BIRMINGHAM CITY

The Blues' high points came in 1931 when they lost in the FA Cup final to WBA and again in 1956, when they were runners-up to Manchester City in a match that became most famous for City keeper, Bert Trautmann, playing on with a broken neck. They also finished sixth in the First Division in season 1955-56 . Aside from the Leyland DAF Trophy, they won the League Cup in 1963 overcoming Aston Villa over two legs. Their other claim to fame is their 1970's away strip which had a large yellow stripe down the front of the shirt, with one sleeve and third of the shirt black and the other red. They looked as though they had the Belgian flag wrapped around them. The club do have a rich European heritage with them taking part in the inaugural Fairs Cup competition - reaching the semi-finals and going one step further before losing to Barcelona in 1960 and AS Roma in 1961.

Fans of the club have adopted the name of "Bluenoses". This derives from an early attempt to merchandise "Birmingham Blues Snuff" in the 1920's. This product and the ritual of snorting the powder left a deposit over the middle of the face of the supporter. Hence, the nickname. The fans have also had their blue noses put out of joint by Managing Director, Karren Brady, who introduced an away travel scheme that involved a membership fee for fans to obtain tickets for away games. Conversely, there was also the Beau Brummie scheme, which gave fans concessions for their staunch support. Brady was appointed by David Sullivan, former owner of the Sunday Sport newspaper, now Chairman of the club and racehorse owner. An unlikely, but dynamic duo that has overseen the revolving door transfer policy of Barry Fry, that saw the club involved in 113 different transfer deals on deadline day in the 1994/95 season.

Bluenoses are renowned for their singing of the song - "Keep Right On To The End Of The Road". This harks back to the "Black Years", when fans would march straight past the St. Andrews ground to watch a match from the Birmingham and District League (the second oldest still in operation) being played in the fields along Tilton Road.

The record for club appearances is held by Trevor Womack, who, between 1908 and 1928, played 491 times for Brum. In spite of his devotion to the Blues, he still found time to father the famous soul music dynasty including Bobby, Cecil, Linda and Friendly (named after a non-competitive match that Birmingham played in (just the) once).

Another of those clubs more famous for one of its supporters than it's on-pitch achievements. This time it's comedian Jasper Carrott, who is a club director and Trevor Francis Look-a-like. Trevor Francis debuted for the Midlands side at 16 and became the Superboy of the club in the early 1970's. He became the first £3 million player when Forest shelled out for the wonderkid, but it seemed strange that on his return as manager, he has signed predominantly aged players in his attempt to return Birmingham to their glory days.  He almost achieved a step in the right direction by reaching the play-offs, but his side was hit by injury and they were slaughtered by Barnsley in the semi-finals.

Finally, promotion was secured by Steve Bruce in 2002 and Brum have established themselves in the Premiership, as they have money pumped into the club by former "private shop owners" David Gold and David Sullivan.  The public face is very different and they were now shopping from the top shelf, as they proved by buying Emile Heskey for £6.25 million in 2004.

Unfortunately, over the later part of the Naughties, they yo-yo'ed between the top two divisions, but the introduction of some Yeung enthusiasm (and money) into the club was hoped to allow them to establish the Bluenoses as a regular Premier League side.

The installation of Scottish manager Alex McLeish seemed to bring a new resolve to the Birmingham City side and while they were inconsistent in the league, they brought the first piece of silverware back to St. Andrews since the heady days of 1963, when the League Cup was secured with a 2-1 win over Arsenal that brought a smile to large parts of the Midlands and of some parts of North London too.

FAMOUS PLAYERS: - Mark Dennis, Dick Julians, Robert Hopkin, Alberto Tarantini, Alberto Nylon, Denis Van Der Wyk, Mick Harford, Julian Dicks, Dennis Marks, Tony Coton, Noel Blake

FAMOUS FANS : - Jasper Carrott (Comedian), Robert McCracken (Boxer), Bev Bevan and Jeff Lynne (Musicians - ELO)

AWAY : Shirts - Yellow
Shorts - Navy Blue
Socks - Navy Blue

12-0  .v. Doncaster Rovers
Division 2   11.4.1903

1-9  .v.  Blackburn Rovers
Division 1    5.1.1895

2 pts for a win : - 59  Division 2 (1947-48)

From all parts:
Exit M6 at Junction 6 and take the A38(M) (Aston Expressway). Leave at 2nd exit then take first exit at roundabout along Dartmouth Middleway. After 1¼ miles turn left into St. Andrew's Street.

Bus Services:
Service 97 from Birmingham; Services 98 & 99 from Digbeth.

Car Parking:
Street Parking.

Nearest Railway Station:
Birmingham New Street or Birmingham Moor Street (20 minutes walk).

Nearest Bus Station:
Digbeth.