On February 27, 2011, Birmingham defeated Arsenal 2:1 at Wembley Stadium and won the English League Cup.

In May, they were defeated in the final round of the Premier League and their relegation battle fell short.

The club already had financial problems. Previously, the team owner sold 1.6% of his private shares and cashed out 3.63 million pounds in order to maintain Birmingham's European qualifications.

Relegation to the Championship means that revenue will be significantly reduced, and it will only become more difficult for Birmingham to maintain normal operations.

Later, although Birmingham successfully emerged from the Europa League play-offs.

But the third-line battle in the new season has only brought widespread fatigue and injuries to the team.

In the new season, in the Europa League group stage, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, we are only one step away from qualifying.

The English League Cup and FA Cup were also eliminated early.

Although they finished fourth in the league, they lost to Blackpool 2:3 in two rounds in the promotion play-off semi-finals.

Multi-front operations are the main reason why Birmingham failed to gain anything after being relegated to the English Championship.

Today's head coach Clark is well aware that the fatigue caused by multi-line combat on players' bodies will greatly affect their competitive state.

The team was eliminated from the EFL Cup early and reserved more energy to prepare for the league.

"In this game, the opponent will definitely seek stability, because three days later they will participate in the EFL Cup match, and the opponent will still be a Premier League team."

"What were we doing at that time?"

Clark's question made the players somewhat confused about its meaning.

After glancing around, he said slowly: "Of course we are lying down at home to rest. Therefore, in this game, we must fight without sparing any effort."

"Let the whole world know that it was us who defeated Bournemouth."

I have to say that Clark's words still had some effect and boosted morale to a great extent.

After he took over the team, team owner Yang Jiacheng was arrested by the police on suspicion of money laundering.

During this time, Birmingham City Football Club has been in administration.

Amid "internal and external troubles", Birmingham led by Clark miraculously drew a draw with their opponents in the last round of last season. With a goal advantage in the standings, they defeated Doncaster and successfully avoided relegation.

Rossi also played a role in their relegation battle.

The last round of last season was the match between Leicester City and Doncaster.

Rossi gave Nugent a screen and the latter went to the meeting alone. Doncaster had no choice but to foul, allowing Leicester City to get a penalty kick.

It was this penalty that made Birmingham's stoppage time equalizer without losing its original meaning.

Also sent Doncaster into League One.

Head coach Clark advocates happy football and is good at handling relationships between players and maintaining harmony in the locker room.

This is also an important reason why the club owner is deeply in jail and the team can still gain a foothold in the English Championship under difficult circumstances.

Now, they have an opportunity.

This is an opportunity that all English Championship teams want to challenge.

Defeat Bournemouth.

If you can defeat your opponent at home, it will not only save the team from two consecutive losses but also boost their morale.

In the standings, we can also maintain our top ten position.

The Bournemouth team will definitely stay focused in preparation for Wednesday's cup match.

After Birmingham plays this game, they can rest for a whole week.

While you are sick, I will kill you.

Clark would not let go of such an opportunity.

At the beginning of the game, Clark formed a 4-4-2 lineup and used his good wing attack to suppress Bournemouth on both wings.

Wing midfielders Cotterill and Noir, they run without hesitation, can not only attack Bournemouth's defense on the offensive end, but can also get back in place in time on defense.

For Rossi, Clark used man-marking tactics, and central defender Edgar began to follow Rossi closely after he passed half-time.

This tactic of using side suppression had very good results at the beginning.

The Bournemouth team strives for stability. Midfielder Sulman does not dare to press too high. Harry Arter also mostly moves in the middle to support the offensive from the two wings.

Bournemouth's two wide midfielders, Pugh and Ritchie, are not a breakthrough team from the wing. They pass the ball to the goal through cooperation with the midfielder.

When the Birmingham team saw that their opponents did not dare to play, the two wingers pressed forward even more boldly.

In the 3rd minute, Birmingham took the lead at home.

Cotterill took the ball and broke through along the wing. After attracting Pugh's defense, he passed the ball to the full-back Hall who was advancing forward.

Hall's pass reached the goal, and center Donaldson hit the goal with a header. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Boruc punched him out of the penalty area.

After missing the opportunity, Donaldson rubbed his face with both hands in regret and gave a thumbs up to his teammates on the wing. The fans immediately applauded to encourage the players.

The fans of the home team also secretly held back their energy, hoping that their team could end Bournemouth's unbeaten record.

After the ball was knocked out by the goalkeeper, it landed at the feet of Sulman. He looked up at the front end and without a good counterattack point, he knocked the ball horizontally to Harry.

This reflects Eddie Howe's strategic plan for this game, playing steadily and striving for control.

If Wilson or Stanislas is on the wing, Harry will not hesitate to use long balls to launch a counterattack.

Another point is that after the clearance, the Birmingham team's full midfielders consciously pressed forward to restrict Harry Arter's immediate release of the ball, thereby delaying the attack.

Eddie Howe also knew that the reason why his opponents dared to attack unscrupulously was because he did not dare to attack.

In order to prepare for the English League Cup, fast wingers such as Stanislas and Ryan Fraser did not start, and Wilson partnered with Rossi on the front line.

Moreover, these two people will also leave the field after the 65th minute of the game.

Without sharp counterattacks from the wing, Bournemouth would have lost an arm.

It is a bit unrealistic to just rely on a long pass from the backcourt to Wilson on the front line, allowing him to single out the defense.

Even if he can barely pass the ball, Rossi is not a center forward.

Under such a situation, the Birmingham team became more relaxed as they played, and the more relaxed they became, the happier they were.

If you miss a good scoring opportunity, your teammates will not complain, but will encourage you loudly.

If there is a defensive mistake, everyone will take the initiative to take responsibility.

The whole team was enjoying themselves and was very happy.

This is Birmingham football.

In the 8th minute, the Birmingham midfielder made a pass error under the pressure of the opponent.

After Gleason lost the ball, he did not counterattack immediately. Harry Arter easily advanced with the ball and passed a very penetrating ball from behind.

Rossi appeared ghostly on the offside line and started immediately.

[Luo started, he shook off the defender.]

[Edgar, who was chasing after, raised his hand to signal to the linesman that the ball was offside.]

[But the linesman didn’t raise his flag and the goalkeeper came out.]

Rossi faced the goalkeeper, took a step forward with his left foot, and then did the same with his right foot.

At this time, goalkeeper Randolph's center of gravity has moved with Rossi's leg swing.

Immediately afterwards, Rossi made a move with his left foot, and Randolph's center of gravity had completely moved with Rossi's leg.

Finally, Rossi used his right foot to push the ball forward to the right. The goalkeeper had no time to shift his center of gravity and sat on the ground.

[Beautiful pendulum pass, Luo once again used his special move, using an elegant feint to shake the goalkeeper. 】

[Luo was about to shoot, but Edgar, who was chasing after him, shoveled him, and Luo fell to the ground.]

[The referee blows the whistle, will it be a red card?]

[Oh, it was indeed a red card. Because Luo passed the goalkeeper and faced an empty goal, Edgar’s behind-the-back tackle was an obvious red card action.]

[The Birmingham team had to beat one player less than ten minutes into the game. This is simply a disaster.]
Chapter completed!