informationbirmingham.comBirmingham City FC – the Blue Pride of the Midlands

Skip to content Home Contact Birmingham City Football Club The city of Birmingham is the second-largest city in England and often is referred to as an industrial city and not so much as a football town. Despite having nearly 1.1 million inhabitants within the city and 3.8 million inhabitants within the metropolitan area, the city is not considered as a football megapolis, like the other big cities in the country. One of the two most famous football teams in the city is Birmingham City Football Club. Formed in 1875, the football club is one of the oldest in England. In the following paragraphs, we will have a look at the history of Birmingham City Football Club. We will discuss the most successful periods of the club, the fan base, the ground , the major trophies , biggest rivals and the managers in the past. We will say a few words about the current situation of the club, the squad and the goals of the owners. As big fans of the English football ourselves, we will have a look at the current odds for different markets concerning the club and we will give you our recommendations for the best online sports betting sites, where you can place bets on Birmingham City FC games. Club Name, Badge and Kit The professional football club has its’ name – Birmingham City Football Club since 1943. The club was formed as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, renamed to Small Heath in 1888 and to Birmingham in 1905. Since the early days of the club, the first team uniform kit has always been blue. Several variations on the blue theme have been tried, but the one that has stuck through the years is the royal blue colour. In 1972, the Sports Argus newspaper ran a competition to design a new badge for the club. The winning entry was a line-drawn globe and ball, with a ribbon carrying the club name and date of foundation, in plain blue and white. To this day, that is the badge of Birmingham City Football Club. The 2019-20 home kit of the Blues is a royal blue shirt with navy sleeves, white stripes on the shoulders and yellow trim at the collar and cuffs, white shorts with blue stripes down the sides and navy socks with white trim. The official reveal of the new kit was a video which has been inspired by the hit BBC show Peaky Blinders . If you haven’t watched the show yet, it is a story of a gang based in Birmingham in 1919. The Birmingham City football players are wearing the gang’s clothes and famous flat caps. The football club also states that the video is a tribute to the club’s working-class roots. As the players casually start to pass a leather football ball and do some tricks, suddenly they appear in the new blue and white kit. It is certainly an impressive and smart way to reveal the new season outfit, plus a very good advertisement. The away kit is in dark grey colour or charcoal, with white stripes on the shoulders and on the seams of the shorts. All of the kits are supplied by Adidas and bear the logo of the club’s new principal sponsor – the bookmaker BoyleSports. Home Ground The home ground of Birmingham City Football Club is St Andrew’s, known since June 2018 as St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium for sponsorship reasons. It has been the home stadium of the club for more than a century, as it was constructed in 1906. Its’ original capacity was estimated 75,000 spectators, housed in one grandstand and a large uncovered terrace. During the Second World War, the ground suffered bomb damage and most of it was destroyed. In 1993, when the new owners took the club out of administration, they began a six-year redevelopment programme, during which the St Andrew’s was converted to an all-seater stadium to comply with the Taylor Report into safety at sports grounds and almost every area was completely rebuilt. Today, the seating capacity of the ground is around 30,000. The club also uses the Wast Hills Training Ground for some of their training sessions, which is roughly 8 miles south of St Andrew’s. The club’s academy building is also there, and young talents can enjoy some top-notch facilities, medical centres, pools and gyms. One of the brightest talents is the Academy highly rated Jude Bellingham. He joined Birmingham City at the age of 7 and made his debut for the U23 team at the age of 15. In August 2019 he made his senior debut, at the age of 16 years and 38 days, becoming the club’s youngest ever first-team player. He has also represented England at under 15s, under 16s and under 17s levels. A lot of Premier League teams are being linked with the youngster, with Manchester United and Liverpool being the most successful teams tracking his progress. According to the Mirror , United have already made a bid of around £12.5 million for the wonderkid. Major Honours Despite Birmingham City FC has not enjoyed the success they wish, the club has won some trophies through the years. Here is a list of the major honours of the Blues: The Championship Champions: 1892-93, 1920-21, 1947-48, 1954-55 Runners-up: 1893-94, 1900-01, 1902-03, 1971-72, 1984-85, 2006-07, 2008-09 Play-off Winners: 2001-02 Division Two Champions: 1994-95 Runners-up: 1991-92 FA Cup Runners-up: 1931, 1956 Football League Cup (EFL Carabao Cup) Winners: 1963, 2011 Runners-up: 2001 The most recent major success of the football club is also considered as the most significant one. At the final of the Football League Cup (called Carling Cup back then) in 2011, the Blues pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition, defeating the heavy favourites Arsenal 2:1, securing qualification for the UEFA Europa League . But despite winning three of their six group games, the team failed to reach the knockout stages of the second most prestigious UEFA competition on goal difference. They could hold their heads up high though, as the performance of the team was excellent and the fans appreciated the dedication and effort put by the players. Managers Birmingham City Football Club has had a total of 50 managers since 1892, including 9 caretaker-managers. The longest-serving manager was the first one – Alf Jones, who was in charge of the club for 16 years and 566 games. The manager with the highest win rate is Harry Storer in the period between June 1945 and November 1948. He managed the team for 114 games, winning 51.8%. Birmingham City FC has always worked with English, Scottish or Irish managers, with two exceptions – the Italian magician Gianfranco Zola (24 games) and the current manager – the Spaniard Pep Clotet. He joined the Blues in March 2018 as assistant manager and on 4 December 2019, he was made the permanent manager, after a few months period as a caretaker head coach. Top Players Let’s have a look at some of the most talented and loyal players who have worn the royal blue shirt: Joe Bradford The greatest goalscorer in the history of Birmingham City. Made 445 appearances for the Blues, hitting the back of the net 267 times. He signed as a professional in 1920 and played 14 years for the club. Trevor Smith The captain who led the Blues to their first major trophy ever – the 1963 League Cup. Played as a defender, with an excellent view of the game, well-timed tackles and very strong in the air. Made 430 appearances for the club between 1953 and 1964. Malcolm Page A true team player and a model of consistency, Malcolm Page could play in every single position on the pitch, apart from the goalkeepers’. A Wales international, who made 391 appearances for the Blues during almost 17 seasons at St Andrew’s between 1964 and 1981. Trevor Francis Considered the greatest Blues’ player of all time. Made his debut at 16 years and 139 days, becoming the Blues’ youngest ever player at the time, Francis was blessed with superb technical ability, great pace and a true goal scoring instinct. His nickname was “Superboy” and he became Britain’s first £1 million football player when he moved to Nottingham Forest in 1979. Made 280 appearances for Birmingham City, scoring 119 goals. Gil Merrick A true Blues’ legend...