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St Andrews
Birmingham
B9 4RL
0844 557 1875
Ground Number: 115
Tuesday 7th February 2006
Birmingham City 2-1 Reading
FA Cup 4th Round Replay
BIRMINGHAM CITY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance; it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. They were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889 and the Football League Division 2 in 1892. They've had a number of spells in the top tier; 7th in 1905 was an early highlight. They bettered that in 1956 with a 6th place finish and this is as good as it got for them. The 9th place Premiership in 2010 was a more recent highlight. Birmingham City have spent all but four seasons in the top two tiers of English football. Their worst finish came in 1991 when they finished 12th in the third tier.
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Birmingham City have twice reached the FA Cup Final. Firstly in 1931 when they lost 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion and again in 1956 when they lost 3-1 to Manchester City in front of 100,000. This final became famous for the one where Manchester City keeper Bert Trautmann played on with a broken neck after a collision with Birmingham City attacker Peter Murphy. Conversely, they will want to forget the occasions when they lost to non-league teams. In 1986 they became the last top-flight team to be beaten at home by a non-league club when Altrincham came from behind to beat them 2-1 at St Andrews. Then in 1994 they lost 2-1 at Kidderminster Harriers during that non-league side's memorable FA Cup run when they reached the 5th Round.
The Bluenoses have twice won the League Cup. The first must have been especially sweet, for in 1963, they beat bitter rivals Aston Villa 3-1 over two legs. Then in 2011, they beat Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley Stadium with Obafemi Martins getting the winner ten minutes from time. They reached the final in 2001, losing to Liverpool on penalties. The EFL Trophy has twice been won, firstly in 1991 with a 3-2 win over Tranmere Rovers and in 1994 with a 1-0 win over Carlisle United. Their sole victory in the Birmingham Senior Cup came in 1905.
Birmingham became the first English team to play in Europe after accepting an invitation to the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. They beat Inter Milan in the group stage and defeated Barcelona 4–3 in the semi-final first leg, eventually falling to Barcelona after a play-off. They also fell in the final of the following season's competition. After winning the 2011 Football League Cup, Birmingham City qualified for European competition for the first time in nearly 50 years. They competed in Group H alongside Club Brugge, Braga, and Maribor. Despite collecting 10 points—including a memorable 2–1 away victory against Club Brugge—they narrowly missed out on qualification for the knockout rounds by finishing 3rd in the group. Famous Birmingham City FC fans include the comedian Jasper Carrott and musicians Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood.
Birmingham City Ladies Football Club was formed in 1968. The first team worked its way through the leagues until earning promotion to the FA Women's Premier League in 2002. After Birmingham City F.C. withdrew financial support in 2005, the club was only able to continue thanks to a personal donation. They re-affiliated with Birmingham City in 2010, became founding members of the FA WSL the following year, and won the FA Women's Cup in 2012. A second-place finish in the 2012 FA WSL earned them qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League, in which they reached the semi-finals. After TTA took over Birmingham City F.C. in November 2016, the women's club became an integral part of the organisation. It was formally renamed Birmingham City Women in 2018 and is known simply as Birmingham City, except where that might confuse with the men's team.
MY VISITS
A revisit to Birmingham City had long been on the cards. I remember very little from my first visit, other than that I stayed with my brother at his student accommodation in Handsworth and went to a great pub called The Grove in Handsworth. It wasn't so much the drink, although I remember it was £1.75 for a pint of Scrumpy Jack. More so the fantastic Indian food and I remember getting a great curry with naan for £3. It must have been an example of what is now called a Desi Pub. The ideal situation for a revisit would be with Wycombe. But Covid killed the first chance when we were in the Championship, and then the game was scheduled for the weekend of the North West Counties Hop when we met in League 1. So this women's game on a rare Sunday off was the perfect opportunity. High flight prices due to half term had thwarted a trip abroad, so I chose to stay in the UK.
Normally I plan most trips to the letter, but this one, I'd just made a few rough notes. Having arrived home last night at 8, I had lots to catch up on. I had a few drinks and went to sleep at 1. The clocks had gone back an hour overnight, so I got around 7 hours of sleep when I awoke around 7. Maybe I could have left earlier to get more Wetherspoons in pre-match, but I had no rush to be back. I left at 8 and walked to the station, stopping at Tesco for a breakfast of a Brie and Cranberry sandwich, a Gold Magnum and an energy drink. My train tickets cost £32.67 via trip.com, not a bargain, but not horrendous either. I'm at the station ten minutes in advance of my train, and the 9.25 arrived on time and fairly full. I grab one of the few remaining double seats and settle down. I acquire my match ticket online, which is £8 plus a £1 booking fee. Despite the 12.5% surcharge or booking fee for purchasing online, an hour later I have the confirmation email but no digital ticket. I've seen some serious complaints about Ticketmaster or Ticketbastard, as I like to call them, due to their high fees levied on concert tickets. I can also see the purchase confirmation but no ticket in my online account, specifically set up to get my ticket for this game. In the end, though, it came after 90 minutes.
I got to Birmingham Moor Street with a basic plan in mind, although I had to wait nearly twenty minutes for the bus to Yardley. A bit late, but the tap and cap is fair value at £5.50. On my first bus, we actually went past the stadium; sadly, there didn't seem to be any interesting takeaways, but there were shops for a quick soft drink. I got to the William Tyler in Yardley just before midday. This was named after a farmer who was around in 1402, the first recorded in the area. There was only sweet fruit bag-in-a-box cider, so I went for a pint of Stowford Press for £1.99. The area was very built up and was quite ethnic, but the pub was fitted out very nicely, and the locals were decent. The 11A was far more reliable than the first bus, turning up a few minutes early. I got to The Hornet in Ward End at 12.40. Named after a locally produced car from the 1930s until the 1970s, it was not as plush as the first Spoons. It was a reasonable price for a £2.74 pint of Strongbow, though. It was a bit of a farce getting to the game. Bus stops were incorrectly placed on Google Maps, and there were no Bolt Taxis available, which was my backup. I was hoping to get food but time was too tight, so I had to settle for some snacks. Eventually I was on the right bus, made the connection OK and entered the stadium bang on kickoff.
It was the two bottom sides facing each other in the WSL. Both had endured difficult seasons and were looking for their first win. Birmingham had gained draws away to Arsenal, at home to Crystal Palace and at home to Brighton. Charlton were yet to win, but both sides had been successful in the League Cup last week, Birmingham winning 5-0 at Durham and Charlton 2-0 against Bristol City. Birmingham were dominant early on and forced some great saves out of the Charlton goalkeeper. Birmingham's Norwegian player Lisa Naalsund also smashed a twenty-yarder against the post in the 25th minute in what was becoming a decent game. Charlton improved and had a few chances early on in the second period. The game quality was not as good in the second half. Birmingham clipped the bar just before they opened the scoring in the 68th minute through Swede Wilda Leidhammar, who volleyed home a cross. That was it for goals, although it had been a decent experience. I didn't get an attendance, but it looked like around 500 and deserved more.
After the game, I took the bus back to Birmingham. Then I went straight out again to Joe's Bar Wetherspoons at the student union. This was a decent place, very modern amongst lovely architecture. The standard Spoons prices for a pint of Stowford Press, and they had the football on with commentary on the loudspeakers. Nicer than the Newcastle student one in terms of vibe, but sadly without the superb student-made cider that I had there. I'd avoided eating at Spoons so far and was getting hungry. So it was a walk and a bus to Five Ways station and a trip to the Peg and Grill Desi Pub. I got a mixed grill, chilli cheese chips and a pint of Aspall's for just under £25. Trains were not so regular at this time of the evening, for going back to Wycombe at least. I was too late for the first train back, so I headed to the Stable for a pint of Dunker Black Fox, to Candy and Liquor for drinks and snacks and then to the Head of the Steam for a Delirium Red. Then to the busy train, where I had a can of fruited sour on the way home. I wish I'd brought my laptop with me and got some more train cans but never mind. I was back at Wycombe by 10 and home 20 minutes later in a well-priced taxi.
ST ANDREWS has been fully redeveloped on three sides to comply with the all-seater requirement of the Premiership, and it is now an all-seater stadium with only the old Main Stand remaining from the past. The ground is walkable from the City Centre, and there are a couple of pubs and the usual assortment of burger vans scattered around the area of the ground. For the women's game, it was more low-key, with plenty of shops. The only takeaway that I saw was Dixy Chicken. The food in the ground was nothing exciting at the usual football prices.
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