'Birmingham City and Tom Brady have been a breath of fresh air'

The new ownership at Birmingham City has been a “breath of fresh air” in the English Football League, says former Blues keeper, Nigel Martyn.

Two years into their time at the helm, Knighthead Capital Management, alongside American football icon Tom Brady, have been incredibly successful, guiding the Blues to the League One title and an instant return to the Sky Bet Championship in 2024/25.

It wasn’t the easiest of starts, however, after the club were relegated to the English third tier in their first season, not helped by the failed managerial appointments of Man United legend Wayne Rooney and Gary Rowett.

But the turnaround since welcoming Chris Davies as manager has been stratospheric, with the ownership unveiling plans to build a £3 billion 62,000 seater new stadium, as well as continued investment in other infrastructure around the club, including the first-team.

Momentum has continued to this campaign with the Blues enjoying an unbeaten start thanks to an impressive 1-1 draw with title favourites Ipswich Town on the opening day, as well as dumping Sheffield United out of the Carabao Cup midweek.

With the summer transfer window still yet to slam shut, and rumours of Birmingham wanting to sign even more big names, this has caught the eye of former goalkeeper Martyn.

Speaking to Parimatch, he said: “I think it’s been a breath of fresh air if I’m totally honest. Anything that boosts the club and the standing of your club in a positive way is a good thing.

“To have Tom Brady at Birmingham City, for Birmingham fans, it makes them stick their chest out a little bit further and say, ‘Look who we’ve got now.’

“But again, these people are serious and they’ve got serious money behind them. Next, it’s about the recruitment, who do they get as the manager? Who do they get as head of recruitment? Who do they get on the pitch to produce the goods?

“So far, Wrexham have done it tremendously well and Birmingham appear to be making progress. In all honesty, it doesn’t matter how much money you throw at it, there is no guarantee that you’re going to win the league, but, so far, both teams have sort of bounced up the leagues pretty well.

“Fair play to them, it’s going to be interesting but I think it’s a positive thing, definitely, and celebrity ownership, with people trying to copy Wrexham and Birmingham, is probably something we’ll see more and more and more of.”

Birmingham City will hope to continue their great form in their next Championship game, away to Blackburn Rovers, on Saturday (August 16) with kick-off at 3pm in the afternoon.

‘Birmingham City and Tom Brady have been a breath of fresh air’

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