We have finally arrived; the first home game of the season. I have to confess for at least the last five or six years I have not enjoyed the buzz of excitement normally greeting the start of a new campaign. This is because of course, there has been very little to look forward to with the ineptitude of our long-standing Chinese owners. With little investment on and off the field, financial problems and frankly mediocre performances leading to us languishing at the lower end of the championship, not a place where a team like Birmingham City should be naturally residing, there has been little to stir the blood. Along comes Tom Wagner and Tom Brady and although they only seem to have partially taken over the club at this stage, it has resulted in them taking what appears to be a complete day-to-day control.
This has led to a wave of optimism among the fan base with the seeming re-engagement with the fans and having watched the interview with Tom Wagner and the video clip produced by Tom Brady I am heartened by the overall holistic approach both seem to be taking towards not only the club but Birmingham as a city. One can only hope that the apparent clear plan will translate into better results and a brighter future for us as fans.
Today’s game promises to be a sell-out but it remains to be seen exactly what that means as I still believe there are parts of the ground that still need some work before license can be issued for safety but progress is definitely being made and it was good to see that there will be a new frontage to the ground and changes for the better all round. A restoration of atmosphere within St Andrews is one of the things that I believe will help us to act as the 12th man.
Will contacted me earlier in the week and we made arrangements for us to go up by car on the siccation as with the continuing train strikes I was unsure as to the reliability of my normal mode of travel. Will had borrowed a van from work and I met him in just outside Guildford station round about 10.45 and we made the journey northwards towards Birmingham. The M25 was choked up as usual so Will elected to go via the A404M to get to the M40 which involved doubling back very close to where I live!
Before leaving for Guildford, I had switched on the television at 8 o’clock hoping to see the England v Columbia women’s quarter-final only to find that it was Australia versus France and that our game was taking place later in the morning despite what it said in the radio times pull out. This would mean that we would not be able to watch the game on television as we would be travelling up the M40.
This goes to show that you cannot have everything in life and we would just have to listen to the game on the radio instead. When England went behind just on the stroke of half time we feared the worst but a timely equaliser deep into time added on calmed the nerves and the Lionesses went on to turn the match around getting the day off to a good start. We were able to watch the last ten minutes from Chris’ place before setting off for St Andrew’s which has had a facelift unlike yours truly in the picture! The new club logo looks impressive and is illuminated when it gets dark so will look good as the nights draw in.
By the time we arrived at the ground there wasn’t time to go to the George so settled for beef strips and chips with a choice of two sauces being sold at a kiosk outside the ground. I had the red wine shallot jus and Chris went for the chimchimuru (as shown).
Whilst there have been improvements at the ground, the catering service is still shocking and there was no chance of getting a pint before the game so we had to forgo a drink. The toilet facilities still don’t have hot taps in the Kop and in one of the gents there was one air hand dryer and it wasn’t working! These have been continual gripes of mine for a long time and I hope that our new owners will take heed. These are basic things that could be rectified to improve the fan’s match day experience. I know Rome wasn’t built in a day but whilst ground improvement is underway these simple things can and should be fixed.
We made our way to our seats to enjoy the atmosphere. What a difference! The place had a buzz about it that has been missing for so long. The players came out to flame spears and fireworks in the All-American way but it got people engaged, enthused and fired up and it is the longest time since I’ve heard Keep Right On to the End of the Road sung with such gusto.
There was however, some solemnity to the occasion as we all remembered club legend, the late, great Trevor Francis who died unexpectedly recently at the age of 69. Jasper Carrott came onto the pitch an gave an emotional speech about Trevor which captured the essence of why he was so important to us. His final comment was that Trevor “almost, almost made us great.” There is no doubt that the team of which he was part was arguably our best ever (I was only three in 1956 so don’t remember that side) During Jasper’s speech the Leeds fans launched into a rendering of “Marching on Together” but they were drowned out by the howls of disapproval from the Blues contingent from our section of the Kop. In fairness, the majority of the visitors recognised the disrespectfulness of their actions and rapidly shut up. They joined in with the applause for a great player and great man including the standing ovation 8 minutes into the game commemorating the number Trevor wore with such distinction; RIP old friend.
I haven’t enjoyed a game of football played at St Andrew’s so much in ages. I think it was the atmosphere that heightened the emotions since to a neutral onlooker this probably wasn’t the finest example of the beautiful game you will ever witness. The guvnor of the Festival at Styvichall told us later when we called in for a celebratory pint that the pundit on SKY had said that it was a poor game. I accept that there were very few chances; we restricted Leeds United to a single attempt on target due to an excellent, solid defensive performance led by an outstanding captain’s shift by Dion Sanderson ably supported by Kevin Long whose last ditch goal saving tackle prevented a certain goal in the second half when John Ruddy had parried. I would be interested to know the pass count between the Leeds back line and the goalkeeper but Leeds are going through a bad time at present with eight injuries to their squad and their expensive centre forward on strike and refusing to play so if the sceptics feel that they had come for a draw who can blame them? I felt they gave it a go in the second half sensing that at 0-0 they might nick it.
It was an attritional battle in midfield but it wasn’t dull. There was pace in the play from both sets of midfielders with from Blues perspective, excellent contributions from Dembele, Bacuna and Keshi Anderson. There were more understated but nevertheless equally important roles by holding players Ivan Sunjic and Krystian Bielik. If I have a criticism, it is that the final pass into the striker Scott Hogan was usually overcooked or inaccurate meaning that the Irishman had a subdued game by his standards.
The wing backs particularly Ethan Laird were excellent and although Lee Buchanan on the left struggled with the probing runs of Jamie Shackleton and Archie Gray, he stuck to the task. For Leeds the players that stood out were Archie Gray and Sam Byram. Daniel James who offered a real threat down the left flank especially in the second half. Both sides had chances with Kevin Long and Keshi Anderson going close for Blues and Sam Byram missing the far post with a glancing header for Leeds.
The game looked to be heading to a goalless draw when a through ball in the inside right channel was seized upon by Ethan Laird who got his body across the player tracking him, Daniel James who clumsily clattered into the back of the Blues player and after a glance across to his linesman, referee, Tim Robinson pointed to the spot with 89 minutes 45 seconds on the clock. Substitute, Lukas Jutkiewicz, on for only two minutes so far stepped up and drilled the ball down the middle as goalkeeper Ilian Meslier dived to his left. The ball did hit his trailing right foot but the power of the shot was enough to take the ball into the top corner for St Andrew’s to erupt with joy. The taking of the kick and celebrations included, the six minutes added on became about nine but Blues held on for a deserved win sending the majority of the 20,000 plus crowd home happy.
The Good: The atmosphere; fantastic noise and buzz in the ground for the first time in a long while. There are still the lower tiers of the Tilton and the Kop stand to open but otherwise the ground was packed. Good to see and hear.
The Bad: The slow service to get refreshments inside the ground has not improved and I keep saying it: please provide hot water, soap and decent hand drying facilities in the toilets so people can wash their hands after using the loo. The present situation is totally unacceptable.
The Ugly: Ooh, the penalty! The kick went down the middle and hit the keeper’s foot. It was lucky that it had enough pace on it to find the net. They all count but I never feel confident when Jukey takes these. I’ve seen him miss before.
Birmingham City: John Ruddy 8, Ethan Laird 8, Dion Sanderson 9, Kevin Long 7, Lee Buchanan 7, Krystian Bielik 7, Ivan Sunjic 7, Juninho Bacuna 8 (Jordan James 88, N/A) Siriki Dembele 8 (Emmanuel Longelo 90+4, N/A) Keshi Anderson 7(Koji Miyoshi 65, 7) Scott Hogan 6 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 88, N/A)
Subs not used:Neil Etheridge, Josh Williams, Alfie Chang, Brandon Khela, Sam Cosgrove.
Goals: Lukas Jutkiewicz (pen) 90+1.
Yellow cards: Ruddy 90+3.
Leeds United: Illan Meslier 7, Luke Ayling 6, Charlie Creswell 7 Pascal Struijk 7 Sam Byram 7 Ethan Ampadu 6 Archie Gray 8 Jamie Shackleton 6 (Joe Rodon 90+2, N/A) Dan James 7, Ian Poveda 6, Joe Gelhardt 5 (Georginio Rutter 67, 5)
Subs not used: Kristoffer Klaesson, Karl Darlow, Darko Gyabi, Lewis Bate, Leo Hjelde, Cody Drameh.
Goals: None
Yellow cards: Ampadu 22, Byram 45+1, Meslier 90+1.
Referee: Tim Robinson 6, overall, a solid uncontentious performance. Was fair and consistent to both sides and kept the game flowing. Was guilty of several mistakes regarding corners and goal kicks for both sides but in the end it didn’t affect the outcome. I do wonder whether he would have given the penalty without prompting from his assistant on the Kop side? Laird made the most if it but it was a foul so the correct decision in the end.
Attendance: 20,451 (2,213 away)
Bazza KRO
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