I was privileged to be asked to host the first-ever Blues Open House at St Andrew’s on Monday and what an amazing night it was.
It blew me away and made me quite emotional as I realised that my club’s new owner, Tom Wagner, and CEO, Garry Cook, are set to take us on a journey like no Birmingham City fan has ever experienced before.
Yes, we have had some great times, and we all have some wonderful memories of finals and promotions. However, we’ve also had lots of depressing times, generally through a lack of investment and vision.
Over my 60-plus years supporting and 46 years broadcasting about Blues, one of the biggest gripes was that the club was never open and transparent when it came to communicating with the fans.
Monday night was the start of an era where openness and transparency are clearly high on the agenda. This was not just a PR exercise, this was the start of the club connecting, communicating, and engaging with its most important people, the supporters.
Wagner joined via video link from New York and made it clear his ambitions for Blues are limitless and that he is determined to lead the club into an era of success. He also made it clear that Wayne Rooney is part of those plans.
However, he was very complimentary about John Eustace and made it clear he liked him but said, that although John was ambitious, it was not aligned with their ambitions. He made it clear he would not hesitate to give him a reference at any time.
Cook was very professional about the club and revenues and what needs to happen. His love for Blues as a supporter from boyhood shone through. He made it clear what he expects from every single member of his management team. He only wants staff who are 100% committed to making Blues successful.
He said revenues must improve, which is vital to the club’s success. Profitability and Sustainability rules make the owners’ wealth irrelevant when it comes to buying players, but increased revenues allow much more scope when it comes to new signings. Cook’s desire to turn Blues into a genuinely caring club in the wider community made me proud and that was highlighted by the commitment made through the Community Trust department to ensure every single child who is “in care” in Birmingham, and there are over 11,000 of them, will receive a Christmas present. I found that quite emotional and uplifting.
Then there was a tour of the ground for the six groups of fans, which allowed everyone to see the amazing transformation in the dressing rooms, stands etc and the ongoing work. We were informed new floodlights are being installed, two new big screens, a brand-new sound system (as someone who was the pitch announcer in the 70s that is long overdue), a strong WIFI signal that will be welcomed by everybody and much more to make St Andrew’s fit for purpose and give the fans a better matchday experience.
Every one of the management team were there, situated at six different locations around the club to explain their roles and what their departments do.
It was amazing to see Rooney explain his tactics and playing philosophies, as did Darren Carter for the women’s team. Both showed clips of games to explain exactly what they wanted. Craig Gardner talked superbly about the identity he wants for the whole club on the playing side and backed it up with facts and stats.
They were as one. It is all about creating a playing identity the fans will enjoy watching.
The Community Trust session, led by director Anthony Isherwood, was also amazing and made you proud of what the club are doing and planning to do in the local and wider community.
Liam Daish led a session that covered both the men’s and women’s academy and talked about the great news that Blues will be back to Cat 1 status. He made it clear they have lots of youngsters at all age groups who are extremely talented. He admitted the club has lost youngsters to other clubs due to better facilities etc but also said that now the future was bright.
Academy graduate Brandon Khela talked about his journey through the academy to playing for the first team, while Gemma Lawley talked about her incredible journey to the women’s first team.
Other sessions covered the sales and sponsorship side of the club, the stadium and training ground improvements. It ended with a Q&A with Cook, who made it clear the biggest challenge is increasing revenues.
He also made it noticeably clear that St Andrew’s does not match the long-term ambitions Wagner has for the club. They are looking at all opportunities but made it clear they need a stadium that reflects the club they are building.
Interestingly, he pointed out that Tom Brady, albeit a minority shareholder, is speaking regularly with Rooney about player health, recovery, wellness and nutrition. He is also spreading the “Blues” story around the world.
For me, it was a moment I will never forget because I realised that, after all these years, we finally have owners with vision, who get things done and have a desire and a plan to make Blues successful beyond anything any of us have ever witnessed.
Second best is plainly not good enough for Wagner and Cook. For them, being a successful football club is important, but they want the club to be more than just that. It’s about being a beacon for the City of Birmingham. As a Brummie, that makes me feel proud.
The other significant thing for me was that the whole team, be it the football side, community side, sales and marketing side or media side, are all on the same page and working together to make the club more successful than it has ever been.
It was a fascinating insight into a football club and as open and transparent as they could be.
As I said on Monday, I am no longer feeling Tired and Weary but full of genuine belief that Blues are on the up. Lots of things have already been improved but they have barely scratched the surface of what they are planning to do.
If all goes according to plan, this club will be unrecognisable in six, seven, eight, nine years’ time. And, remember, Cook has done it before.
There was so much more on the night, far too much to cram into this column, however the club will be showing everything in much more depth on their social media platforms. It was a night scheduled to end at 9.45pm but was still going well after 11.
Everyone I spoke to left the room on a high and in a much more optimistic and positive frame of mind than when they walked in. What a ride it promises to be for us long-suffering Blues fans.
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