The Birmingham City badge states that City were founded in 1875, though as Small Heath Alliance FC at first, then, as a newly formed limited company, as Small Heath FC in 1888 and then, in 1905 on moving to St Andrews, they became Birmingham FC and still not Birmingham City, that name not adopted until 1943. They have always played in blue, mostly with ample splashes of white as well. Their nickname is The Blues and fans rejoice in being called Bluenoses. They have a fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, whose ground is almost within walking distance of St Andrews; I reckon about 4 miles as the crow flies. St Andrews stadium consists of four stands, two of them standing alone and two joined. The two stands which are joined and run half way around the pitch are the Tilton Road Stand and the Spion Kop which were built in the late 1990s, as was the Gil Merrick Stand.
The away fans sit in the Gil Merrick Stand, named after a goalkeeper born in Birmingham who made the record number of appearances for the Blues between 1939 and 1960 and who also managed the club for a short period. The large lower tier of this stand accommodates the away fans; there is a small upper tier used by home fans and also a short row of executive boxes.
The changing rooms for the players and officials are housed in the Gil Merrick Stand, which results in odd arrangements for the players. They come from the dressing rooms on to the pitch before the game for the warm up from the right hand side of this stand, then prior to the match, come through the tunnel to the left of the stand and line up opposite the dugouts which are in the middle of the main stand. There is a large screen situated above the tunnel entrance. Whilst coming out onto the pitch for the warm up, the players have to pass through the electronic advertising hoarding running around three sides of the pitch. Thus there has to be a steward acting as a doorman at this point opening and closing a hinged portion of the hoarding.
The match itself finished 0-0, though it was an exciting nil-nil rather than a turgid defensive game. City carried the main threat in the first half with Forest 'keeper Darlow in fine form. The second half was more even with Forest creating the better chances, I thought. Main talking point was the sending off of Forest forward Darius Henderson. I thought this a very harsh decision. I consider Henderson tackled Birmingham captain Robinson in a firm but fair manner, but the City player leapt to his feet in a threatening manner obviously thinking it a dangerous tackle. Henderson grabbed Robinson, in my opinion, in self-defence but not striking him. After a lengthy discussion the ref sent Henderson off, but only booked Robinson.
Another, more amusing incident also occurred in the second half. The City goalie was just about to launch a long kick downfield, balancing the ball on his hand prior to throwing it up, when Lansbury popped up beside him, headed the ball cleanly off his palm and pushed it into the net. I suppose these incidents epitomised just how it feels to be a Forest fan at the moment. We knew the ref (who has a bad name amongst Reds fans for sending Blackstock off in controversial circumstances during a local derby a couple years ago) would disallow the goal just as we knew he would send Henderson off.
The game over, I walked back to my hotel. Next morning, in fine, dry and cool weather, I set out to drive the short distance to Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC. It was only a short journey, but I still managed to get lost, although I actually found my way to Villa Park by accident whilst trying to find the right road! It is an impressive ground. As usual, I parked the car in spaces normally reserved for the CEO and other ranking officials at the club. I mooched around looking for chinks in the defences, but here it was no problem getting into the ground. I drove into the car park past a small security building which appeared to be shut up tight. I approached a couple of chaps in track suits and asked them if a look inside the ground was possible. "No problem" was the reply" just have a word with security". It turned out that the hut was fully operational with a security system and array of technology which would put NASA to shame. The chaps told me how to get in to the stadium and said they would not need to come with me because every step I took would be in view of their cameras. So I set forth. I was really impressed with the ground, it looked as neat as a new pin, beautifully laid out and everything in it's place. I took my photos and video footage and reported back to the hut letting them know I was out.
I then walked around the ground making my way to the Holte End, where I stood for the FA Cup semi-final in 1991 against West Ham. It was a massive terracing, but has now, of course, been converted to an all-seated stand, though it is still impressive inside and out. The outside of the stand has been rebuilt in red brick and to me resembles the outside of a stately home, almost matching the lovely Aston Hall across the road. Continuing round the ground one comes to the Trinity Road stand, very unusual in that it bridges Trinity Road itself. Many grounds find themselves confined to an island site, but not many find such a solution to the problem. 
Outside the Trinity Road stand is a statue to William McGregor. McGregor was a Scot, but moved to the Birmingham area for business and later became associated with Aston Villa in the late 19th century. Apparently irritated by the many fixture cancellations of the time, he proposed the formation of a more professional system. In fact, he was the power behind the formation of the Football League in March 1888, which gives us the game as we know it today. The FA had been in existence since October 1863, but is the governing body for football in this country overseeing all amateur and professional football. It is a mystery to some why a club of such distinction in those early days, Nottingham Forest, was not in the original batch of clubs joining the Football League. After all, Forest had competed in the FA Cup since 1878/9, reaching the semi-final in that first year, and had fulfilled fixtures with many leading clubs. They did in fact apply to join the Football League that first season, but for logistical reasons only 12 of 15 clubs who applied were accepted, Forest being amongst those rejected. Possibly the stance of their committee regarding amateurism as the true essence of sport and thus disregarding professionalism in football was one of the reasons for rejection. However, Forest's place in football was recognised when a Second Division was formed in 1892 by the absorption of the Football Alliance, because they were one of the clubs added to the First Division immediately.
From Villa Park it is just a short drive to the Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion FC, another of the founder members of the Football League. In fact three of the four clubs I visited this Sunday were founder members, a not so surprising statistic seeing as Mr McGregor was connected with the Birmingham area. Another fine ground, but, sadly one which I did not get to see inside. The very approachable gentleman on the reception desk informed me that had I visited at any other time he would gladly have taken me inside, but, as West Brom had played a game the day before, staff were inside the ground cleaning and tidying. Health and Safety again!! The ground itself has been greatly rebuilt and improved and is now a tight, all-enclosed ground making it impossible for me to peek in from the outside, as I am wont to do when entry is denied.
I then wandered around the ground, noting the small, but well-kept garden of remembrance in one corner. And also the Jeff Astle Gates, remembering a fine player for the club. As the ground is very close to the M6 motorway, I shall endeavour to visit at another time. One thing which has puzzled me for some time is the nickname of West Bromwich Albion. When I was a youngster all the reference books noted the nickname as the Throstles and, indeed, the club badge has a Throstle on it. Throstle is dialect for Song Thrush. So where did the current nickname the Baggies come from? Apparently it is not so new and was used many years ago by fans, but the club itself was not keen on the name so stuck to Throstles as the nickname. (This is all a bit like Ipswich Town owners and directors not being keen on Tractor Boys initially, but finally coming to recognise the inevitability of the name as used by so many fans). The origin of Baggies is lost in the mists of time. So I was delighted to see that the WBA Supporters Club meet in the Throstle Club next to the ground keeping a link with one part of their history.
It was but a short hop to my next venue, Walsall FC at their home Banks's Stadium, which I thought was still called the Bescot Stadium. I was visiting these grounds on the Sunday before Christmas and had expected hordes of shoppers to be out and about. My visits to Villa Park and the Hawthorns had been unexpectedly free from traffic jams and shoppers, so I set off for Walsall in a relaxed state of mind. From which, I was rudely jolted. The Banks's Stadium is plainly visible from the M6 motorway. Indeed, the club have installed a giant advertising hoarding outside their ground facing the motorway. Also a new stand which dwarfs the rest of the ground, The Tile Choice Stand, is highly visible from the road. In fact, after my abortive visit, the best view I got of the ground was from the M6!
The traffic built up fairly quickly from the M6 into Walsall, so I popped into a residential area near the Morrison's supermarket which now occupies the former ground of Walsall, Fellowes Park, and parked the car. It was a bit of a walk to the stadium, but well worth doing because the traffic was heavy and crawling into the retail park beside the ground and into the ground itself, because every Sunday apparently, there is a car boot sale in the stadium car park. And on this Sunday before Christmas, the car boot sale was enormous with large crowds . It was impossible to get a decent view of the ground and I rapidly lost the will to carry on, so I took a couple of photos, promised myself that I would visit again at a later date and walked back to the car.
Then it was back on to the M6 heading for Wolverhampton Wanderers ground, Molineux. I was now paranoid about Christmas traffic and feared the worst, but, to my surprise, traffic was fairly light and I parked in a retail park just a few minutes walk from the ground. I'm glad I avoided the Asda supermarket which was built close to the ground as part of a deal with Wolverhampton City Council, in 1986, to avoid the club going bust. Their car park was packed and customers in their cars were queuing down the road.
I walked around the ground to the statue of Billy Wright outside the aptly named Billy Wright Stand, which also houses the club reception. Billy Wright was an iconic figure in my young days. The captain of England, he was first player to gain one hundred caps for his country and was indeed the Beckham of his day, because he married a singer in a well-known popular singing group. Joy Beverley of the Beverley Sisters. Wright played the whole of his career with Wolves, though he did spend a short time as Arsenal manager after his playing retirement.
I then went in to the reception area in the Billy Wright Stand and thought I had stumbled in to the reception area of a grand hotel. The marble fittings, the rows of trophy cabinets with their gleaming silverware and the glittering Christmas decorations were magnificent. With trepidation I asked the gentleman on duty if it was possible to view the pitch area and stands. To my surprise, he could not have been more welcoming or accommodating. Proudly he explained the history of the club, then took me to see the pitch, via the tunnel area. Molineux has been the home of Wolves since the 19th century, but has been thoroughly modernised. There are now four separate stands, the two alongside the pitch have a slight elliptical shape so creating a sort of bowl effect. The new Stan Cullis Stand, commemorating a great manager (he managed them for 16 years until sacked in 1964, years which were probably the finest in the club's history) who also played for them in a period which was interrupted by WWII, dominates the ground. 
One interesting feature of the ground is the siting of the dugouts, which are placed well away from the Billy Wright Stand (because of the curve of the stand taking the tunnel area well back from the touch line) and dug several feet into the ground , making them one of the few 'real' dugouts. 
There are several ways to complete the 92. One is to see your team play at each ground (a process which can take years and possibly will never be completed, too long for me), another is to see other teams play at each ground (which is probably only satisfactory to those who desperately want to complete the 92; imagine how boring some of these games could be when you have absolutely no interest in either of the teams) and finally, there is the method I have adopted of following my team, Nottingham Forest, home and away for a season and visiting all the other grounds as I go. I like this method because I see all my team's games and when I visit the other grounds, I usually meet interesting people who are proud to show me aspects of their ground that I would never see if I just went to a match. I have seen kit rooms and changing rooms, run out of countless tunnels and shared a love of football with young and old.And so it was in the West Midland area. The people I met here were genuine, nice people who desperately wanted to help me if they could. A most enjoyable weekend.
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