Eduardo: Birmingham City's Reaction

The loss of Eduardo is a huge, but not devastating, loss for Arsenal. By now you have undoubtedly seen what we here have all seen as far as reactions go from Arsenal, via Arsene Wenger, as well as their loyal gooner army. You may have also seen the reaction of Croatians wanting to exact personal revenge on Martin Taylor. What you may have missed out on are the react quotes given by Birmingham City personnel and those close to the club. Step inside to see a bit of the odd, blame-the-victim, bizarro world that these people have cocooned themselves in.

First off, we have Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish. His initial reaction, taken from the tunnel after the game, is understandable. He jumped to the defense of his captain, saying that Taylor was very upset about the injury and was not a dirty player in general. I can buy that, and the stats bear him out. The red card given to Taylor was his first in eight-and-a-half years. Definitely not the disciplinary record of an out of control psychopath.

As Saturday went on, more footballer's opinions were solicited, and it seemed that those associated with Birmingham were eager to talk. Steve Bruce, BCFC's previous manager, went so far as to say the following, "He (Taylor) has mis-timed the tackle, and I've seen it. Some would say it is not even a yellow card." I'm sorry, but that's going too far. The foul was a hard foul with little to no attempt to play the ball. The only reason that is not a card is if the ref missed it. The foul itself is borderline between yellow and red, and Mike Dean chose red.

My favorite reaction (and I use that sarcastically) so far has come from Stephen Kelly. He says that Mike Dean only red carded Taylor because he had seen the leg break. Once again, I'm sorry, but this just isn't possible. Dean looked as shocked as anyone, after he had given the red card, when he looked over to check on Eduardo. Go find the video if you have not seen it already, you'll see. Also, to say that the red was produced because of the break is to say that Eduardo's weak bone structure cost the Blues the chance to play the game with 11 men. Blame the victim, indeed.

Joining the fray, goalkeeper Maik Taylor echoed the whispered contention that the injury was caused as much by Eduardo's footwork as Martin Taylor's tackle saying, "Eduardo has stepped across and he has just caught him." If it is true that Martin Taylor was just going after the ball, was in control and not lunging etc., how is it that he did not react to the movement of the ball and instead stayed locked on Eduardo's leg? As for whether or not Martin Taylor was lunging or sliding, I'll let this point of impact picture be my answer to that. One last point on Maik Taylor. Elsewhere (I've lost the link and therefore stand to be corrected if wrong), he claimed that he had a close-up view of the non-foul (in his opinion) as he was "right behind it". The foul happened at the center circle. As mentioned above, Maik Taylor is the keeper. Unless he was roaming Rene Higuita style, he could never have had such a great view. Quit lying to help your teammate.

The one BCFC player who seems to be doing his part in keeping his mouth shut is Martin Taylor. He must also be commended for making the effort to go see Eduardo when he was still in a Birmingham hospital to offer an apology. His record supports the assertions that he is a decent guy on the field, and his actions off the field back it up. Now if only his teammates (and Steve Bruce) could follow his example.



image courtesy index.hr