In Focus: No longer tired and weary
Congratulations to Birmingham City for a superb David versus Goliath Carling Cup Final victory against Arsenal. It was a real triumph for teamwork and brave management and everyone associated with the club should feel very proud at what they have achieved.
I must say that I find the decision not to give Blues an open bus tour of the city centre followed by a reception at the ‘council house’ baffling. That old health and safety excuse has been wheeled out and fans are having to put up with a second best celebration at the ground instead.
Given that this is the first major football trophy to be won by a club from this city for 15 years and there’s precious little to celebrate at the moment, to miss a golden opportunity such as this can only be described - in football terms of course - as an own goal.
Looking at the larger picture, what I’m hoping is that Blues’ victory might turn out to be a catalyst for action in the area where the club is based.
Small Heath and nearby districts constitute a part of Birmingham which is desperate for investment. Blues have been talking about a new ground for a number of years. Could this cup victory be the spark that makes the club’s Far Eastern owners think big? After all a successful club will need a bigger and better ground to play in than St Andrews, which has limited redevelopment options.
In the past Blues have talked about developing The City of Birmingham Stadium on the current site of the Wheels Adventure Park in nearby Saltley.
It is an area in dire need of regeneration and there is enough space available to give Blues’owners a number of development options. This is an era in which large regeneration projects are thin on the ground of course but hotel groups and supermarket chains - even a small casino - could be brought into the equation. It would also be good news for Birmingham City Council so it could be expected to get involved to some degree.
A similar thing has happened with Manchester City. It sold its traditional inner city ground and moved into a spanking new stadium in an area that was much in need of regenerating. Fair enough this was pre-recession and there was a stadium ready and waiting after the Commonwealth Games, but the principle is the same.
Blues have needed to build their fan base for a number of years and this may have held them back in new ground terms. A generation of would-be supporters was lost in the 1980s and 1990s because of problems with hooliganism, poor facilities and a succession of dire teams, weak managers and hapless owners.
The Sullivan-Gold-Brady axis turned the club around and built the platform from which the cup victory on Sunday was achieved. A whole new generation of Brummie kids will be nagging their parents for a Blues shirt just like their predecessors did for a Villa shirt in their glory days of the 1980s and ‘90s.
Even as a Villa fan I have to say that Blues winning that cup was not just good for the club but also for the wider city. Let’s make sure we don’t replicate the open top bus tour fiasco. Opportunities need to be grasped and this is a big one.
