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
Birmingham say no — this time
The offer from RC Lens for Carlos Vicente was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market17 Aug 2026
So close: Christoph Klarer’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. New York City moved on, Christoph Klarer reports back to Birmingham, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Jack Aitchison gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Jack Aitchison has just signed for Birmingham, and for once the answer mattered.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Birmingham
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Market17 Aug 2026
Birmingham promote Richard Carter from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Richard Carter 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
One of our own: Matthew Howard joins the Birmingham first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Matthew Howard is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Patrick Roberts stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Patrick Roberts and Birmingham agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
- Squad Ethan Laird falls out with a teammate over standards
- Boardroom Birmingham turn down the training-ground plan
- Player ratings Nothing got past Kristoffer Lund