Birmingham City 1-0 Norwich City: Blues relegated on final day to drop into third tier for first time in 29 years

Birmingham have been relegated from the Sky Bet Championship despite a 1-0 home win over Norwich at St Andrew’s on the final day of the season.

Birmingham’s turbulent campaign, where six men have managed the club at one point or another, means their 13-season stay in the Championship is over and they return to the third tier for the first time in 29 years.

The Blues, who beat Norwich after Seung-Ho Paik’s second-half winner, would have stayed up if either Blackburn or Sheffield Wednesday had lost at Leicester and Sunderland respectively, or if Plymouth had failed to win at home to Hull.

Gary Rowett’s side would also have stayed up if they drew against the Canaries and Plymouth had lost by five goals.

More to follow…

Brady, Rooney and… Birmingham relegation

As new investors Tom Wagner and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady took in the plaudits on their first visit to Birmingham City last summer, everything finally seemed rosy after years of turmoil in B9.

A last-minute penalty had just beaten promotion hopefuls Leeds in the second of what would be a five-game unbeaten streak to start the season. After 10 games, Birmingham sat fifth following a commanding 3-1 win over local rivals West Brom, in front of their largest home crowd since before the pandemic.

Dilapidated areas of St Andrew’s, left in such disrepair that whole stands had been shut the previous season, were back open – and gleaming. The broken old showers in the home dressing room were finally fixed. The players’ tunnel had been decorated with inspirational quotes and pictures. Finally, this house felt like home again.

“We are not here for a short period of time, we are here for the long haul,” said Wagner, the new club chairman, following that first home win of the season. “All of our decisions are focused on what’s best for the club in the long term.”

Football is never simple. Good times rarely last too long, and words are easy. But even with the unwanted helping of deja vu, that quote would come back to haunt Wagner, Brady and Birmingham quicker than anyone could have imagined.