Are Birmingham City Dreaming of European Football?

With many so-called experts predicting a long hard slog at the beginning of the season, it’s somewhat surprising to see Birmingham City bothering the top half of the Premiership.

A turnaround in fortunes appears to have coincided with the much publicised change of ownership, and there appears to be a new confidence. As one walks around St. Andrews, you can’t help but do so with a wry smile.

Just one year ago, the club were sitting in second place in the English Championship and were heading for back-to-back defeats against Preston and Reading, respectively.

Whisperings on the terraces criticised manager Alex McLeish, the team, and typically the lack of investment by the board at the time.

This weekend, Birmingham go into a game with West Ham Utd looking to stretch their unbeaten run to eight games and an unprecedented fourth victory in succession. There hasn’t been a level of expectation like this at St. Andrews since the 2003-04 season when Blues were sitting 8th on Boxing Day.

But with the bright lights of European football twinkling within reach comes the added pressure and the false hope that can so easily doom a club and demoralise players and fans alike.

True, if Birmingham beat West Ham, Blackburn and Everton in their next three games, then Blues fans will be forgiven for getting starry-eyed and checking their passports are up to date*.

The fixture list has been kind to Birmingham recently, however, before the end of January they will need to face Manchester United, an in-form Tottenham, and Chelsea twice, plus the added distraction of two potentially difficult FA Cup ties, it might not be long before a lower mid-table finish becomes more realistic.

But would European football next season be beneficial to the club?

You only have to look at the recent fortunes of teams like Newcastle, Middlesboro, Ipswich, and Leeds to realise that heavy expectations come at a heavy price, especially as far as European football is concerned. The prize money is an obvious attraction as is the global exposure, however, with that comes multimillion pound transfers and the hefty wages that go with them. And there's no guarantee that the transfers would work out.

The fixture congestion would also be a problem with the size of the squad that Birmingham have, a couple of injuries, and it's down to the bare bones.

We've seen recently even Manchester United and Arsenal can struggle. European football needs heavy investment at pitch-level, and I don't think Birmingham are quite there…yet.

The team is on a high though, and the fans have found their voice again. The terraces are aglow with optimism, and it’s a good time to be a Bluenose.

However fickle football can be, it's best to enjoy the good times while they’re here.

Europe isn’t going anywhere, so it might be wiser to wait a season or two before that little adventure begins, but no one said you can’t dream a little…

*I’ve checked and mine is!