Happy New Transfer Window Everyone! Did you enjoy your party to celebrate? I know I got dreadfully drunk! It really makes me smile to see all those football managers lining the Embankment, counting down until the window opens. I saw Harry Redknapp, Sam Allardyce and Alex McLeish lined up singing 'Auld Lang Syne', although Avram Grant was simply sat in a corner crying. Must have had too much to drink...
This transfer window promises much for me as a Birmingham City supporter, with Carson Yeung reportedly promising £40m to spend. But while McLeish might be eyeing up a new striker or midfielder to strengthen his already promising squad, let not auld aquaintances be forgot, and cast our minds back to January 2003, when perhaps the most exciting transfer window for my club took place, and one of the greatest players ever to play for the club stepped into a press conference, much to the disbelief of thousands of Bluenoses...
It was the middle of January, and things looked bleak for Birmingham, in their debut season in the Premier League. Steve Bruce's men were perilously close to the relegation zone, having won one game since mid-November. Then, all of a sudden, rumours began to circulate. Bruce had acquired the sensible, if not spectacular signings of Matthew Upson, Stephen Clemence and Jamie Clapham. But there was one name creeping around which couldn't surely be true, could it? A World Cup winner? At St Andrews? In freezing cold January? Come off it! But the rumours were true, and Steve Bruce pulled off one of the signings of the decade, in Christophe Dugarry. Dugarry's Gallic flair gave everyone at Birmingham a boost, and it was only until he emerged from the tunnel against Arsenal that Blues fans finally began to think that it wasn't all an elaborate hoax.
In truth, it took a while for the new players to gel. The team lost 4 out of the next 5, and things began to look bleak. Then came a turning point in Birmingham's recent history. Amongst one of the most ferocious atmospheres I've experienced, Birmingham beat title challengers Liverpool, and then recorded back to back Premier League wins for the first time. Relegation now looked unlikely, and 'Le God', as Dugarry was known, really began to show his class.
On a Bank Holiday Monday, Blues played Southampton, and Dugarry pulled off the greatest performance I personally have ever seen in a Blues shirt. An unbelievable free kick coupled with another goal turned the game on its head, and Birmingham won 3-2. Although Messrs Savage, Cunningham and Upson deserve credit, it was Dugarry who pulled Birmingham out of the mire and gave the Blues faithful another season of Premier League football.
In truth, Dugarry never reproduced the form of that season, and it was 'Au Revoir' to 'Le God' in 2004. However, his contribution to the club will never be forgotten, and that Southampton game will live long in the memory. It seems that the fans' contribution to Dugarry hasn't been forgotten either- he now hosts a talk show in France in which he regularly mentions the raucous Blues crowd. Alex McLeish and other Premier League managers will be hoping that they can pull off a signing that is half as successful as Dugarry in 2003- proof that a loan can be worth infinitely more than a failed £32.5m signing- Robinho, anyone?
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