We talk about The Manchester Derby, The Mersey side Derby or The clash of North London Giants. But perhaps in the history of English Football, the rivalry between Aston Villa and Birmingham City, also known as ‘The Second City Derby’, has always remained one of the most fiercely fought sporting events. It may have all started with the trashing of City 22-0 dating back to the ages. The two teams have engaged in several hotly contested matches. In the 1925 league game at Villa Park, with the home side 3–0 ahead with eleven minutes to go, Birmingham scored three times in a dramatic final spell to draw the match. The following year, Aston Villa made headlines with the signing of Tom 'Pongo' Waring, and his first appearance was for the reserves against Birmingham City's reserves, which famously drew a crowd of 23,000. Waring scored three times in the match.
Well, the recent appointment of ‘former’ Birmingham City Manager, Alex Mcleish by rivals Aston Villa, hasn’t gone down with City fans so well. The Scot who has been at St. Andrews for four seasons had been the toast of the blues in his pretty successful managerial career, guiding the Blues to League Cup victory over favourites Arsenal in the 2009-10 season. With the sacking of Gerard Houlier at Villa. The appointment came as a rude shock to both the City fans and the Villans. It not only had the Birmingham Officials furious over his ‘Email Resignation’ and have also considered legal action over Aston Villa, as he was still under their contract.
Birmingham city fans have been at loggerheads with their team, after getting relegated in 2010-11 season and with the Scot’s move to arch rivals has drawn a flak from the devoted blues. It has certainly raised tension with the arch rivals and a possible Second City Derby in the FA cup and/or the League Cup will make the heated contest more exciting this season.
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