The week unwrapped

After the frustrating last minute defeat to Hull City on Sunday, the club launched into a frenzied week of eerie silence. We can only assume we’re valiantly scrapping away in the transfer market and putting the final touches to our meticulously planned squad building, right? RIGHT?

The trip to Hull saw the launch of the club’s new third kit, which looks like it’s been culled from the country’s last remaining herds of My Little Ponies and Care Bears.

Gary Rowett is different to Karl Robinson in many ways, but his post-Hull interview took it to new levels. Where Robinson’s transfer plans, both real and made up, would cascade from his mouth at every opportunity, Rowett’s summary was that he has no idea if we’ll have any new players this week and less of an idea if our injured players would be back.

Elsewhere, the academy, featuring promising young goalkeeper Simon Eastwood (keep an eye on him), beat Derby 2-1. We only mention this because the side featured Nik Prelec. Peter Kioso and Owen Dale were both notably absent suggesting they were planning a move elsewhere or getting the washing in.

It was the Fans’ Forum on Thursday in which Gary Rowett described the pre-season tour of Indonesia as ‘an experience’. This is also how that bloke described cutting his arm off with a pen knife when it got stuck in a rock.

Brumfacts

Birmingham City are the latest club to be colonised by a celebrity owner in the shape of the botox Will Vaulks, American Football superstar Tom Brady. The actual financial muscle comes from US alpha finance bro Tom Wagner. Brady has snaffled about 3% of the club for which he receives 98% of the publicity. He also chairs the club’s Advisory Board, presumably advising that they should run a play on the intercept scrimmage or something.

As with celebrity forebears Wrexham, City have jumped on the content bandwagon with a TV series streamed on Amazon Prime called Built in Birmingham – Brady and the Blues. It’s a five-part series in which the rugby ball slinging legend, who wasn’t built in Birmingham, stares earnestly at things he pretends to understand but doesn’t. 

After their promotion back to the Championship, this season Birmingham were expected to open the money faucet and propel themselves into the Premier League (or if you’re American; the ‘Prmyur Leeg’). But it seems that last year’s spending spree of £21m across 16 signings was mostly a preparation for life in the Championship, with their 100+ point League One title an incidental in that assault.

This season has been less extravagant with five new signings including Demarai Gray and Marvin Ducksch as well a smattering of loans including beanpole Oxford alumnus James Beadle from Brighton.

What do they have is momentum, a win, draw and an EFL Cup win over Sheffield United has opened their season. This has resulted in scenes of jubilation not seen at St Andrew’s since Paul Tait ‘shit on the Villa’ in 1995. We will do well to resist them.

Good Brumfact

Built in Birmingham is the second Brady-based Birmingham City documentary after The Mangeress which explores the extraordinary world of a literal woman – Karen Brady, the Brexit origin story that is Barry Fry and the porn barons who funded their whole mid-nineties circus. 

Football friend: Dave Langan

Dave Langan started his professional career when he was signed by Brian Clough for Derby County, making his league debut in 1977. He built a reputation as an industrious, attacking full-back, which tempted Jim Smith to pay a record fee to bring him to Birmingham in 1980.

Smith had big plans at St Andrew’s, spending heavily on a squad of big names including Argentinian World Cup winner Alberto Tarantini and moustachioed seventies giga-shagger Frank Worthington. 

An injury sustained in a World Cup qualifier against France in 1981 put him out of the game for the best part of 2 years. His absence from the Blues’ starting eleven contributed to a collapse in their form and, ultimately, Jim Smith’s departure from St Andrew’s in 1982. 

Langan was eventually released at the end of his contract by Smith’s successor Ron Saunders. By this point Smith had moved to Oxford and, having secured promotion in 1984, contacted Langan to come in as cover for first choice full-back Paul Hinshelwood. 

Langan lied about his fitness but came on trial anyway. When Hinshelwood was ill before a pre-season friendly against Southampton, Langan stepped in and played well enough to secure a short-term contract and ultimately first-choice status. 

Langan’s improbable resurrection saw him become integral to Oxford’s title winning side of 1985. He scored a 35-yard screamer to knock Arsenal out of the Milk Cup and the winner against Shrewsbury to secure promotion. A year later he was part of the Milk Cup winning side of 1986 before moving to Bournemouth in 1987.

From the archive: Birmingham City 3 Oxford United 0 (1995)

Back in 1994, Oxford had been relegated to the third tier for the first time in over ten years but were determined to engineer a quick return. Under Denis Smith they quickly set about gunning for promotion, winning their opening six games of the season and remaining unbeaten until October.

On New Year’s Day, they were three points behind Birmingham City, the clown car club enriched by porn barons and managed by cockney Carry-On reject Barry Fry. The New Year brought a dip in fortune at The Manor with three points in ten games seeing them fall to sixth. Five wins in six then brought them back to third, two points clear of Birmingham, albeit having played three more games.

The game at St Andrew’s was pivotal; not only would it decide who was in the box seat for the final run-in, it had the potential to eliminate the defeated side from the title race entirely. 

Oxford’s stellar form ensured a noisy sold out away end bristling with expectation. But where Oxford had Paul Moody, Birmingham had the final boss battering ram of their £800,000 signing from Stockport, 6′ 7″ Kevin Francis. After a frantic start in which Oxford looked the better side, after 17 minutes, Francis headed the opening goal before David Rush was fouled in box, giving him the opportunity to bring Oxford level. Rush’s firm penalty was too straight and nestled in the keeper Ian Bennett’s midriff. 

It was downhill from there, professional hobo Steve Claridge headed in the second, before Liam Daish grabbed the third as Birmingham swarmed all over Oxford. 

Despite their form, Oxford never recovered from the brutal night, failing to win any of their next five and winning just two of their remaining nine. Birmingham, meanwhile, surged to the title.

Want more?

If you’re a true glutton for punishment, then sign up to the Oxblogger Newsletter, an eclectic bimonthly online fanzine written by the fans for the fans. The Pre-season issue is out now featuring your pre-season predictions, what happens when you fall out of, and back in love with Oxford United, an appraisal of The Soccer Tribe, the defence of non-scoring defenders and the surge of kit reveals.

Plus, the latest Oxblogger Podcast which originally planned to cover the panoply of owners that we’ve had over the decades, but eventually just talked about our current ones. Still, there’s a very good quiz about historical Brians. 

And, if you’ve really got this far and aren’t aware, this season marks the 40^th anniversary of Oxford United’s first season in the top flight, The Glory Years is out now the remarkable in-depth story of our rise through the divisions during the 1980s.