Former City loan star Martin 'Tiny' Taylor admitted for the first time this week that he was on the verge of joining the Canaries last season as he prepares for his first trip back to Carrow Road this weekend.
After a 'goal' on his debut against Ipswich Town last November, Taylor never looked back during his month-long spell and if it wasn't for Karren Brady playing hard ball, he would be a fully-fledged Canary by now, playing against the Blues this Saturday.
But with their valuations a little apart, and the collapse of Bolton-bound Gary Cahill's move across the city from Aston Villa, Taylor stayed put. And the rest, as they say, is history.
“A move there was very close,” Taylor told the Birmingham Mail. “At one point I nearly went back on loan and then it nearly became permanent.
“But there were politics within the club. I would have stayed an extra month, but only if it was with a view to a permanent. But Norwich couldn't find the money, as much as Birmingham wanted.
“If I wasn't in the plans at Birmingham at the time and I wanted to progress my career, then it was a good place to go.
“I felt I was stagnating a bit. It didn't work out, and I came back here and then I was in the manager's plans, rather than someone who was out on loan and he wasn't going to use. The future was uncertain, but it happened that he decided to use me.”
With Taylor playing his way into Alex McLeish's good books, the Scot made it clear there was some light at the end of the tunnel for him at St Andrews. And he went on to make four Premier League appearances ? despite the infamous Eduardo incident.
And having been a Championship ever-present this time around, 'Tiny' seems to have fallen on his feet again with the red-hot promotion favourites.
But he was still full of praise for his old club. The sight of his children bedecked in Norwich colours at his temporary Norfolk residence during his loan spell was proof that he had been bitten by the Canary bug.
“I enjoyed my time there,” Taylor added. “It was relatively successful, so it was quite good.
“I think they have changed a lot around there since I was there. Glenn Roeder has brought a few new faces in.
“Saturday there will be 25,000 fans behind them, so it will be a good atmosphere. I know what it will be like, and how important it will be for us to play well.”
Taylor missed the midweek Carling Cup exit at Southampton when Stephen Kelly was tried at centre-back. And the 6ft 4in defender again faces competition for his spot by the likely addition of Bobo Balde from Celtic.
But it's something he has got used to over the years at Birmingham. For a club with such a large turnover of players, he's done well to last this long.
“You have to cope with it. There are players who are regular for their teams, constants, like the Gerrards, people like that. They are fixtures for years and years.
“The majority of footballers won't find that. They will find they have to move about. They will find they are an integral part of the team one year, but then next they might have to move on somewhere else.
“But that's now football works. It's something you have to get used to.”
With three wins from three in the league, the Blues have certainly not suffered the same kind of relegation hangover as City did in 05/06. And Taylor is well aware that Birmingham are this year's 'big scalp'. It's up to them how they deal with that?
“We understand the pressure of this season, being favourites. We will come to town and people will see us as a bit of a scalp really. I think we have got to accept that and play the game accordingly and be patient.
“If teams are getting behind us we have to realise that you can wait until the last minute of the game to get a winner and not go and leave yourselves open.
“You have got to work hard, graft, stamp your authority before you can get time to knock it around really like we would like to.
“The majority of players have had an experience of this level, the ones who haven't will come to learn quickly that there are different ways of winning games and sometime you have to grind it out.”
In team news, Maik Taylor, his namesake Martin, Garry O'Connor, Sebastien Larsson, James McFadden and Kevin Phillips are expected to come back into the team after being rested on Tuesday night.
For the home team, with no 'big physical presence' on the horizon, Glenn Roeder could stick with Darel Russell as one of his two strikers. And don't be surprised if Arturo Lupoli joins him after his brace in South Wales last weekend. If so, Jamie Cureton would be the one to miss out.
With Matty Pattison excelling at the Ninian, he is guaranteed a berth somewhere across the midfield; whether Wes Hoolahan ? criticised by Roeder after the Bluebirds contest ? joins him is another matter.
The rest of the team should remain unchanged ? barring any last minute injuries in the Canary camp.
Tom Haylett
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