BRUM IS BLUE!

Blues kick off their 2025/26 Campaign on Friday in the Chuba Derby as it will no doubt get dubbed by some media outlets (So I’m getting there first). It looks to be another exciting season, I’m sure we’re in for a shock but we have the momentum. The winning mentality has been set.

I thought therefore I’d look ahead at the season, the potential that has yet to be realised, the expectations from Bluenoses as well as the fans that just can’t stop looking over at us. I want to keep it grounded, but I can’t make any promises! I am personally looking forward to this season, especially given what we achieved last season, I know that personally my head and my heart are slightly out of sync in what I expect from next season (But my heart is slowly turning the logic within me to belief).

Blues have been building for this since relegation to League One, as we see in the documentary, it was a reality check but rather than be our new defining factor Blues have instead used it to set up with the Premier League in mind. This gives me hope that this year isn’t going to be like the last few Championship seasons for us, combined with the quality additions that have been brought in this summer.

How do I therefore see the season going? I think Blues will be a contender without a doubt, I’d like to think we kick off the campaign with a win to really give a boost on the road ahead. It would be a real statement of intent to beat a team who were competing in the Premier League the previous season, I personally don’t think we’re that far off them. A defeat on the opening game would be a wounder though!

We’re going to go in tomorrow with a proper buzz, the club are looking to get the fans hyped up again and they usually succeed in this. With this in mind it should realistically give the players that boost to retain that undefeated home record from last season. I will do a proper preview tomorrow but I don’t think Ipswich are a team to be all that concerned about, we can’t go in giving them respect that’s for sure.

So, if I’m not feeling nervous about playing Ipswich who am I nervous about playing I hear you ask! I’m not going to suggest that there’s no team I fear, I’m going to come out straight and say it. While I think having Ipswich as the first game is an ideal time for it as they still look to find their feet, it’s of course the same for us and everyone, as the season progresses I think we will see a bit more of a split in the table this season.

The Championship is a very competitive league but we are seeing a sort of settling in the league as teams that come down tend to be more there, or there abouts, than the other teams in the league. You get everyone else sticking slightly close to this charge though because everyone else can beat everyone else. I’m not suggesting any teams are going to completely run away with the league, but rather there will be a larger divide from the top 5ish than usual. This is simply because I do think the relegated three, us and Wrexham will be the ones to watch. Sheffield United also gave it a solid go last season and finished 14 points ahead of Sunderland who of course won promotion via the Play Offs.

There will be bad days for Blues though along the road, it will be a case of us supporting the lads through these tough periods. Two teams achieved 100 points in the season last season, would Blues set their sights on this figure? I’m sure they will have it in their mind but even I think it will be unrealistic, even through my blue-tinted glasses. They do leave me to think we will be in that top 5, I mean I’d go further and say top 3 ideally (I mean I’ve backed winning the league but I appreciate that is the heart over the head) and so this is my expectation. I do know that many fans though would be happy with a mid-table finish or Play Offs this season and I don’t think there’s anything wrong in being rational and realistic, I just think we’re going to do better than that.

So to the fans, what seems to be the general feeling? It definitely seems most fans are staying grounded and expect a mid-table finish. I can see why, I can almost agree but I just have that extra bit of optimism. Rival fans though have no real clue about what we’ve done behind the scenes, they’re looking at us as though we’re expecting it to be easy or thinking our owners will try and throw money at problems then get caught out by FFP, this is not the truth of the matter as our owners have sorted the revenue first and worked on the culture as well as every single other behind the scenes things so not just revenue but also the training facilities have been improved. It’s this progress that makes me feel Blues can challenge properly.

All in all I think we’re good for this season, would I want a little cup run? Yes please, why not? Man I’d even like to see us win a cup on our way up but that is definitely greedy, let’s just secure promotion for now and we’ll get a backdoor to Europe once we’re in the Premier League! Birmingham on the Rise!