Jon McCarthy backs Alex McLeish to take Birmingham City to greater heights
Mar 18 2010 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Post
Jon McCarthy never got to play in the Premier League with Birmingham City.
He was one of the players who, as a ‘bridge’, got the club to the verge, taking them on from the Barry Fry days to Trevor Francis’s reign of near misses and Steve Bruce’s early tenure.
But now McCarthy is taking a vicarious pleasure from Blues’ best season potentially for 54 years as a radio pundit.
He has watched every game as sidekick to 1152 am/Brmb’s Tom Ross and has forged a reputation as an astute analyst. McCarthy has enjoyed what he has seen and predicts a rosy future for Blues under manager Alex McLeish.
“Alex McLeish, I think, has the potential to build something here,” said McCarthy, the former Northern Ireland international winger.
‘‘You look at him as the manager and is this the start of an empire? Or the start of something David Moyes has done at Everton, along those lines?
“At Birmingham’s level, we’re not Man United in terms of size or Chelsea in terms of money and stuff.
‘‘But could he start to build some real consistency?
“And then if you establish yourselves at that kind of Everton standard – with the backing Birmingham have got now financially – could we gradually, over time, put ourselves in a position where we do regularly buy £8 million – £10 million player every season?
“If you do that, then eventually you get more quality and the squad strengthens and strengthens. I think we have got the man in charge how is sensible enough to make those decisions.
