{"id":307304,"date":"2025-07-31T19:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/307304\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:06:11","slug":"tom-bradys-birmingham-primed-to-touch-down-in-the-championship-birmingham-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/307304\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Brady\u2019s Birmingham primed to touch down in the Championship | Birmingham City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and global sporting icon, is braced for the challenges that await Birmingham City, where he is a minority owner. \u201cJust because you were successful last year doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to be successful this year,\u201d he says, alluding to a season that culminated in promotion<\/a> and a record-breaking tally of 111 points. \u201cYou have to put the same amount of work, commitment and discipline in \u2013 sometimes more \u2013 because the stakes only get higher. When the competition gets tougher, the margin of error gets smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is his final answer in an interview that takes in everything from the \u201cblue-collar nature of Birmingham\u201d, which he compares with Cleveland and Cincinnati, to the Championship<\/a> landscape and the bubbling rivalry with Aston Villa, which he was educated on during his first visit to England\u2019s second-biggest city after acquiring his 3.3% stake.<\/p>\n

It is a moment detailed in the opening scene of Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues, the Prime Video documentary series released on Friday, as he travels past a giant mural depicting Jude Bellingham and Trevor Francis. \u201cWhat\u2019s the other team here?\u201d he asks. \u201cFuck them \u2026 gonna fuck them up too,\u201d he says, smiling.<\/p>\n

Brady and Tom Wagner, the Birmingham chairman, are in bullish moods for our interview. Wagner\u2019s mantra is \u201cif you can\u2019t say it, you can\u2019t do it\u201d and he is adamant Birmingham will return to the Premier League. But when? \u201cThe sooner the better,\u201d he replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be great for the city of Birmingham to have an inner-city derby that brings fans together in a non-violent way; we don\u2019t want it to be peaceful, we don\u2019t want it to be violent either, but we want to allow them the joy of experiencing that great rivalry again. I love reading the comments from Villa supporters, but I think it\u2019s beyond that. There\u2019s so many other great clubs we would love to compete against.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series contains colourful characters, differing generations of supporters. \u201cWe\u2019ve had so many rebirths,\u201d says one, Paul Collins, \u201cbut they\u2019ve all been phantom pregnancies.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a potted history taking in Barry Fry urinating in all four corners of St Andrew\u2019s to lift a curse and other amusing moments. \u201cI fell in love with fixing businesses,\u201d says Wagner, the co-founder of Knighthead Capital, the multibillion investment fund that acquired a controlling stake two years ago.<\/p>\n

Birmingham City chair Tom Wagner celebrates the Blues\u2019 League One title win at St Andrew\u2019s. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt\/AMA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

On their arrival at Birmingham, one-third of the ground had been condemned, there was no hot water in the men\u2019s toilets and no heating in the executive offices. \u201cWe\u2019re not even close to being done, and now we\u2019re embarking on an even more ambitious feat,\u201d Wagner says of plans to build a sports quarter on a 60-acre site with a 62,000-seat stadium, more than double the current capacity. \u201cWe want to compete at the top level of the Championship [this season].\u201d<\/p>\n

After their final home game last season, Wagner enjoyed a mic-drop moment, telling those present: \u201cThe best part of the story is just beginning. I promise you this is not the best day we will enjoy together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most surreal moment of the series is Sir David Beckham, among the VIP guests for Birmingham\u2019s home win over Wrexham<\/a> last September, explaining to Brady the insulting chants Birmingham fans are directing at their Welsh counterparts. What else did Beckham teach him that night?<\/p>\n

Brady laughs. \u201cA few things that were being said \u2026 some of it I couldn\u2019t really fully understand because there\u2019s some thick accents that I\u2019m not 100% educated on yet, but David\u2019s helped me out.\u201d Another time we see Brady mastering his pronunciation of Birmingham en route to the training ground. \u201cI learned that pretty early on. When I first did my social media video [announcing my involvement], they said: \u2018It\u2019s Birmingham, not Birming-ham.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Birmingham City co-owner Tom Brady (left) chats with David Beckham in the stands before the League One match against Wrexham at St Andrew\u2019s in September 2024. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PA<\/p>\n

Wrexham, also promoted last season, have become friendly foes. Wagner says other teams \u201cwant in\u201d on Birmingham\u2019s brewing competition with the Welsh club, owned by the Hollywood pair Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.<\/p>\n

\u201cRivalries are very important because they allow you to focus at a different level: your concentration, effort, it all becomes very maximised when you\u2019re playing against these rivals,\u201d Brady says. \u201cThe fundamentals of the sport [football], the tactics, are different to American football. It\u2019s a different sport but the values are very much the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that win over Wrexham, there is a snapshot into the bigger picture, a reminder that this is business after Wagner congratulates manager, Chris Davies, and his staff. \u201cI\u2019m going to go back upstairs, we\u2019ve got 1,000 people we\u2019re trying to get to spend money in the club so that you guys can spend more next summer,\u201d says Wagner, a former certified public accountant on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

One of his primary aims is building revenues to close the gap to clubs awarded parachute payments. Asked whether the numbers are where he expected this summer, Wagner says they have smashed this season\u2019s original target. \u201cMy team loves it when they achieve a goal and I say: \u2018Well, now it\u2019s 10% higher\u2019,\u201d he says. Commercial deals with Nike and Delta Air Lines help.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve achieved levels of revenue that no one has ever done in the Championship, save for clubs receiving parachute payments,\u201d Wagner says. \u201cSo, if we were to fast-forward a year \u2013 if we were fortunate enough to get promoted \u2013 our first year in the Premier League, I think we\u2019ll fall mid-table in total revenues, which is unheard of for a club just entering into the Prem. That\u2019s the way we think about the club and that\u2019s what our objectives are aimed towards \u2013 not just getting to the Prem, but then being there for good, and then ultimately becoming competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birmingham City\u2019s manager Chris Davies speaks to his players in the dressing room. Photograph: Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n

Birmingham are looking forward but the appointment of Wayne Rooney backfired. The first episode touches on Rooney\u2019s tenure: two wins in 15 matches and 83 days in charge, a run that paved the way to relegation. Wagner says now he \u201cwouldn\u2019t trade that history for the world, because the lessons were invaluable\u201d. We see an awkward, small talk exchange between Brady and Rooney and, later, with Brady stewing in the car after leaving the training ground, comes a telling remark. \u201cI\u2019m a little bit worried about our head coach\u2019s work ethic,\u201d Brady says.<\/p>\n

Rooney was sacked in January 2024 and Brady is reluctant to linger on the past: \u201cI have very high expectations for myself and certainly for a club and people I associate with, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Wayne. He\u2019s one of the greatest players to step on to a football pitch. And that was a couple of years ago, at this point Chris is our manager \u2026 I love Chris\u2019s work ethic, attitude, determination and humility.\u201d<\/p>\n

On deadline day last summer, Birmingham made a splash after signing Jay Stansfield for a record-breaking \u00a315m fee from Fulham. Episode three focuses on the England Under-21 striker\u2019s return to Exeter City, for whom his late father, Adam, also played<\/a>. We hear from Taylor, one of Stansfield\u2019s younger brothers, who joined Birmingham as kit man during Stansfield\u2019s loan at the club, and their mother, Marie. \u201cAs a footballer, he is just like his dad \u2026 he even runs like his dad,\u201d she says. \u201cThey both run with their pinky finger out,\u201d Taylor says, smiling. Marie is in the stand opposite the one renamed after Adam, which Stansfield blows a kiss towards after scoring a penalty.<\/p>\n

Birmingham have been aggressive in the market this summer, too, with the returning Demarai Gray and the former Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi two of eight signings. More new faces are expected to follow. So, how does Wagner reflect on his time as chair? \u201cI think the biggest metric for us is the increased amount of interest that we have in the club from new and existing supporters, where we\u2019re now enjoying record levels of season-ticket sales,\u201d he says of the 20,000 signed up this season and referencing the 15,000-strong season-ticket waiting list, a first for the club.<\/p>\n

Jay Stansfield surges forward at a rainy St James Park in November 2024. Photograph: Izzy Ninnis\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

It is apt that Birmingham host Ipswich, the last team to win back-to-back promotions to the Premier League, in the Championship curtain-raiser a week on Friday.<\/p>\n

The final episode takes in one of few hiccups under Knighthead: defeat in the Vertu Trophy final at Wembley in April. \u201cI don\u2019t like losing,\u201d says Wagner. \u201cI\u2019ll back that up,\u201d says Brady. \u201cWe sold 50,000 tickets and when the last ticket sold, there were 23,000 people on the phone waiting to purchase tickets,\u201d Wagner adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we\u2019re doing seems to be resonating with people, in that they want to be a part of the journey. We knew it was a big club with a lot of supporters but I don\u2019t think we appreciated how many live and die with us on match day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and global sporting icon, is braced for the challenges that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-307304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114949415479042312","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}