There is only one team in Birmingham worth supporting with true passion and Birmingham City is it. I have been supporting them since 1978 when Jim Smith was the manager. He is my favourite manager to date. I am a blue nose ’til I die.
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Saturday the 2nd of September, 2023 was like any other day for me when I am stuck in the house on a match day. I wake up, spend at least an hour in bed to let my brain catch up with the rest of my body, get up, have my breakfast, kill time, and watch the game on the telly. Today was going to be a different day and a whole lot better for it.
Before The Match
As the game was a 12.30 p.m. kick-off, I woke up earlier than normal for a Saturday, at about 9.15 a.m. and it is just as well I did. Around 15 minutes later my sister Julie rang me to ask if I was available in 30 minutes. I said yes and asked why. She told me my nephew Craig had a spare ticket and asked if I wanted to go. That was a no-brainer, ha ha. I got out of bed around 9.45 a.m., had a quick shave, and was about to have a cup of tea and my breakfast when Craig arrived at 10 a.m. It was time to go to the church of Birmingham City supporters and I was buzzing. St. Andrew’s hhyhbere we come.
We had left early so Craig could get a decent parking spot near the ground because traffic is atrocious around the Blues ground on a match day.
The journey was trouble free and after we parked we walked to The Royal George, a well-known, sought-out pub for Blues fans. It was here where Tom Wagner and Tom Brady visited on Saturday, August 12th, 2023, before they attended their first Blues home game ever against Leeds United.
There we met Craig’s friend Stuart, who was with his son Alfie, and we collected our tickets. Craig brought me my first pint of the day. This was my breakfast! I would like to say it was a nice pint of lager shandy but it wasn’t, It tasted musty and off but I drank it anyway, it would have been rude not to.
Looking towards the Royal George, Small Heath, Birmingham.
After we all had a drink and chat we headed toward where we were going to sit, The Gil Merrick Stand which is next to The Main Stand. Nearby is a poster of Blues most well-known goalkeeper and past manager, whom the stand is named after. There was an inflatable that was free to have a go at, where kids could try to score in different holes of different value points but regardless of what they scored, they got a free lollipop. It is a nice way to keep the kids busy before they enter the ground and Alfie enjoyed having a go. When we eventually move to a new ground (it is inevitable) the club needs to lay on more things for the kids to do than this though. By this is a place to get a drink and a bite to eat. This is fine for drinks if you are an adult but not so for kids. Stuart couldn’t get Alfie a soft drink and this needs to be sorted out in the future. This is not me nitpicking, just being honest and I have no doubt, that as we grow and grow, Tom Wagner will rectify all this. Craig got me another pint, just lager this time and we all had another chat. There was live entertainment via a man with his guitar and there is no doubt at all that since the new owners have been in charge, the match day experience and the atmosphere outside of the ground certainly has improved for the better.
With drinks down the hatch, Craig and Stuart kindly paid for a match programme between them (I always like to get a souvenir and this has improved a lot since I last got one) we entered the ground and climbed the seamless never ending steps to get to our seats. This was a task Craig handled well being he was on crutches due to a recent injury playing football himself!
The Gill Merrick Stand entrance, St. Andrew’s.
A Gil Merrick poster outside The Gill Merrick Stand, St. Andrew’s.
The Main Stand, St. Andrew’s.
Blues News v Millwall match programme 02/09/2023.
We settled into our seats at about 11.45 p.m., and not long after we all had a selfie. It is said the camera never lies and this is clearly so by the bloody mark on my Blues top, ha ha. Oh well, it is a great photo for memory’s sake anyway.
I took some photos of the ground, including the players warming up.
Inside St. Andrew’s, in the Gil Merrick Stand, for my first home game of the 2023/24 season with Craig, Alfie, And Stuart.
Blues entering the pitch for a warm-up v Millwall at St. Andrew’s.
Blues players warming up v Millwall at St. Andrew’s.
Blues and Millwall players warming up at St. Andrew’s.
The big screen between The Main Stand and The Gil Merrick Stand inside St. Andrew’s.
Inside St. Andrew’s.
The Main Stand, inside St. Andrew’s.
The Tilton, inside St. Andrew’s.
The Kop, inside St. Andrew’s.
Beau Brummie at St. Andrew’s.
Just before the 12:30 p.m. kick-off, there was a short pyro display and blue and white smoke to thrill the crowd. This is a new thing obviously American influenced by Tom Wagner and Tom Brady and I like it. As long as they don’t bring cheerleaders into the game then a bit of razzamatazz does no harm to the game and adds some excitement to the atmosphere in the ground.
This was the Blues team starting today. Our new loan signing Cody Drameh goes straight in the first 11 to make his home debut with another new loan signing, Emmanuel Aiwu taking his place on the bench.
Blues v Millwall starting line-up.
First Half
Blues were kicking toward The Gil Merrick Stand so it would have been nice to have seen us score a goal being we had a nice, clear view of the net. Alas, that wasn’t to be. Millwall scored an early goal against the run of play after a decent enough start from us and that knocked our confidence for almost 15 minutes. John Ruddy should have saved their free kick. His form was off today and his passing was poor. We picked up the pace toward the end of the first half but again, against the run of play they scored a second goal but it was ruled out by a delayed offside call. We had a late penalty decision when Keshi Anderson was fowled in their box. This was taken by Scott Hogan that should have taken us level at the break but it didn’t turn out that way. The penalty was weak and was easily saved by Matija Sarkic (who was on loan to us last season).
It wasn’t just Ruddy’s passing that was not good enough first half, the whole team followed suit and should have done better. We didn’t deserve to be a goal down at the break. We made Millwall look better than they were. The first half was very frustrating to watch indeed.
I filmed a short clip of gameplay early in the first half. Click here to see it. As with the Pyro clip above it is clear I am no Steven Spielberg, ha ha, but it is all about sharing the experience of it all.
Blues and Millwall players leaving the pitch at half-time at St. Andrew’s.
Blues players leaving the pitch at half-time v Millwall at St. Andrew’s.
Half Time
Birmingham City 0 – Millwall 1.
Not a lot went on at the interval or at least I never noticed. I was busy on my phone and chatting. Stuart brought me a Coke and before you knew it, it was time to get back to our seats for the kick-off with Blues playing towards The Tilton End.
Second Half.
Blues played much better this time with plenty of chances to score but only one went in, a 53rd-minute goal from Jay Stansfield, making it two goals in two games. I didn’t see the goal that well being it was down the other end and my eyesight isn’t the best but after seeing it in the match highlights it was a good goal with a great assist from Juninho Bacuna.
As much as you do get a much better view watching Blues on telly, NOTHING beats being at St. Andrew’s and soaking in the great atmosphere. I wish it could be more often.
Stuart and Alfie left 10 minutes early to avoid the traffic. I want to say thank you to Alfie for sharing his sweets today, that was kind of him.
Me and Craig stayed until the end, hoping for another late winner that never happened.
Blues battled until the ref blew the final whistle, as we always do. I would like to state that said referee, Josh Smith, was very favourable to the Millwall players with his decisions but that seems to be the norm for most refs when anyone plays us.
Full Time
Birmingham City 1 – Millwall 1.
Regarding the crowd, the atmosphere in the ground was good but could have been better. When it was loud it was loud but the crowd was too quiet at times and the Millwall fans were heard too much for my liking.
Regarding the game, I felt like it was two points lost for us. However, I am NOT complaining, the fact that we could feel disappointed with a draw when in the not-so-distant past we would have snapped that up is a sign of how improved we have become on the pitch. Games like this would have ended up in a loss after starting from a goal behind and it is a credit to John Eustace for the good work he has done since being manager under dire circumstances. If you want to call him head coach, you can but I am old school so I will call him our manager.
After The Match
Me and Craig slowly made our way out of the ground and made our way to his car. As mentioned above the traffic around the ground on match day is shocking, especially as it is on the 97 bus route, and it was a challenge just to get onto the road. Slowly we made our way out of Small Heath and Craig dropped me back home thus ending my time at my first home game of the 2023/24 football season.
Some of the best days in life are the ones that include unexpected surprises and today was one of them and I am very grateful to Craig for thinking of me.
As we head into the international break Blues are undefeated in the league and are sitting in 4th place which is EXCELLENT. I just hope what happened last season when we went into the break on form and then returned doesn’t happen again!
Here is the top of the table after all Championship games were played today and match highlights.
Blues league position in the Championship on 02/09/2023.
KEEP RIGHT ON.
Blog Posts
Birmingham City: A New Era Begins.
Birmingham City: A Tribute To Trevor Francis.
Birmingham City: Blues Are Sadly Relegated To League One.
Birmingham City: Blues History.
Birmingham City: Fixtures, Results And Goal Scorers For The 2023/24 Season.
Birmingham City: Gary Rowett, Paul Robinson And Dave Carolan Return To Steady The Ship For Blues.
Birmingham City: January Transfers For The 2023/24 Season.
Birmingham City: Keep Right On To The End Of The Road.
Birmingham City: Kits For The 2023/24 Season.
Birmingham City: Staff For The 2023/24 Season.
Notes And Links
The selfie image shown at the top of this page is the copyright of Stuart Smith. All other photos are copyrighted to me except the match programme, starting line-up, and league position photos which are the copyright of Birmingham City F.C. and have come from Blues social media pages and website.
Birmingham City F.C. – Official website.
Birmingham City on Facebook – This is their official Facebook page.
Birmingham City on Twitter – This is their official Twitter page.
Birmingham City on YouTube – This is their official YouTube page.
Blues Store Online – Birmingham City’s official club store online.
