Second City Red

Birmingham, like many other cities, has its less salubrious areas- St. Andrews just happens to be situated in one of those. It's not somewhere I would choose to visit or linger in, let alone park after dark! The same would apply to Knowle West? Birmingham is well worth a visit (outside of the football season?). Ozzy the Bull will greet you at New Street, some great Victorian buildings (some great pubs included), parks like Cannon Hill, the canals and, of course, Bournville and Cadbury World! Give it a try!

Anyone else remember City beating Port Vale 2-1 in December 2005 with an 88th minute Lee Peacock penalty? City fans singing "oh what fun it is to see City win away" to the tune of Jingle Bells! There's a pre Christmas victory...

For street parking try Wattville Road in Handsworth (just across the border) Twenty minute walk to the ground. Usually plenty of room and easy get away after if you avoid the Soho Road Local knowledge!

If you are in the City Centre the Post Office Vaults (off Victoria Square) usually has a a good selection of ciders

Agree about the Old Contemptables-a proper old fashioned (Nicholsons) pub. Some interesting guest ales, food is fine, but very light on cider-Mortimers Orchard the only one, I believe

My suggestion would be to park in the city centre and walk up to St.Andrews, takes about half an hour. Probably best to avoid St Andrews/Small Heath altogether. Plenty of city centre pubs for a post match drink (post mortem?) and easier to get away afterwards?

The cycle track opposite Salcombe Road? My dad told me he used to watch "proper" speedway at the Knowle track near Wells Road?

My Gran and Auntie lived in a prefab on Airport Road and we regularly visited in the late 1950's and early 1960's. I don't remember any horses but do recall when "it was all fields" across the road..

Thanks for your responses. I've previously had tickets posted, Birmingham, Coventry (wish in hindsight those had been "lost in the post!) etc but Supporter Services today (and last week) said "no posting". I've seen the queues for tickets at away games so don't fancy that- I'd rather be in the pub! Happy to pay any postage costs- cheaper than petrol to Bristol and back.

We have tickets for Nottingham Forest on Saturday. I live in Birmingham (the username rather gives that away, doesn't it?). My sons live in London. I usually only now visit my home town for the Orchard Inn and a City match. I go to all of the Midlands matches, and previously, tickets to these games have been bought and posted. It seems that now this option is no longer available. So, unless I want to spend a long while in a queue at the City ground on Saturday, my only option is to drive the two hundred odd miles to Bristol to collect. Why can't the club post out tickets any more? We surely can't be that short of cash?

Having watched home and away this season, it appears to me that our opponents in the Championship must regard a game against Bristol City as an easy, soft touch. No fight, no aggression, no passion. Yesterday it took until nearly the 90th minute for a City player to give a good old fashioned shoulder charge to one of their opponents (Pring heaved their Raheem Sterling wannabe off the ball and into touch-- cue huge cheer from lower Lansdown!) Yes, their left wing back was booked early on for throwing the ball into the ground but he was showing some fight and passion. Who is putting in the tough, hard, clattering tackles (Pack, Flint?) ? Where is our elbows out, stroppy, annoying striker, getting into the faces of the opposition defenders (Kodja)? We're too polite on the field, too accomodating, just too nice!

Probably not a good idea to try to park near the ground. Plenty of city centre parking and easier to walk up through Digbeth (takes around 30 min) Train from Snow Hill to Bordesley (ten minute walk to the ground) station takes five minutes-frequent before the match, not so many after according to the timetable. "Home" game for me!