The last week or so has been incredibly busy for Blues; a new manager has been appointed, season ticket prices have been confirmed and the new first team kit has been launched. While all of this noise is going on in the foreground, the new financial reality of League One continues to govern just what Knighthead and Blues need to do to remain in the black and on the right side of the rules.
One of the most exciting things to emerge from the Open House event at Birmingham City last week was all the talk surrounding the Wheels project. With the club able to confirm ahead of the event that the Wheels project land was secured, it enabled Tom Wagner and co to go into greater detail about what is ahead.
There are times when I wonder to myself why I put myself through the pain of being a Blues fan. Wednesday night in particular had me scratching my head as to why I let the results of a football team affect my mood so much and why I invest so much emotion in them.
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.
After having threatened to do so for a few weeks, Birmingham City finally fell into the bottom three of the Championship following a 2-1 defeat away to Leicester. A late Leicester winner coupled with an injury time winner for Huddersfield conspired to ensure Blues now lie in 22nd place, one point from safety.
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.
On Thursday afternoon, ZO Future Group (formerly known as Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd) announced their interim accounts to the stock exchange of Hong Kong, for the six month period ending December 31, 2023.
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.
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.
