End of Season Bash!

Bazza went to the end of season dinner this week. So as he has done all season, here is his “match” report!

A few days ago, Will had called up and very kindly offered me the chance to go to the Gala Awards Dinner at the ICC in Birmingham. It meant shifting two whole days’ worth of appointments and my secretary had a face like a smacked arse when I told her but what the hell. Taking the following day off as well proved to be not only practical but wise judging by the fact that I still feel somewhat ‘tired’ as I write this. It turned out that Will’s uncle had booked a table of ten and a couple of people had dropped out so he asked me instead. I thought it would be a good wheeze having never been to this particular function before although getting there in time was going to be a bit tight straight from work.

The night before I had dragged my old DJ out of the wardrobe to discover that it had shrunk considerably so I had the added complication of having to get Mrs Bazza dispatched to Marks & Spencer to get me a new one. Fortunately, that part of the plan worked and I was heading north from home by about twenty past four flouting the Highway Code’s advice on speed limits more than here and there I have to confess. I met up with Will who had had to rush down from Sheffield, at the Baginton Oak, owned and run by Chris Will’s brother to change and get a lift into town to meet up with the rest of our dinner party. Fortified by a preliminary pint in The Brasshouse, we walked over to the venue, ordered wine and found our table.

Over 1100 guests attended the evening hosted by Tom Ross and there were two large screens to enable those of us near the back of the arena to see what was going on, on the stage. There were a number of clips of football footage on the screens showing highlights of Blues’ past moments most of which concentrated on the team from the 1970s so lots of shots of Trevor Francis and Bob Latchford and not much of more recent stuff especially the last twenty years of the 20th century which is not altogether surprising although I did see glimpses of Horsfield’s goal against Norwich in the play off final and the Horse again robbing Enkleman, rounding him and scoring against the Vile which is always worth a watch over and over again. 😀 Pity they didn’t include the throw in from Mellberg though! 😛

The food when it came was very nice and a lot better in reality than it appeared on paper. A salmon starter was followed by chicken which was beautifully cooked in a light sauce followed by dessert, cheese and biscuits and coffee. This was accompanied by copious quantities of the grape which is why I’m very glad I’m not working today! We were entertained by Soul Diva, Beverley Knight whose performance became a bit blurred round the edges by the time she came on through no fault of hers. Mind you, enjoyable though her performance was, someone should tell her that the blue dress she was wearing doesn’t suit her; bust too small, hips and thighs too big and all that. I think Trinny and Susannah would have had a field day and the ankle boots did nothing to improve the look and those earrings! Yuk! Gail, Chris’ wife, whom I usually laugh at regarding her sartorial elegance, looked lovely and I told her she looked divine much to her relief having made her totally paranoid over the season; I’m a cruel and wicked man!

The awards went to Joe Hart for player of the year and Junior Blues player of the year, Barry Ferguson for player’s player of the year, Cameron Jerome won the top scorer award and goal of the season for his cracking strike at Anfield which would have won the award at most Premier League clubs even those with a few more goals to choose from. Jack Butland captured the young player of the year. The moment of the season was presented to Stephen Carr for the 15 game unbeaten run.

The highlight of the evening was Chris bidding for and winning a silver disc donated by Jasper Carrott for his ‘Funky Moped’ song. Cost Chris £800 but he’s chuffed with it and he gets to have it presented at a game next season by Jasper himself. There were a number of autographed sports memorabilia; football shirts, boxing shorts, racing driver caps etc that sold for high prices in the name of charity. The top prize of a 10 day trip for two to the Far East for the club’s pre-season tour fetched an impressive £5400.

Overall it was an excellent night which I thoroughly enjoyed as I’m sure the vast majority will have done. Apparently it was a record attendance for this function which in the middle of a recession speaks volumes for the great season we have had. Let’s hope there is even more to celebrate next year.

Bazza

KRO SOTV

As a footnote. The club have allowed me to publish some quotes from Joe Hart from Monday evening.

“The England call-up wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been here at Birmingham where I have been playing regularly.“All I wanted to do from the start of the season was play football and Birmingham gave me that opportunity. To be playing again and be part of a team was brilliant.“Starting so many games was such a highlight for me. As soon as the whistle went at the start of a game I was starting it meant everything to me.