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, who signed as a professional for the club in 1939, just before the Second World War broke out. An England international goalkeeper, Merrick made a record 551 senior appearances for Birmingham City. He also managed the Blues between 1960 and 1964. In October 2009 Merrick was the first inductee to the Birmingham City FC Hall of Fame. After his death in 2010, the Railway End Stand at St Andrew’s was renamed the Gil Merrick Stand in his honour.
We think it is appropriate to mention some of the more recognizable and famous names, who have played for the Blues in the last 20-30 years as well. Most of them might not be true Birmingham City legends, but they have left their mark in the English Premier League history as a whole: Sebastian Larsson (184 apps), Robbie Savage (82 apps), Cameron Jerome (181 apps), Mikael Forsell (101 apps), Emile Heskey (68 apps), Lee Bowyer (81 apps).
Birmingham City Women’s Team
Birmingham City Women’s Football Club was formed in 1968 (originally the name was Birmingham City Ladies Football Club) by a group of fans who played local friendly matches until 1970. The club joined the Heart of England League in 1970. The team was very successful during the entire 70’s and 80’s, winning the league five times, amongst other trophies. In 1998 Birmingham City Women were promoted to the newly created Midland Combination League and became champions, gaining automatic promotion to the National Northern Division. After two seasons, the team gained promotion to the top-flight of women’s football, joining the FA Women’s Premier League. In November 2016 it was announced that Birmingham City Women would become fully integrated as part of the Birmingham City family, following the takeover by Trillion Trophy Asia.
The Second City Derby
Like most local derbies, you need to be a part of it to appreciate it fully. The rivalry between Birmingham City FC and Aston Villa FC, also named the Second City Derby (based on Birmingham being referred to as the second biggest city in the United Kingdom), has a rich and rocky history. Very often it has been accompanied by ugly scenes of clashes and violence between the supporters of both clubs. Every time the two teams meet, there is a heavy police presence and enhanced security measures. Thankfully, in recent years the vast majority of confrontation is mostly verbal, so it is pretty much harmless (especially compared to the vicious clashes between fans in the past).
The rivalry is so intense, that even most of the times the players of both teams are willing to do the undoable just to piss off and insult the opposition, even if they are not playing against each other. The most famous occasion was the Auto Windscreen Shield final between Birmingham City and Carlisle in 1995. Club legend Paul Tait, who played for the Blues for 11 years between 1988 and 1999, became a club all-time favourite. But not because of his winning goal in the 103rd minute of extra time, in a game where for the first time in Wembley Stadium’s history the “Golden Goal” rule applied, but because of what he did just a few seconds after scoring. As he ran towards the overjoyed Birmingham fans to celebrate his goal, the victorious Tait removed his jersey, to reveal a T-shirt bearing the words “Shit on the Villa”. It was outrageous. Shocking. Scandalous. After the usual huff and puff by the media, Tait was eventually relieved of two weeks’ wages. Definitely, a small price to pay for lifetime membership of the Birmingham City hall of legends.
In a list compiled by the UK radio station talkSPORT, the rivalry between Birmingham City FC and Aston Villa is ranked as number 17, in a list of the top 20 world’s greatest cross-city rivalries. The derby is ranked fourth in English football, with Everton – Liverpool, Arsenal – Tottenham and Manchester United – Manchester City occupying the top three positions.
The summary of the results in all competitive games between the two biggest clubs in Birmingham is 38 wins for the Blues, 31 draws and 57 wins for Aston Villa.
All Time Stat
Well, certainly Birmingham City FC has always been kind of in the shadows of their bitter city rivals Aston Villa. In the all-time list of most successful English football clubs, Birmingham City FC is placed 29th with 2 major trophies, while their opponents Aston Villa are 8th with 23. On top of the list is the most successful English team Manchester United, with 66 major honours. Only the top-qualifying tournaments and contests are taken into account – all FIFA and UEFA competitions, FA, EFL and the Premier League.
The two clubs can meet for another Second City Derby classic next season, in case Birmingham FC wins a promotion to the Premier League and Villa manage to keep their spot in the top level of the English football league system. In the event of a relegation for Aston Villa, the two clubs will meet again in the Championship, if the Blues stay in the division.
Website and Online Shop
Some football fans say you’re not a true supporter if you don’t have at least one kit of your favourite team. Birmingham City merchandise can be found in most of the biggest Adidas stores located in the city and at other big sport brand stores, such as Sportsdirect. But the easiest way to get your hands on the 2019-20 home kit is at the club’s official online store. You can visit the online store by going to the Blues’ official website and click on Store. The 2019-20 adult home shirt is £45, the home shorts are £25 and the socks are £12. Those prices are pretty standard, compared to the kits of other teams in the same division. There are a lot of Birmingham City accessories, souvenirs, clothes, toys, decoration and homeware available too, so fans can decorate not only their wardrobe but their whole house in the royal blue colours.
The website itself is very informative and well-designed. You can find all the top news surrounding the club, check out the squads (man, women, U23s, U18s) or the upcoming fixtures. The club also has an application, which is free to download, so fans can stay informed or watch game highlights on the go. As a proud English football club, with a large fan base, Birmingham City also has a specialized TV programme called BluesTV, where supporters can watch interesting interviews, training sessions and loads of old football games.
Sponsors and Kit Suppliers
Since 2016, the kits of Birmingham City FC are supplied by Adidas and bear the logo of the club’s new principal sponsor, Irish bookmaker BoyleSports. Prior this season, the main sponsor of the club was 888sport for nearly 4 years. Apart from those two, the other official sponsors of the football club are PureCloud, Utilita, H-J Wealth Planning, Biffa, Sportwise, MKGfoods, Heineken, Simplexity, Green Monkey CDB, Tappit, Sadler’s Peaky Blinders, Swallow and SnatchPac. The support of serious partners is vital for a football club, especially for one with a large fan base but not so much success. Nowadays, we can see many football clubs struggling financially, without the support of multiple associates.
Current Team and Coaching Staff
At present, Birmingham City FC is just above the relegation zone in the second tier of English football – Championship. With more than half of the season games already played, the Blues’ main goal this year is to keep the Championship spot, despite the pre-season goals of the club to be in the battle for the play-off spots. As a matter of fact, mathematically, a finish in the top 6 is still possible for the Blues, but a long winning run is imperative.
The current squad of Birmingham City FC consists of 31 players, with 3 players out on loan. The team is struggling defensively, as only 3 clean sheets have been kept so far. The top goalscorer is the forward Lucas Jutkiewicz with 8 goals. As we already mentioned, the current Head Coach is Pep Clotet. His coaching staff is composed of Alberto Escobar – assistant coach, James Beattie – first-team coach and Darryl Flahavan – goalkeeper coach. The manager is definitely under a lot of pressure by the fans, especially in recent weeks, because of the poor results.
Betting Odds
At the moment of writing, one of the biggest sports betting companies in the UK – William Hill gives 33/1 odds for the Blues to reach the play-off spots (3rd to 6th) and 250/1 to be among the top 2 teams in the league, which guarantee a promotion. The relegation battle in the Championship is pretty fierce and tangled (like every year) and the odds for Birmingham City FC to be relegated are 9/4. There’s still a long way to go until the end of the season, so hopefully, the Blues will be able to secure their survival soon and even be able to go for one of the top 10 spots. If you like betting on sports and Birmingham City football games in particular, then the best odds are provided by William Hill, Unibet and Betway online betting companies.