Autobiography

average in the nine games from the buy-out to
the end of the season jumped to almost
15,000, which boosted the season’s average to
12,328.
When I decided to join David Sullivan at St
Andrews, I admit I planned to have some fun,
spend some money restructuring the club, and
then maybe sell it on for a profit. It was not
about passion, not then. The fact that I had
been to Birmingham as a boy and watched
them win 5–0 in an amazing FA Cup match
wasn’t enough. It was just something I wanted
to do, own a football club, and here was an
opportunity for us to enjoy the challenge of
taking a club on its knees to a new level.
Towards the end of the season we actually
played West Ham, and lost 2–1 through two
extraordinary goals from Kenny Brown and Ian
Bishop.
In some ways maybe that defeat was the
turning point. I was sad that Birmingham had
lost rather than happy that West Ham had
won, even though they were on their way to
join the Premiership. I was pleased for them,
of course, but sad for Birmingham City. After
losing to West Ham we experienced something
of a roller-coaster ride. We drew with Derby,
won at Sunderland, then lost 6–4 at home to
Swindon in an incredible game having been 4–
1 up after an hour.
I say ‘we’, and perhaps I was already starting
to think in that way about Birmingham. You
start sharing the highs and lows with your
family, your loved ones, your pals, those who
295