Steve Bruce was a popular figure during his spell at St Andrew’s.
The manager arrived at Birmingham City during the 2001/02 season as the club were mid-table in the second tier. He guided the Blues to a fantastic end to the season which saw them achieve promotion to the top flight via a play-off penalty shootout against Norwich City.
Bruce became very popular at Birmingham during the early years of his tenure, especially when his side finished above fierce rivals Aston Villa in their first season back in the Premier League.
The Blues spent four consecutive seasons in the Premier League under Bruce’s reign, but eventually they finished 18th in the table and fell back into the Championship.
Bruce oversaw somewhat of an overhaul at the club and made some signings that went on to have a big impact, with the likes of Seb Larsson and Nicklas Bendtner both joining on loan from Arsenal, with the former going on to sign a permanent deal later down the line.
However, not every signing that Birmingham made in the 2006/07 Championship campaign went on to be a success. Rowan Vine joined in January but did not have as much of an impact at St Andrew’s as expected.
Rowan Vine signs for a fee from Luton Town
Vine was a prolific striker before joining Birmingham City in January 2007 as a 24-year-old. The forward started his career at Portsmouth but spent three seasons out on loan with Brentford, Colchester United, and Luton Town – contributing in front of goal during all three spells.
| Rowan Vine’s league stats while on loan from Pompey, as per Soccerbase | ||
|---|---|---|
| Club | Apps | Goals |
| Brentford | 42 | 10 |
| Colchester United | 35 | 6 |
| Luton Town | 45 | 9 |
His loan spell with the Hatters saw him score nine goals to help the club win the League One title in the 2004/05 season. Luton were so impressed with the striker that they secured a permanent deal for him in the summer of 2005. The following season, he scored 10 goals in 30 games to continue his attacking contributions.
Just a year and a half after signing permanently at Kenilworth Road, Birmingham City came calling as Steve Bruce looked to strengthen his forward options midway through a Championship promotion push.
A fee of £2.5m was agreed between the two clubs, with the fee reaching £3m when the Blues reached the Premier League. Birmingham were thought to have competition with local rivals, West Brom, but eventually they secured his services on a three and a half year deal.
Vine’s time at Birmingham City was rather lacklustre
Upon signing for the Blues, Vine said: “This was exactly the move I wanted – it’s as close to the Premiership as could be”.
Unfortunately, the move would not pan out to be as successful as he had hoped.
Bruce’s Blues finished that season as runners-up in the Championship and subsequently achieved promotion to the Premier League, but Vine managed to score just one goal in 17 appearances.
His lack of goals in the Championship saw him go on loan to QPR towards the start of the following season. That was the last Birmingham saw of Vine as his very brief Blues spell came to an end, with the striker eventually signing permanently for QPR.
It would prove to be £2.5m poorly spent as Vine offered little going forward, scoring just one goal, and is now remembered as one of the poorer signings made by the club in the last few decades.
Luton may look back on the deal as a good money maker as it was certainly Bruce and the Blues that were the losers.