Birmingham City v Bristol City

CLUB DIRECTORY
Chairman of the Board: Thomas Wagner
Board: Thomas Wagner, Garry Cook,
Matthew Alvarez, Andrew Shannahan, Kyle
Kneisly, Laura Torrado, Wenqing Zhao and
Gannan Zheng
Chief Executive Officer: Garry Cook
Managing Director: Ian Dutton
Chief Financial Officer: Mark Smith
Honorary Vice-President: Mike Wiseman
Advisory Board Chairman: Tom Brady
FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT:
Men’s Technical Director: Craig Gardner
Women’s Technical Director:
Hope Powell CBE
Men’s Manager: Wayne Rooney
First Team Coaching Staff:
Ashley Cole, John O’Shea, Carl Robinson,
Pete Shuttleworth
Goalkeeper Coach: Maik Taylor
Women’s Head Coach: Darren Carter
Women’s Assistant Head Coach:
Emily Simpkins
Women’s General Manager:
Sarah Westwood
Lead Goalkeeping Coach: Tony Elliott
Head of Physical Performance: Sean Rush
Chief Medical Officer: Dr Roddy Macdonald
Head Physiotherapist: Pete Shaw
First Team Physiotherapist: Dave Hunt
Academy Manager (Football): Liam Daish
Academy Manager (Operations):
Louisa Collis
Under-21s Head Coach: Steve Spooner
Under-18s Head Coach: Martyn Olorenshaw
Professional Game Academy Manager:
Paul Cowie
Club Secretary: Zoe Jones
CONTRIBUTORS
Editor: Thomas Smith
Words: Sharron Atkins, David Brown, John
Clarke, Chris Dunn, Aaron Flower, Tom
Keens, Jake Malbasa, Dale Moon, Andy
Tudor, Thomas Smith, Samuel Ward, Zach
Woods, Ignition Sport
Photography: Roy Smiljanic, Flynn Duggan,
Richard Hammersley, Jae-Hoon Jung,
Pete Lopeman, Robin Poulson,
Jonathan Sarabadu, Alex Styles,
Joe Williams, Getty Images,
Fotosport (Roger Parker), Rex Features
Printed by Stephens & George
Produced by
Ignition Sports Media
www.ignitionsportsmedia.com
lee.berry@ignitionsportsmedia.com
CONTENTS
8 GARRY COOK
10 WAYNE ROONEY
12 DION SANDERSON
16 2023 REVIEW
19 THE OPPOSITION
24 A DAY TO REMEMBER
28 EMANUEL AIWU INTERVIEW
36 JUNIOR BLUENOSES
42 MASCOTS
Thank you for your support this year,
See you in
blues news
43 SUPPORTERS’ MESSAGES
44 BIRMINGHAM CITY FOUNDATION
48 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL VISIT
52 BLUES WOMEN: HALF-SEASON
REVIEW
56 ATTIRED AND WEARY
58 MARTIN O’CONNOR INTERVIEW
62 UNDER-21S MATCH REPORT
63 LIAM DAISH INTERVIEW
COVER STORY
Today’s cover, on the Men’s First Team’s
final outing of 2023, pays thanks to the
Club’s supporters and their
efforts across the past 12 months.
Design by Dan Thompson
(@ddtdesignstudio).
Blues News wishes to apologise for the
incorrect squad list published in Issue 13.
CONTACT
Address: St. Andrew’s Stadium, Cattell Road, Birmingham B9 4RL
Telephone: 0121 772 0101 (Ticket Office, option 2 / Commercial, option 3 / Blues Store, option 4)
Website: BCFC.com
X: @BCFC / @BCFCWomen / @BCFCAcademy / @BCFCTickets / @BCFCEnquiries @BCFCCommunity
Facebook: Birmingham City FC / Birmingham City Women
Instagram: @BCFC / @BCFCWomen TikTok: @BCFC / @BCFCWomen
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 3