Being unbeaten at home for one of the smaller Premiership sides is something that should always be celebrated but at Birmingham City, things are never that simple. They have now equaled the clubs longest unbeaten home record of 18 games, it hides another story entirely. Now, 6 games in, the club have 7 points and sit mid-table but once again, the crowd was just over 2/3rds of the capacity.Fingers could be pointed towards the Wigan fans, not known for their travelling exploits yet that doesn’t cover it every other week.

City have had something of a stand off with the previous owners, when prices were kept at Premiership prices following relegation. A perceived lack of entertainment added to the fans frustration and despite a return to the top tier and the club being sold to Carson Yeung, attendances still leave the ground looking bare in certain areas. Despite the 18 game unbeaten home run, Birmingham have only won 2 of their last 12 Premiership matches.

Fans frustration can often be judged on what we call the George Graham formula. An often repeated mantra by fans who stop going is the lack of real football being played. This attitude is then criticised by others, who will often use George Graham’s period at Arsenal as proof of success over entertainment. The feeling is that if you win matches, then fans will come to see the team but as Birmingham City’s fans have proved over the last few seasons, it’s not necessarily true.

Of course, playing wide open attacking football gets the fans off their feet but it does leave you open to counter attacks. Against the better Premiership sides, this is akin to soccer suicide, offering the opportunity for the Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s to run riot. Crucially for promoted sides, keeping it tight, especially away from home can be all the difference. Yet, as Derby County showed under both Billy Davies and Paul Jewell, using those tactics doesn’t necessarily negate better sides.

After Liverpool had dismantled a Derby County side 6-0 who were playing what seemed to be a 5-5-0 formation, rather than the 4-5-1 it was supposed to be, fans were harsh towards the tactics. The feeling that by playing for a draw, they’d invited defeat left a bitter taste in the mouth. They were getting hammered and Davies kept to a tactical plan that clearly wasn’t working.

Birmingham yesterday entertained Wigan Athletic and played Cameron Jerome up front as a lone striker for an hour. I appreciate that using Hleb and Bowyer to bomb on as support helps but everyone seems to be playing 4-3-3 with just one striker and no wingers. Safety first at home against Wigan Athletic? Come on Alex Mcleish, show the fans some credit.

Birmingham City fans would be right in feeling that playing at home against anyone apart from the top 6, the side should at least show a little more attacking invention. No-one is expecting a side to go gung ho, but really, games like this are what keeps sides up in the Premiership, not what they achieve against the big clubs. The fans, as they did yesterday at St. Andrews, have a right to make their frustrations known.

If the fans begin to chant a formation or simply don’t bother turning up should tell you all you need to know. Alex Mcleish has been around football long enough to appreciate the fans concerns but yesteray had 3 strikers on the bench. For me, Birmingham’s best results in the last couple of seasons have been when they’ve gone with at least two strikers up front, rather than looking to negate the opposition.

The World Cup was full of sides playing a 4-3-3 system that employed wingers and strikers that could drop back when defending. Unfortunately, the new season has seen plenty of sides simply revert to a 4-5-1 and no option for width and balance. By replacing the attacking options with the safety first choice, the fans vote with their feet and their voices and no amount of unbeaten games will change that.

The frustration is born from playing so negatively against sides they consider at best, equals that they stop attending. When you’re only charging a top price of £34 for an adult ticket, cheap by comparison to some in the Premiership, you’d look to be selling out every home game. With almost 8,000 empty seats, that clearly isn’t the case. It may be value for money, but for some it certainly doesn’t represent entertainment value for the Birmingham fans.

So Alexander Hleb has moved from Arsenal to Barcelona in a £11.9m transfer. While some Arsenal fans may fret about the loss, I’m not worried.

To me, Hleb isn’t a huge loss. When I first saw him play for the Gunners in a friendly match in the summer of 2005, I immediately liked the player and saw massive potential in him. He was breath of fresh air at the time. Unfortunately, though, he never quite lived up to his potential. Sure, he was an integral part of Arsenal’s squad but he lacked consistency. And, more importantly, he lacked the killer goalscoring touch knocking in just seven goals in his history with Arsenal.

Hleb’s departure from Arsenal to Barcelona reminds me of another foreigner who played in England and then was signed by a Spanish club. That man is former Arjen Robben who was signed by Real Madrid from Chelsea and was another naturally gifted winger, like Hleb.

Robben was another player that rose to prominence in England, showed flashes of brilliance but never quite achieved the top level of his game. In Madrid, Robben has fought his way into the side and scored four goals last season, which helped him contribute to Real’s 31st Spanish title in their history.

In the battle between Spain and England to acquire the best talent from around the world, the loss of Hleb and Robben doesn’t leave a gaping void in the Premier League. Both Hleb and Robben are replaceable. Arsenal’s new signing Samir Nasri will slot into the hole left by Hleb.

That said, it was a pleasure to see Alexander Hleb play in the Premier League. He was an important element of the attractive football that the Gunners continue to employ. I wish him the best of luck in Barcelona and look forward to seeing the Gunners take on the Catalan giants undoubtedly in a future Champions League match to see how Hleb has progressed after his move to Spain.

With Alexander Hleb’s agent orchestrating ice cream flirtations with Inter and Mathieu Flamini stalling over signing a new Arsenal contract, Arsene Wenger has urged his young stars not to leave the club for more money.

Both players were key components of Arsenal’s success early in the season, but tailed off–along with the rest of the team–toward the end.

Though both players would require replacements are they necessarily irreplaceable?

Hleb may be the best dribbler in the Premier League, but how much does he really produce?  He reportedly was a revelation this season, but his tangible numbers (2 goals and 5 assists) last season and (2 goals and 6 assists) this season are eerily similar.  He penetrates defenses often but usually lacks the potency to finish and the foresight to find a teammate in time.  Hleb is a fruitless attacking midfielder who offers nothing defensively.  If Inter make a profitable offer, it is hard to see how Arsenal are not better off employing Diaby, Denilson, Vela or another signing in that position and letting Hleb walk.

Flamini gave a fine performance this season, but his early form largely overshadowed the rest of his season.  He greatly improved, but it is hard to see how he went from probably Birmingham offload to indispensable talisman in seven months.  His workrate and effort are always admirable.  He is a very solid player, but he’s not an elite talent.  He’s not a pure stopper like Mascherano and he is not terribly skilled moving forward.  He looks great playing next to Fabregas, but so did Gilberto last season and so would many others.  He is a nice player to have around, but would his loss really submarine a title shot next year?

Arsene may prefer to hold on to those two, but neither is essential.

Want to enrage Arsene Wenger?  Try buying one of his young lads an ice cream.

According to the Guardian, the Arsenal manager will report Inter Milan to UEFA, after the club tapped up Alexander Hleb during the team’s trip to Milan.

Hleb reportedly left Arsenal’s hotel with an agent Claudio Vigorelli, who Wenger believes escorted the 26 year-0ld to Inter’s offices on Via Durini.

Vigorelli is affiliated with international super agent Vincenzo Morabito.  Morabito admitted that Vigorelli met with Hleb, but denied any meetings with Inter.  “They went for an ice-cream. We are sorry that Mr Wenger took it badly and complained because we have a good relationship with him,” Morabito told the Guardian.

Wenger signed Hleb from Hamburg in 2005 for 11.2m GBP.  He had been thought a disappointment until a triumphant turn-around this season – slowed down in the second half by injury.

He has previously been linked with both Inter and Barcelona.

Arsenal have a number of young mid-fielders.  If they can double their money, it may be a wise decision.