Gronkjaer was fans' 'scapegoat': Gold

David Gold claims Jesper Gronkjaer was forced out of Birmingham by Blues fans’ negative response to the former Chelsea winger.

Manager Steve Bruce appeared to have pulled off a major coup when he persuaded Gronkjaer to make the switch from Stamford Bridge to St Andrews last summer.

But it was a move which failed to come off, and Gronkjaer struggled in the initial third of the campaign.

The Danish international made just 15 starts for the midlands club before a parting of the ways when he moved to Atletico Madrid last month.

Gold said: “Jesper Gronkjaer’s failure with Birmingham came from the fact that the fans gave him a bad time. The supporters used him as a scapegoat when things weren’t going well, and I had sympathy for Jesper that it did not work out for him.

“We’ve seen Jermaine Pennant come into the same position, and his first cross against Southampton provided a goal for Walter Pandiani – so he immediately has the crowd behind him.

“Jesper probably did the same thing 40 times when playing for us but did not create a goal – with the ball just going behind the players or they failed to put the chances away.

“The crowd got on to him. You could see a lack of confidence, and he was terrified if he made a mistake. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Gold reasons Gronkjaer needed to be feel confident in the position he played.

“If you give an attacking player a hard time they will play the easy ball. If Stanley Matthews had got booed he would not have been the great player he was.

“You have got to be brave and take people on as a winger – and on the bad days the fans have got to stick with you, because on the good days a winger can deliver that great cross which makes all the difference.”