I’m not a fan of the overuse of the word ‘surreal’ but the feeling that I’m sure many of us get today now that the first day of the season has finally arrived is just that. Our beloved club got relegated from the Championship in May to the third tier of the football pyramid for the first time in thirty years after what can only be described as the most depressing and lamentable decade in our history (although the last time we sunk so low was pretty awful as I recall!) A startling and wholly unwanted statistic is that over that last five years, Birmingham City have lost more games than any other team in the EFL. I can’t say I’m surprised since it seemed that the prospect of winning away from home was virtually non-existent and with regard to St Andrew’s which back in the day used to be a fortress, it was proving to be a great day out for opposing fans who were coming to our place not just hoping they could win, not just thinking they could win but knowing they could. The piss taking that we have had to endure every other Saturday has become increasingly tough to bare.
So what has changed to produce this wave of optimism? Clearly the new ownership has made a massive difference to the overall psyche of our fan base. Having rid ourselves of the clowns that were running our club before Tom Wagner, Tom Brady and Gary Cooke arrived and the changes that Knighthead have instituted the club seems to have risen from a burnt carcass into a fledgling Phoenix with the departure of highly paid players who were past their best or not good enough in the first place. The recruitment of players that most League 1 teams can only dream of, splashing a bit of cash in the process to obtain permanent signings rather than freebies, loans and journeymen has added to the feel good factor.
Forty-six games have got to be played yet so it may be premature to assume that we are going to lay waste to all before us but with the doings of the last ten weeks or so it is difficult not to be upbeat and excited. I tend to be pretty cautious about our prospects having been ground down over many years following Blues since reality nearly always trumps expectation but this year you can feel the buzz and crackle of excitement among the faithful after an good preseason preparation under the care of a new, young and clearly capable coach, Chris Davies. In conclusion, I have to say that I am as excited as hell! I haven’t felt this way on the eve of a new season for years and it is a great sensation. I truly believe we are going to have a good season which will result in promotion at the end of it. I just hope that I don’t end up with egg on my face following such a grandiose statement since as Will pointed out with his nagging doubt; this is Birmingham City! I know exactly what he’s saying having been let down so many times but maybe just maybe it will be different this time eh?
Will picked me up from home just after noon. We felt we had to get to the ground early since Will and I had respectively managed to download our digital season tickets onto our respective phones but little Will’s ticket remained obstinately in the ether and Will decided there was nothing for it but to get there early pick up his ticket, soak up the atmosphere, grab a couple of beers and perhaps some food. We avoided the M25 which should be avoided even at the best of times and joined the M40 at Wycombe and made Baginton to pick up little Jack prior to reaching St Andrew’s at 14.45. We parked on the grass verge on Bolton Road at the top of the hill close to the ground benefitting from arriving early. We had time to call in at the area where the temporary club shop was to pick up our physical season tickets. This proved to be a rapid and fairly painless process. All that remained was to grab a pint in the fan zone which we duly did. After this cool refreshment we decided to go into the ground using the new turnstiles which worked efficiently. We found the new box to box bar which was rammed. It took a while queuing to get a drink but there did seem to be some technical problems with the card payments system so I hope for the future this will be ironed out and things will work better. Regardless, despite the delays it is a vast improvement on the hopeless catering we’ve had to endure for so many years. The only thing I would say is the bar gets very hot which may be a reflection on how packed the area was.
It had been fun so far and I can’t put it off any longer so here goes; on to the game. The Blues line up was very much as predicted with Peacock-Farrell getting the gloves ahead of Ryan Allsop, Laird and Cochrane filled the full back berths with captain Krystian Bielik and Dion Sanderson completing the back four. Leonard, Willumson, Paik, Miyoshi and Dembele formed up in front of them with Alfie May up top. It became clear that Reading hadn’t come to make up the numbers and were obviously well drilled, hard working and solidly organised under a good coach in Rubén Selles. Those who have disrespectfully been posting comments about how much they were looking forward to witnessing a 6-0 whitewash were in for a shock. Blues were finding it difficult to establish the crisp passing rhythm that has been so evident in the recent preseason games against Rangers and the Baggies. Reading pressed, closed down, harassed and doggedly denied Blues space. I noted that Cochrane was finding it difficult to get forward and Siriki Dembele was having a poor game either trying to do too much, failing to deliver the final ball into the box and getting robbed of possession and when he did, provided poor delivery. It was no surprise that he got the hook at half time and was replaced by the far more effective Hansson. I will say that Reading did put a lot of energy into the first period and created the better chances. They should have taken the lead on 35 minutes when Kelvin Ehibhationham found himself well placed only twelve yards out but shanked the shot which was blocked the resulting rebound was headed by Camara straight at Peacock-Farrell giving Blues a huge let off. They failed to heed the warning when seven minutes later Lewis Wing slipped a through ball through to Ehibhationham in the inside right position played onside by Ethan Laird daydreaming on the other flank. This time the Reading man made no mistake with a crisp finish across the keeper into the bottom corner. Blues had not really troubled the Reading rearguard and the visitors had been the better side.
Chris Davies changed things in the second half, substituting Dembele immediately for Emil Hansson and swopping Willumsson and Miyoshi for Luke Harris and Keshi Anderson respectively. Blues were still struggling to penetrate however but as the half wore on it became clear that many of the Reading players were tiring and by 70 minutes or so they looked spent. The visitors were coming under increasing pressure but stubbornly refused to yield. However with only five minutes on the clock a penetrating run my Hansson resulted in a cross towards the forwards in the box. Lewis Wing stuck out an arm probably instinctively and Mr Finnie had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Alfie May stepped up and efficiently dispatched the kick to the keeper’s right and duly rescued a point and with it Blues’ blushes. A curate’s egg of a performance in the end but a warning that this campaign is going to be anything but easy. Talk of “pissing the league” needs to stop following this reality check.
We got back to the car or should I say lack of; it had gone! So, stranded we made our forlorn traipse towards the train station. It had certainly been an eventful day. I ended up staying over with Jack since my train got cancelled. There were hundreds of Reading fans on the platform late a night. I don’t know how they got on?
The Good: The buzz and excitement before the game. The new box to box bar although teething problems to obtain faster service need to be addressed. It’s also very hot in there because of the shear number of people.
The Bad: Will’s car getting stolen meaning that getting home became a big problem. Whilst Will, little Will and Joel managed to catch the earlier train, I was not so lucky. The 9.03 getting cancelled was the last straw.
The Ugly: The mood of the very drunk and large crowd of Reading fans on the platform at New Street when the aforementioned train was cancelled. I can’t say I blame them.
Birmingham City: Bailey Peacock-Farrell 6, Ethan Laird 5 (Brandon Khela 83, N/A) Krystian Bielik 6, Dion Sanderson 6, Alex Cochrane 5, Marc Leonard 7 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 83, N/A) Willum Willumson 5 (Luke Harris 51, 6) Paik Seung-ho 6, Koji Miyoshi 6 (Keshi Anderson 61, 6) Siriki Dembele 4 (Emil Hansson 45, 7) Alfie May 7.
Subs not used: Ryan Allsop, Christian Klarer, Brandon Khela Luke Harris Keshi Anderson, Lukas Jutkiewicz
Goals: May (pen) 87.
Yellow cards: None
Reading: Joel Pereira 6, Michael Craig 6, Amadou Mbengue 7, Tyler Bindon 6, Jeriel Dorsett 6 (Kelvin Abrefa 61, 6) Ben Elliott 6 (Charlie Savage 74, 6) Lewis Wing 7, Harvey Knibbs 6 Sam Smith 6, Mamadi Camara 6 (Andre Garcia 74, 6) Kelvin Ehibhationham 7 (Jayden Wareham 85, N/A)
Subs not used: Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Abraham Kanu, Emmanuel Osho.
Goals: Ehibhationham 42,
Yellow cards: Wing 23.
Referee: Will Finnie 6: I didn’t think the man in the middle had a bad game although there was a clear back pass to the keeper by Reading that he failed to give the appropriate free kick for. The penalty award was correct; it was a clear hand ball by Lewis Wing.
Attendance: 27,985
KRO Bazza
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