Former Blues manager Freddie Goodwin died on Friday at the age of 82. Goodwin is known best at Birmingham City for giving Trevor Francis his introduction to league football and for his legendary Blues team which centered around the strike force of Francis, Bob Hatton and Bob Latchford.
Who Stuck the Ball in the Arsenal Net?
Two years ago today a Nigerian striker by the name of Obafemi Martins set off the waterworks in thousands of Brummies by tucking the ball away into the Arsenal goal after a horrendous mixup between Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny to win the Carling Cup for Birmingham City.
Do You Remember When… Ricky Otto Scored Twice In A 1-1 Draw?
The talk of a takeover and new money coming in after a period of austerity reminds me of Blues of the early nineties; in administration after the collapse of BCCI, on the verge of going bust before David Sullivan and the Gold brothers rolled up and bought the club up. Blues really were in the hole at the time; the ground was a mess, the team was pretty naff and the crowd sparse.
Do You Remember When… Pandiani Made His Debut?
Picture the scene – February 2005, cold as hell. Blues haven't won in four league games and are slowly sliding down the table. The transfer window had just ended and Blues have made three signings on deadline day – Jermaine Pennant (complete with electronic tag on his ankle), Mehdi Nafti and Walter Pandiani – in an attempt to arrest their slide down the table and ensure Premier League football would continue at St Andrews.
Do You Remember When… Dugarry Scored His First Goal for the Blues?
I'm going to make a confession. I'm a fan of Football Manager type games and thus I get super-excited when a player I've signed on the game comes to Blues for real – especially when that player is a very highly rated one. Christophe Dugarry was one of the players to fit into that category; a world cup winner with France and here he was at Blues – it was a bit surreal at first and a dream come true.
Do You Remember When… Tebily Starred Against Chelsea?
He wasn't the most technically brilliant of players but there was something about Olivier Tebily that appealed. Whether it was him tackling a player in his socks against Millwall, the off the line clearance at Stamford Bridge or just the site of a moving brick wall taking out players, Tebs was a cult hero. They say that every dog has his day and on April 1, 2006, Tebily had his.
Do You Remember When… Forssell Scored a Perfect Hat-trick?
If there is one player whose Blues career I wish had ended on a happier note, it would have to be Mikael Forssell. In his pomp there were few strikers in the Premiership let alone at Blues who could compete with his predator-like instincts in front of goal; Miklu's quick "ninja feet" were a sight to behold and it was that brilliant close control that helped him score nineteen goals for us in the 2003/4 season. However, by 2008 his knees had already fallen to pieces and he wasn't the same player – even though he was top scorer for Blues in the 07/08 season.
I'm still not sure why I was so desperate to go to Spurs; White Hart Lane isn't the most amazing of grounds and I should have realised when I booked my train tickets that the game would be moved due to them being in the Europa League. As it turned out, it was Alex McLeish's first game as Blues manager and a welcome away win – thanks to a very special strike from Seb Larsson.
Do You Remember When… Lazaridis Made His Debut For Blues?
Do You Remember When… Benno Saved A Penno From Shearer?
Blues have been blessed with some great keepers – in the last decade we've had three England international players in Jack Butland, Ben Foster and Joe Hart; Boaz Myhill is a current Welsh international, Maik Taylor was a Northern Irish international and Thomas Myhre was capped by Norway. However my favourite player to play between the sticks for Blues never gained international honors and has only played eighteen games in the top flight in a career spanning 447 league games over twenty years. That player was of course Ian Bennett and the match I wanted to talk about today was one of his finest hours.