturday. It stands us in good stead. “The mood is good. When you score and win, like we have done in the last two games, that justifies the fitness levels of the team, and when you are physically fit, you are mentally fit as well. “We are not grumbling about another game, that is what players want to do. I have a young, fit team hear raring to go, and they are in good spirits. “There is a lot to look forward to this week, and hopefully we can do well.” And in team news: “Mark McChrystal took a bit of a thigh knock, but he will be out there, as he is a tough old boy. Everybody else is fit and well.” Finally, the manager has confirmed that he is hoping to bring in a new face towards the end of the week. He said: “I am keen to leave it now until towards the end of the week. “We have got phone calls in and names and numbers, but we will get the Birmingham game out of the way. “If I can get a player in towards the end of the week, we do get an extra game or two in the monthly period.”
Although I voted for 'replay' in the poll, I have to be realistic and say that I don't think we've got much of a chance. Birmingham are a big club, at home, with some big players - Zigic, Burke, Lovenkrands, Ambrose, Mullins, Shinnie etc. They will have to have an off day and we will have to play out of our skins. I know there's a buzz and some guarded optimism around on the back of our last two victories, but we're 89th for a reason. You never know, we may spring a surprise but I'd be quite shocked if we did.
i said replay as i thought ward would go defensive and just aim to frustrate. think brum was struggling as well, we may have had a good chance of getting away with it.
Taken from the post....... http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristo...-face-strong/story-20436297-detail/story.html Bristol Rovers boss John Ward says he expects Lee Clark to field his strongest available side in the FA Cup third round at St Andrews tomorrow night. Rovers have been installed as firm underdogs by bookmakers ahead of their visit to St Andrews to contest a third round tie that will determine which of the two sides host Premier League Swansea City in the fourth round later this month. Birmingham will be without injured duo Tom Adeyemi and Peter Lovenkrands and have suffered from loan players being recalled by parent clubs to leave Clark with a pool of around 18 or 19 players to choose from. Ward said: "I'm not sure Lee has that many options available to him at the moment. I think he is a bit short on numbers to be making major alterations. You also have to consider that a game at home against Swansea City in the next round is a big one for them, too. They would probably fill their ground for that game so there is a big incentive there for both myself and Lee to play our strongest teams to try and win the match.” Defender Mark McChrystal is expected to shake off a minor knock to retain his place in Rovers’ starting line-up, while winger Alefe Santos has also returned to training after recovering from illness.
From Birmingham Website Clark on naming as strong a side as possible against Bristol Rovers... "There are not a lot of possibilities to change the side but I wouldn’t have done so anyway. I’ll be fielding a very strong team which will show how seriously I’m taking it. I don’t want to be one of those teams that’s already been involved in a shock like Leeds United, West Ham, Millwall or Doncaster Rovers that have been knocked out by clubs from a lower division. The financial situation in terms of prize money for this club could also crucial. There is a Premier League club at home in the next round which is a big enough carrot for anybody outside the Premier League." Clark's thoughts on the test that Bristol Rovers will pose... "I watched Will Packwood play a couple of times for them during his loan spell with them and I was at the abandoned game at Crawley. We had them watched in the FA Cup game that did finish and we had them watched again at the weekend. Our preparation in terms of scouting them, but also how we work on the training ground, is no different to when we played Stoke City and Swansea in the Capital One Cup. I expect a committed performance from Bristol Rovers team that’s got nothing to lose. That’s usually the make-up of teams from the lower divisions they usually give everything. But this is a game we want to win."
