Flying high in the top half of the Premier League, does Alex McLeish even need to bother Mr. Yeung's money?

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Birmingham could be among the big spenders in January with Carson Yeung the new Birmingham City owner promising between £20 million and £40 million for Alex McLeish to spend.

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish believes that goalkeeper Joe Hart is ready to battle for a spot in England's squad for the 2010 World Cup. Six months ahead of the tournament, England boss Fabio Capello is still uncertain about his pick for the nation's number 1 jersey in South Africa. "I know .

As Brian Glanville opined in his book on England managers, it is perhaps the toughest job in football. As the founders of the modern day association rules football, the English national team has a prestige and it is the manager's job to protect this; to ensure that England remains at the top (or at least near to it) of the world game.

According to Alan Nixon at MirrorFootball, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is preparing to make a bid of £750,000 for Fulham defender Paul Konchesky. Konchesky's contract ends at the end of the season so the club might decide to cash in on him if they cannot work out a deal.

Bad refereeing is ruining the game. Another weekend, another round of poor officiating. Granted Manchester City deserved to beat high-flying Chelsea at the Eastlands, all three goals in the match resulted from incorrect refereeing decisions and that's just not on.

According to MirrorFootball, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish would like to permanently sign Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is currently at Birmingham on a season-long loan. McLeish said,

"Maybe we could come to some arrangement with Man City, if he continues to play to the level he's playing at.

Another crucial six-pointer awaits West Ham before the busy football period of Christmas and New Year's Eve. Birmingham and Bolton is next and the Hammers must bust a gut to beat these two teams. Could we get all six points against two sides who does not have the quality and ability that West Ham has?

UPDATE: According to ESPN Soccernet, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish said that he is planning on having talks with Jan Novak. McLeish said,

"Novak has been training with us this week. It is difficult to get a real good look at him because you don't get the chance to see him in a game situation .

UPDATE: According to Sky Sports News, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish admitted that he has not received any enquiries for Kevin Phillips and Lee Carsley. McLeish said,

"There have not been any enquiries for Kevin and Lee.

1. Love Is Blind, Contempt Lucid
Should I ever consider staying up ‘til 4am to watch such a wretched display as tendered by West Ham at the weekend, I'll do well to remember that I'm likely to derive as much pleasure from hammering cuff-links into my foot.
With my other foot, having just severed it with a plastic fork.

Alex McLeish has built the right type of squad to maintain Premier League status. After several consecutive "yoyo" seasons, the Blues appear poised to survive easily this season.

McLeish's strategy: combine veteran British footballers with one very special bargain buy from CONCACAF.

A quick glance at the Premier League table following the weekend's matches and you could be forgiven for taking a second glance in disbelief. No, I'm not talking about Liverpool languishing in seventh place; I'm talking about the team level with the Reds in eighth: the Blues of Birmingham.

You can't blame City fans for feeling a little queasy given their club's roller coaster few years.

It was a weekend that saw the race at both ends of the table tighten. Here is a look at this weekends Premier League winners and losers

Aston Villa
Make no mistake this was a huge statement win at Old Trafford for Martin O'Neill's side. So far this season they have played, and defeated, Chelsea at home and away to both Liverpool and Manchester United.

UPDATE: According to the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham want to permanently sign Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is currently on loan at the club. Hart is rated at around £4million.

December 9th, 2009 According to MirrorFootball, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish would like to permanently sign Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is currently at Birmingham on a season-long loan.

According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is interested in Shalke 04 striker Kevin Kuranyi. However it is reported that Kuranyi is most likely too expensive for the club to sign. While Kuranyi would cost around £5million, his wages are expected to cost about £130,000 a week.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is hoping to sign players to new deals whose current contracts end after the season. McLeish said,

"Right now, there are impending talks with some players'representatives ... Michael Dunford (chief executive) and I will get down to that in the coming weeks when we can have a good look at things and see which are our priority in terms of urgency and players contracts about to expire.

Manchester United beat a weakened Wolves team 3-0 at Old Trafford to move level on points with Premier League leaders Chelsea.

A Wayne Rooney penalty and a Nemanja Vidic header gave United a 2-0 halftime lead against a Wolves line-up showing 10 changes to the side that beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Saturday.

Have a friendly chat with a MLS Snob and one of the many criticisms you'll hear from them about the Premier League is that "Sure, the top teams are exciting to watch, but the bottom has teams that actually hurt your eyes to watch."

While in the past this was true, especially in the days when Derby County and Sunderland stunk up the Premier League, I truly believe the bottom half of the table has improved considerably in recent years, and most especially this season.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes insists that Joe Hart currently on loan with Birmingham City will not be joining Alex McLeish's side on a permanent basis.

The former Blackburn Rovers boss maintains that the young shot-stopper was sent to St Andrew's only to continue his development, after he lost his place in the first team to Shay Given last season.

Alex McLeish continues to work wonders with his Birmingham City side clinching an incredible fifth straight win lifting the club into the top six.

A brace from Birmingham City striker Cameron Jerome gave the midlands side a two goal cushion before Ryan Nelsen pulled a goal back for the visitors.

Mini match report: Cameron Jerome who I drafted into my fantasy football team on Monday; take a bow, son scored both goals as Birmingham extended their winning run to five matches. They move up to an astonishing sixth in the table, ahead of Man City and Liverpool.

UPDATE: According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City boss Mark Hughes does not want to permanently sell goalkeeper Joe Hart to Birmingham. Hughes said,

"We allowed Joe to go because we felt it was important that he played regular football .

The Premier League can never be accused of being predictable because, if it were, then the script-writer must be a drugged up maverick and the audience psychic. Birmingham City are the perfect case-study, sitting pretty in the top half of the table. Another perfect example are Everton, who finished fifth last season but are struggling at the foot of the table this year - the Toffees host Alex McLeish's surprise package on Sunday.

According to Pa Sports at MirrorFootball, Birmingmham boss Alex McLeish is interested in signing 2-3 players. McLeish said,

"January is the key for me, to bring in two or three players who can help us enhance the quality of the squad ... We will need them for a rainy day - if somebody is suspended or injured.

Image via Wikipedia Everton ultimately hurdled over the consistent victory for the Birmingham at the Goodison Park as they held the opponents to the leveled score of 1-1 draw. The hosts of the match were a little dominant as Diniyar Bilyaletdinov scored the very first goal of the match in the sixth minute itself.

Below the latest update for the list of English Premier League Managers for 2009-10 season: Arsenal: Arsene Wenger (France :: October 22, 1949 :: since 1996) Aston Villa: Martin O'Neill (N.Ireland :: March 1, 1952 :: since 2006) Birmingham: Alex Mcleish (Scotland :: January 21, 1959 :: since 2007) Blackburn Rovers: Sam Allardyce (England :: October 19, 1954 :: [.

According to Sky Sports News, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish admitted that he has not had any interest from Wolverhampton for midfielder Lee Carsley. McLeish said,

"I've not heard anything about Lee and Wolves ...

According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham are prepared to offer coach Alex McLeish a new deal if the club stays up in the Premier League this season. McLeish currently has 18 months left on his current deal. Acting chairman Peter Pannu said,

"Put it this way, we would consider it a disaster if anyone would come and snatch Alex McLeish away .

How times have changed in recent weeks. A month ago we were flying high and playing well and looked formidable. A couple of niggling injuries but that was about it, and Ancelotti rotating players to keep them fresh. Now we are struggling with injuries, not playing well and to be honest in the last few games I have been saying that we will take any kind of win against sides we should be beating easily and given our form at the beginning of the season.

Chelsea fans had a very bad time this Saturday when their favorite team had two settle for a draw when they faced off against Birmingham. The match was not evenly played as Chelsea was the clear favorite among the spectators but the team of Birmingham City seemed like a tough nut to crack. Birmingham's Christian [.

Alex McLeish's Birmingham City side continue to impress this term and once again come away from a hard fought game with all three points, this time the Blues came out on top at the Britannia.

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Birmingham striker is a true star The front says Fresh Prince, but the back says Newcastle Brown Ale. Birmingham striker Chucho Benitez has turned his barnet into a piece of artwork. Not that Alex McLeish will mind if the goals keep coming.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham coach Alex McLeish has not talked to the board about signing goalkeeper Joe Hart permanently in January. McLeish said,

"Am I concerned about his fee rising? Possibly but maybe a bigger club could have their sights on him .