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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Rob Smyth

A simple tale of Laurence Bassini, Simon Jordan and Birmingham City

Some blue skies over Blues.
Some blue skies over Blues. Photograph: Lewis Storey/Getty Images

THAT’S WEE IN THE CORNER …

They may be a giant club, but life hasn’t always been easy for Birmingham City. In 1993-94, during a desperate run of form, manager Barry Fry was told about a supposed curse on the club, which was a barrier to them getting out of the old First Division and into the Premiership. Bazza, under instructions from a curse-lifting specialist, marked his scent on all four corners of their St Andrew’s ground. “I am not normally superstitious but after three months I was willing to try anything so I went and took a leak on all four corner flags,” he chirped. “It took me a while – it’s not that easy.” Fry was willing to do anything to get Birmingham out of the First Division, and it worked – they were relegated a couple of months later.

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