Birmingham’s journey to the top flight, if and when they reach it, would have started with a detour through League One.
Relegation and five permanent managers in the first season of Knighthead’s ownership was not in the script when they bought the club in July 2023.
The ill-advised sacking of John Eustace – who had Birmingham sitting sixth in the Championship in October that year – was followed by the disastrous tenure of Wayne Rooney.
The ex-England captain lasted 83 days as Blues plummeted from the play-offs to 20th. It was a lesson learned.
Birmingham were always going to make a change but recognised they made it too soon.
Even at the time, minority owner – and seven-time Super Bowl winner – Tom Brady had reservations with Rooney
In Birmingham’s new Amazon Prime documentary series, the NFL icon said: “I’m a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic. I mean, I don’t know, I don’t have great instincts on that.”
Tony Mowbray was appointed but his diagnosis for bowel cancer, something which could have never been predicted, saw him step aside in March 2024. Assistant Mark Venus tried to steady the ship before ex-boss Gary Rowett returned, only to fall short of survival.
Last summer, former Leicester assistant Davies was handed his first senior role and, while he and his staff pulled things together on the pitch, the foundations had been laid for an immediate return to the Championship.
Even before Knighthead officially took over, they provided the money to start work to open the lower tiers of Kop and Tilton Stands which had been closed for more than two years due to asbestos concerns.
The crumbling terraces at St Andrew’s were a perfect metaphor for the club.
When the grow lights, which help maintain the turf, were plugged in earlier in Knighthead’s reign they fused the stadium, with the internet and computers crashing, highlighting a previously unknown power issue.
Between £20m-25m has since been spent on the stadium – and this is before the club moves to a new ground as part of a £3bn regeneration of a new Sports Quarter in the city.
That moved a step closer in June when the government pledged funds, part of a £2.4bn investment in the West Midlands, to create a tramline from the centre to the new 62,000-seater stadium, which Wagner wants open in five years.
There has always been an acknowledgement, especially internally, that the project is about reviving part of the city – some of the most deprived areas – through the club, a bigger picture than just restoring Blues themselves.
Promises have been backed up, meaning trust, respect and belief has been built.
“Actions speak louder than words and the actions have all been there. People are willing to believe it and put their trust in it,” said one source.
Chief executive Jeremy Dale pulled pints at the final home game against Mansfield in April, while director Andrew Shanahan jumped behind the bar to help short-handed staff earlier in the season.
Brady has bought drinks in the Royal George Hotel next to the stadium, while Wagner has also put his card behind the bar several times.
Yet it is more than just about getting a round in.
On Saturday, in the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Trevor Francis Memorial Match, the club hosted the family of 16-year-old fan Daniel Drewitt, who drowned in the lake at Sutton Park in July, with the stadium rising to pay tribute in the 16th minute.
They wanted to support the family and the importance of caring, being visible and accessible, has been a foundation.
