Once again, it’s a last day of the season relegation battle for Blues only this time it’s hard mode; starting from the bottom three. A draw with Huddersfield all but condemned the Terriers to relegation but also means that even a win might not be enough for Blues next weekend if the results don’t go right.
Tuesday night saw Birmingham City hold their second Open House event which carried the theme of “Ambition”. The event was an opportunity for Chairman Tom Wagner and CEO Garry Cook to share plans for the club over the next five or six seasons including the outline of the move to the Birmingham Wheels Site.
The worst kept secret in football was confirmed at midnight last night when Birmingham City made the announcement on their official website that owners Knighthead have acquired the 48-acre former Birmingham Wheels site.
On Thursday afternoon councillors on Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Committee for property will meet to discuss and potentially accept a report to sell a chunk of land in Bordesley to an outside party. While there has been no official confirmation as to who the purchaser of the land is, it has been widely reported that it is Birmingham City who are to buy the land for the purpose of a new stadium.
Late on Tuesday evening Birmingham City confirmed that Gary Rowett has been appointed as interim manager for the remainder of the 2023/24 season. The decision was taken by Blues after it was confirmed that Tony Mowbray was to take a formal medical leave of absence until the start of pre-season 2024/25.
As Birmingham City enter the March break it feels almost a miracle that they remain outside of the relegation zone. A horror show of an error from Emanuel Aiwu gave away the only goal of the game in a 1-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday, and Blues only remain outside the bottom three due to Huddersfield’s failure to get more than a goalless draw out of bottom club Rotherham.
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.
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.
