His sheer force of personality, as much as the impressive stadium rebuilding and the soap opera antics of David Sullivan and Karren Brady, are what has set City alight.The force of personality in football is well-noted. Its latest manifestation, at Leyton Orient, drew twice last season’s average gate to Brisbane Road on Saturday, attracted by a combination of Barry Hearn’s verbal hype and cut-price admission But the style must have substance. If Orient reprise last season’s dreadful form the extra fans will soon drift away.City supporters had their fill of flash in the mid-1980s when John Bond oversaw a grim 16 months Fry’s ebullience is of a more earthy nature. He may be all barrow boy chirpiness and market stall promises but there is no gold and glitter on his ample frame.His traders’ instincts are sound, too. Of the eight summer signings, four were on duty on Saturday and only Ian Muir, who looked uncomfortable alongside Steve Claridge in attack, failed to impress. Richard Forsyth, signed from Kidderminster Harriers, betrayed some rustic touches – notably the tackle that put Neil Thompson out of the game – but looked promising. Andy Edwards, bought from Southend for pounds 400,000 and Jason Bowen, lured from Swansea for a similar fees, were even better.Edwards, composed and sure-footed, even outshone the commanding Liam Daish at the back while Bowen’s excellent movement was rewarded when Louie Donowa picked out his run for the third goal.His 55th minute introduction, together with Otto, changed a game that had been moving Ipswich’s way.

The sight of him leaping about the touchline dressed in City’s new cherry red away kit – right down to the socks and studded boots – was almost as memorable as the Ricky Otto goal which provoked his dance of delight.Fry’s antics evoke love rather than derison among the St Andrew’s faithful – almost 19,000 of whom turned out, the biggest gate of the day. Given the crumbling state of St Andrew’s, and the long list of failed managers, including such luminaries as Stan Cullis, Sir Alf Ramsey, Ron Saunders and Dave Mackay, this assessment seemed fair enough.
However, Fry has so much oxygen he could give the kiss of life to a statue, and slumbering Birmingham were up and running. Twenty months and more than 50 players later he has won the “double” (Fry’s hyperbolic description of the Second Division title and Auto Windscreens Shield) and is confidently talking of more.Saturday’s 3-1 opening day win over Ipswich Town did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm although, as he admitted later: “I would still be saying we can win the championship if we had lost.”Fry, by then, was wearing a sober suit though the sweat which ran off his brow illustrated the stress as well as the humidity of the afternoon Earlier he been more brightly attired. Embittered Southend fans took a glance at Birmingham’s paltry honours list (several Second Division titles, a League Cup in the days when nobody entered and a Leyland Daf Cup) and retorted that City were not so much sleeping as comatose and beyond revival.

When Barry Fry left Southend United for Birmingham City in late 1993 he argued that the opportunity to awake a “sleeping giant” was one he could not be expected to turn down. While she expressed the hope that security provisions “will be stronger,” Seles, the joint No 1 seed with Steffi Graf despite having no world ranking, emphasised that: “I’m not going to be obsessed with it or worry about it too much.”. Monica Seles will play her first match in a tour event in 28 months at the Canadian Open in Toronto tomorrow. Talking to journalists after a charity doubles event on Saturday (pictured above) Seles was upbeat about her return to competitive play but thinks she could have difficulty putting the memory of her stabbing out of her mind.
Seles, who was attacked by a German, Gunther Parche, during a change of ends during a match in Hamburg in April 1993, was generous in her praise of the American sports psychologist Jerry Russel May, who has worked with her for more than a year.”It’s still hard and there are days when you struggle with it, but I have someone I can talk to and I go through exercises that help me to sit down in that chair again,” she said. “I think that we have explored all the avenues and it has become time to front up and make a decision,” he said.The Test players Jeff Wilson, the winger, and Josh Kronfeld, the forward, are among 70 leading New Zealand players who have already signed with the union.The NZRFU’s chief negotiator, Jock Hobbs, said: “I was cautiously optimistic last week, now you can say I am optimistic.”. The newspaper speculated that this means that the players are keen to remain with the union and turn their backs on Kerry Packer and the WRC.Sean Fitzpatrick, the All Black captain, said that it was time for a decision and his players wanted the meeting to settle the issue. I think it would be a great tragedy if they did do that.”I see the sense of pursuing Packer while there is an opportunity, and when one feels, if you are a player, that the RFU are still dragging their feet and won’t come up with packages that would help both club and England players.”Meanwhile, the All Blacks will be meeting New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) negotiators today to decide on contracts that have been offered to them by the union.According to the Sunday Star-Times, the meeting was arranged at the request of the All Blacks.

“I take it very seriously as a threat,” he said.Hallett then pleaded with the England players not to join the Packer circus.”I urge Brian and his colleagues to discard the pyjama-type rugby that they would do. It’s `Money is coming in, what the hell do we do about it now?’ It’s so disappointing that they had the opportunity to come forward with something and didn’t do that.”But, speaking on the same programme, Tony Hallett, the RFU secretary, insisted that the WRC was not being treated lightly by Twickenham. If we are going to get anywhere near these teams that’s what we need, and that’s what Packer does. And everyone expressed an interest to keep talking to them.”One of the disappointing things is that we don’t have a plan from the RFU It’s all reactive. It satisfied the financial aspirations of the various players. More importantly, it gave the northern hemisphere the chance to compete with the southern hemisphere in terms of playing, because there is such a big gap between club and international levels.
“The original league structure just is not working. Speaking on BBC television, Moore said: “There was an England team meeting yesterday.

While not everyone was there, it was a unanimous view that the Packer option did two things. They think it’s all over after the apparent defeat for the Kerry Packer- backed World Rugby Corporation in a South African court last Friday, but yesterday Brian Moore, the England hooker, dropped another pebble into the troubled pool of amateur rugby union. Fears that the pitch, which a day earlier had been the main arena for the Dublin Horse Show, would be unplayable were allayed by liberal applications of sand and water.n In what was billed as the first international between the two countries, Ireland beat Scotland 26-22 in a curtain-raiser to the main event. Both sides used a mixture of professionals and amateurs, with Lee Child, of Wakefield, scoring two tries for Ireland and Gavin Manclark, a student, two for Scotland.Wigan: Paul; Robinson, Tuigamala, Connolly, Radlinski; Wright (Smyth, 55), Murdock; Skerrett (O’Connor, 48), Hall, Cowie (Johnson 67), Haughton (Knowles, 71), Cassidy, Farrell.Leeds: Tait; Fallon (Golden, 70), Iro, Cummins, Cook; Kemp, Vassilakopoulos; Harmon, Lowes, Faimalo (Gibbons, 51), Mercer (Morley, 49), Mann (Fozzard, 64), Forshaw.Referee: R Smith (Castleford)..