AA: The Big Game is upon us. McLeish has yet again managed to turn your season around with a run of 5 wins in the last 7. How do you explain Alex McLeish's success at Birmingham?
J&S: Well it is certainly looking better than a few weeks ago. I watched the 2nd leg of the semi with a West Ham fan and he said that the difference in that game is that McLeish clearly knew how to motivate the side whereas Grant didn't appear to do so.
I'm sure this is true, but the key thing that McLeish has bought into the side - is the "never give up" attitude. We have been behind several times and got back for draws or the odd win. The team clearly have a great spirit and play for each other. I don't think that can be underestimated when it comes to football. How many times have we seen teams with great quality not doing it, whereas lesser sides succeeding. Team spirit is vital.
Birmingham has had a few ex-Arsenal players over the years so I will ask you a couple of questions about our ex-boys. Hleb was our outstanding performer in 2008. What is your opinion of him so far?
I like him, he has quality and he is getting better in each game he plays. I wasn't there on Saturday, but apparently he was brilliant until the awful tackle that caused him to be taken off.
However he has provided a problem, because where do we play him? His best position seems to be "in the hole" but that means 1 up front, therefore losing a forward. If we play him wide, he isn't as effective and midfield is too far back for him to be effective.
It's a real conundrum. I actually think he won't play on Sunday and we'll go 442. If he is fit, he'll be on the bench.
What really happened in the Seb Larsson affair in January?
Ha ha, a question that all Blues fans would like to know the answer to. It appears that a transfer was all set up but Seb couldn't agree personal terms. Obviously he can walk out of the club in the summer and I suspect that is what he'll do.
When he plays well, he is awesome and he has had a decent season so far, but he does seem to be a mood player and there have been quite a number of games where quite honestly he was awful.
Djourou and Bendtner are now established in our first team but they had loan spells with you a while ago. Any good memories of them?
Bendtner scored some really important goals for us, and clearly knew where the net was. My personal opinion was that he was too greedy at times. He appears to be similar to Seb and have good and bad mood days. He can be a real handful when playing well, however he can also not play well. I hope it's the latter on Sunday!
How do you think McLeish will approach the game tactically?
I think he'll go 442 with Zigic and Martins up front. We have played 451 against teams like yourselves though, and he could do that - but I don't think so. If we are going to be successful, our midfielders will need to play out of their skins. Ferguson has been brilliant again this season and Gardner has played well especially in the cup matches.
I think not conceding in the first 30 minutes or even the first half is a good target. We score most of our goals from set pieces, so that will be important too.
And finally a prediction?
Despite Arsenal's result v Orient, I think you'll be too strong for us. 2-0 win for Arsenal, but I intend to enjoy the day taking my son to Wembley for the first time!
Thanks again to Kev. Read more from Joys & Sorrows about the final here:
