I haven’t written about Blues for a long time. I was once of this very parish and unbeknownst to this blog and probably people reading, its existence played a key role in a recovery of sorts for me. And recovery is very much the theme of the day as League One favourites clash at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in what has, somewhat painfully, been referred to as ‘The Hollywood Derby’.
Kettle on, all doors to bedrooms closed in case Blues score and I settle in for the game. It’s 4:45am here in coastal NSW and the atmosphere looks and sounds fantastic and Blues TV worked like a charm when logging in. Good signs. My last game at St Andrew’s was around 10 years ago when we beat Reading 6-1 thanks to a Demarai Gray hat trick. There’s been a lot of bacteria infested water under the bridge since then.
And if truth be told, the hankering hasn’t really been there to go back too often. Seeing weeds pop up around the pitch, the closing of stands and everything else happening at the club felt like decay. My Blues TV subscription never dropped in that time however but getting up at stupid times, neglecting sleep and personal well-being to see us regularly hammered by clubs we used to dispatch comfortably isn’t an enjoyable experience.
I watch the build up, the lights, the noise, the ATMOSPHERE. I always have a longing for home when I see this. But it’s been absent. And whilst the transformation of the city seems to be continuing, the absence of Blues being a part of that stings. But this is visceral. A real longing to be there. In a place I know, with people I know, singing the songs I know.
But this time, things are different. We won’t capitulate and we won’t be typical Blues. An article begins to form in my head as I’m thinking about all this. Then David Beckham sits down next to the 2 Toms and I quickly try and grab a photo on my phone. Surely, SURELY, if the myriad of articles that I’m sending to my wife won’t get her interested then David Beckham at St Andrew’s sitting next to Tom Brady in a flasher’s mac might just pique some interest. We’ll find out later since the Delta Airlines article or rumours of an Amazon documentary didn’t seem to move the needle either.
The slow Keep Right On is lovely to hear and we’re definitely, definitely going to start on the front foot. This will be a good game between two good footballing sides. I’ve been told by Wrexham fans that they play good football despite Phil Parkinson appearing to use swear words like punctuation in Welcome To Wrexham and talk endless about “fucking passion and wanting it more.”
2 minutes in and the agricultural approach that Wrexham don’t employ pays dividends as they flood the six yard box from a corner and put an under pressure keeper under pressure and deliver the ball under the crossbar and Blues forget to defend. 0-1.
All the lovely, fluffy feelings dissipate and I dig out the meme “Birth. Fuck’s sake Blues. Death.” They show Rob McElhenney and he isn’t over celebrating. Maybe scared, maybe decorum, maybe he doesn’t want to celebrate too early as there’s a long way to go. Either way, McElhenney comes across as a thoroughly decent chap on Welcome To Wrexham and seems to understand that sport is more than results and he talks about community, connections to Philadelphia and sharing with family.
Old habits die hard and like a well rehearsed flashback scene from an American TV show I think of all the horror shows over the years when we entered with hope but left with despair.
This feels different though. This feels significant.
Blues get a foothold and deservedly equalise. The inevitable cut away to the posh seats and Tom, Tom, Becks, Gards etc all seem all seem to be genuinely ecstatic about the goal. Gary Neville refuses to stand up but he’s probably jet lagged from his mini holiday that he’s just returned from.
I could do a breakdown on the game but there are others better – and less sleep deprived – than me who will do a better job. But worryingly for the division, we look like a team who are coming together, who are beginning to understand the system and look every bit the expensively assembled squad that we are. Like Wrexham’s relative financial clout sprinkled in with a semblance of competence at lower levels, add those things together and promotion and success surely isn’t far away at whatever level you’re at.
Jay scoring twice, Iwata’s superb strike and then champagne football whilst Chris Davies took opportunities to rotate the squad and rest players. No other side in the division has that opportunity – taking off a player who has appeared in the Champions League and a striker worth 15 million quid. It’s hardly a level playing field. But… FEA.
My 10 year old gets up not long after the third and perches down next to me asking mundane questions that she should well know the answers to by now. We’re playing in blue, yes we’re winning, no there’s not long to go. Then some less obvious questions. Why is that player in red trying to chew through the leg of the player in blue and why is that other man in red trying to start a fight with 25000 people?
“Dad. Are Blues good?”
“Yes” I proudly respond and begin a PhD length appraisal of the last 12 months and why life always seems sunny in Birmingham these days. “It’s just… you sang less songs when they were rubbish and I think I prefer that.”
There’s always a critic and internally and externally Blues have their own. Some Blues fans don’t like the direction the club is going in (too friendly or something) or can’t see that this is a long term project and there will be short term pain for long term game because there’s a complete overhaul of a team, club, organisation and fanbase which are SO used to failure. It’s few but it’s there. It takes time.
The game ends and I soak up every moment I can from Blues TV. Truth be told the coverage was poor tonight with regular commentary drop outs and a lack of smooth transitions from comms to pitchside reporting etc – but we can forgive that whilst the club tries to work on so many things concurrently. The tickets mix up is unforgivable but on the whole, you can’t throw many barbs at what has been achieved in the last 12 months.
Even the new Blues gear is appealing. I’ve never really been a replica shirt kinda guy but I can’t help but feel that with the investment in us, we need to invest back and the away shirt is looking like a more tempting buy by the minute. Hopefully wearing such things will spark a conversation or two in community here – but it’s unlikely.
The stream ends and I sit in relative peace and quiet at home in NSW. The pangs for home and to be there in the stadium with Blues fans – and being outside the stadium an hour or two before kick off hits extremely hard. I know that for the next few years, St Andrew’s is a distant dream as life and circumstance dictate that priorities need to be elsewhere. If Tom is right and we’re in the new stadium by 2029 I’m not sure I will ever see it again.
On the 50km drive to work I quickly put together a playlist of anything Birmingham related. I am high on Blues, on Brum and on football generally. The day before, I had spent time helping a rugby league supporting colleague decide which English ‘soccer’ club to follow. Nothing too mainstream and they needed some sort of connection. They love farming so we eventually settled on Ipswich although Middlesbrough, Wrexham and one or two others were considered. When you’re absent, you try anything you can to try and create connections to home and that playlist and finding excuses to talk football on any level are ongoing things that you have to try and put into your daily routine when you feel like you’re missing out.
And so this is a message – or plea – to Blues fans who do live locally and have the opportunities. Get behind the side, get down to St Andrew’s, enjoy your community, your team and the success. Keeping Right On for me has always been a commitment to continue to show up even when we know things are going to be less than stellar.
But the end of the road genuinely is on the horizon. Or more to the point, maybe it’s a slip road exit to a newer, shinier, better graded and comfier road that doesn’t have potholes, hidden speed cameras and the occasional overpaid footballing sniper hiding in the bushes to spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need.
We have good, solid and sensible people in charge. People who seem to get us but also understand the need for change and to see and do things differently and more creatively. All things move on and all things change and evolve.
We too must evolve with it and I implore you… if you can, be there to witness and play a part. It’s a real gift that a lot of us have, unfortunately, lost the opportunity to do on a regular basis and in 20 years time, it’ll be a privilege to say “I was there when it started.”
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