A brief moment of controversy came in the 54th minute, though replays showed there was little reason to think Robbie Keane's appeal for a penalty on Birmingham City should have been heard. A long ball into the box from Wayne Bridge was allowed by Keane to run through to Ben Foster, and when the West Ham attacker tried to turn toward the `keeper to make his play for the pass, he ran into Roger Johnson. Going to ground, the veteran attacker appealed to Chris Foy, to no avail.
West Ham United Vs. Birmingham City: Alex McLeish Makes First Adjustment
Still, the entry was further evidence of West Ham being the more ambitious side, something that's brought a change from Alex McLeish. Off the bench comes Sebastian Larsson, recently deposed from the starting XI with the acquisition of David Bentley. Subbed off is Cameron Jerome, the attacker having a very quite day.
The substitution moves Bentley from right to left, with Larsson assuming his natural, right side. Lee Bowyer moves to a more central position, where he and Craig Gardner will play on top of Barry Ferguson, holding at the base of midfield.
West Ham has also made one change, a like-for-like. Carlton Cole is on for Frederic Piquionne, with West Ham seeing no reason to change approach, still controlling the match despite the 0-0, 60th minute score.
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