Steve Bruce made one enforced change and one unexpected change to the Blues line-up. Damien Johnson came in for the suspended Gary McSheffrey, meaning that Seb Larsson switched to the left, whilst in defence Radhi Jaidi replaced Bruno N'Gotty in defence - I'm not quite sure why. Norwich played their usual 4-3-3 formation with Lee Croft and Darren Huckerby up top either side of Chris Martin, who's scored five goals recently since his move from Coldplay, in what seems to have been a fair trade.
Blues started slowly and continued slowly for 90 minutes. Early on Norwich were much the better team, and Blues' cause wasn't helped by the fact that their front two of Nicklas Bendtner and Rowan Vine were about as mobile as telephone booths. Martin - aptly wearing yellow, as per one of his biggest hits - lobbed over Colin Doyle's bar when he should have done better, whilst Huckerby was his usual nuisance self. At the other end Fabrice Muamba shot well wide and Bendtner flashed a cross across the face of goal that went for a throw-in. Yes, that's the best I can do on the first half, I'm afraid. Blues did improve slightly towards the end of the half, but not much.
Norwich took the lead early on in the second half after a Blues attack broke down. Huckerby picked the ball up in his own half and set off on a run in which he was able to watch everybody move out of his way. Well, some people moved out of his way, and then others went towards him and made the most pathetic attempts to challenge possible. It was embarrassing. Anyway, after he'd made up some 60 yards and watched people fall over in his wake, he shot from distance and Doyle didn't do enough to keep the ball out.
Blues had already had to replace Vine with Cameron Jerome, and shortly afterwards Mikael Forssell made his return replacing Muamba, meaning Blues matched Norwich's formation with Forsell spearheading a front three and Bendtner and Jerome either side, with a tight midfield three of Johnson, Larsson and Stephen Clemence. It didn't have much impact, especially as Muamba had been the main driving force for Blues in the first half. Norwich looked ok on the break, and started wasting time a little - Martin was injured and their physio ran on and said "I will fix you", but took his time in doing it.
As the game went on I kept looking up at the clock telling me how many minutes had gone - 54, 58, 63, 68, 72, 74 - each time I kept thinking that Blues would have a chance soon, there was still plenty of time. 78, 81, 84, 86, 87… surely we were going to do something? Norwich were as comfortable on the pitch as their lovely little family club is off it. Finally, with about a minute left Johnson, of all people, struck a fierce drive that looked to be going in but was blocked for a corner. Then in stoppage time, finally a clearcut chance! Jerome, who had been very poor, played a clever ball through to Forssell who should have done better but was denied by Tony Warner in what seemed to be his 183rd game against Blues. Is it just me, or does he seem to be in goal against us every other week? Jaidi also went slightly close with seconds remaining after he'd been thrown forwards, but it was hardly that much of a chance, and even including that and Johnson's blocked shot as "chances" is clutching at straws a little.
As Blues chased the game, their lack of movement and purpose was quite frankly very, very concerning. Only when Julian Gray came on for the final ten minutes did they even get in behind a full-back. Johnson didn't have a bad first half down the right (he also prompted most of the decent-ish things Blues did in the second half), but he doesn't beat full-backs so much, crossing earlier instead, a la Beckham, I guess, whereas Gray was getting in behind. Too often though the ball was knocked around in midfield and the lack of progress late on in a game, for a team chasing a goal in a big game that could impact on them getting promotion was worrying. There were very, very few options available to anyone on the ball.
Another worry, in my mind, is that although the defence hasn't been conceding much lately, they really look a liability, and when earlier in the season it was the full-backs who looked exposed, now it's the centre halves. Martin Taylor and Jaidi were both poor defensively last night, and their tentative, ambling styles did nothing to give Blues a sound base on which to build on - they looked nervous and vulnerable everytime they had to deal with anything, and that transmitted itself through the team. Don't laugh at this, but perhaps there's an argument for bringing back Olivier Tebily. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but he has more pace than any of the others, at least he bloody attacks the ball, rather than being so bloody tentative all the time, he's got more desire than any of the others and he's been used as an "impact" player by Blues with some success in the past - when he signed, he was a key figure in the promotion campaign, and who can forget that performance at home to Chelsea a couple of years back when his passion and desire ran through the entire side - we're desperately short of that too often lately. Anyway, it's just a thought.
Finally, on the players front, the decision to leave DJ Campbell out of squads is absolutely absurd. Blues have five strikers, two of whom cost several million pounds apiece, one of whom is a wonderkid on loan from Arsenal, one of whom is someone who got 19 goals in the Premiership once and is no doubt a high-earner, and one of whom cost a few bob from Brentford, used to play for Yeading and prior to that worked in a warehouse. Who's it easiest to disappoint out of that lot? The latter. Exactly. He should be happy with his lot, and that should be it - how dare he expect to be in the squad, nay, team, ahead of those other "stars". Forget the fact that the others have mustered four goals between them in the past 15 games, whereas in the same period of time Campbell has scored three goals (and barely started a game in that time, including not being on the bench for the last two games, being taken off at Hull after about 30 minutes, being an unused substitute a lot in that time, etc, etc). Forget all that, who needs him?
I love Mikael Forssell to bits, but at the end of the day, he hasn't been fit for three years - this is no time for sentiment and hoping he can reclaim former glories. Two goals in a reserve game does not merit someone being given the nod ahead of someone who's scored goals every time he's played for the first team this season. It is not the time, when you have ten or so games left in a season which is huge for the club to start gambling on someone's fitness, ahead of probably the best goalscorer you have. Forssell missed a good chance in this match, and otherwise was useless. Nothing personal, but he was. He shouldn't be involved again this season. Forget trying to get him fit - we're bigger than him. Let him have his pre-season and see how he is then. Don't mess about now, at this point of the season and exclude the man who is most likely in your entire squad to chip in with a goal here or there. It's disgraceful, to be honest.
I'm not normally one for all this "us travelling fans deserve better" malarky, but sometimes it has to be said. Around a thousand Blues fans took afternoons off work, spent bloody ages on A-Roads getting to the absolute arse end of nowhere, had to watch this "performance" and then come back along the same bloody A-Roads not getting home until 1am, 2am, whatever and then booked the next day off work too. How can the players churn out such a pathetic performance? Seriously, it was that bad again. Forget what Steve Bruce might have said in post-match interviews and take it from me - our first proper chance was in stoppage time. At this point of the season, in Blues' position, there's no excuse for playing like this every few games. You almost want someone to explain how it can happen - how can the players who have been so up for it for the past few games revert back to their Hull attitude, turn up at a struggling team, not give it a go and get played off the park? It was shocking.
Yes, other results went Blues' way and they're still in a fine position, but watching this you do have to wonder if they're good enough or, more worryingly, if they want it enough. The Albion game is now huge, because if they get a result against Palace before that, they'll come at Blues like a freight train on Sunday, and if Blues don't improve on this 450%, then Albion won't sneak a 1-0 - it'll be humiliation time. I'm conscious that it may sound fickle saying all this after one defeat follows a few good results, but you really had to be there to believe it, and if Blues do get promoted this season, by God, they'll have done it the hard way.