Birmingham City v Swansea City

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BLUES VS SWANSEA CITY

Chairman

Tom Wagner

Board

Tom Wagner, Matthew Alvarez,

Andrew Shanahan, Kyle Kneisly,

Laura Torrado, Wenqing Zhao,

Gannan Zheng

Advisory Board Chairman

Tom Brady

Chief Executive Officer

Jeremy Dale

Honorary Vice-President

Mike Wiseman

INSIDE YOUR

PROGRAMME

MEN’S FIRST TEAM

Director of Football:

Craig Gardner

Manager:

Chris Davies

Assistant Manager:

Ben Petty

Assistant Coaches:

Nathan Gardiner

Tom Huddlestone

Jonathan Grounds

Goalkeeping Coach:

Maik Taylor

WOMEN’S FIRST TEAM

Technical Director:

Hope Powell CBE

Head Coach:

Amy Merricks

Assistant Head Coach:

Chelsea Noonan and Jay Bradford

Lead Goalkeeping Coach:

Jon Ritchie

ACADEMY

Academy Technical Director:

Mike Rigg

Academy Manager:

Louisa Collis

Under-21s Professional Phase

Coach: Mark Kennedy

Under-21s Assistant Manager:

Danny Barham

Under-18s Lead Professional

Development Phase Coach:

Martyn Olorenshaw

Under-18s Assistant Manager:

Marcos Painter

PROGRAMME EDITORIAL

Editor: Ben Donovan

Words: Dave Bowler,

Dale Moon, Ignition Sport

Photography:

Richard Hammersley

Getty Images, Shutterstock

This programme is designed and produced on behalf of

Birmingham City by Ignition Sports Publishing Ltd.

Commercial Director: Lee.Berry@ignitionsportsmedia.com,

General Manager: Dave.Middleton@ignitionsportsmedia.com

Programme Design: Mark Stokes

Printed by: Stephens & George Ltd

www.stephensandgeorge.co.uk

ALL PAPER IS ETHICALLY SOURCED

4


08 Chris Davies

12 Ryan Allsop interview

18 Will Brazier column

24 Today’s opponents

32 Years Gone By

38 Cover Story

42 A First Time For

Everything

44 A Season In Shirts

46 Junior Blues

56 Official Supporters’ Club

60 Fan Focus

64 Blues Foundation

68 Blues Women

70 Blues Under-21s

72 Blues Under-18s

76 Next Up

5


THE BIG

PICTURE

Auston Trusty celebrates

his stoppage-time winner as

Blues came from 3-2 down to

win 4-3 in a dramatic Sky Bet

Championship clash against

Swansea City in February 2023.

6


7


MANAGER

CHRIS DAVIES

G

ood afternoon and welcome

to St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead

Park for today’s Sky Bet

Championship fixture with

Swansea City.

I would like to extend my welcome to Alan

Sheehan, his staff, players and supporters

who have made the trip.

It’s great to be back on home soil and in

front of our own fans having been on the

road for the past couple of games. Of

course, we are disappointed not to have

picked up any points from those fixtures

but there were plenty of positives to

dwell on. Our games against Leicester and

Stoke felt very marginal and unfortunately,

we ended up on the wrong side of the

scoreline. As a group, we know there are

things for us to work on and realise the

harsh nature of this division.

It came as no surprise to me how

competitive games are at this level. I have

spoken about how difficult this league

is and from one week to the next, you

are met with a different challenge and

will get punished for making errors. That

said, it is still very early in the season, the

atmosphere in the camp remains positive,

and have shown we know how to win games

in the Championship.

Leicester were a side full of Premier League

quality and despite falling behind early on,

I felt we dominated the ball and imposed

ourselves on the game. We were the side

pressing and probing for openings but did

not quite manage to generate those big

chances at the top end of the pitch. The

second goal comes as we are chasing the

game and whilst I hate losing as much as

anyone, I came away pleased with the level

of performance against top opposition.

Stoke is never an easy place to go and

they were full of confidence having started

the season well. We cannot afford to start

games as slowly as we did and it was really

unlike us to be as passive as we were

for the first 20 minutes. We concede a

soft goal, and that gives them a lift and

something to defend. We played with

more intent in the second half and largely

controlled the remainder of the game but

just could not produce that moment of

quality to open them up.

I want us to be a side full of intensity and

intent, and to be fair to the players, we

have been since I joined the club, but we

will need to demonstrate that again today.

When we are at our best, there is an edge

to our game which engages our fans and

makes it a difficult place for the opposition.

That’s what St. Andrew’s is.

It is up to us to make sure our mentality

and approach is right heading into the

game because Swansea will provide

another tough test today. They’re unbeaten

in the league since the opening day and

we will need to bring the best version of

ourselves to get a positive result.

We aren’t too far away from where we

need to be. We are building up well, we are

enjoying a lot of the ball and having lots of

touches around the opposition box, but we

just need to cause a little more chaos to

make our dominance count.

Keep Right On,

8


9


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of Birmingham City F.C. for the 2025–26 season.

10


11


JOYS &

SORROWS

T

ime moves on pretty fast in football

and we are already into the thick of a

new season, but it would be remiss of

us not to spend just a few moments basking in

the glories of 2024/25 in the company of the

goalkeeper who came down from the stands

that he used to inhabit as a kid in order to keep

the clean sheets that helped us complete that

epic promotion.

Some year, Ryan Allsop?

“It was unbelievable, you couldn’t write it. To be part

of that team and the history we made is something

special, but even more special as a Blues fan,

growing up supporting the club. I have had

successes at other clubs in the past,

but being a fan here, it adds that extra

edge.

“Winning the title and achieving all we

did last season was probably the most

meaningful moment in my footballing

career. Hopefully we can go on to do

something special again this year.

It's a long road and a very

competitive league, but

that's everyone's aim.”

Having been released by

West Bromwich Albion and

Millwall as a youngster, then

heading out to Iceland to prove himself

as a goalkeeper, there was vindication

for that long journey in the form of that

title and the place he took in the PFA

Team of the Year last season.

“People can never really prepare you

for that when you're setting out, the

difference between the highs and the

lows. Arguably, as a goalkeeper, you

WORDS: DAVE BOWLER

get bigger lows, so when you get moments like that,

you have to cherish it and take it all in. It does make

it all worthwhile when you have that sort of success,

something that probably will never be done again.”

Famously, Sir Alex Ferguson would watch his side

win a trophy, have a couple of drinks and then the

following morning, start plotting how to win the same

trophies all over again. How quickly did Ryan’s mind

turn towards the Championship?

“Probably too quickly, to be honest! You are always

onto the next thing in football because it never stops

moving. You have to try and make the most of those

moments because they don't happen very often -

I've been in the game long enough to know that. But

it is so hard, because you are quickly onto the next

goals that you want to achieve.”

There was a brief break to get away from it all

before pre-season kicked in again, but what was

Ryan’s summer routine for keeping in shape prior to

getting back into the old routine?

“In the off-season, I like to

completely stay away from

goalkeeping. I keep fit

with gym work and the

programme that we are

given, but in terms of

goalkeeping and hitting

the ground, it is important

that you give your body

a rest from that, just

because it is so repetitive

throughout the season

and so physically

demanding on your body.

“What works best for

me is to completely lay

off that in the summer,

12


13


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14


and then you are back into it as soon as you come back.

It takes you a week or so, but you quickly find your feet

again and then go from there. Having had that break, you

look forward to it again. It's important to reset your mind.

The season is mentally draining. It's a long time to be

working at it, so when you do get those little breaks like

the international breaks, you have to take a couple of days

to reset. But over the summer, it's really important that

you take yourself away from it a bit so you can come back

hungry.”

Hunger is very much the keynote of the goalkeeping

department this term. We have already heard from new

arrival James Beadle this season, and he made it clear he

wants to play as many games as he can. Is that a challenge

that Ryan relishes?

“One hundred per cent. I've had challenges my whole

career with different goalkeepers, different styles. James

is obviously a really top goalkeeper, he showed that in the

summer in the Euros, and in his career so far. It is a real

challenge to keep my position, he is hungry to take it off

me, which is all healthy. It shows that the club is going in

the right direction to have people like that in the building.

I enjoy working with him, enjoy learning from him, and

hopefully he feels the same. We have got a good group

dynamic with me, James, Brad Mayo and Maik Taylor, it's

enjoyable to work with all of them every day and take as

much as I can from all of them. It's up to me to keep my

standards high, to keep my place in the team.”

Once he got into the side last term, Ryan was a regular

from there on in. How did last term stack up against his

previous seasons?

“I think I improved massively. I always try and improve and

learn as best I can, even with the age I am, and with the

experience that I have. I always think there is room for

improvement. I felt like personally, I had my best season

and on a team level it was the most enjoyable season in my

professional career. I want to to carry that momentum into

this season, do my best for the club and make the people

around me proud, because it's a club that means an awful

lot to me.”

Ryan is 33 now, an age when plenty of goalkeepers are

hitting their peak, as Maik Taylor might well testify. How

does Ryan assess where he is in his career?

“I feel physically and mentally the best I have ever felt and

I don't see why I can't keep continuing the momentum I

have now. I want to keep improving, keep learning and keep

getting better. If I put the work in, why not?

“The club is on an upward trajectory, everything is positive.

That is something we can feel as players and something

15


16


that we want to continue. There are always going to

be ups and downs in the season, and the test is how

we react to them. Nothing is done in the first few

weeks of the season. We have to keep learning, keep

improving on the training pitch and we will see how

far we can go.”

Some pundits have suggested Blues might ‘do an

Ipswich’ and get back-to-back promotions. Inevitable

then that they were our first opponents of the

season here at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

What a night that was!

“It was an incredible atmosphere, as it has been

many, many times over my period at the club. That

was one of the stand-out ones, but I think the fans

have been brilliant since I've been here, the way they

help us. We went unbeaten last year at home,

and they played a massive part in that. It is

important that they know how important

they are to us in achieving what we did

last year.

“Hopefully we can achieve something

good this year, but I hope they realise

that they have an important part to play

in terms of sticking with us through

good times and the bad. We know

how the song goes, ‘the joys

and the sorrows’, but it is

important they stay with

us, just as it is important

that we make them

proud with what we do

on the pitch and the

results we get.

“You saw that

togetherness at

Blackburn. There are

times in football where

it is frustrating, that

is part of the game.

Blackburn was a prime

example. We dominated the game

and found ourselves behind, but we

stuck with it. We stuck to what we

believed in, the fans stuck with us,

and we got our rewards. I think that

could be the story of our season.

We need to stick with what we know

works, stick with each other, stick

together as a group of players, as a

group of staff, as a club, as a fan base.

That is the way we'll have success.

“The Championship is one of the toughest leagues

in the world with the quality of opposition, the

competitiveness, the demands. There are going

to be good moments and bad moments. We need

to make sure that we never get too high nor too

low and that we bounce back quickly when we

have a moment that we are not happy with or

disappointed with. It is not going to be a walk in

the park, not going to be easy. We know that. But

we will make sure that we are working hard and

doing the best we can in every game.

“Last year was unbelievably physical. The

Championship is arguably even more physical, with

better quality players as well. Moments really, really

matter in this league, games turn in a split second.

We need to make sure that we are on the right

side of the moments.

“Physicality is going to be a big thing for us

this year. I thought last year, teams tried to

bully us, and we stood up to every challenge

that we faced. I think that we dealt with it

unbelievably well. It is so important that we

take that into this season. We have to stand

up to the challenges and the tests and make

sure we're on the right side of them more

often than not. That will be a big element

in having a strong season.”

It seems a long time since

we were last at home in the

league, but the prospect

of a packed St. Andrew’s @

Knighthead Park is guaranteed

to have Ryan and the rest of

the squad tearing down the

dressing room door to get

out there once again and

put on another show for

the Bluenoses.

“It will be great to be back home.

We obviously love playing here,

that's self-explanatory. The

atmosphere and the crowd, we

really feed off them. Swansea

are a good side, they have

had a sound start to the

season, so again, we will have

to earn anything we are going

to get. But hopefully we can

go out there and get the

result we want and do the

fans proud.”

17


18


A VIEW FROM A BLUE

with WILL BRAZIER

A

bsence makes the heart grow

fonder.

It feels like forever since Paik Seung-Ho

sweeped the ball home against Oxford

United in our last home league game, and

I can’t wait to get back to a packed St.

Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

A lot has happened in the interim; the

transfer window closed with more quality

and experience entering through the door

and, like me, you probably got yourself

too excited about who could have come

through the door on that final day.

Partly spending too much time on social

media reading about potential sightings

of players at Birmingham Airport, but

also in testament to Knighthead. Our

expectations are high, so are our owners’

and after delivering Jay Stansfield to

us just before midnight last August, I

was casting my mind back there as the

clocked counted down.

To bring in Patrick Roberts and Jack

Robinson, and still be expecting more,

shows just how far we’ve come. I remember

opening a can of cider to toast the arrival

of Bernard Sun and debating if I should get

Adam Clayton on the back of my shirt.

The last two games have been tough in

terms of the opposition, being away from

home but also the result. However, there

are so many impressive traits that the

manager has demonstrated in his brief

time with us already, and one of those is

how he’s adapted in the face of defeat.

Last season, after not winning the previous

three league games with Shrewsbury

being the final crushing blow, the tweaks

and changes he made to the side saw

us go on an undefeated run in the league

from November to March. Now, the same

again would be absolutely lovely but we all

know the Championship - too well for my

liking, but I’m so confident our fortunes will

change.

It also seems an age since that week of

announcements, six signings in six days and

a calibre of player that stated our intent for

the season ahead - something I feel like I’m

forgetting already and it is only September.

My new best mate Tommy Mooney keeps

telling me how it took the teams he was in

five or six games to fully get going, so I’m

officially declaring today’s game the start

of the season.

Swansea City are in town and although it

was an away game, my mind races to that

last minute towering Auston Trusty header

to complete an unbelievable turnaround

in South Wales back in February 2023. I

was watching it via Soccer Saturday at a

pub in Manchester, unfortunately with a

‘friend’ who is a Villa fan. I offered to take

Trusty out for a steak after that winner -

he accepted but never took me up on the

offer. I wonder what he’s doing now…

That weekend brought the classic Troy

Deeney meme back out, “Villa lost, we won,

it’s a good weekend.” Same this weekend,

please.

19


20


BLUES

BULLETIN

We round-up some of the

latest news stories from

around the Club…

BUSY END TO TRANSFER WINDOW

FOR BLUES WOMEN

Birmingham City Women

completed the loan signing of Ji

Soyun in what was a busy end to

the summer transfer window.

The experienced midfielder

arrived on a short-term deal and

adds significant pedigree to Amy

Merricks’ squad.

A South Korea international with

169 caps to her name, Ji Soyun

spent eight years with Chelsea

and helped the Blues win six

WSL titles, four FA Cups and two

League Cups, becoming one of

the most decorated players in

the club’s history.

She is also South Korea’s most

capped player of all time,

featuring in three World Cups as

well as scoring 74 international

goals.

The midfielder came off the

bench to make her Blues debut

in last weekend’s 1-1 draw against

Sunderland at the Stadium of

Light.

Libby Bance was another new

arrival as she joined on a seasonlong

loan from WSL side Brighton

& Hove Albion.

The midfielder, who has made 43

appearances for the Seagulls,

made her debut in the 5-1 home

win over Bristol City on the

opening day of the season.

Elsewhere in the transfer window,

goalkeeper Poppy Irvine joined

Sporting Khalsa on loan for the

2025-26 season.

The 19-year-old, who signed her

first professional contract earlier

this year, will spend the rest of

the campaign at the Aspray

Arena.

Emily van Egmond left the club

as she completed a permanent

move to WSL side Leicester City.

The Australia international joined

Blues in January and made eight

appearances in all competitions.

BLUES WOMEN

CONTINUE

UNBEATEN START

TO SEASON

Birmingham City Women have

enjoyed an unbeaten start to

the season after picking up

four points from their opening

two games.

Blues kicked off the WSL 2

campaign with a fantastic

5-1 win over Bristol City at St.

Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

Simone Magill grabbed a brace

for the home side, while goals

from Lily Crosthwaite, Christie

Harrison-Murray and debutant

Batcheba Louis put the

gloss on a fine start for Amy

Merricks’ side.

They followed that up with a

1-1 draw against Sunderland

at the Stadium of Light last

Sunday, as Veatriki Sarri’s goal

earned the visitors a share of

the points.

Blues Women face Bristol City

at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead

Park on Wednesday night

(September 24), as they begin

their Subway League Cup

campaign. Kick-off is at 7pm.

They then return to league

action next Sunday with a

mouth-watering clash against

Newcastle United, with kickoff

at 2pm.

21


NEW EFL ‘RED BOOT’ TROPHY

TO RAISE FUNDS FOR

LIFESAVING HEART RESEARCH

F

ormer England strikers

Jermain Defoe and

Bobby Zamora have

unveiled the brand-new EFL

‘Red Boot’ Trophy, launched

as part of the second year of

Sky Bet and the British Heart

Foundation’s (BHF) Every

Minute Matters campaign.

The Red Boot will be awarded to

the top scorer across all three

divisions of the EFL during the

2025/26 season. But this accolade

comes with added impact: every

goal scored by the winner will

trigger a £50,000 donation to

support the BHF’s life-saving work.

Funds will help power CureHeart,

a pioneering research programme

developing treatments for

inherited heart muscle diseases,

while also training more people in

lifesaving CPR.

The campaign aims to build on last

season’s success, when more than

300,000 people learnt CPR using

the BHF’s free online tool, RevivR.

This year, Sky Bet and the BHF

want to grow that figure to half a

million lifesavers.

While the traditional Golden Boot

celebrates the leading scorers

in each division, the Red Boot

recognises the single most prolific

marksman across the league. Last

year, the honour would have gone

to Bromley’s Michael Cheek, whose

25 goals would have raised £1.25m

for the BHF. Early this season,

Notts County striker Matthew

Dennis and Swindon Town’s Aaron

Drinan lead the race with six goals

in eight games.

Fans can also play their part.

Learning CPR takes just 15 minutes

online with RevivR – a skill that

could one day save a life.

22


1

0

Saturday 13 September 2025

Sky Bet Championship

Bet365 Stadium

B

osun Lawal's firsthalf

goal was the

difference as Stoke

City secured a 1-0 victory

over Blues at the bet365

Stadium.

The defender rose highest

from a corner to net what

proved to be the only goal of

the afternoon as the hosts

continued their fine start to the

season.

For Blues, it was a frustrating

afternoon in Staffordshire as

they struggled to create any

clear-cut chances to test Viktor

Johansson in the Stoke goal,

despite Jay Stansfield shooting

wide early in the second half.

REACTION

“We knew it would be a tough place to come, and I thought we didn’t

handle that first 20 minutes well.

“I thought we were a little bit second to everything and that culminates

in them scoring a really soft goal from a corner and it puts us on the

back foot in the game.

“From there we grew back into it as the half wore on, and that

continued throughout the whole second half.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t make all that possession and dominance

lead to a meaningful chance, and that’s been a little bit of a

familiar tale in the last couple of games where we have a

lot of the ball but haven’t had that punch in the final third."

Blues boss Chris Davies

Stoke City: Viktor Johansson,

Aaron Cresswell (Eric Bocat, 90),

Ben Pearson (Tatsuki Seko, 82),

Sorba Thomas, Lewis Baker, Divin

Mubama, Ben Wilmot (captain),

Bosun Lawal, Tomas Rigo (Bae

Junho, 71), Junior Tchamadeu,

Million Manhoef (Lamine Cisse, 90).

Blues: Ryan Allsop, Ethan Laird

(Bright Osayi-Samuel, 59), Christoph

Klarer (captain), Phil Neumann (Marc

Leonard, 85), Alex Cochrane, Paik

Seung-Ho, Tomoki Iwata, Tommy

Doyle (Marvin Ducksch, 59), Demarai

Gray, Patrick Roberts (Lewis

Koumas, 60), Jay Stansfield (Kyogo

Furuhashi, 79).

Attendance: 24,676

(including 3,394 Blues fans)

23


NICKNAME: THE SWANS | FORMED: 1912 | STADIUM: SWANSEA.COM STADIUM | STADIUM CAPACITY: 21,000 | MANAGER: ALAN SHEEHAN

HONOURS

LIST

SECOND-TIER

PROMOTIONS:

1980/81, 2010/11

THIRD-TIER WINNERS:

1924/25, 1948/49,

2007/08

THIRD-TIER

PROMOTIONS:

1978/79

FOURTH-TIER

WINNERS:

1999/2000

FOURTH-TIER

PROMOTIONS:

1969/70, 1977/78,

1987/88, 2004/05

EFL CUP WINNERS:

2012/13

EFL TROPHY WINNERS:

1993/94, 2005/06

TODAY'S VISITORS

SWANS ARE ON SONG

he Swans have been moving serenely

through Championship waters in the

T

opening weeks of the new campaign, after

spending more over the summer than in any other

transfer window since relegation from the Premier

League in 2018.

With a dozen new acquisitions, the mission statement

emitting from South West Wales is clear. This term is

Swansea City’s eighth in a row at this level and only twice,

in 2019/20 and 2020/21, have they reached the play-offs.

Now with strength in depth and a more balanced squad,

City are hoping to make a concerted effort for promotion

back to the top-flight. Although Head Coach Alan

Sheehan, who took over in February 2025, still thinks his

side have more gears to go despite a six-game unbeaten

run prior to Wednesday evening’s Carabao Cup tie with

Nottingham Forest.

He said: “We work on a lot of different things and I still

think as a team we are simmering. We were really good in

patches today [against Hull City] but I don’t think we did

enough to blow them away, which is the disappointing

thing.

“We have had a lot of change in the summer. I think it is

foundations and building and consistency to help find our

top level.”

Chile international Lawrence Vigouroux, who kept 13

clean-sheets last term, has been ever-present in goal

this term in restricting Andrew Fisher to understudy.

The backline has also been unchanged. One-club captain

Ben Cabango is paired with colossal Australian Cameron

Burgess, twice a promotion winner with Ipswich Town.

Left-back Josh Tymon is a battle-hardened Championship

campaigner, once of Stoke City, while right-back Joshua

Key is now in his third term in SA1 after leaving Exeter

City. England Youth internationals Ishe Samuels-Smith and

Kaelan Casey, on loan from Chelsea and West Ham United

respectively, are summer arrivals with points to prove,

while 6ft 5ins Portuguese Ricardo Santos is missing with

a knee issue.

Central midfield is controlled by the unfazed Goncalo

Franco. The signing from Moreirense won the club’s Player

of the Year award last term and is pivotal to Swansea’s

upturn. He’s been alongside fellow ever-present Ethan

Galbraith in the engine room so far, the Northern Irishman

stepping up to second-tier football after two years with

Leyton Orient. Further boons include New Zealand cap

Marko Stamenic, who has winning pedigree with top-flight

titles in Denmark, Serbia and Greece, the long-serving Jay

Fulton and Sweden international Melker Widell.

Sheehan is blessed with a plethora of attacking luminaries

for his front quartet. The effervescent Brazilian right

winger Ronald has lit up SA1 with four goals in six

appearances, while BK Hacken recruit Zeidane Inoussa has

also got bums off seats with his direct approach. South

Korea international Eom Ji-sung is an inverted left winger

and dynamic wideman Manuel Benson has been borrowed

from promotion-winning Burnley. Another Premier League

loanee aiming to impress in SA1 is Brighton’s tenacious

teenager Malick Yalcouye.

Slovenian striker Zan Vipotnik has started 2025/26 in

blistering form. Something that has left last season’s

homegrown leading scorer Liam Cullen and £6million

signing Adam Idah, from Celtic, kicking their heels on the

bench. Alternatives include Scotland Under-19 cap Bobby

Wales and Wales Youth international Sam Parker.

24


LAST SEASON FINISH: 11TH IN CHAMPIONSHIP | LAST TIME WON AT ST ANDREW’S: 1-3 IN JULY 2020 | HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD VS BLUES: WON 10, DRAWN 14, LOST 19

THE HEAD COACH

ALAN SHEEHAN

DOB: 14th September 1986

Appointed: February 2025

Testament to the sterling job

achieved at the Swansea.com

Stadium is the fact that since

Sheehan took charge in February

2025 only Middlesbrough have earned

more Championship points.

The 39-year-old former left-back, most

notably with Notts County and Luton

Town, stepped up as caretaker coach

in February 2025 after Luke Williams’s

departure. A record of seven wins, three

draws and three defeats earned the

Swans a top-half finish, after taking over

in SA1 with the club on a dismal run.

A former coach at Luton and

Southampton before heading to

Swansea, his inspirational work in turning

around the club’s fortunes transpired into

a permanent three-year deal last April.

The amiable Irishman has been heavily

backed over the summer as American

businessmen Brett Cravatt and Jason

Cohen look to maintain the club’s upward

momentum, although Sheehan has

downplayed rising expectations, saying:

“Since February we’ve been a good team,

but ultimately we know that there’s such

a long way to go in the Championship.

“There’s a different feel to the squad

and I think we will be a different team

with different strengths this season.

My expectations haven’t changed. It’s

clear we want to be a competitive team

in the top half of the division. Putting a

timescale on success is impossible.”

THREE TO WATCH

LAWRENCE VIGOUROUX

GOALKEEPER

DOB: 19TH NOVEMBER 1993

BEN CABANGO

CENTRE-BACK

DOB: 9TH MAY 1996

22. LAWRENCE VIGOUROUX

The reliable 6ft 4ins gloveman had an eventful international

break by earning his first caps for Chile in World Cups qualifiers.

The 31-year-old debuted in a 3-0 defeat to Brazil then kept

a clean-sheet in a draw with Uruguay, much to the delight

of Swansea boss Alan Sheehan, saying: “Vigs has been

outstanding for us and he thoroughly deserves his caps. He

is a wonderful character and the sort of person who you hear

before you see. He is an integral part of everything we do.”

An understudy at Burnley, he was Swindon Town’s 2016/17

Player of the Season, then achieved cult-hero status at Leyton

Orient in picking up their top accolade for three successive

campaigns from 2020, as well as being a League Two Golden

Glove recipient.

5. BEN CABANGO

Synonymous with the club since the age of 14, the combative

captain provided Swans supporters with an early Christmas

present last December in agreeing to extend his stay until

2028.

The 25-year-old, who has more than 200 appearances for the

club, provides some defensive rigour and consistency to a

new-look squad on the rise under Sheehan.

The Wales international centre-back, part of the 2022 World

Cup squad, has a special affinity to Swansea, and commented:

“The fans mean a lot to me. I’ve been here since I was young

and the supporters have treated me like one of their own. It

means a lot to hear my song getting sung every game in the

corner, it makes me smile.”

9. ZAN VIPOTNIK

The Slovenia international has started 2025/26 with a

swagger and panache with a goal in each of his last four

matches.

The former Maribor and Bordeaux hot-shot has kept last

season’s leading scorer Liam Cullen and big-money signing

Adam Idah on the bench so far this term, as the stocky

sharpshooter continues to produce up top for the Swans.

The 23-year-old, who also scored for Slovenia against Sweden

during the recent World Cup Qualifiers, managed seven goals

last season in what was his first campaign in English football.

ZAN VIPOTNIK

STRIKER

DOB: 18TH MARCH 2002

And Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic, who managed the talent

as a teenager, confessed: “He’s a goal scorer who is very

dangerous in the box. If you lose him for one second he will

score the goal. That is his quality.”

25


WE’VE MET BEFORE…

4TH FEBRUARY 2023 | SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

SWANSEA CITY 3-4 BIRMINGHAM CITY

I

t was trusty by name

and nature as Auston

Trusty converted a

97th-minute winner for Blues

in a see-sawing seven-goal

thriller.

The Arsenal loanee headed in

Hannibal Mejbri’s corner in Wales

as the visitors twice came from

behind to clinch a much-needed

victory in February 2023.

Blues had opened the scoring

when Scott Hogan converted a

penalty on 14 minutes, only for

Joel Piroe and Liam Cullen to have

the hosts ahead at the interval.

The second-half fightback began

when Tahith Chong finished

smartly after Juninho Bacuna’s

defence-splitting pass. A John

Ruddy miskick gifted Piroe a

second for 3-2, before Lukas

Jutkiewicz’s diving header

restored parity on 90 minutes and

then Trusty earned us victory in

SA1 for the first time in 15 years.

City boss John Eustace told BBC

Radio West Midlands: “I always

said there would be some ups and

downs this season, but the one

thing we have in that dressing

room is fighting spirit.”

26


IVOR ALLCHURCH MBE

1947-58 & 1965-68

APPS 502 | GOALS 166

Revered as ‘Golden Boy’, the homegrown

talent spent 14 years with the Swans

across two spells, captaining the side

to Welsh Cup successes and becoming

the club’s all-time top scorer. The Wales

international inside forward, who was

leading marksman for four seasons,

served Newcastle United and Cardiff

City before ending a distinguished

career back at Vetch Field.

TOP FIVE

GREATEST

OF ALL TIME

Today’s opposition have an

illustrious history and we’ve

listed the greatest-ever players

to have represented them. See

if you agree with our selection…

ALAN CURTIS MBE

1972-79 & 1980-83 & 1989/90

APPS 412 | GOALS 110

The Rhondda born forward’s career

went full circle with Swansea, debuting

in 1972 and making his final Football

League appearance back at the

club in 1990. In between, the Wales

international earned three promotions

and made more than 400 appearances

over three different spells. Later firstteam

coach for Michael Laudrup, Garry

Monk and Bob Bradley.

LEE TRUNDLE

2003-07 | APPS 146 | GOALS 78

An extrovert sharpshooter with

the trickery to make defenders

look foolish, he held a monopoly

on Swansea’s Golden Boot for four

seasons from 2003. Amassing 20-

plus goal returns in each of his four

campaigns earned the Liverpudlian

cult-hero status in SA1, especially as

it inspired promotion and EFL Trophy

silverware.

ASHLEY WILLIAMS

2008-16 | APPS 352 | GOALS 14

The Wolverhampton-born centre-back

was synonymous with Swansea’s

success in the 2010s as they earned

Championship promotion, solidified

themselves in the Premier League and

lifted a first major domestic trophy in

2013 at Wembley with the League Cup.

The Wales captain earned more than

350 appearances for today’s visitors

over a nine-year spell.

JOE ALLEN

2008-12 & 2022-25

APPS 228 | GOALS 11

The box-to-box midfield maestro

enjoyed a fairytale journey with his

boyhood club, joining aged nine and

becoming influential in their rise from

League One to the Premier League.

The “Welsh Pirlo”, who guided Wales to

the semi-finals of the 2016 European

Championships, served Liverpool and

Stoke City before returning to his roots.

27


ONCE UPON A MATCHDAY

F

ew clubs have had as

much use out of the

rollercoaster of footballing

cliché as Swansea City over the

last half century. From the depths

of the Fourth Division in 1975 to the

top of the First in 1981, then back

to the bottom division by 1987.

After a brief flirtation with the third tier

from there, on Saturday 3 May 2003,

it looked as if they might drop through

the trapdoor and into the ghost train’s

grisly non-league dungeon, even

possible extinction, if we can mix our

fairground metaphors for a moment.

Back in the bottom division, 2002/03

had been a tough year for the

Swans, but courtesy of some furious

paddling, they still had their heads

above water. Come the 44th game of

46, a home win over fellow strugglers

Exeter City would have secured

their place in the Football League for

another season. Long suffering fans

of pretty much any club will recognise

this as the cue for them to lose 1-0

and plunge into crisis.

To their credit, they rallied to win 2-1

at Rochdale the following Saturday,

which meant going into the final day,

they were a point above the drop. A

win over mid-table Hull City at the

Vetch Field was essential, but at least

their fate was in their hands. With

only one player on the books having a

contract for the following season, and

oblivion beckoning, it needed to be.

It all started perfectly, Swansea-born

James Thomas driving in a sixth

minute penalty to give the hosts the

lead, but shredded nerves were on

show as mistakes allowed the Tigers

to fight back and go 2-1 up inside

25 minutes. Crucially though, on the

stroke of half-time, another penalty

for the Swans. Thomas fired in for 2-2.

Three minutes into the second half,

Swansea’s Roberto Martinez flighted

a free-kick to the back post, it was

headed back across goal and Lenny

Johnrose bundled the ball over the

line to retake the lead. On 57 minutes,

Thomas completed his hat-trick with

a clever lob. Now 4-2 up, Swansea had

become Lazarus, getting off their

death bed and walking into a new

future.

From there, it was back onto the

rollercoaster which would move

resolutely upwards, all the way to the

Premier League in 2011 and their first

piece of major silverware, the League

Cup, in 2013. In just a dozen minutes

of football, a club’s whole destiny can

change.

28


MEDIA VIEW

Gareth Vincent, sports reporter for BBC Wales Sport, delivers the lowdown on this afternoon’s opponents…

How would you assess

Swansea’s start to the season

– it seems as though they have

followed on from what was a

strong end to last year?

Swansea have made an

encouraging start to the season.

They finished last season in style,

with Alan Sheehan overseeing an

impressive run of form after taking

the reins from Luke Williams in

February. The club then lost some

influential players in the summer,

such as Harry Darling and Lewis

O’Brien, but they have also brought

in a host of new faces. Many of

the new recruits are still finding

their feet, but Swansea look better

placed in terms of options than

they have for a number of years.

Who have been the standout

performers so far this season,

and who are going to be the key

men if the Swans are to have a

successful campaign?

Ethan Galbraith has been Swansea’s

top performer so far. The midfielder

signed for £1.5m from Leyton

Orient in the summer and that is

looking like a very smart piece of

business. He is not the only who

has impressed, winger Ronald and

striker Zan Vipotnik among the

others. Those two are both in the

best goalscoring form they have

produced since moving to Swansea.

It was certainly a positive

summer for the club on the

transfer front – how would you

assess their business?

It is still early to judge, of course,

but the consensus is that Swansea

had a strong summer. They didn’t

want to lose Darling, who signed

for Norwich with his contract

up, or O’Brien, who was very

influential after arriving on loan

from Nottingham Forest in the

mid-season transfer window. The

likes of Joe Allen and Kyle Naughton

also said goodbye this summer,

but Swansea’s squad looks more

balanced than it has at any point

in recent memory thanks to the

arrival of 12 new faces. The likes of

Galbraith, Cameron Burgess, Marko

Stamenic, Malick Yalcouye and

Adam Idah all look like being central

figures in Sheehan’s team.

What does success look like for

Swansea City this season? Is a

push for the top six a realistic

target?

Last season was mixed for

Swansea, who had play-off hopes

around Christmas but were looking

nervously towards the relegation

places when Luke Williams departed

with his team in miserable form in

February. The late-season surge

saw Swansea finish 11th. Anything

above that will probably be deemed

acceptable by most Swansea fans

this season, though the money

spent on the likes of Idah and

Stamenic has raised expectations

for some. Sheehan will want to be in

the conversation – at least - for the

play-off places, you would think.

What sort of game are you

expecting today?

Sheehan has made Swansea into

a side who are hard to break down

but who do not usually score too

many goals either, so a goal fest

may be unlikely. It will be interesting

to see how much possession

they get against Birmingham

under Chris Davies, who is fondly

remembered in South West Wales

for his contribution to the cause

when Swansea won promotion to

the Premier League with Brendan

Rodgers at the helm 14 years ago.

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31


YEARS

GONE BY

1892 - 1900

WORDS: KEITH DIXON

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of

Birmingham City, we are chronicling the

club’s history throughout each home

league programme this season. Over the

course of the campaign, every year will

be covered, and each edition will feature

a period of time in chronological order.

Today’s focus is on the years 1892 to 1900.

Alex Leake

Chris Charsley

Robert McRoberts

32


“Getting blue, getting up…”

The end of the 1891-92 season saw the demise

of the previously prominent Birmingham

St. George’s, who were based at Cape Hill

Brewery. This was due to its inability to

increase popularity and an unwillingness to

adopt professionalism, meaning the only club

making any sort of impact south of Aston were

working-class Small Heath.

In the 1892-93 season the Alliance amalgamated

with the Football League, to be called the

Second Division. The top three clubs in the

division gained the opportunity of promotion by

playing the three lowest teams in Division One

in what were known as ‘test matches.’ The top

team in Division Two won the Shield provided

as the champions badge, and the winner of the

test matches would be promoted to the First

Division for the following season.

On 3 September 1892, Small Heath played its

first official league game in Division Two, beating

Burslem Port Vale 5-1 at Muntz Street in front

of a crowd of 2,500, although, as we read in the

Oxford United programme, the local newspapers

reported it as only 4-1! The record books away

5-1 though with the goals attributed to Fred

Wheldon (2), Harry Edwards, George Short and

Jack Hallam.

It was a strong start to the season for Small

Heath who went on to beat Walsall Town 12-0

in December, while in April 1893 a 3-2 win over

Ardwick (who became Manchester City in 1894)

secured the Division Two title with an unbeaten

home record. Small Heath were the first to

secure the shield and then went into the test

match against Newton Heath (who would later

become Manchester United in 1902).

The initial test match was a 1-1 draw on 22 April

1893, with the second game coming five days

later. This time, however, Newton Heath won

5-2 which resulted in Small Heath not winning

promotion to the First Division.

Despite the setback, this was a successful

season with 28 wins from 43 games played,

and as the directors were fortunate in keeping

practically the same eleven together most

games, it was not surprising that the “success”

was repeated during the season of 1893-94.

At the end of the 1893-94 campaign, the top three positions in Division Two were as follows:

Played Won Drew Lost Goals For Goals Against Points

Liverpool 28 22 6 0 77 18 50

Small Heath 28 21 0 7 103 44 42

Notts County 28 18 3 7 70 31 39

33


It was a fine campaign for Small Heath, who

became the first club to score over 100

goals in a season of Second Division football.

Notable victories included beating Northwich

Victoria 8-0 at home and 7-0 away, but a

second-placed finish meant another nervewracking

Test Match. It was a happier story

this time, with a 3-1 victory over Darwen,

at Stoke’s Victoria Ground, with goals from

Hallam, Wheldon and an own goal which saw

Small Heath promoted to the First Division

for the first time.

That win over Darwen was Chris Charsley’s

final appearance for the club after being

persuaded to come out of retirement for the

season’s finale. Eight members of the team

had experienced defeat the previous season,

while four (Billy Ollis, Ted Devey, ‘Toddy’

Hands and Fred Wheldon) were ever-present

during the season.

As a new season began in September

1894, Wheldon scored both goals in a 2-0

home win over Bolton Wanderers, while in

November, Small Heath appeared in an allwhite

kit for the game against Everton to

prevent a clash with their blue colours. At the

time it seemed strange that the home team

was the one to change, but this had been

the league rule since 1890.

Small Heath would go on to finish the

1895/96 season in 12th place in the First

Division, which was a difficult campaign to

say the least. The club lost eight of its first

nine games, including two heavy losses to

Aston Villa – losing 7-3 at Wellington Road

and 4-1 at Muntz Street.

In an effort to improve things on the pitch,

and for the first time in the club’s history,

players from Scotland were recruited - the

first one being Adam Fraser, a left-back who

was captain of Glasgow Northern at the time.

Players were now paid £3 per match plus

performance bonuses of an extra £1 for a win

and 10 shillings for a draw.

Performances did improve but at the end of

the season they were destined for the Test

Matches. Since the club’s last appearance in

Test Matches in 1894 the format had altered

34


form a one-off knock-out game to a fourgame

mini league event. This meant that the

top two teams in Division Two (Liverpool and

Manchester City) played the bottom two

teams in Division One (Small Heath and West

Bromwich Albion) in and home and away

games, with the top two sides in the mini

league being promoted to Division One.

Following a 4-0 defeat away to Liverpool on

April 18, Small Heath did record a 0-0 draw

in the reverse fixture two days later, but

they would then reverse a 3-0 defeat to

Manchester City with an 8-0 victory at the

end of the month – the highest score in a

test match game.

Final Test Match Table

Played Won Drew Lost Goals For Goals Against Points

Liverpool 4 2 1 1 6 2 5

WBA 4 2 1 1 9 4 5

Small Heath 4 1 1 2 8 7 3

Manchester City 4 1 1 2 5 15 3

At the end of the 1895-96 season, in April

1896, the directors agreed to buy the lease

of the Muntz Street ground from William

Gessey for £275. This gave the club a

permanent home as it moved into the next

season, as the lease had eleven years left

before expiring on 25 March 1907.

Season 1896-97 saw Small Heath continue

with its high scoring victories, including a

6-1 win over Walsall thanks to goals from

Charles Izon, James Inglis (2), William Walton

(2) and John Jones. This victory, together

with a 5-1 win over Darwen, a 5-2 victory

over Woolwich Arsenal and a 6-2 beating of

Burton Wanderers, saw Small Heath finish the

season in fourth place in Division Two.

It was the following season on 4 December

1897 that Small Heath again trounced Walsall

6-0 away from home. The goal scorers were

Charles Hare, Thomas Oakes (2), Walter

Abbot (2) and John Kirton. Walter Abbott

was one of two ever-presents in the 1897-98

campaign, the other being Thomas Dunlop.

Small Heath finished the season in sixth

place in Division Two.

The 1898-99 season saw Small Heath get

off to a wonderful start. The opening game

on 3 September saw a 6-2 away victory over

Burton Swifts, and just two days later at

home Small Heath beat Lincoln City 4-1. Then

in November, Small Heath beat Luton Town

9-0 at Muntz Street with goals from William

Robertson (3), Alec Gardner (2), Robert

McRoberts, Sidney Wharton, James Inglis

and Walter Abbott, followed by a 8-0 victory

at home to Darwen thanks to goals from

Gardner (2), Abbott (5) and Robertson. Small

Heath finished the season in eighth place

in Division Two. The goals never stopped

going in during the FA Cup run either. On 10

December 1898, Small Heath beat Burslem

Port Vale 7-0 in the fifth round which took

the club’s goals scored to 25 in three FA Cup

matches. The club also beat Chirk 8-0 and

the Druids 10-0 in the previous rounds.

35


Season 1899-1900 was Small Heath’s

fourth consecutive season in Division Two.

On 20 January 1900, Small Heath beat

Gainsborough Trinity 8-1 at home with goals

from Bob McRoberts (3), George Layton

(2), Sidney Wharton, William Bennett and

William Main.

This season was a continuation of the

struggle for promotion, but with increased

expenditure and reduced income, with a

heavy loss of over £800 for the season

being reported. So eager were the directors

in maintaining the club’s position in the

upper echelons of the Second Division

ladder, that they courageously faced the

deficit, and firmly declined a tempting bait

from Aston Villa to part with their clever and

resolute centre-forward, Robert McRoberts.

At the end of his career at Small Heath,

McRoberts had made 187 appearances and

scored 82 goals. He joined Small Heath in

August 1898 from Gainsborough Trinity for

£150 before leaving for Chelsea in 1905 for

£100. In July 1910, he returned to the club as

team manager, retaining his position for five

years until August 1915. He was the club’s first

full-time paid manager.

36

IT’S HERE

Just like the club that it chronicles

– this book is one of a kind.

Birmingham City: 150 Years of a Remarkable Football Club takes

us on a spellbinding journey through the club’s rich history.

The author brings us unique insights from Blues legends such as Gil Merrick

and Trevor Francis, who share stories of their careers and connection with the

club. Merrick tells us what really happened at half-time in the much-debated

1956 FA Cup Final when red-hot favourites Birmingham lost 3-1. He also

reveals which players sold tickets to touts.

Which was Francis’s favourite hat-trick, and why?

Inside you’ll discover all the answers.

Readers will also be fascinated to find a treasure trove of memorabilia on

show throughout the book, including a 1931 FA Cup Final shirt. On every

page there’s something new and magical for the Birmingham City fan, be it a

fascinating fact or stunning previously unseen photograph.

Available in the club store now


COVER STORY

BLUES

In each home league programme this season, our front cover will be

creatively designed to depict the key moments from our 150-year history.

This feature provides the back story to today’s front cover,

which focuses on our first game at St. Andrew’s in 1906.

BIRMINGHAM CITY V SWANSEA CITY | SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2025 – 12.30PM | £4

WORDS: DAVE BOWLER

E

very now and again, a football club outgrows

its surroundings, its ambition and its

potential writing cheques that its reality can

no longer handle. We’re talking about 1906, for the

avoidance of doubt.

Back then, the newly renamed Birmingham Football Club

had been operating out of Muntz Street since 1877. The

ancestral home had seen the club play its earliest FA Cup

ties, join the Football League and reach the First Division,

but there was a key problem – the club did not own the

land. As football grew exponentially in popularity – and

in the cost of running the show – a bigger stadium was

becoming essential. Our Muntz Street landlords would

neither sell the freehold nor allow any major extensions,

38


and with potential crowds that often exceeded its notional

30,000 capacity to cater for, its days were therefore

numbered. The lease was set to expire in March 1907, and

the club resolved not to renew it.

The St. Andrew’s site was identified in late 1905 and

was taken on a 21-year lease. To say the site itself, a

former brickworks, was unprepossessing is to deal in

understatement, but its location was ideal. Still within a

mile of Muntz Street, well served

by the tram network and a stone’s

throw from a railway station, it was

easy to access for an increasingly

mobile population.

Work began in February 1906, and

there was plenty to do, notably the

draining and capping of artesian

springs under the playing surface

which had kept the area flooded.

Locals were encouraged to bring

their rubbish to the ground – make

your own jokes - to create the giant

banking that became the Spion Kop,

helping the ground reach an initial

capacity of 65,500. The stadium

cost a reported £10,000 to build,

just over £1million in today’s money

– a bargain.

The grand opening was set for

Boxing Day 1906, St. Andrew’s

built from scratch in just over 10

months, which suggests a bit of

divine intervention. A gala opening

was planned, but the elements

decided they would chime in too.

Always in the vanguard of family

entertainment, it was Birmingham

Football Club that invented ‘Dancing

On Ice’, long before a time of sequins

and splintering celebrities.

Across Christmas night and into Boxing Day, the snow

came down in bucketloads, six inches falling upon the

pristine new surface. With kick-off initially scheduled for

11.30am, it was all hands to the pump, fans and committee

members working frenetically to clear the pitch.

The opening ceremony, conducted by Sir John Holder

of Holder’s Brewery, was delayed, as was kick-off.

St. Andrew’s finally saw its first action at 11.55am –

fortunately, the game had not been selected for live

coverage by the Sky Magic Lantern Service. The home

side were wearing new blue jerseys for the occasion,

Middlesbrough clad in red, making for a prototype

Subbuteo fixture. Perhaps the players would have done

better had they been rooted to those plastic bases rather

than trying to get about the pitch in their boots, because

as one report noted, “The surface was more encouraging

to skaters than footballers.”

Somewhere around 30,000 people braved the Arctic

conditions, and they saw their

team have the better of what was,

in truth, a pretty disappointing

game. The conditions were almost

impossible to handle, and if this

had not been such an important

occasion, you have to wonder if the

game might have been postponed,

even in an Edwardian era when

little short of an earthquake could

call a game off. Ninety minutes of

solid endeavour and perishing cold

ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

But if the game had not impressed,

the stadium had thrilled, the

Evening Despatch commenting: “It

is an athletic arena that challenges

comparison with any in the world.

As a football ground, it has few

equals and no superiors.” The

Birmingham Daily Post added that

it was: “A ground second to none in

the country.” St. Andrew’s had been

launched into the world, and the

world was captivated.

We cannot talk of the creation of

St. Andrew’s without referencing

the ‘gypsy curse’. Records do

suggest that the site was encircled

by gypsies who were then moved

on in order to allow the building work to start. There is a

further story that a gypsy’s horse died as the stadium was

being built, and remains buried underneath the pitch – apt,

given that there have been plenty of donkeys parading

on top of it in the succeeding 119 years, all in opposition

jerseys, of course.

Whether the gypsy curse is real or not is just a matter of

personal belief in the end but let us leave you with this

thought. If the existence of a curse is good enough for

Barry Fry’s bladder, then it’s surely good enough for the

rest of us…

39


ON THIS DAY

SEPTEMBER

20

As part of a new feature this season, we look back at some memorable

Blues games from ‘On This Day’ in history…

1995

BLUES 3-1 GRIMSBY TOWN

LEAGUE CUP

WEDNESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 1995

Blues secured a 3-1 first-leg victory

over Grimsby Town in the League

Cup second round at St. Andrew’s.

After getting the better of

Plymouth Argyle in the first round,

Blues welcomed Grimsby to B9

and secured an important first-leg

advantage thanks to goals from

Liam Daish, Steve Claridge and

Jonathan Hunt.

They drew the second leg 1-1 at

Blundell Park to go through 4-2

on aggregate and reach the third

round.

After progressing past Tranmere

Rovers, Middlesbrough and Norwich

City, Blues reached the semifinal

stage where they lost 5-1 on

aggregate to Premier League side

Leeds United.

2003

LEEDS UNITED 0-2 BLUES

PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2003

Blues produced a

classic smash-and-grab

performance at Elland Road

to condemn Leeds United to

a second successive loss.

Leeds dominated

possession for most of the

game but were undone as

they were reduced to 10 men

and then saw the visitors

score twice in a frenetic

finish.

Robbie Savage netted a

controversial twice-taken

penalty on 78 minutes, after

Roque Junior was red-carded

for a foul on Mikael Forssell.

And the Finnish striker

wrapped up the points for

the Blues with a smart finish

six minutes from time.

40


2005

SCUNTHORPE UNITED

0-2 BLUES

LEAGUE CUP

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2005

2014

NORWICH CITY 2-2 BLUES

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2014

Blues striker Mikael Forssell

scored a brace as they eased

past League One outfit

Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup.

Forssell, who also had a shot

pushed onto the post, stabbed

home after being picked out by

Julian Gray.

He then converted a penalty

won by Jamie Clapham to seal

the victory.

Scunthorpe found the net in

the 62nd minute when Wayne

Corden's shot fell to Billy Sharp,

who prodded home, but it was

ruled out by the assistant

referee.

Cameron Jerome scored twice

against his former club as Norwich

City staged a superb second-half

comeback to earn a point against

Blues at Carrow Road.

The visitors went ahead when

Callum Reilly's shot deflected off

Russell Martin, beating goalkeeper

John Ruddy.

Demarai Gray then slotted past

Ruddy to double Blues' lead before

Martin crossed for Jerome to score

his first.

Just three minutes later, Jerome

levelled when he headed Nathan

Redmond's delivery into the net.

41


A FIRST TIME FOR

EVERYTHING

Andy Tudor takes a walk through the history of football, wearing blue-tinted glasses!

GOLDEN GOALS

W

hen the International

Football Association

Board (IFAB) voted to

introduce the Golden Goal rule

in 1993, they probably thought

they were being innovative.

In reality, they were 126 years

behind the times!

Long before the Football League

or FIFA were even thought of, the

concept of a ‘tie-breaker’ was

used to determine the winners in

two separate cup competitions

in Sheffield with Norfolk FC (who

were also responsible for the

introduction of corner kicks)

credited with scoring the first ever

Golden Goal in a Youdan Cup tie

in 1867.

And let’s not forget more than a

century’s worth of children who

simultaneously shouted “next goal

wins” when the school bell rang, or

it was time for their tea!

At the time of its adoption, it was

hard to argue with the logic of a

Golden Goal. A combination of

tired bodies and minds and the

jeopardy of falling behind in extratime

meant that the additional

30 minutes used to determine

deadlocked cup or tournament

games had become increasingly

formulaic, with many sides

seemingly content to go through

the motions and take their chance

in a penalty shoot-out.

The lawmakers’ hope was that

applying a ‘next goal wins’

philosophy would add a bit more

excitement and encourage sides

to take a few more risks in search

of a winner.

The initial suggestion that it

Paul Tait scores against Swansea

Next goal wins

should be called ‘sudden death’

was deemed to have too many

negative connotations and thus, in

true marketing spin style, the term

‘Golden Goal’ was coined.

It was first used in an International

Youth Tournament in Australia,

while Huddersfield Town’s Iain Dunn

He’s done it again!

42


became the scorer of the first

Golden Goal in English football when

netting against Lincoln City on 30

November 1994.

Blues weren’t terribly far behind

though. Playing against Swansea

City, at St. Andrew’s, on the last

day of January 1995 in the Auto

Windscreens Shield Area Semi-

Final, the sides were tied at 2-2

after an eventful 90 minutes, which

included a red card for central

defender Chris Whyte.

Six minutes into extra-time,

midfielder Paul Tait made a driving

run into the box, before swapping

passes with José Dominguez and

slotting the ball underneath the

advancing Roger Freestone in front

of the despondent travelling fans

at the Railway End.

Blues marched on, but ‘Taity’ wasn’t

done yet.

After seeing off Leyton Orient

in the two-legged Regional Final,

Blues faced Carlisle United in the

final at Wembley Stadium on 23

April 1995.

Being the 59th match of a gruelling

64-game season arguably took its

toll and neither side were able to

break the deadlock in normal time.

That all changed in the 13th minute

of extra-time though, when winger

Ricky Otto angled in a delicious

right-footed cross from the left

and that man Tait glanced a

fabulous header into the corner of

the Cumbrians’ net.

That was it. Game over.

Euphoria at one end of the ground

and despair at the other.

He would be joined a year later by

Germany’s Oliver Bierhoff, who

won the Euro ’96 final against the

Czech Republic in similar fashion

(also at Wembley) and then David

Trezeguet, whose Golden Goal

clinched the Euro 2000 final for

Christophe Dugarry’s France, at

Italy’s expense.

To complete the set, Galatasaray’s

Mario Jardel ensured that Real

Madrid wouldn’t lift the UEFA Super

Cup in the same year.

Bierhoff; Trezeguet; Jardel and

Tait. That’s a pretty elite group to

be part of.

These thrilling conclusions would

prove to be the exception rather

than the norm though. While

the lawmakers’ motives were no

doubt laudable, the result wasn’t

quite as intended and rather than

encourage adventurous football,

The ecstasy … and the agony!

this innovation, if anything, made

teams even more cagey than they

had been before.

A short-lived ‘Silver Goal’ variation

(whereby a side leading at the

midway point of extra time

would be deemed the winner)

was introduced in 2002, but the

whole concept had begun to lose

credibility by then and both were

quietly scrubbed from the Laws of

the Game in 2004.

Barring a highly unlikely

reintroduction, Golden Goals will

forever be consigned as a brief

moment in time but, for those of

us who were around, one in which

Birmingham City and, most notably

Paul Tait, indelibly left their mark.

If only he’d had a commemorative

t-shirt to mark the occasion!

Blues had won the cup and Paul

Tait had not only become the first

player to score a Golden Goal at the

famous old stadium, but also the

first to do so in a final anywhere.

Men for the big occasion – Bierhoff; Trezeguet; Jardel and Tait

43


A SEASON IN SHIRTS

The Fabric That Shaped Our Story

As the Club marks its 150th anniversary this season, Chris Dunn reflects on some of the shirts

that have been part of the journey. Aided by his own personal collection, throughout the season

he’ll take a closer look at a selection of shirts we wore in our history, each one representing a

different chapter in the Club’s timeline, and a reminder of the fans, players, and moments

that have shaped Birmingham City.

F

or Bluenoses over

40, the 1990–91

season holds a

special place in our

hearts. After nearly

three decades

without silverware,

Birmingham City

finally had their day

in the sun - and at

Wembley Stadium,

no less.

The season

began with

optimism. Blues had

narrowly missed out on

the play-offs the year before

and were tipped to bounce

back to the second tier. The

campaign started brightly, with

a 12-game unbeaten run in the

league – though eight of those

were draws. Unfortunately,

inconsistency crept in, and the

team finished a disappointing

12th, which remains the club’s

lowest league position to date.

In February, Lou Macari replaced

Dave Mackay as manager, with

Blues already progressing in the

Associate Members’ Cup - known

that year as the Leyland DAF Cup.

The competition, open to clubs in

the third and fourth tiers, offered

a welcome distraction from league

struggles.

Macari’s men found their rhythm

HOME SHIRT RESULTS

PLAYED 53 WON 23

DREW 17 LOST 13

in the competition, beating

today’s opponents Swansea City

on penalties, plus wins against

Mansfield Town, Cambridge

United, and Brentford, to book a

place at Wembley on 26 May 1991.

Their final opponents? Tranmere

Rovers, who were also heading to

Wembley, just six days later, for

the Division Three Play-Off Final.

The final itself is etched in Blues

folklore. Bromsgrove-born striker

John Gayle scored twice - his

second a stunning overhead

kick - to seal a 3–2 victory. The

goals were so good that Bobby

Charlton called them the best

he’d ever seen at Wembley.

Around 45,000 Bluenoses

roared their approval from

the stands.

But there’s a lesserknown

tale from

that day: the kit

controversy. Blues were

wearing Matchwinner kits

that season, and naturally,

that was the strip chosen for

Wembley. However, the Club’s

owners, the Kumar brothers,

had their own clothing brand

- Scoreline Influence - and

produced a special shirt for the

final under that label (pictured).

What followed was dubbed a “kit

war” in the press. The Kumars

argued the final was outside the

regular season, while Matchwinner

threatened legal action to

enforce their contract. In the

end, Blues wore Matchwinner at

44


had a both a blue collar and Mark

One sponsor, plus a distinctive

white fleck pattern. In a season

where we played 58 games due

to multiple ties in all three cup

competitions, plus the standard

46 league games, it’s somewhat

of a surprise that the change strip

was only worn on five occasions.

These all came at away against

teams who had an element of

blue in their home kit, and the club

were relatively successful, with

just one defeat - a 2-1 reverse at

the hands of Southend United in

March.

I am very grateful to John Frain

for allowing me to feature his

match worn shirt from the

Leyland DAF Cup Final.

INFLUENCE FINAL RESULTS

UNUSED

Wembley, but the Influence brand

did produce 5,000 replica shirts

with match details on the sleeve.

Interestingly, Macari’s backroom

staff, including Chic Bates, were

spotted wearing the Influence kit

on the day.

The Influence design eventually

became Blues’ kit for the 1991–92

season, minus the one-off green

sponsor lettering. And while fans

today are used to bold Cup Final

embroidery, the 1991 kit featured

subtle “Leyland DAF Final 1991”

stitching - on the right sleeve and,

unusually, on the left side of the

shorts.

These unworn Influence kits have

become prized collector’s items. In

this feature, we showcase both

the shirt that John Frain would’ve

worn had the Kumars got their

way, plus the design he actually

wore on that unforgettable

afternoon. Aside from the

cup final embroidery, the only

difference in the jersey worn by

Frain for the final compared to

one worn during the season was

the font used for the number

on the back of the shirt. In the

league and previous cup games,

a ‘3D’ style had been used, but

as the image shows, at Wembley

it was a solid number font.

And finally, a word on the away

kit worn that season. Again, the

colour yellow, the most popular

away choice in our history, it

AWAY SHIRT RESULTS

PLAYED 5 WON 2

DREW 2 LOST 1

Chris would love to hear from any supporters in possession of any shirts that they think

might be of interest to this feature or any future projects. Please contact him by

emailing chrisdunn1982@hotmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Dunny_1982.

45


Welcome to Blues News

Come and tackle this dedicated trivia section to help put your

Blues brains to the test with some tricky teasers about today’s

opponents and our own heroes past and present.

GETTING TO KNOW…

How much do you know about our stars wearing

royal blue? This week we recall the career of

goalkeeper Ryan Allsop…

1. The Birmingham-born gloveman joined Blues

from which Championship rivals in 2024?

2. The 33-year-old, voted into the League One

PFA Team of the Year, served which Premier

League side in 2015?

3. True or false. The former West Brom youth

played for an Iceland side in 2012?

WORDSEARCH

Can you find the 11 surnames of Swansea City players,

past and present, we’ve hidden in the wordsearch below?

P J B S B N H V H S G T X R

P X W H L B C I T I C R Q T

I N I M N R R G I T A U O M

A D L A Z I U O A R B N F R

A L L E N T H U R U A D R O

R R I K R T C R B C N L A N

W E A G J O L O L M G E N A

G P M E B N L U A Q O A C L

Z C S E T H A X G K P U O D

Allchurch

Allen

Britton

Cabango

Curtis

Franco

Galbraith

Ronald

Trundle

Vigouroux

Williams

46


CONNECT

FOUR

Can you help identify these former Blues

players who also served this afternoon’s

visitors from a snapshot and brief clue?

1. Scorer of Swansea’s firstever

Premier League goal

after promotion with Blues in

2008/09.

2. Captained Swansea from League

Two to the top-flight and has

managed both clubs.

3. Ecuadorian winger loaned from

the Swans in 2019/20.

4. Championship defender with

Blues from 2018-22, the Dane

was released by Swansea this

summer.

KNOW YOUR

OPPONENTS

Put your knowledge of this

afternoon’s opponents to the

test!

1. What is the nickname of today’s

visitors?

2. Where do Swansea City play their

home games?

3. What position did the club finish

in the Championship last season?

4. Can you name the head coach of

today’s opposition?

5. What was the score in this same

fixture in 2023/24?

47


WHO PLAYS HERE?

Home to the Trotters of

League One?

YOU KNOW ME!

Can you identify this hat-trick

of footballing bosses from

across the world?

BADGE OF

HONOUR

Who does

this EFL

club crest

belong to?

ANSWERS: GETTING TO KNOW: 1. Hull City, 2. AFC Bournemouth, 3. True, playing for Iprottafelagio Hottur .

CONNECT FOUR: 1. Scott Sinclair, 2. Garry Monk, 3. Jefferson Montero, 4. Kristian Pederson.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS: 1. The Swans, 2. Swansea.com Stadium, 3. 11th in Championship, 4. Alan Sheehan, 5. A 2-2 draw.

WHO PLAYS HERE: Bolton Wanderers (Toughsheet Community Stadium). BADGE OF HONOUR: Oldham Athletic.

YOU KNOW ME: Antonio Conte (Napoli), Marco Silva (Fulham), David Artell (Grimsby Town).

48


GET THEM SIGNED

Get your Blues heroes to sign here…

49


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nationwide

50

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SOMETHING FOR BIG KIDS….

Show off your smarts over some half-time refreshments to see if your

sporting trivia knowledge is up to scratch…

1. Name the only side in England’s top four divisions yet to score a

goal this season.

2. Can you name Formula One’s only Japanese driver?

3. Erling Haaland scored five times as Norway won 11-1 against which

nation in World Cup qualifying recently?

4. Can you list the semi-finalists in this year’s Women’s Rugby World

Cup?

5. Who claimed World Athletics Championship gold in the men’s 100

metres with a winning time of 9.77secs?

6. Can you name the 34-year-old aiming to become all-time leading try

scorer in Premiership rugby by joining Newcastle Red Bulls for the

2025/26 season?

7. Who chased down a record-breaking 195 to win their third T20 Blast

title at the expense of the Hampshire Hawks?

8. What nationality is US Open title winner, and tennis’ world No.1, Aryna

Sabalenka?

9. Where is the 2025 Ryder Cup being held in the USA?

10. Which former Nottingham Forest and Leicester City boss is now in

charge of Brondby?

ANSWERS: 1. Aston Villa, 2. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), 3. Moldova, 4. New Zealand, Canada, France and England,

5. Oblique Seville, 6. Christian Wade, 7. Somerset, 8. Belarusian, 9. Farmingdale, New York, 10. Steve Cooper.

51


BIRMINGHAM CITY

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

2025/26

If you’re interested in sponsoring a player this season, please get in touch with

our team at commercial@bcfc.com and we’ll be happy to share more details.

02 ETHAN LAIRD

BEAU REILLY

03 LEE BUCHANAN

BEAU REILLY

16 PATRICK ROBERTS

04 CHRISTOPH KLARER

05 PHIL NEUMANN

17 LYNDON DYKES

10 DEMARAI GRAY

18 WILLUM WILLUMSSON

20 ALEX COCHRANE

06 JACK ROBINSON

07 TOMMY DOYLE

08 PAIK SEUNG-HO

11 SCOTT WRIGHT

09 KYOGO FURUHASHI

12 MARC LEONARD

14 KESHI ANDERSON

BEAU REILLY

52


26 BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL 21 RYAN ALLSOP

27 KANYA FUJIMOTO 23 ALFONS SAMPSTED

28 JAY STANSFIELD 24 TOMOKI IWATA

BEAU REILLY

CHRIS DAVIES

33 MARVIN DUCKSCH

41 EIRAN CASHIN

30 LEWIS KOUMAS 25 JAMES BEADLE

48 BRADLEY MAYO

ZAID BETTEKA

TAYLA SPOONER

53


DRIVING GROWTH.

BUILDING BIRMINGHAM.

PATRONS

MEMBERS

54

keep right on!


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That’s

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Claim your free drink on first sign up

55


GETTING

BEHIND

THE OSC

There are a host of benefits to joining the

Official Supporters’ Club, but none are better

than expanding your friendship circle among

fellow Bluenoses in your area.

Since launching in 2024 we’ve heard wonderful

stories about members making new friends,

meeting them at OSC branch socials and heading

out together on football adventures across the UK

and Portugal.

Joining the OSC also puts you closer to the club

you love, getting your voice heard at board level

and having your say on the future of Blues. And

what an exciting future we have ahead of us.

And if you have skills to share, the OSCs are always

on the lookout for people to support the groups,

with such things as social media and finance. Once

you’ve joined as a member just have a chat with

the leadership team.

Here are just a few of the other benefits also

included in your membership fee:

• Your voice as an OSC member will make a

difference, with feedback shaping real changes

made by the Board.

• Mascot and flag bearing experiences for our

Under-16 members.

• Access to events run by your local branch - this

could also see a former player at the meeting.

• Access to travel schemes run by your branch -

this could be a car share, coach travel or just a

meet up at the ground.

• A chance to win the Alliance Cup playing for

your OSC on the hallowed St. Andrew’s turf.

• Free stadium tours.

Keep an eye on the OSC website to see the full list

of benefits, although they may well change during

the season.

MATCHDAY,

MY WAY

Linzie Phillips from

the Birmingham City

Disabled Supporters’

Club, shares the sounds,

feelings, and traditions

that make following

Blues unforgettable.

Matchdays are always an

adventure.

Every step, from waking up to taking my seat, brings

its own challenge. But it’s also where independence,

kindness, and the love of Blues all come together.

It starts with either a lift from friends or trusting in

the kindness of strangers on the 97, until I meet my

carer outside the ground. My white (and blue) cane

guides me, giving me the confidence to keep some

independence.

The Roost is usually my first stop – a pint, a laugh, and

familiar voices. Then it’s on to the club shop. I can’t see

the merchandise clearly, but I still enjoy a browse and a

feel - a retro shirt, a Beau or new kit for my grandson, or

a Jukey mug!

I always buy a programme, even though I can’t read

it myself – it’s tradition, and part of what makes my

matchday whole.

Before kick-off, I collect the Audio Descriptive

Commentary (ADC) device that brings the game alive

and soak up the buzz in the Knighthead Fan Park with

live music filling the air.

Once my flag is hung and I’ve found my seat – with a

helping hand from fellow Blues – the real magic begins.

With my son and grandson often beside me, who calls

me Nanny Blue, and the Tilton’s roar surrounding me, I

don’t just hear football from the volunteers at BHBN

Sports – I feel it!

Matchdays aren’t only about football. They’re about

belonging, cherished memories and being a part of

something special. Equal access means we can all

share the passion that makes this club so special.

Keep Right On!

56


ODSC: BELONGING, INCLUSION

AND KEEP RIGHT ON!

The Birmingham City Disabled

Supporters’ Club (ODSC) was

created to make sure disabled

fans are not just present at St

Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, but

fully included in the Blues family.

Our mission is clear: make matchdays

fairer, fuller, and more enjoyable. We

offer ticketing and travel advice, a

trusted space for feedback, and

most importantly, connection.

We celebrate wins, share journeys,

and build friendships that remind

us why being a Bluenose matters -

inclusion is practical and intentional.

Deaf fans use hearing loops and

big-screen messaging, as well as

complimentary carer tickets and

open access. Neurodivergent fans

are supported with sensory packs

that reduce stress. These are not

extras but essentials that turn

barriers into belonging.

Fan-voice drives change. Our

feedback has helped improvement

such as resurfacing the main stand

and Arthur’s Area, improving stair

nosing, and making stewards easier

to spot with high-visibility jackets.

Our facilities focused stadium tour

showcased progress, while our

May event with Jeremy Dale, Craig

Gardner, and the League One trophy

created unforgettable memories.

We are run by the fans, for the

fans, and we are independent yet

collaborative, working with the Club

to make improvements rooted in

lived experience.

But the work does not stop there.

For the ODSC, belonging means more

than watching football. It’s about

shaping a culture where disabled,

deaf, and neurodivergent fans

influence and lead.

Recent improvements such as

better seating, carer tickets and

sensory packs show what’s possible.

But we always aim higher, and we

want to:

• Grow our community so every

disabled supporter feels at home.

• Shape the whole journey from

ticketing to travel, with access

built in.

• Embed accessibility into the

Club’s DNA, as natural as wearing

the Blues shirt.

We’ll keep pushing for better away

travel, clearer communication

for deaf fans, and recognition

of neurodivergent supporters,

alongside events that strengthen

our community.

Our vision? A Birmingham City that

fights with pride today, and in five

years is back in the Premier League

known as the most inclusive club in

England.

57


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59


FAN FOCUS

STEVE POOLE

As part of a new feature this season, we speak to Blues fans from all over to

share their experienced of following the Club. This week, Steve Poole

gives us his memories of all things Royal Blue…

FAN IDENTITY &

LOYALTY

How long have you been

supporting Birmingham City

and what’s your earliest

memory of watching Blues?

Trevor Hockey

I was born in Aston quite close to

B6 and all my friends, apart from

one, were Villa fans. My mom’s

friend’s husband was a Bluenose,

and she asked him to take me to

a game because I was football

mad at 11 years old. I was hooked

for life.

Do you remember your first

game?

My first game was sometime

in July/August 1966, it was a

pre-season against non-league

Highgate United. My first ever

home game was on 27 August

1966 against Norwich City - we

won 2-1 and won the first four

games of the season but ended

up finishing tenth. I think it was

2.5p to get in!

What does supporting

Birmingham City mean to you?

Supporting Blues has given me a

chance to meet some wonderful

people.

60


150TH ANNIVERSARY

If you could bring back one

former player from the past

150 years in their prime, who

would it be and why?

My first blue idol has to be Trevor

Hockey with his long hair and

massive beard. The obvious

choice would be Trevor Francis,

but I was gutted when Bob

Latchford went to Everton. I

always thought Johnny Vincent

was a good player, too. I couldn’t

believe it when we signed Colin

Todd - he was a wonderful player.

Geoff Horsfield epitomised the

Blues attitude and mentality

of the fans. It would have been

amazing to see Jay and Trevor

play alongside each other!

What’s your favourite moment

in Blues history?

The best match memory has

to be the Leyland DAF match

at Wembley in 1991. I have some

wonderful memories of heading

to the ground after the pubs

closed (11pm) on Saturday nights

and queuing all night for cup

match tickets, just spending all

night with strangers talking Blues

- the queuing went all around the

stadium! We had to keep ticket

stubs from other games, as home

crowds of 50,000 were common.

MATCHDAY

EXPERIENCE

What’s your matchday routine

– any lucky rituals?

I like to get into the ground

early, eat my pie and watch the

lads warm up and enjoy the

atmosphere growing.

Favourite away day and why?

I think my first away trip was away

to Ipswich Town on the soccer

special train, and we lost 2-0. The

best away game was my first trip

to Anfield – we were 3-1 up at half

time but lost 4-3. The other game I’ll

never forget is the semi-final loss to

Fulham - it is still heartbreaking now.

61


Where do you sit (or stand) at

St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park

– and what makes that spot

special?

I took my brother Dave to games

when he was old enough, and my

partner Beverley and I sit behind

the away dugout in the Main

Stand. We have a great view, her

family are all regular supporters,

and her eldest daughter Hayley

played for the women’s team in

1992-95 before injury.

CLUB CULTURE &

COMMUNITY

What makes Birmingham City

different from other clubs?

We are a unique club in many

ways with our obsession with

the blue shirt which cuts across

many generations of families and

different cultures, and the current

atmosphere around the ground on

match day is electric.

If you could describe Blues

fans in three words, what would

they be?

Loyal, loud and proud.

LOOKING FORWARD

What are your hopes for the

future of the club?

I would like the club to grow

organically and improve in

sustainable fashion.

Where do you see Birmingham

City in another 150 years?

In the next 150 years I’d like be

around to see our first away game

on the moon!

If you could have one wish for

the club this season, what

would it be?

My hope for this season is that we

play to our full potential and see

where that takes us.

62


63


L

UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS

WITH THE 1875 CLUB

ast week saw 300

Blues fans gather at

Birmingham’s Millennium

Point to hear from some

of Birmingham City’s most

recognisable faces, as they were

introduced to the Foundation’s

latest membership programme,

the 1875 Club.

Taking its name from the year Blues

was founded, the exclusive 1875 Club

will be capped at just 1,875 members,

who, in return for their support of

the Foundation, will receive a peak

into the tent of how Birmingham City

operates, with plenty of celebration

events along the way.

The launch event saw key

stakeholders in the initiative speak

on stage and talk passionately

about their love for the city, and

their vision for how Blues fans can

make the changes they want to see.

Chief Executive Jeremy Dale was

joined under the lights by First Team

Manager Chris Davies, Peaky Blinders

creator Steven Knight, Foundation

Director Antony Isherwood and

broadcasting legend Tom Ross.

Open to all Blues supporters, the 1875

Club will generate the funds required

to multiply the Foundation’s output,

tackling some of the most important

issues in the city. Currently in East

Birmingham, 39% of the population

live in absolute poverty, which

equates to £230 or less per family

per week to cover every expense;

and with huge health inequalities in

the region, 27% of Year Six children

are classed as obese.

Through the 1875 Club, the

Foundation will look to tackle these

issues by increased support for

communities through recreation and

social inclusion, and via the lens of

football, getting young people who

are inactive into sport and exercise.

The 1875 Club also provides a new

level of access into the Club that

has not been seen before. Members

will have regular calls with the Club’s

Senior Leadership Team, drinks

receptions in Birmingham and London

with the Directors, play on the pitch

opportunities, and invites to a gala

event and much more.

In keeping with the name and

membership count, the annual cost

to be an 1875 Club patron is £1,875,

split into two – a £1,000 donation

directly to the Foundation to provide

the growth in the city, and an £875

payment which will provide the wide

array of membership benefits.

Antony Isherwood, Foundation

Director said: “This is the highest

level of access we can provide to

our members, from pitchside seats

at open training to mingling with

ownership, and much more. But we

know the civic pride our supporters

have, and we believe that knowing

their donation will help people in their

city is as powerful a benefit we can

offer.

“Birmingham is on the rise. And we

need to make sure that applies

to every person in Birmingham,

especially those who have things

stacked against them currently. As

a football club, we can change this

whole city.”

To find out more information

about the 1875 Club, you can

scan the QR code below, or

email 1875@bcfc.com

to assist with

signing-up.

Birmingham City.

More than football.

64

Ark Victoria Academy

Secondary Open Evening


Wednesday 24th September 2025

3.30 – 6.00pm

Come to visit and see our school in action. Our

principal will be speaking at 3.45pm and we look

forward to seeing you.

We are proud to be a BCFC Foundation

Partnership school.

Ofsted 2024: 'Leaders at all levels have worked

highly effectively to ensure provision is of the

highest quality.'

65


66


SPOOKY STADIUM TOURS

monday

27 October

WEDnesday

29 October

friday

31 October

Bubbles and Broomsticks

A Wickedly Enchanted Experience

book tickets here

saturday

25 October

10am - 12pm

or

1pm - 3pm

67


GET TO KNOW

ALEXANDRA

HALL

Birmingham City Women Under-21s

Who is the funniest player in the squad?

Lucy Powis

What’s your go-to meal after a match?

Pasta with some type of meat

If you weren’t a footballer, what job

would you want to do?

I used to really want to be a police officer

If you could play in any stadium in the

world, where would it be?

Wembley

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve

ever been given — football or otherwise?

Play like a pro, not like you want to be a pro

If you had to sing karaoke in front of the

squad, what song are you picking?

‘Let Me Love You’ by Mario

Favourite film?

The Pursuit of Happyness – with Will Smith

If you had to be stuck in a lift with one

teammate, who would you pick and why?

Probably Ronnie – she’d know the way out!

What’s your hidden talent outside of

football?

I can do a backflip (on a trampoline)

What is your favourite meal?

I love a steak

Favourite takeaway?

Wagamamas or Nandos

Favourite holiday

destination?

Cyprus

PATHWAY TO

PROGRESS

W

ith plenty of young

talent coming

through the ranks,

Under-16s head coach Jenny

Hinton shares her thoughts

on a positive start to the

season and the bright future

ahead.

The squad has welcomed

several players stepping up from

the Under-14s, and Hinton says

the group has settled quickly.

“It’s been going really well,” she

said. “We’ve been working on

getting the group to gel, and

the ability on the pitch has

been fantastic. Overall, it’s been

great.”

Last season ended with a

memorable run to the PGA

Plate Final, where the Under-

16s finished as runners-up to

Chelsea. Hinton believes that

experience was invaluable.

“It was a great occasion, in a

stadium they’d never played in

before, showcasing the talent

we have in our pathway. The way

they applied themselves was a

real credit to them.”

The 2025-26 campaign has

already brought encouraging

signs, with the team impressing

in tournament competition and

receiving strong feedback.

“That showed how good this

team can be. As they develop,

I think the Under-21s will be

a very exciting group in the

years to come. We’ve also had

a lot of players step up and

train at higher levels, which is a

real credit to them and to the

programme.”

Several Under-16s have already

trained and played with the

Under-21s, something Hinton

sees as a marker of success.

She pointed to Ebonie Locke

and Poppy Irvine, who this year

signed their first professional

contracts, as proof of the

opportunities available through

the pathway.

“It shows how strong the system

is. To see players progress

from the academy and achieve

professional deals is fantastic,

and it sets a brilliant example for

the rest of the group.”

68


SHAPING

TOMORROW’S

STARS

Georgia Clarke reflects on pre-season progress

and the pathway to the first team.

B

lues Women Under-21s

head coach Georgia

Clarke is relishing her

first full season in charge and

says she is excited by the talent

and potential within the group.

Clarke stepped into the role at

the back end of last season and

believes that short spell provided

the perfect foundation.

“It was good to have those three

months just to get used to things,

get to know some of the players

and create better links with the

first team,” she explained. “Now it’s

exciting to hit the ground running

with a fresh start, a new group of

players and all the processes we

put in place during the off-season.”

Pre-season provided plenty of

valuable lessons, with a range

of opposition helping the squad

prepare for the months ahead.

“We’ve had a real variation of

fixtures and played a lot of seniorlevel

opposition, which obviously

poses a different challenge,

particularly for our Under-16s

stepping up. We also went away

on tour, which was a valuable

experience, giving the girls a taste

of the intensity on and off the

pitch, and what life might look like if

they reach the first team.”

The pathway has already delivered

results, with several Under-21s

training regularly with the senior

side and both Poppy Irvine and

Ebonie Locke earning professional

contracts this summer.

“Our ultimate aim is to create players

who can impact the first team. That

starts in training, then debuts, and

ultimately professional contracts,

that’s what success looks like for us.”

With the Professional Game

Academy (PGA) season now

underway, Clarke’s focus is on turning

hard work on the training pitch into

performances on matchdays.

“We’ve had quite a few players

training with the first team, so some

of the younger girls will get valuable

minutes early in the season as they

grow into the Under-21s group.”

FIXTURES & RESULTS

Date COMP Opponent H/A

SEPTEMBER 2025

Sun 7 WSL2 Bristol City H 5-1

Sun 14 WSL2 Sunderland A 1-1

Sun 21 WSL2 Newcastle United H

Wed 24 LG CUP Bristol City H

Sun 28 WSL2 Sheffield United A

OCTOBER 2025

Sun 5 WSL2 Southampton H

Sun 12 WSL2 Ipswich Town A

Sun 19 LG CUP Tottenham Hotspur A

NOVEMBER 2025

Sun 2 WSL2 Charlton Athletic H

Sun 9 WSL2 Nottingham Forest A

Sun 16 WSL2 Portsmouth H

Sun 23 LG CUP Aston Villa A

DECEMBER 2025

Sun 7 WSL2 Crystal Palace A

Sun 15 WSL2 Durham H

JANUARY 2026

Sun 11 WSL2 Newcastle United A

Sun 25 WSL2 Portsmouth A

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 1 WSL2 Nottingham Forest H

Sun 8 WSL2 Durham A

Sun 15 WSL2 Crystal Palace H

MARCH 2026

Sun 15 WSL2 Southampton A

Sun 22 WSL2 Sheffield United H

Sun 29 WSL2 Bristol City A

APRIL 2026

Sun 5 WSL2 Sunderland H

Sun 26 WSL2 Ipswich Town H

MAY 2026

1,2 or 3 WSL2 Charlton Athletic A

*All fixtures are subject to change

69


Local lad Brad

Mayo reflects on

his rise through

the Academy, life

as a goalkeeper,

and learning from

Birmingham City’s

senior pros.

BRAD’S

BLUES

JOURNEY

70

S

ometimes football

journeys begin in the most

unexpected ways.

For Birmingham City goalkeeper Brad

Mayo, it all started not with a trial, a

club, or even a structured training

session — but with a lost pair of

gloves.

“When I was six, I went down the park

with my mates and ended up finding a

pair of goalkeeper gloves on the floor,”

he says with a smile. “That’s really

where it all began and I thought ‘I want

to be a goalkeeper’.”

From that moment, a spark was lit.

Mayo’s first steps into organised

football came with local side Marston

Green, and it was during one of their

youth tournaments that fate struck

again.

“Midway through a tournament, I had

a scout come up to me and ask if I

wanted a trial at Birmingham City,” he

recalls.

A six-week trial followed, and soon

the youngster was pulling on the

club’s colours. “From there it is getting

one-year contracts until you become

a scholar. All I remember is just how

much I enjoyed it and wanted to play

as much football as possible.

“I would train all day with Blues and

then go home and play with my dad

in the garden. I used to just love going

out and my dad kicking the ball at me,

especially in the bad weather when I

was sliding around everywhere! I just

loved every part of it.”

That sheer enthusiasm came with

plenty of character too. “At that young

age, I was absolutely mental. I was a

fruitcake, but I feel like you have to be

to be a goalkeeper at that age – and

even at this age!”

As he grew, so did his game. Questions

about his height as a goalkeeper

could have knocked his confidence,

but Mayo instead turned them into

motivation.

“I am not the tallest goalkeeper in the

world, and that has always been the

question mark for me. However, I have

never had the issue of a coach telling

me that I can’t do something because

of my height. I have always been able

to overcome that obstacle and prove

people wrong, and I will continue to do

that for the rest of my career. I’ll always

back myself against anyone.”

The progression through the academy

ranks brought key milestones. Playing up

an age group with the Under-18s at just

16 opened his eyes to the possibilities

of a career, while a strong campaign

with the Under-21s soon followed.

“That really changed my mindset when

it came to football and showed me it

could be a job.

“It was such an amazing group of lads,

and I’ll remember that year for the rest

of my life. Especially beating Millwall at

The Den – what an amazing night.”

With consistent performances came

opportunities, and it wasn’t long before

Mayo was involved with the first team.

“I was then sort of up and down

between the Under-21s and the first

team, which led to them saying:

‘would you like to come up and do this

full-time?’ For me it was a no-brainer

because you get such good experience

from working with the top pros in the

first team.”

“The first few sessions playing with the

first team, the level is so much higher,

and the intensity is through the roof.

Everyone here is a true professional,

every little detail is so nailed on. They

live, eat, and breathe professional

football.”

That experience was made even

sweeter by being part of last season’s

promotion-winning squad.

“Last year was a special year getting

promoted and I can’t thank the lads

enough for how they treated me and

welcomed me in. Chris Davies has

been brilliant with me, and I have been

involved in everything. Being up in the

first team you have to be a sponge

and take in every piece of information

you can.”

“Training every day with someone like

Ryan (Allsop), an excellent modern,

ball-playing goalkeeper, has been really

valuable for me.”

But while Mayo’s present is exciting, he

never forgets where it all began.

“This has been my life now for 14 years,

and I think the academy has been so

valuable for me. I genuinely do not think

I would be here without the academy

process.


“Going through the age groups

you learn so much, not just about

football but about yourself. I think the

processes and programmes that are

set up there are amazing, from training

sessions to education. It’s really set

me up to come into the first team and

thrive.”

From a pair of gloves in the park to

life as a professional at St. Andrew’s @

Knighthead Park, Mayo’s story is proof

of what passion, resilience and a little

bit of that goalkeeper’s “fruitcake”

spirit can achieve.

FIXTURES & RESULTS

Date Opponent H/A

AUGUST 2025

Fri 15 Stoke City H 2-2

Sat 23 (12pm) Derby County A 3-0

Fri 29 Newcastle United H 2-2

SEPTEMBER 2025

Tue 2 Hull City (PL Cup) A 1-5

Fri 19 West Ham United A

Fri 26 Fulham H

OCTOBER 2025

Mon 6 Crystal Palace A

Thu 16 Reading (PL Cup) H

Fri 24 Nottingham Forest H

Fri 31 Burnley A

NOVEMBER 2025

Fri 7 Leicester City A

Mon 24 AFC Bournemouth (PL Cup) H

DECEMBER 2025

Tue 1 Hull City (PL Cup) H

Sat 13 (1pm) Reading (PL Cup) A

Mon 22 AFC Bournemouth (PL Cup) A

JANUARY 2026

Fri 16 Everton H

Mon 26 (1pm) Blackburn Rovers A

Fri 30 Aston Villa H

FEBRUARY 2026

Fri 6 Tottenham Hotspur A

Fri 13 Chelsea H

Sun 22 (4pm) Brighton & Hove Albion A

MARCH 2026

Mon 2 Middlesbrough A

Fri 6 Manchester United H

Fri 13 West Bromwich Albion A

Fri 20 Manchester City H

APRIL 2026

Fri 10 Ipswich Town H

All fixtures will kick off at 7pm

unless otherwise stated.


71


UNDER-18s SECURE

FIRST LEAGUE WIN IN

SEVEN-GOAL THRILLER

72

B

3

4

lues Under-18s beat

Fulham in a seven-goal

thriller to secure their

first win in the Under-18 Premier

League.

Martyn Olorenshaw's side secured all

three points in dramatic fashion with

Louie Rea, Cobi Maddox and Kian

McCusker all on the scoresheet in

the capital.

Another milestone was also reached

as 14-year-old goalkeeper Alfie

Smith became the second youngest

player to ever feature in the Under-18

Premier League in his position.

Blues got off to the perfect start

when a well-worked goal had them

ahead with just 36 seconds on the

clock. Aurelien Guernier, who has

recently been a regular with the

Under-21s, darted down the right

flank and delivered a beauty of a

cross for Rea to expertly finish into

the bottom corner on the volley.

Frustratingly, though, the hosts then

equalised with what was the last

kick of the first half. Confusion in the

18-yard box following a corner kick

allowed Aidan Evans to capitalise

from close range.

However, the young Blues were not

deterred and found the lead again

early in the second period. Jack

Quirk, who has also been with the

Under-21s, tackled the ball into Rea's

path, who then fed Maddox to drive

forward and strike into the bottom

corner from 20 yards out.

Before Fulham could compose

themselves, the visitors had

another. Guernier once again caused

havoc on the wing as he beat two

defenders and pulled back for

McCusker to apply a classic centre

forward's finish from close range.

However, Fulham would find their

way back into the game via two

more corner kicks. Markuss Gomins

capitalised on both, heading one in

at the front post before finishing in

a scramble in the six-yard box from

another.

As the team creating more

opportunities, though, Blues

persevered and found what would be

the winning goal in the 74th minute.

This time it was our own set piece

that caused chaos as Maddox picked

up the loose ball and fired in his

second of the day via a deflection.

Fulham: Mayer, Benchaita, Cooke,

Gomins, Cliff, Kondau-Wall, White

(Khan, 36), Zepa, Evans, Cavell (De-

Gale, 60), Dair (Lubega, 76).

Blues: Smith, Quirk, Campbell,

Ranson, Thompson-Jones, Maddox,

Flavell, Ugorji (Degtiarev, 71), Rea,

Guernier, McCusker.


FIXTURES & RESULTS

Date Opponent H/A

AUGUST 2025

Sat 16 11am Crystal Palace H 0-8

Sat 23 12pm West Ham United A 1-1

Sat 30 12pm Arsenal H 0-2

SEPTEMBER 2025

Sat 13 12pm Fulham A 4-3

Sat 20 11am West Bromwich Albion H

Sat 27 12pm Tottenham Hotspur A

OCTOBER 2025

Sat 18 12pm Reading H

Sat 25 11am Ipswich Town A

NOVEMBER 2025

Sat 1 1pm Norwich City H

Sat 8 11am Leicester City A

DECEMBER 2025

Sat 6 11am Aston Villa A

Sat 13 11am Brighton & Hove Albion H

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10 12pm Chelsea A

Sat 17 11am Southampton H

Sat 24 12pm West Ham United H

Sat 31 11am Crystal Palace A

FEBRUARY 2026

Sat 7 12pm Fulham H

Sat 14 11am Arsenal A

Sat 21 11am Norwich City A

Sat 28 11am Leicester City H

MARCH 2026

Sat 7 12pm Tottenham Hotspur H

Sat 14 11am West Bromwich Albion A

Tue 17 12pm Reading A

Sat 21 11am Ipswich Town H

APRIL 2026

Sat 18 11am Aston Villa H

Sat 25 11am Brighton & Hove Albion A

MAY 2026

Sat 2 12pm Chelsea H

Sat 9 12pm Southampton A


73


SUPPORTER

MESSAGES

1. Happy 20th birthday

Jack Ford, love Grace

and Dad KRO xx


Sam! Lots of love Nanny

& Grandad x

3. Happy heavenly

birthday Dad/Pops. We

miss you so much, love

always xxx

1

2

3

4. Happy heavenly

birthday Grandad, miss

you and love you lots!

From the fam x


Livvy! Love Dad, Mom

and Ruby-Rose xxx


Ruby-Rose! Love Dad,

Mom and Olivia xxx

4

5

6


grandad Roly, love from

all the family x

8. Welcome to the world,

Hazel Sharred. We love

you! Dad, Mom, Olive and

Rose

9. Happy 18th Sophie.

KRO

10. Happy 9th birthday,

love from all your Blues

family and Tom. KRO

7

8

11. Gone too soon Azz,

we love you always Keep

Right On x

12. Sadly missed. Sleep

tight until we meet again,

love Sarah and Scott xx

13. Happy birthday Mom,

have a lovely day! KRO

lots of love Joe! x

9

10

11

74


14. Happy Birthday Nick! 16

September celebrations

continue at St. Andrew’s!

15. Happy birthday Ed! Love

Mum, Dad, Emily and all the

family. KRO x

12

13

14


Jacob! Love Mum, Dad and

Oliver xxx

17. Happy birthday Grandad!

Love you lots KRO


Henry, we love you loads! KRO

19. Happy 14th Birthday Harry

20. Happy 40th Teri!

15

16

17

21. Happy Birthday Dad, have

a good day. Love from Billie x

22. Happy birthday Dean

Trevor Shaw

23. Jake, happy 14th

birthday, love from us all KRO

24. Happy Birthday to you,

love from all the Blues family

x

18

19

20

25. Happy 12th birthday!

Love from all the family

26. In loving memory of

Roy Robinson, a lifelong

season-ticket holder, who

sadly passed away on 9th

September. Forever in our

hearts. KRO xx

21

22

23

27. Happy birthday to

Spencer, who turns 11 this

weekend. His favourite player

is Jay Stansfield

24

25

26 27

75


COVENTRY CITY V BIRMINGHAM CITY | SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP | CBS ARENA | SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2025 | KICK-OFF 12.30PM

LAST TIME WE MET

Blues 3-0 Coventry City


Saturday 13 April 2024

NEXT UP

COVENTRY

CITY

B

lues make the short trip

to face Coventry City in

next weekend’s televised

clash at the CBS Arena.

Chris Davies’ side will be looking to turn

their away fortunes around after backto-back

defeats on the road to Leicester

City and Stoke City.

At the time of writing, they come up

against the division’s top scorers, with

the Sky Blues having netted 15 times in

their five league games so far.

Twelve of those strikes came in just two

games, with back-to-back wins over

Derby County and Queens Park Rangers

being the pick of the bunch.

Frank Lampard’s side – who were beaten

in the play-off semi-finals last season –

secured a 5-3 win at Pride Park before

demolishing Queens Park Rangers 7-1 in a

rampant display on home soil.

They picked up a point last time out

against Norwich City, with Haji Wright

scoring a stoppage-time equaliser to

earn a share of the spoils.

And the striker will be a key figure for

Coventry once more this season as they

plot another push towards a long-awaited

return to the Premier League.

Wright scored 16 goals in his maiden

season at the club in 2023/24 before

finishing top of the club’s scoring charts

last term as Lampard’s men finished fifth.

Lampard – who has been in charge since

last November – oversaw a terrific run of

form that took the club from 17th in the

table to the top six within the space of

six months.

But after losing to Sunderland in dramatic

circumstances in the play-off semi-final,

the former Chelsea boss is hoping his

side can have another good season as

they bid to return to the top flight for the

first time since being relegated in 2001.

The Sky Blues have enjoyed an unbeaten

start to the season so far despite

Blues beat play-off chasing

neighbours Coventry City to

boost their Championship

survival hopes.

Coventry defender Bobby

Thomas's own goal unsettled

the visitors, before Ivan Sunjic

fired in his first goal in almost

two years.

Blues top scorer Jay Stansfield

netted from close range to

make sure of the points shortly

before the hour mark.

The win saw Blues move one

point above the relegation

zone with three games to go,

however Gary Rowett’s side

would eventually be relegated

on the final day of the season.

losing Ben Sheaf to Wrexham, but

they strengthened their squad with

the arrival of Kaine Kesler-Hayden and

Carl Rushworth, the latter joining on a

season-long loan from Brighton.

Blues’ last league win at Coventry came

in October 2006, when Nicklas Bendtner’s

goal gave the visitors all three points in

a 1-0 victory.

76

5 PEOPLE

HAVE AN

OUT-OF-HOSPITAL

CARDIAC

ARREST

EVERY 90 MINUTES *

In partnership with

*UK data


R

78


ROLL CALL & LEAGUE TABLE

PLAYER LEAGUE FA CUP LEAGUE CUP

APPS / GLS APPS / GLS APPS / GLS

Ryan Allsop 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Keshi Anderson 2 (2) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (1) 0

James Beadle 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 2 (0) 0

Krystian Bielik 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Eiran Cashin 0 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 2 (0) 0

Alex Cochrane 3 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (1) 0

Tommy Doyle 1 (4) 0 0 (0) 0 2 (0) 0

Marvin Ducksch 0 (2) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Lyndon Dykes 0 (4) 1 0 (0) 0 1 (1) 0

Kanya Fujimoto 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Kyogo Furuhashi 4 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (1) 1

Taylor Gardner-Hickman 0 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Demarai Gray 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

George Hall 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Dan Isichei 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Tomoki Iwata 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Christoph Klarer 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Lewis Koumas 1 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Ethan Laird 3 (2) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (1) 0

Marc Leonard 0 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 2 (0) 0

Phil Neumann 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Bright Osayi-Samuel 4 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (1) 0

Paik Seung-Ho 5 (0) 1 0 (0) 0 0 (2) 0

Patrick Roberts 1 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Jack Robinson 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0

Alfons Sampsted 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Jay Stansfield 4 (0) 2 0 (0) 0 0 (2) 1

Willum Willumsson 2 (1) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts

1 Middlesbrough 5 4 1 0 9 3 6 13

2 Stoke City 5 4 0 1 9 3 6 12

3 Bristol City 5 3 2 0 12 4 8 11

4 Leicester City 5 3 1 1 8 5 3 10

5 West Bromwich Albion 5 3 1 1 6 4 2 10

6 Coventry City 5 2 3 0 15 7 8 9

7 Swansea City 5 2 2 1 6 4 2 8

8 Preston North End 5 2 2 1 6 5 1 8

9 Portsmouth 5 2 2 1 4 3 1 8

10 Norwich City 5 2 1 2 7 6 1 7

11 BIRMINGHAM CITY 5 2 1 2 4 5 -1 7

12 Queens Park Rangers 5 2 1 2 9 12 -3 7

13 Millwall 5 2 1 2 4 7 -3 7

14 Ipswich Town 5 1 3 1 9 5 4 6

15 Southampton 5 1 3 1 6 6 0 6

16 Blackburn Rovers 5 2 0 3 5 5 0 6

17 Watford 5 1 2 2 5 6 -1 5

18 Charlton Athletic 5 1 2 2 3 5 -2 5

19 Derby County 5 1 2 2 8 11 -3 5

20 Hull City 5 1 2 2 7 11 -4 5

21 Wrexham 5 1 1 3 8 10 -2 4

22 Oxford United 5 0 2 3 6 9 -3 2

23 Sheffield Wednesday 5 0 1 4 3 12 -9 1

24 Sheffield United 5 0 0 5 1 12 -11 0

TODAY’S GAMES

3PM KICK-OFF UNLESS STATED

Birmingham City v Swansea City

(12.30pm)

Leicester City v Coventry City

(12.30pm)

Queens Park Rangers v Stoke City

(12.30pm)

Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town

Derby County v Preston North End

Hull City v Southampton

Norwich City v Wrexham

Portsmouth v

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield United v

Charlton Athletic

79


FIXTURES & RESULTS 2025/26

DATE KO OPPONENT RES COMP POS ATT STARTING XI

AUGUST

FRI 8 8PM IPSWICH TOWN H 1-1 LEAGUE 12 27,508 ALLSOP COCHRANE KLARER NEUMANN OSAYI-SAMUEL❚ SEUNG-HO❚ IWATA

WED 13 8PM SHEFFIELD UNITED H 2-1 CARABAO - 16,357 BEADLE COCHRANE KLARER❚ CASHIN LAIRD LEONARD IWATA

SAT 16 3PM BLACKBURN ROVERS A 2-1 LEAGUE 6 19,552 ALLSOP COCHRANE KLARER NEUMANN OSAYI-SAMUEL❚ SEUNG-HO IWATA❚

SAT 23 3PM OXFORD UNITED H 1-0 LEAGUE 5 27,342 ALLSOP LAIRD KLARER NEUMANN OSAYI-SAMUEL SEUNG-HO 1 IWATA

TUE 26 7.45PM PORT VALE H 0-1 CARABAO - 21,052 BEADLE SAMPSTED CASHIN NEUMANN❚ GARDNER-HICKMAN KOUMAS DOYLE❚

FRI 29 8PM LEICESTER CITY A 0-2 LEAGUE 7 30,971 ALLSOP LAIRD KLARER❚ NEUMANN OSAYI-SAMUEL SEUNG-HO IWATA

SEPTEMBER

SAT 13 3PM STOKE CITY A 0-1 LEAGUE 11 24,676 ALLSOP COCHRANE KLARER NEUMANN LAIRD SEUNG-HO IWATA

SAT 20 12.30PM SWANSEA CITY H LEAGUE

SAT 27 12.30PM COVENTRY CITY A LEAGUE

TUE 30 7.45PM SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY H LEAGUE

OCTOBER

FRI 3 8PM WREXHAM AFC A LEAGUE

SAT 18 3PM HULL CITY H LEAGUE

TUE 21 7.45PM PRESTON NORTH END A LEAGUE

SAT 25 3PM BRISTOL CITY A LEAGUE

NOVEMBER

SAT 1 3PM PORTSMOUTH H LEAGUE

TUE 4 7.45PM MILLWALL H LEAGUE

SAT 8 3PM MIDDLESBROUGH A LEAGUE

SAT 22 3PM NORWICH CITY H LEAGUE

WED 26 8PM WEST BROMWICH ALBION A LEAGUE

DECEMBER

MON 1 8PM WATFORD H LEAGUE

SAT 6 3PM SOUTHAMPTON A LEAGUE

TUE 9 8PM QUEENS PARK RANGERS A LEAGUE

SAT 13 3PM CHARLTON ATHLETIC H LEAGUE

SAT 20 3PM SHEFFIELD UNITED A LEAGUE

FRI 26 12.30PM DERBY COUNTY H LEAGUE

MON 29 8.15PM SOUTHAMPTON H LEAGUE

JANUARY

THU 1 3PM WATFORD A LEAGUE

SUN 4 12PM COVENTRY CITY H LEAGUE

SAT 17 3PM SWANSEA CITY A LEAGUE

TUE 20 7.45PM SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY A LEAGUE

SAT 24 3PM STOKE CITY H LEAGUE

SAT 31 3PM OXFORD UNITED A LEAGUE

FEBRUARY

SAT 7 3PM LEICESTER CITY H LEAGUE

SAT 14 3PM WEST BROMWICH ALBION H LEAGUE

SAT 21 3PM NORWICH CITY A A LEAGUE

WED 25 7.45PM MILLWALL A LEAGUE

SAT 28 3PM MIDDLESBROUGH H LEAGUE

MARCH

SAT 7 3PM CHARLTON ATHLETIC A LEAGUE

TUE 10 7.45PM QUEENS PARK RANGERS H LEAGUE

SAT 14 3PM SHEFFIELD UNITED H LEAGUE

SAT 21 3PM DERBY COUNTY A LEAGUE

APRIL

FRI 3 3PM BLACKBURN ROVERS H LEAGUE

MON 6 3PM IPSWICH TOWN A LEAGUE

SAT 11 3PM WREXHAM AFC H LEAGUE

SAT 18 3PM HULL CITY A LEAGUE

WED 22 7.45PM PRESTON NORTH END H LEAGUE

SAT 25 3PM BRISTOL CITY H LEAGUE

MAY

SAT 2 12.30PM PORTSMOUTH A LEAGUE

80


SUB 1 SUB 2 SUB 3 SUB 4 SUB 5 UNUSED SUBS

ANDERSON STANSFIELD 1 GRAY FURUHASHI DOYLE DYKES LAIRD GARDNER-HICKMAN BEADLE, BIELIK, CASHIN, LEONARD, WILLUMSSON

GRAY DOYLE WILLUMSSON FURUHASHI 1 ANDERSON STANSFIELD❚ 1 SEUNG-HO OSAYI-SAMUEL DYKES ALLSOP, FUJIMOTO, GARDNER-HICKMAN, NEUMANN

ANDERSON GRAY STANSFIELD 1 FURUHASHI LAIRD DYKES 1 DOYLE WILLUMSSON CASHIN BEADLE, FUJIMOTO, LEONARD, GARDNER-HICKMAN

GRAY WILLUMSSON FURUHASHI STANSFIELD DOYLE ANDERSON DYKES BEADLE, CASHIN, DUCKSCH, FUJIMOTO, LEONARD, GARDNER-HICKMAN

LEONARD❚ FUJIMOTO DUCKSCH DYKES COCHRANE SEUNG-HO STANSFIELD FURUHASHI LAIRD ALLSOP, HALL, ISICHEI, KLARER

GRAY❚ WILLUMSSON KOUMAS FURUHASHI❚ ANDERSON DOYLE DUCKSCH DYKES BEADLE, CASHIN, COCHRANE, LEONARD, GARDNER-HICKMAN

GRAY ROBERTS DOYLE STANSFIELD OSAYI-SAMUEL❚ DUCKSCH KOUMAS FURUHASHI LEONARD BEADLE, CASHIN, DYKES, ROBINSON

81


THE TEAMS

MANAGER: CHRIS DAVIES

2 ETHAN LAIRD

3 LEE BUCHANAN

4 CHRISTOPH KLARER

5 PHIL NEUMANN

6 JACK ROBINSON

7 TOMMY DOYLE

8 PAIK SEUNG-HO

9 KYOGO FURUHASHI

10 DEMARAI GRAY

11 SCOTT WRIGHT

12 MARC LEONARD

14 KESHI ANDERSON

15 ALFIE CHANG

16 PATRICK ROBERTS

17 LYNDON DYKES

18 WILLUM WILLUMSSON

19 TAYLOR GARDNER-HICKMAN

20 ALEX COCHRANE

21 RYAN ALLSOP GK

23 ALFONS SAMPSTED

24 TOMOKI IWATA

25 JAMES BEADLE GK

26 BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL

27 KANYA FUJIMOTO

28 JAY STANSFIELD

33 MARVIN DUCKSCH

41 EIRAN CASHIN

43 ZAID BETTEKA

48 BRAD MAYO GK

HEAD COACH: ALAN SHEEHAN

1 ANDY FISHER GK

2 JOSH KEY

4 JAY FULTON

5 BEN CABANGO

6 MARKO STAMENIĆ

7 MELKER WIDELL

8 MALICK YALCOUYÉ

9 ŽAN VIPOTNIK

10 JISUNG EOM

14 JOSH TYMON

15 CAMERON BURGESS

16 ISHÉ SAMUELS-SMITH

17 GONÇALO FRANCO

20 LIAM CULLEN

21 MANUEL BENSON

22 LAWRENCE VIGOUROUX GK

23 RICARDO SANTOS

24 BOBBY WALES

26 KAELAN CASEY

27 ZEIDANE INOUSSA

29 PAUL FARMAN GK

30 ETHAN GALBRAITH

33 ADAM IDAH

35 RONALD

37 AIMAR GOVEA

41 SAMUEL PARKER

43 DANIEL WATTS

MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREE:

JOHN BUSBY

ASSISTANT REFEREES:

GRAHAM KANE

CARL FITCH-JACKSON

FOURTH OFFICIAL:

JACOB MILES

NEXT UP AT HOME


Tuesday 30 September 2025

Kick-off 7.45pm

St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

82


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HOW TO BOOK

BCFC.COM

0121 772 0101

OPTION 2

HOSPITALITY@BCFC.COM

83

1875 - 2025

Our story started in the autumn of 1875.

A blue thread was woven through the heart of our city –

a thread of togetherness, resilience, and belonging.

150 years on, that thread still runs true.

Through triumphs and trials, the Club has

been carried by generations of loyal supporters - each one

adding their voice to a story still being written.

From Small Heath to St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, from

past legends to future dreams, this is more than a club.

It is tradition, identity, and pride.

KEEP RIGHT ON

Birmingham City v Swansea City

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