Glorious Given worth his weight in gold

BY Manchester City’s spend thrift standards, Shay Given represents a mere snip at £7m (€7.8m) but Mark Hughes will surely struggle to make a better signing during his Eastlands tenure.

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper cheered Hughes, not to mention Giovanni Trapattoni, with a performance that single-handedly prevented City slumping to an embarrassing defeat at a dogged Birmingham.

Hughes has splashed out over £200m (€223m)in an attempt to unsettle the established order but Given is already appearing his most significant purchase, with this outstanding display merely the latest highlight of a luminous season.

On his 46th birthday, Hughes was gifted a first clean sheet in the Premier League for seven games, after Given performed heroics with three excellent first-half saves and then repelled James McFadden’s penalty after the interval.

Birmingham produced arguably their best performance since elevation back to the top flight and their only concern was the dismissal of Barry Ferguson in injury time.

But Given was simply unbeatable; on other days, and against other goalkeepers, this performance would have eked out a precious win.

While most of the hefty outlay from Hughes was spent assembling an armoury of attackers and a new defensive line, he will struggle to make a more significant signing than Given.

Had it not been for the former Newcastle goalkeeper, this result would only have increased question marks over City’s abilities to splinter the established ‘big four’.

While there has certainly been a marked improvement this season under Hughes, their failure to beat Wigan, Fulham and now Birmingham is not impressive for a team with such lofty ambitions.

Recent defensive jitters, so reminiscent of last season, have also surfaced and Hughes cannot simply keep papering over the cracks by pleading for cash to bring in new players.

Alex McLeish would have cast an envious eye at the extensive spending of Hughes at Eastlands only a month ago but now, following Carson Yeung’s takeover and subsequent promise to make £80m (€89m) available in the next two transfer windows, McLeish can dream about rebuilding Birmingham.

The expected sum of £40m (€44.6m) for the January sales is only a little more than Hughes spent on Robinho alone but McLeish has already compiled a hit-list of targets with vice-president Sammy Yu. With so much spending expected, the pressure is building on his current crop of players to prove they deserve a part in the club’s bright new era.

The response in their last game against Sunderland was impressive, but this was emphatic. City cannot have expected such a fierce test against one of the sides tipped to make an immediate return to the Championship.

McLeish had called on supporters to make St Andrew’s the hostile venue that became a hallmark of Steve Bruce’s early years in the Premier League and a rousing start almost caught City completely off guard.

Ferguson slid a shot narrowly wide from a good position before Christian Benitez struck a post with a shot that took a deflection off Vincent Kompany. Benitez is known as ‘Chucho’ back in Ecuador, which translates as ‘annoying little dog’, and he was constantly gnawing away at the visiting defence with his pace constantly unsettling.

But then Given took charge. The Donegal man denied Benitez with a sprawling save and then performed heroics to deny McFadden and Lee Bowyer from long range.

With Emmanuel Adebayor missing again, this time with an ankle injury, Hughes was afforded the luxury of bringing in £17.5m (€19.5m) striker Roque Santa Cruz. The Paraguay striker was paired up front with Carlos Tevez but it was Craig Bellamy who appeared the most menacing.

The Welshman was sent clear by Tevez for their best chance of a less than impressive first half from City, but he was denied a clear shot at goal thanks to an excellent last-ditch tackle by Roger Johnson. At £5m (€5.5m) from Cardiff City, Johnson already looks one of the shrewdest signings made by the three promoted managers.

There must have been a fear for McLeish that his side would pay for their profligacy but they missed their finest chance to inch in front 10 minutes into the second period.

A sustained period of pressure ended with Nigel De Jong handling in the area but McFadden’s penalty was tame, and certainly not good enough to beat a goalkeeper like Given, who sprung to his left to parry.

City produced a rare chance with Joleon Lescott prodding a shot into the arms of Maik Taylor but Birmingham still pressed, with Cameron Jerome heading wide from Sebastian Larsson’s delicious cross.

Ferguson was dismissed for a second caution, for handball, in injury time but McLeish has much cause for optimism before his expected assault on the transfer market. Hughes, meanwhile, is still finding that money can’t buy you success, even if it can get you a good goalkeeper.

REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 6: A little fussy with some of his bookings but got the big decision right by awarding Birmingham a penalty.

MATCH RATING:** Rousing stuff from Birmingham, but worrying times for Manchester City. Surely the likes of Wigan, Fulham and Birmingham should be swatted aside by clubs aiming for the top four?