A year in the making

Tomorrow could be the day that Birmingham City FC make another bit of history at St. Andrews: if the Blues avoid defeat against Wigan, they will have gone a whole calendar year unbeaten at home.

For what is a small club compared to some of the other Premier League teams they are competing against this season, this would be a massive achievement for the club. But then again, they know all about achievement and making history, as they showed last season: going on a fifteen match unbeaten run, stretching from October all the way to January, only to be defeated at Stamford Bridge by, the later crowned Champions, Chelsea.

This achievement would be just another step along the way to making Birmingham City one of the known Premier League teams, which is what owner Carson Yeung set out to when he finally completed his take over of the club, not even a year ago.

It’s amazing just how far this team has come in such a short space of time: just last season they were plucking players out the Championship, and just a year on after securing their place in the Premiership in superb style by finishing ninth in the league, they are now signing players such as Nikola Zigic, Ben Foster and most notably Alexander Hleb, whose services they secured on the final day of the transfer window in the Summer. It is clear the Blues are in it for the long haul, and making it a whole year unbeaten at home, in all competitions may I add too, would be the icing on the cake for a superb year for the Blues.

The unbeaten run stretches from last September to the present, and the last team to beat Birmingham at St. Andrews were Bolton, who scored a goal in the last few minutes to beat them 2-1. That was the last time Blues fans have walked out of St. Andrews empty handed, and teams of the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have all tried and failed to pick up three points at ‘fortress’ St. Andrews.

Whatever the outcome on Saturday, it has been a mammoth year for the team that holds the City’s name and a win, or even a draw, Saturday really would be deserved of a team – no - a club, that has worked so very hard over the past year. Birmingham City are a prime example of how to brush off the ‘small club’ label, and be welcomed by the ‘big boys’ of the Premier League.