Autobiography

Johnson and Paul Devlin (the Scottish
international right-winger from Sheffield
United).
The realisation of our Premier League dream
could not have come at a better time, because
had we not won promotion to the Premier
League in 2002 we would have been burdened
with a £3 million deficit left by the collapse of
the ITV Digital deal with the Football League.
Instead Birmingham City was back in the top
division for the first time in sixteen years, a
long time for a club of its size to be outside of
the top flight.
Winning promotion to the Premiership was one
of the great moments of my life. The
excitement, the thrill of it all, simply going
through the city in the open top bus and the
overall pageantry of the occasion was such an
extraordinary experience. I couldn’t resist
being on the celebratory bus ride and I loved
every minute as we drove through the city
where the police had closed all the approach
roads to the town hall. Tens of thousands of
people turned out just wanting to be a part of
this tremendous occasion. It was truly a great
thrill, and sharing it with my family, the
players and the fans was amazing. There were
so many memorable moments, especially
seeing my mum in tears of joy.
Suddenly we were among the big clubs,
looking forward to trips to Old Trafford, St
James’s Park, Villa Park, Anfield, Goodison but
most of all Upton Park. Our very first match of
the 2002/03 season was away to Arsenal at
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