Is St. Andrew’s too quiet at times? Birmingham City claim sparks reaction | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has discussed the current matchday atmosphere in B9

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City have been told there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to the atmosphere which is generated at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, albeit there are caveats which have been attached to such reasoning.

Blues have certainly made their current home a fortress under the management of Chris Davies, suffering just a handful of defeats across all competitions in B9 since his appointment in June 2024, whilst only Hull City have emerged victorious from this part of the Second City in a league fixture since April 2024, winning 3-2 in a fiesty encounter back on October 18th.

Since his initial takeover of the club in July 2023 - which was turned into a full transaction last November - Tom Wagner has transformed mutiple matchday elements at St. Andrew's, with the outlook of the stadium certainly being one of those after a handful of years where the lower tiers of the Tilton and Kop stands resembled a building site due to mandatory repair work as a result of asbestos-related damage.

The American ploughed £15m of his cash into a makeover of the stadium ahead of the club's first and only season in League One since 1995 last term, with attendances often standing at sell-out figures, regardless of the opposition, as a result.

However, according to Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, the atmosphere can still be made much stronger and consistent, as he believes the noise generated throughout a 90-plus minute encounter is currently reliant on whom the visiting team are at St. Andrew's and their own predicament, be that for a Championship, FA Cup or EFL Cup encounter.

Birmingham City atmosphere claim made amid recent Leeds United, FA Cup tie at St. Andrew's

According to figures, Blues currently have the seventh-highest average attendance in the Championship this season at a figure of 27,349 - a number only bettered by Coventry City, Leicester City, Derby County, Southampton, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United.

The lowest of those gates came when they defeated Millwall 4-0 on November 4th, with 25,408 braving the wet conditions on a Tuesday night, whilst the highest crowd came on Boxing Day as a 1-1 draw against Derby was played in front of a 28,082 crowd.

Many fanbases across the Championship, and English football as a whole, have differing reasons as to why an atmosphere isn't always at its peak. However, whilst Blues fans are often credited for generating an intimidating atmosphere when St. Andrew's is at its raucous best, particularly against the likes of Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion or Wolves, Moore has given the overall atmosphere this season a middling five out of 10 score.

"This is a difficult question to answer, because Blues' atmosphere is not in the middle (for any given match)," he told FLW.

"It's either absolutely top-notch, fantastic, and we're loud and boisterous, or it's awful and silent.

"I think it depends on who the opposition is for Blues," Moore claimed.

"If it's someone like Oxford, we expect to beat them, so the crowd's flat because we expect this good team to rock up and beat them.

"But, then Leeds, the atmosphere was banging. I just assume it's because they knew they had to get behind the players.

"It depends, but I'd give it a five. It's either poor or amazing," he added.

"We've definitely got work to do to keep that atmosphere up. St. Andrew's, when it's rocking, the place bounces and it can make a real difference.

"Hopefully it's something we don't lose in the new stadium.

"I'd give it a five, though, as it's either fantastic or absolutely shocking."

Birmingham City will hope to replicate strong St. Andrew's atmosphere at the Powerhouse

Image supplied through Grayling

As Moore alluded to, the atmosphere at St. Andrew's isn't fully perfect, but there's no doubt Blues will hope to take every positive element and replicate it at the 62,000-seater Powerhouse.

The design of the new stadium has been designed in a way that will allow the crowd to feel on top of the opposition, as well as getting behind the 11 players in royal blue.

With there now just a handful of years left until Birmingham depart St. Andrew's, it would be no surprise to see the atmosphere cranked up a matter of notches as Bluenoses look to make the most of what is left to come at their spiritual home between now and 2030.