Friday 24 February 2017 19:51, UK
What has gone wrong for Gianfranco Zola since his arrival as Birmingham City manager? It is a tale of tactical confusion and shattered confidence, writes Adam Bate.
"His pedigree, philosophy and ambition fits with what we would like to achieve as we move in a new direction," claimed Birmingham director Panos Pavlakis upon announcing the arrival of Gianfranco Zola in December. "Gianfranco has a wealth of top-level experience as both manager and player and we are extremely excited about his appointment."
More than two months on from the club's shock decision to dispense with the services of Gary Rowett and Birmingham find themselves in freefall. Pavlakis and his colleagues would have expected some fallout after such a controversial decision. However, they surely could not have anticipated quite how badly the transition has gone.
Having taken over a well-organised team that was only one point outside of the play-off places, Zola has overseen just one win from 14 games and even that was against 10-man Fulham. It is relegation form for a side that had been chasing promotion under the Italian's predecessor and the coach is left appearing increasingly beleaguered by the situation.
"You can tell me that it is not working," said Zola recently, "that we are not producing good results - very bad results - and I tell you are totally right. You cannot tell me we are not doing everything that has to be done. The amount of work that we do during the week is considerable and I can guarantee is good work.
"Unfortunately jobs sometimes, even if they are done in a good way - as I think it is - they don't produce results and this is the case." Zola has been calm in defending his methods and was reportedly in impressive form at Tuesday's question-and-answer session in the Legends' Lounge at St Andrew's. But the real answers fans are looking for need to come on the pitch.
Zola's approach has not been nearly so coherent in that regard. Rowett's Birmingham were far from the most expansive team in the Championship but it is increasingly apparent that the disciplined 4-4-2 formation that he deployed was an effective use of the talents available. The changes that have been made since then have not paid off.
Initially, Zola favoured one up front. He then dabbled with a diamond in midfield but that left them exposed away from home, most notably in the recent 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. In the next defeat at Preston, a half-time switch to three at the back offered some hope but that was dashed as the system was torn apart by Queens Park Rangers.
That 4-1 home defeat to a team that was on a five game winless streak of their own has added to the already agitated atmosphere at St Andrew's. Sections of the supporters booed the team and the rest were left to reflect on the changes that Zola has made to both personnel and tactics. The only conclusion at present is that the plans have gone badly awry.
Zola arrived as part of a five-man team that included fellow former Chelsea and Italy international striker Pierluigi Casiraghi and soon made noises about a more progressive style of play. "I look around and I see all the most successful teams, they play in a certain way, so I try to implement this," he explained.
But possession football has not proved to be winning football. Birmingham had 57 per cent of the ball at Norwich and were beaten 2-0. They had 58 per cent of possession in the defeat at Hillsborough. The fragility of the defence has become increasingly apparent. Rowett protected it and the team's more open approach has been punished.
It is a reminder that the team was overachieving a little under the old coach. Zola himself is likely to be aware of this and oversaw the acquisition of seven players in January with further additions already planned for the summer. But once again there are concerns over the strategy and whether the manager is the right man to get the best from those players.
Malian youngster Cheick Keita has made a positive impression but Kerim Frei, a winger with considerable flair, already finds himself marginalised by Zola's tactical changes. Are players really being brought in with a particular role in mind or is this a coach still searching for something - anything - that will work?
Against QPR, only four players remained from the team that beat Ipswich in Rowett's final game in charge. Ultimately, while others hark back to that decision, Birmingham and their fans must look to the future. The problem is that as Zola lurches from one loss to the next, that future is getting murkier. Defeat at Wolves on Friday will only exacerbate frustrations.
