Tuesday night was a good night to be a Blues fan. The weather held off, the team finally managed to break its scoring duck and Tony Mowbray secured the first home win in the league for Birmingham City since November 25th. All in all it made for a good warm up for what appears to be main event on Saturday when Sunderland roll into town.
Another away defeat for Blues on Friday evening has meant for a nervy weekend watching results and fear of dropping even closer to the relegation zone. It’s also raised once again the arguments regarding the quality of Blues players available and how much blame can be pointed at them rather than the manager.
Transfer deadline day was a quiet one for Birmingham City with only Alex Pritchard signing and three young players departing. Indeed, for some Blues fans the biggest successes of the window were ensuring that Jordan James and Jay Stansfield remained with the club until the summer at least.
It’s been a few days now since Birmingham City have announced the naming rights deal agreed with Knighthead. Although touted as the largest commercial deal the club has done in its history, the deal is more than just about money. It gives us an insight into the true potential of the Tom Wagner-led ownership regime and just how big things might get.
Birmingham City announced on Friday what is claimed to be the biggest commercial deal in the club’s history. The deal, which could be worth in excess of £9m a year will see St Andrew’s rebranded as St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park as well as the Wast Hills training ground being renamed as the Knighthead Training and Academy Grounds.
Wednesday morning can’t have been a nice morning for Blues CEO Garry Cook to open his inbox, judging by the anger of several Blues fans online on Tuesday night. Small allocations and local derbies can quickly equal issues for those wanting away tickets, and the upcoming game against West Bromwich Albion is no exception.
Tuesday was a good day for Birmingham City. On the pitch at St Andrew’s, the team came back from a goal down to deliver Tony Mowbray’s first win as Blues manager, beating Hull City 2-1 and booking a fourth round FA Cup tie with Leicester City at the end of the month. However, on the other side of the world an announcement made to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange appears to be the next step in the final disconnection of Blues from the Far East.
New Year, same old Blues. A 3-0 defeat away to Leeds on New Year’s Day was evidently the straw that broke the camel’s back for Tom Wagner and Knighthead, with Wayne Rooney receiving his marching orders less than 24 hours later. Blues now seek their tenth permanent manager in just over seven years, as once again the R word hangs in the air like a bad smell.
It’s pretty easy to say it’s not been a great Christmas for Wayne Rooney or Birmingham City. Three games seen as winnable have resulted in just two points gained and barring 20 minutes against Plymouth the performances have been distinctly poor. With Blues now lying 20th in the Championship table seven points above the relegation places, has the time come for Rooney to be given his marching orders?
Despite all the work going on around St Andrew’s in recent months, there has been consistent gossip among Blues fans about the potential for a move to a new stadium. This has been fuelled by people talking about the redevelopment of Birmingham Wheels Park and the potential to build there.
