Racing Club Warwick overcame Birmingham City’s under-21 side 2-0 in a fascinating Birmingham Senior Cup game at Townsend Meadow on Tuesday night. Goals from Louis Monaghan and Luke Shearer either side of half time did for a young and inexperienced Blues u21 team.
Once again, it appears that the only certainties in this life are death, taxes and Birmingham City in turmoil. A 2-0 defeat to Coventry City on Friday night mean Blues have now only taken five points from a possible 27 in the league under Wayne Rooney amid growing calls for his removal.
It’s been a few days since I published the first part of my reflections of the Blues Open House event held on November 27. Since then, Blues have gone on to lose to Blackburn Rovers away and draw with Rotherham at home.
It’s been a couple of days since the Blues Open House event was held and much has been shared online by various attendees. The event appears to have been a success and the general mood online has been one of happiness with what has been achieved so far and excitement for what is to come in the future.
On Monday evening Birmingham City held their inaugural “Open House” session, outlining future strategy to more than 100 fans present. Various senior management staff gave talks on how departments were looking to progress following the takeover by Knighthead, while Club Chairman Tom Wagner and Garry Cook also gave keynote speeches.
Another weekend, another defeat. Saturday saw Blues lose 3-1 away to Sunderland, pushing the club down to the familiar situation of 18th place in the table. As to be expected, the reaction online has become ever more toxic with more fans insisting that Wayne Rooney and even Blues CEO Garry Cook must go.
On Monday, November 27 Blues will hold their slightly postponed first edition of “Blues Open House” at St Andrew’s. The initiative will see 100 or so invited fans including myself attend a series of presentations about the future of the club along with a short Q&A session with Blues CEO Garry Cook and the leadership team.
On Wednesday evening Blues laid out their first actions in improving communication between fans and the club. Three initiatives were laid out including a “Town Hall” styled meeting with 100 invited fans; an official fan engagement programme that will have quarterly meetings with a selected fan group and a new official Blues Supporters Group.
It’s safe to say the honeymoon is over and interesting times have returned to B9. A second successive defeat for Blues to begin Wayne Rooney’s reign led to fans booing the team off the pitch and more wailing and gnashing of teeth online. Is this the next big dip on the football rollercoaster that is being a fan of Birmingham City?
As expected after a weekend of rumour, John Eustace parted company with Birmingham City on Monday morning, followed by his assistant head coaches Matt Gardiner and Keith Downing on Tuesday evening. While at the time of writing Wayne Rooney has yet to be named as successor, it is only a matter of time before the former Derby County and DC United head coach takes over at St Andrew’s.
