Birmingham’s future stars brighten up miserable season

It’s been a miserable season for Birmingham City.

They were relegated from the top two tiers of English football for only the third time in their history – and the first time in 30 years.

Six different managers to pick the team, a disastrously ill-conceived appointment by ambitious new owners – and an ongoing daily debate on social media as to where it all went wrong.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

And not just in terms of the amount of money co-owners Tom Wagner and Tom Brady aim to pour into the club over the next five years to try and make the Blues a global force in the game.

The lifeblood of any good club is the strength of its youth section – and the young Blues have done themselves proud.

This weekend, the club that not long ago produced Jude Bellingham – and before that Trevor Francis – have two teams through to the national finals of the Professional Development League at both under-21 and under-18 level , a first for the second – the city club.

Steve Spooner’s Under-21s face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Friday night before Martyn Olorenshaw’s Under-18s host Charlton Athletic at Ray Hall Lane – the home of the Birmingham County Football Association in Great Barr – at lunchtime following.

Giving kids a chance ‘is what it’s all about’

And under-21 boss Spooner, briefly one of six first-team bosses when Wayne Rooney was sacked in January, is the ideal man to say how much success at youth level means to the club.

“It’s a first for us,” he said.

“Especially for me in a season where I have tasted all aspects of the football club. But for a club like the Blues, that’s what it’s all about – giving youngsters the chance to become first-team players.

“We might not have the budget and facilities of other teams, but our aim is always to try and get one or two a year.”

Without going back to the great Francis, over the past two decades the Blues have produced England striker Andrew Johnson and Darren Carter – the man who fired them for the first time in the Premier League in 2002.

Then there was England goalkeeper Jack Butland, Nathan Redmond and Demarai Gray before the arrival of the two Bellingham brothers – Jude and Jobe – and this season Jordan James, the only standout player from a failing team and already an established Wales international.

“A lot always rests on leading the first team,” Spooner said. “A big draw for any young player is knowing they have the chance to progress to being a first-team player. But our record is good.

“Now you have kids who haven’t even heard of David Beckham. You have to convince the parents.

“But it’s a good starting point — a good selling point. There’s nothing better than having evidence.”

“You should always learn from failure”

Spooner said he felt “lucky” to work in his role developing young talent, describing the club’s two most famous alumni – Trevor Francis and Jude Bellingham – as “one in a million players”.

“Jude had that mentality that set him apart from the rest. He just wanted everything done right and had an insatiable desire to learn.

“And then there’s Jordan James and his development this season. JJ was a scholar one minute, then he’s in the first team. That’s what happens to really good young players. They’re fast tracked. But we’re very aware that never basing us only on what we have done and to continue the evolution.

“We provide a platform – we have a good team of sports scientists, physios, analysts and player care people.

“And we continue to strive to produce first-team players. We have Romelle Donovan, who has played for England Under-18s, while George Hall has played at Under-19s and Under-20s.”

This weekend is now the stage for the Blues under-18s and under-21s to succeed where the club’s more senior players have failed this season by putting smiles back on fans’ faces.

But for Spooner, it’s all about the learning process — regardless of the outcome.

“Now we’re turning up the dial a little bit,” he said. “They are approaching first-team level, so they have been treated as such, with the best training.

“We need them to develop that winning mentality, but at the same time make them realize that this too can end in failure. And you should always learn from failure.”