The Midlands is a region steeped in history; yet one still struggling to redefine itself after the carnage left by a decline in industry;  & a region recuperating from a footballing depression. 

Fans of Wolves, Forest & Villa are still scratching their heads in disbelief, wondering what in God’s name has become of their beloved clubs in recent years. Midland clubs; once at the forefront of English football, have shamelessly slipped down the pecking order, league tables & divisions, with European competition seeming further away from middle England than global warming.

Forest fans could be forgiven for feeling uninspired by a September fixture list that reads ‘Bristol Rovers (Away)… Port Vale (Away) …Yeovil (Away)’. No offence to these teams - but they’re not exactly Liverpool… Zurich Grasshoppers… or Kevin Keegan’s Hamberg!

It wasn’t all that long ago that England’s Midland teams were top of the pile. When Villa scaled the dizzy heights of Europe (European Cup Winners in 1982, above), Cloughie (The Messiah) inspired Forest to win the same trophy & against all odds - successfully retained it (1979 & 1980), & a prestigious Wolves dominated English football in the fifties. It wasn’t all that long ago either, when in 1966, an England team triumphed at a World Cup and sat proudly at the summit of world football - some hundred years after she’d invented the beautiful game!

It must not be forgotten that Nottingham was the birthplace of competitive football. It all began with the formation of Notts County in 1864 with the City also providing the battleground for the inaugural local derby.

Judging by the state of these two footballing institutions, you’d never have guessed their importance to world soccer; & memories are fading fast. 

Fortunes of both have spectacularly flat-lined in recent times, with England’s national team in dire straights, Forest languishing aimlessly in League One, Wolves desperately flattered by their ‘Yo Yo club’ status, & only Villa staging a mini revival under Martin ‘The Prophet’ O’Neil.

It was a radio phone-in from a couple of years ago, on a Birmingham radio station, that cited the regions gradual decline in industry, as the contributing factor in the dramatic downfall of this regions football. This came after Wolves; Birmingham & West Brom had all recently been relegated from the premiership. Villa remained stagnant, whilst Derby, Leicester & Forest all suffered further indignation and sank deeper into debt. The argument falters slightly when you consider Liverpool’s success of the 70’s & 80’s, amid widespread recession & mass unemployment.
 
It maybe also worth considering, that since these former giants in world football started to waver, so too did England’s once soaring achievements in industry.

Mills & Machinery have long since closed down; Scabs, Sheriff’s & Skinners (both Mike & Frank) have all checked out and left town, and Glam Rock has hopefully disappeared for good. The Midlands are rapidly changing & subsequently facing some sort of identity crisis. Unsure whether to follow the distinguished roots & infectious pride of the north; or if indeed they should stick to the influential more patriotic slurs of the south, Midlanders are destined to fluctuate between the two, unless they rediscover what made them and this country great in the first place. That was being themselves & being proud of it. Shakespeare, Lawrence & Tolkien embraced their idiosyncrasies & used them to their advantage. Its time the people of The Midlands did the same. How uncanny & coincidental that Steve McLaren faces a similar predicament with the national team.

Birmingham, England’s second city, & surrounding cities provide a cultural hot bed of innovation & insight that needs to be celebrated. In many ways it’s self- deprecating & a contradiction of itself. As diverse as it is secular, as proud as it is apologetic, the region has somehow lost its balls & cultural self-importance. There’s enough to shout about & a heritage even Brummies can’t ignore.

It’s bleedin’ time people became proud about where they come from, even if that happens to be Sutton Coalfield! When asked if they’re up to anything decent this evening, people of the Black Country surely have something more constructive to say than: “Yam going doggin”(famed by Cannock born Stan Collymore). How about: “We’re gonna slaughter Chelsea”  “We’re playing in Europe again” or even “Britannia rules the waves” & I mean that purely in a footballing sense.

Yes, industry has died out in this region just like it has throughout England, but the world moves on & there’s no point dwelling on it. The Midlands has to adapt, progress & kick on, being proud of a distinguished past. The cities of this region are redefining themselves fast & it’s time its people did the same.

The need for a quality football team however, remains more blatant than a Joe Cole step-over or more appropriately, a Jasper Carrott punchline. Now is the time for people to start backing their clubs & their country; but more importantly, it’s time for the people of ‘The Midlands’ to show they have an identity, & also, this nation to show us it has a heart. 

Tim Killeen – Heart of the Nation