The Birmingham Courier
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Carlos Vicente runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market17 Aug 2026
Stephen Humphrys is a Birmingham player
The fee is $2.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Bradford City drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Stephen Humphrys gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Stephen Humphrys has just signed for Birmingham, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ibrahim Osman in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Birmingham this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Birmingham
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market17 Aug 2026
Wrexham join the queue for Alex Cochrane
Add another name to the list: Wrexham have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alex Cochrane. The answer from Birmingham has not changed — yet.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Birmingham supporters have found a favourite in Ibrahim Osman
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ibrahim Osman has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market17 Aug 2026
Birmingham promote Benjamin Stewart from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Benjamin Stewart has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market17 Aug 2026
Harry Ross steps up from the Birmingham academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Harry Ross has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Match Luis Vázquez sends Birmingham past Wrexham
- Squad Jay Stansfield falls out with a teammate over standards
- Squad No hiding place for Jay Stansfield