Brum City - Blue Square Premier to Premier League

[JakeRubin]

Sky Sports Feature - From Shark to Minnow
Jake Rubin's Never-ending Quest to Dethrone the Giants of Football

World Class Manager Jake Rubin, the best managerial talent to come to world football from the United States resigned as the everything man at Worldwide Reputation Doncaster. Rubin had taken Doncaster from League 1 to the Premier League and beyond. Doncaster's meteoric rise through the English Football Pyramid was a feat never seen as Rubin revamped their facilities from park bench to park place. He pulled the strings to a historic septuple in the 2027/28 season winning the; Community Shield, European Super Cup, Capital One Cup, Club World Championship, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League in the span of 10 months.

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Rubin's row with plastic surgery tycoon John Ryan was well publicized. Ryan refused repeated pleas to build a new stadium and capitalize on the club's massive reputation. Rubin left the cupboards stocked with talent at the deteriorating Keepmoat Stadium. From first team to youth team the coffers were filled with supremely talented players and every manager in Europe was licking their chops for a chance to pull the Donny strings.

Rubin was hampered in a small town, with a limited fanbase; and during his time away from management as a TV analyst for Sky Sports he vowed to make a triumphant return at a "bigger" club in the near future. Meanwhile Donny continued to dominate domestically and on the continent breaking a sesquicentennial record of four Premier Division titles on the trot, while repeating a historic three peat of Champions Cup titles, bringing their decade of dominance to a close with 6 Premier League and Champions Cup trophies.

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Rubin approached Birmingham City F.C. at the beginning of October 2029 as the board had just dismissed their manager. The club was in financial tatters - relying heavily on loaned players and bank loans to stay afloat in the Blue Square Premier league. He is on a reported 250 quid a week a massive pay cut from his previous 100,000 a week at Doncaster. However he has invested wisely and reportedly made 15,000,000 during his one year at Sky Sports as everyone's favorite personality on Monday Night Football.

During his first year Rubin was able to remove the deadwood and went on a 4 match winning streak at the end of the season to avoid relegation nightmare. Armed with a zero pound transfer budget, and a 10,000 per week wage budget Rubin is starting from near bottom with Brum - hoping to spark a revival in his first full season in charge at the club.

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As boxing day approaches, Rubin's Blues sit at fourth in the BSP, hoping to escape the Rat's Nest that is England's second lowest division in the Football League Pyramid. Based on his track record, the club's finances will be reigned in and with the potential fanbase in the Second City; St. Andrew's will be packed to the brim in no time. We will check back in at the end of the season with an update.

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Until then we wish Rubin the very best in his quest to have a world class stadium that will help slingshot his club to the top of the world.

-Sky Sports Feature (Saturday 7 Dec 2030)

 

[Mordox]

Looking forward to the inevitable Birmingham City vs Doncaster match. Hopefully Doncaster can stay a powerhouse in the premier league over the next decade

 

[MrStu01]

Birmingham in Conference :O im shocked but this save sounds AWESOME. Brilliant story telling. I wish Brum luck. Sounds like they got the right man for the job

 

[brooksey84]

Best story line of a story on here ever. IMO. Please follow this game up and get Birmingham back into the prem. So fed up of people starting stories on this forum and not following them up!

 

[SMcManus84]

Hi, looks like a fun save..

One thing..I'm pretty tired today so it's quite possible I've missed something?

1st season you finished 9th in championship but the next season 1st in league 1?
Why you go down a devision?

Then finished 11th in league 1 but the next season you finished 1st in the championship?
How you go up a devision?

But then....11th in the championship again?
Why not promoted?

Then after finishing 11th in championship, next season you won the prem?

Wtf lol?

 

[JakeRubin]

Hi, looks like a fun save..

One thing..I'm pretty tired today so it's quite possible I've missed something?

1st season you finished 9th in championship but the next season 1st in league 1?
Why you go down a devision?

Wtf lol?

I have no idea what happened lol but the game didn't list that properly. With Doncaster I finished 9th in League 1 my first season, then won it my second season. Finished 11th in the championship, and then won it my second season.

I will definitely be following this story up but it's more of a long term save. Will most likely be a mid season, end of season type of post...

I too hope Donny remain near the top of the Prem but their new manager has them playing a 3-4-1-2 so I'm not sure how long they will last... Update will come soon, I've been on a ridiculous run of form lately.

 

[JakeRubin]

Last we had checked, Jake Rubin was defying all odds (a heap of debt and a miniscule wage and transfer budget) in steering Brum City to a 4th place spot at Boxing Day. Plaudits questioned his decision to take charge of such a project; but as always Rubin has an eye for the future. In Birmingham he has a potentially humongous fanbase; and the fans started to come out in larger numbers as the Blues started banging goals in. The wheels were set in motion from the moment he stepped in. Rubin always gets the absolute most out of his players - and he has a special eye for finances and talent. The big blue machine is churning with Rubin at the wheel, as he successfully steered Brum to the BSP title.

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85 points is an impressive tally for the crop of players Rubin possesses, but their promotion was really never in doubt according to him, "My goal here has always been to climb up the Pyramid and reach the very top, the wheels have been set in motion, one down, three to go". Three to go, meaning that his goal is to rise through League 2, 1 and the Championship to return Birmingham to glory.

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There were many impressive performances along the way but perhaps the biggest storyline was that of youngling and Birmingham City youth system product Aiden Layfield leading the line. Layfield made 40 appearances for the Blues, scoring 20 goals, setting up 8 others and bagging 5 man of the match awards. Layfield who is still growing into his 6 foot 1 inch 167 pound frame possesses a rare combination of pace, finishing, and passing ability for such a young player. He is certainly the type of workhorse that Rubin will rely on to avoid relegation in League 2 next season.

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Another storyline to follow is Birmingham's bank balance. Thanks to the fans coming out in drones, especially for cup ties and matches near the top of the table, it is clear that they have a thirst for high level football. The more the turnstiles click over the more money Rubin will be able to invest in the club. Currently they are heavily reliant on cup bonuses. Sponsorship revenue should increase with promotion as well. Let's take a look at the two best matches of the season, both of Birmingham's final ties in the FA Cup and FA Trophy respectively.

4th February 2031-
Reading at. Birmingham City
FA Cup 4th Round Replay

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Birmingham earned a home tie in the return leg. St. Andrews was at near capacity for perhaps a sign of things to come. Brum City controlled the possession at 59% and looked the better side until the visitors broke the deadlock in the 78th minute. It seemed the Blues were dead but they refused to lay down and bagged the equalizer after barnstorming the Reading goal in stoppage time. Extra time ended without any goals, and penalties were to decide which team would move on. Each team scored their first five penalties until Reading missed, giving Birmingham the chance to clinch a spot in the 5th round, however it was not meant to be as they had their penalty saved. Reading would then make their next two, followed by a Brum make, and ultimately a miss. Although the fans felt heartbreak, there were positives to take from this match. Rubin's boys showed a fighting spirit and hung with a Premier Division squad through to the bitter end.

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22nd February 2031-
FA Trophy Semi-Final Second Leg
Oldham at Birmingham City

Oldham looked favorites to advance after an impressive 3-1 victory in the home leg of the tie. Things looked even more bleak when Oldham bagged another goal in the opening minutes to take a 4-1 aggregate lead. Oldham bagged another and Birmingham looked well and truly dead in the water as they led the tie 5-1 on aggregate. However Joe Ball netted a response in first half stoppage time. Just like they had done all season however, the Blues refused to quit when the chips were down. Rubin ripped into his team at half-time aggressively asking them to show some spirit. His team responded magnificently. Scoring 3 second half goals and 5 unanswered to send the tie into extra time. They scored again and saw the tie out to win the return 5-2 and 6-5 on aggregate. They would go on to win the FA Trophy final.

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The wheels are churning and things are being set into motion in Birmingham as Rubin looks to do the impossible. After all, he has done it before.

-Sky Sports Feature (20 May 2031)

 

[JakeRubin]

Here we are again, with our semi-annual check in on our favorite American manager Jake Rubin, and his Birmingham City side who are ****-bent on Worldwide reputation and setting the English Football pyramid aflame. Not only have they managed to scalp promotion from the morass which we call the Blue Square Premier league, they are currently leading League 2 at the turn of the year and look ready for promotion yet again.

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A slew of summer signings and the sales of a few key members had many second guessing Rubin's gunslinging attitude - however his eye for talent - specifically pace on the wings and passing and marking ability through the middle has seen all of his additions over the break making key strides in the squad. Rubin refuses to let Birmingham's limited finances put a damper on his master plan. All signings arrived on free transfers, while the departed left a surplus of 350k to be distributed back into player salary. Rubin's ultimate goal is to improve training and youth academy setup to train homegrown talents such as Aiden Layfield. A man who has torn League 2 to shreds with bags of pace and finishing ability - he figures to be a staple in the Birmingham first team at least through the Championship level.

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Meanwhile Rubin's old side - Doncaster have been on fire since his departure, solidifying his reputation as he left the team in great shape. The Rovers won a fifth consecutive Premier League title last season, and are leading once again at the new year interval. On the books is the inevitable showdown between old and new, a challenge the Rubin relishes.

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Birmingham look set to be promoted for a second time in two seasons, and as ticket sales rise (as evidenced by the FA Cup tie with Leeds United in which the stadium was near capacity), the books can start to be balanced. Cup bonuses will be invested into the youth setup - and no doubt Rubin will continue his policy of buy low, sell extremely high as his side look to take one step closer to the Premier League. We will undoubtedly check in at the end of the season with future prognosis, but as of now it looks like business as usual for Rubin's Blues.

-Sky Sports Feature (28 Dec 2031)