Blues v Forest - Match Ratings and Reflections

In front of a packed stadium, a sight scarcely seen nowadays at St Andrews, Blues huffed and puffed to a 0-0 draw against high-flying Nottingham Forest. Despite what the scoreline may suggest, it was a decent game with chances at either end, though Blues had the best of these. The referee proved to be the main talking point - odd decisions throughout the game culminating in a red card for Forest number 9 Darius Henderson; though for my money, that was the easiest decision he will make. Henderson clattered Paul Robinson dangerously and, at least in my opinion, rightly saw red.

Neither team will be too disappointed at the final scoreline, given Blues' impressive unbeaten run and Forest's league position. A clean sheet for the previously shaky Blues defence will be greatly appreciated by the 'keeper and indeed, the manager.

Here are my match ratings:

Randolph: Generally he was assured and confident when dealing with the threat that Forest posed, which admittedly was quite small. They had one header cleared off the line but were fairly limited really, despite having probably the lion's share of possession. He did have one headrush moment, charging out to meet an attacker but cleanly taking him out. A rare moment of poor decision making from the otherwise composed goalkeeper. 6 out of 10.

Caddis: Going forward, Paul Caddis must be amongst the best full backs in the division. His drive and link-up with Burke is admirable and he is a key player in an attacking sense for us. He can be found out defensively sometimes but I thought today he played very well. He faded towards the end of the game, as did Burke, but this doesn't mean he played badly. He was marking a very good winger in Djamel Abdoun and whilst there were times when he struggled, this is understandable given the pedigree of the player. 7 out of 10.

Bartley: An assured performance from the young centre-half; probably his best in blue and white. Played similarly to Curtis Davies did for us 2 years ago - strong, decisive and athletic. He showed today why he was so highly rated by Arsenal and Swansea and hopefully he can build on this impressive performance to become a Premier League level centre-half, which judging by this performance, he can. 8 out of 10 *MOTM*

Burn: A slightly less assured, but still solid, performance from the towering defender. He had some issues with the high balls but generally cleaned up well and read the game cleverly. He looked more composed on the ball than in previous weeks, though that is not much of a feat. All in all, a solid enough performance from a defender who has made a few mistakes this year but shown the mental toughness to get over them. 7 out of 10.

Robinson: Robinson is not a left back any more. He doesn't have the pace or the attacking impetus to play there. Having said that, he is an assured defender and is rarely caught out, unless it is by a particularly quick and nimble winger: Jamie Mackie is neither and struggled to get past the Blues captain. A solid, typical Robinson performance, though we must be careful against better wingers. 7 out of 10.

Adeyemi: I have sung Adeyemi's praises all season and he has been fantastic, though today he was fairly average. His energy and distribution where not at the levels that they were a month ago. He missed a few tackles and was caught out of position once or twice. It could be to do with fatigue - he has been nearly ever-present when fit and maybe needs a rest. Not a bad performance per se, but we've come to expect better from him. 6 out of 10.

Lee: A surprise package it seems this season. Olly Lee has looked like a much better player than his pedigree would suggest. It's difficult to see why this guy was released by Barnet: he is very calm on the ball, distributes well and can tackle as well if needed. He's like an extremely low budget Michael Carrick, in terms of playstyle. He was very impressive today, keeping us ticking along and in the first half helping us play passing football, a rare sight at Blues. 8 out of 10.

Burke: In the first half, Burke was definitely a contender for man of the match, but he faded a lot in the second half. This coincided with the left-back going off after being terrorised by Burke and Caddis. He should have had an assist, with a delicious cross that somehow, Zigic didn't get on the end of. Similarly, Burke whipped in a cross for the big Serb in the second half, who appeared to be hauled down, but the ref waved play on. He also forced a terrific save from the Forest 'keeper with a left-footed drive from 25 yards. He was a joy to watch in the first half; in the second, slightly lacklustre. 7 out of 10.

Lingard: Our most influential attacking threat, though he can go missing. Today, I thought he found space between the midfield and opposition defence very well and played some nice balls, but generally the end product was not there today. This will happen from time to time and he is still young, but it was not his best performance. 6 out of 10.

Shinnie: Ineffective is an understatement. He was slow, predictable and added nothing. He is being played out of position, so deserves some sympathy, but he was not good enough today. Unfortunately, there have been too many occasions where he has not been great this season. 4 out of 10.

Zigic: My god, what does he have to do to get a free-kick? Consistently fouled by the centre-halfs, the lovable lump struggled to make an impact, but should have buried a chance put on a silver platter for him by Burke. He might have had a penalty too, being pulled back and blocked off as he tried to reach another Burke cross, but again, the referee's incompetence hindered him. Not his best performance, but not helped by the referee. 6 out of 10.

Gray: Whenever he has played previously, Gray has looked confident and like a real prospect, but today looked scared and sloppy in possession. Hopefully, this is just an effect of his age and he can grow into a terrific player for Blues, but he was poor in his brief role today. 5 out of 10.

McLean: I'm not entirely sure what he adds to the team. Yes he's quick, but on the one occasion he got through he checked back and played a useless pass to Gray, who could do little with it. At this moment in time, he doesn't look all that. 5 out of 10.