I had had work to do in the Netherlands so I flew in to Manchester for a 3-days-3-matches mini tour and took the train to Birmingham. I stayed in The Britannia, a somewhat outdated hotel near Birmingham New Street. After Chinese dinner in the nearby Chinatown, I walked down to St Andrews to get my ticket. When I got back home after the weekend I realised the ticket had been mailed to me, so it took a bit of time to print a new one. 

It was a bitterly cold evening and although I was prepared it was cold in the Main Stand. The game was a surprisingly lively affair. Birmingham came back twice from being a goal down to win it when Marlon King placed the ball outside Jason Steele's reach. The home side had Ravel Morrison, then a young future prospect, on loan from Manchester United. He was replaced at halftime. Jack Butland, then only 19, was in goal for the Blues.

Back at the hotel I met a drunk Swede at the bar, who claimed he had been in Birmingham for business during the whole week and got delayed so that he had to fly home on Saturday instead of Friday as scheduled.