Last season was one to forget for Birmingham as boardroom wrangling and a bitter fall-out with their former manager showed. It wasn't much better on the pitch either with the team eventually finishing 19th which ensured an immediate return to the Championship.
Optimism was high at St Andrew's in August as Steve Bruce had revamped his side and they had bounced straight back into the Premier League after relegation in 2006.
However, a protracted takeover deal with Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung that collapsed (Yeung still owns over 29.9 per cent of the shares) led to Bruce becoming increasingly exasperated as there was deliberation over a new contract for him.
Results on the pitch started to slide a run of defeats culminating in a 2-1 home defeat to local rivals Aston Villa saw Bruce head for the exit door as Wigan paid £3m compensation for his services.
His departure turned acrimonious with owners David Sullivan and David Gold but Bruce had the last laugh as he performed wonders at Wigan to keep them in the Premier League.
Alex McLeish arrived in the Second City and his first game in charge saw a 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur and brighter times ahead but it proved to be a false dawn. They struggled on the road and despite some excellent home results (4-1 Blackburn, 3-1 Manchester City, 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur) their travel sickness was the main reason they were relegated.
Despite a summer clear-out, which has seen Olivier Kapo, Daniel de Ridder and Mikael Forssell depart, McLeish has pulled off a coup with the acquisition of Kevin Phillips from local rivals West Bromwich Albion.
Lee Carsley has also arrived from Everton along with Marcus Bent. Throw into the mix the fact that player of the season Seb Larsson is still in a royal blue shirt along with the highly rated James McFadden and there is every chance Blues will be amongst the front runners again this season.
Transfers In/Out
In
Kevin Phillips
Lee Carsley
Kemy Agustien (loan)
Marcus Bent
Out
Franck Queudrue
Olivier Kapo
Fabrice Muamba
Daniel de Ridder
Mikael Forssell
Prediction: Birmingham will reach the play-offs and give themselves a chance of a second promotion in three years.
A Brief History of Birmingham City FC
Birmingham have only won one major trophy in their history but it was a sweet moment for all supporters. They lifted the Leaguer Cup in 1963 by beating old rivals Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate.
The 1950s and 60s were arguably Birmingham's best years as they finished sixth in the top flight in 1956 and reached the FA Cup Final as well. However, they lost 3-1 to Manchester City in a game that was infamous for Bert Trautmann playing the last 20 minutes with a broken neck.
Birmingham have a European history too and were ground-breaking in the 1950's as the first English club to take part in European competition. They played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as it was known then and reached the semi final before losing to Barcelona.
Blues were also the first English club to reach a European final as they lost twice to Barcelona in 1960 and AS Roma in 1961 in the same tournament. In the 1961 semi-final they beat Inter Milan home and away, which no other English club managed to achieve until Arsenal in the 21st Century.
Casting the net back further, Birmingham also reached the FA Cup Final in 1931 only to lose 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion. They adopted the 'City moniker in 1943 having previously been known as Small Heath Alliance on formation and then Birmingham from 1905.
Trevor Francis is arguably Birmingham's greatest ever player and he was part of a fearsome forward line in the 1970s that also contained Bob Latchford and Bob Hatton as well as PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor.
Birmingham slipped into the third tier of English football for the first time in their history in 1989 but they lifted the Leyland DAF Trophy in 1991 and its successor, the Auto Windscreens Shield in 1995, under the lively guidance of Barry Fry.
A League Cup final appearance against Liverpool followed in 2001 but they lost on penalties and they will be hoping to win the Championship for the first time since 1955 this season.
Did you know: Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground was allegedly put under the spell of a gipsy curse in 1906 that would last for 100 years. Ron Saunders tried to banish the curse in the 1980s by putting crucifixes on the floodlights and painting the soles of the players' boots red! Barry Fry claimed he had urinated in all four corners of the pitch after a clairvoyant told him it would lift the spell! However, the spell was lifted on Boxing Day 2006 and Birmingham duly celebrated with a 2-1 win over QPR.
