While Birmingham City played out a draw with Hull City in the race to mediocrity in the Championship on Saturday, more uncertainty has been heaped on Chelsea in the Premier League following sanctions placed on their owner Roman Abramovich by the UK Government. Watching things unravel at Stamford Bridge has got a few Blues fans twitchy wondering if a Chinese atrocity akin to Russia invading Ukraine could put Blues in a similar boat.
Saturday saw Birmingham City not only lose 2-0 to Huddersfield Town, but also two players to injury. Montserratian striker Lyle Taylor pulled up in the warm-up to leave Blues with one fit senior striker while Maxime Colin’s injury during the first half ensured Blues now have only one fit defender.
Tom Ross hosted a question-and-answer session with Blues Technical Director Craig Gardner and Club Captain Troy Deeney on Thursday night at the Meadway Sports and Social Club. Having been lucky enough to obtain a ticket in the ballot held a few weeks ago, I attended to listen to what was said and to try to ask some questions of my own about the team.
While Birmingham City won a good point away at Stoke City despite not having a single centre-back available, the club has also been busy off the field. On Sunday February 20, the club released a new update for fans, with news about the stadium and the appointment of Ian Dutton as MD amongst other things.
There are some things about Birmingham City you can take as absolutely nailed on to happen – because it’s Birmingham City. Face a team which has just been humbled by a non-league side in the FA Cup a few days ago? You can guarantee they’ll be on their game for when Blues come to town. Come out of the transfer window with only five senior defenders in the squad? You better believe you’ll lose more than half of them in less than two weeks.
Not long before Blues met Sheffield United on Friday evening, I met with the Labour MP for Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood to talk to her about Birmingham City. It was a brief meeting but one that fills me with hope that there may be some political help on the side of Blues fans.
Birmingham City published a post on the official club website on Friday morning about Club decision makers meeting with fans and press on the evening of Thursday January 20. While the cynical among us might wonder if the timing of the meeting had anything to do with recent social media campaigns against BCFC owners, there was finally some factual confirmation on what is happening with St Andrew’s.
On Tuesday morning, Blues fan and commentator Ian Danter took part in a live segment about Birmingham City’s current woes with hosts Jim White and Simon Jordan. Although Danter was passionate and lucid in his argument, it did become apparent that outside the Blues bubble not many people understand why there are #BSHLOUT protests.
Birmingham City crashed out of the FA Cup with barely a whimper on Saturday, losing 1-0 to League One side Plymouth Argyle. The final result might say that the Pilgrims won after extra time but the sad fact is a 4-0 scoreline in 90 minutes would not have flattered them. Yet the worst part of it all seems to be the number of Blues fans (including myself) who were just resigned to defeat and numb to the pain.
Birmingham City blew a 2-0 lead on Saturday to draw 2-2 with Cardiff City at St Andrew’s. It was a bitter pill for Lee Bowyer to swallow, with the Blues Head Coach admitting that his side weren’t good enough in either box. With 22 games gone Blues lie in 15th place, eight points shy of the playoffs and the same number shy of the drop zone.
