Sport
A Football Legend Made A “Shocking” Statement About Birmingham City, What is His Motives?
I loved my time at Birmingham City and for me they are a Premier League team
Barry Ferguson has spoken of his affection for Birmingham City and evoked memories of the finest day in the club’s history when they won the Carling Cup at Wembley in 2011.
Ferguson, who came to Blues needing to rehabilitate his reputation after being censured by both Scotland and Rangers in 2009, spent two seasons at the club working under Alex McLeish.
He formed a fabled midfield partnership with Lee Bowyer and towards the end of his two seasons at St Andrew’s he played his part in the legendary 2-1 victory over Arsenal – despite nursing a broken rib.
Speaking Gambling.com the 46-year-old recalled his time at Blues and what it was like to return to the club for a pre-season friendly this summer.
“Obviously I always look out for the Rangers’ result first, but Birmingham is another result I always look out for,” he said. “I had a fantastic time there, I loved it. The people around the club and the fans were amazing to me when I was down in Birmingham.
“For me, Birmingham is a Premier League team. Seeing them in the Championship was sad, but to go down into League One, I couldn’t believe it. But it’s great to see they’ve got new investment from America. It’s clear that they’re putting the money into the club.
I was actually down there in pre-season when Birmingham and Rangers played. I was down at St Andrews again and I got a brilliant welcome, so it’s a club I’ve got a lot of time for. I still keep in contact with some of my ex-teammates.”
Ferguson admits winning silverware with Blues was probably not something he expected but certainly something he relished after Obafemi Martins’ last minute winner provided one of the most iconic Blues moments.
“When you leave a club the size of Rangers and you go to Birmingham, you’re not expected to maybe win another trophy and I managed to do that. With Birmingham we won the League Cup, we beat Arsenal at Wembley.
“We were getting written off coming up against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal team who were full of top quality players, there’s no doubt about it. But we had a really good team, we had a real togetherness in that squad we had at Birmingham.
“We had a game plan to go and try and nullify Arsenal, to stop them from dictating the game, and it worked. The plan that Alex McLeish put out worked perfectly. And there’s no better way to win a cup final than to score with the last kick of the ball, and we certainly celebrated after it.”
