With Birmingham City prepared to play in League One for the first time in 30 years, the Premier League’s glory days seem like a distant memory.
Between 2002 and 2011, the Blues were a fairly consistent presence in the top level of English football, spending seven seasons in the Premier League, and numerous excellent players passed through St Andrew’s throughout that nine-year span.
One of them was centre-back Matt Upson, who spent four seasons at the club between 2003 and 2007, becoming a fixture in the England national squad during that period due to his performances for Birmingham.
The Suffolk-born defender joined Birmingham City from Arsenal in January 2003, and it is fair to say that the deal was a success for the club.
Signing Matt Upson was a masterstroke by Birmingham City
After six years with the Gunners and only 56 appearances, Birmingham City made a January 2003 move to sign Upson in their first season in the Premier League, paying a reported initial fee of £1 million, with the deal potentially increasing to £3 million based on appearances.
It proved to be money well spent for Steve Bruce, as after failing to make a Premier League appearance at Arsenal in the first half of the season and being loaned to Reading, Upson was thrust into the Blues’ starting lineup, playing all 14 league games as Birmingham finished 13th in their first season in the top flight.
Following a promising end to the 2002/03 season, Upson became a regular in the Blues’ Premier League lineup the following season, appearing in 30 games, all of which were starts, as Birmingham continued to make a mark in the top tier, finishing in a very respectable tenth position.
His club form earned him his first call-up to the England side, and he made his debut against South Africa in May 2003, going on to win seven of his 21 England caps while playing for Birmingham.
It was evident that his stock was improving, and he started 36 Premier League games for Birmingham during the 2004/05 season, his performances and consistency made the club’s low fee a few years previously appear like a deal.
The 2005/06 season was difficult for both Upson and the club, and after starting every league game until February, the centre-back was pulled off with an injury in a derby against Aston Villa, forcing him to watch from the sidelines as Birmingham were relegated to the Championship.
As a full England international with Premier League experience, it was evident that Upson would not stay in the Championship for long, and after half a season in the second tier, he signed for West Ham in January 2007 for a reported sum of £7.5 million.
Upson’s final appearance for St Andrew’s resulted in a 3-1 loss at home to Southend United, although his tenure in the West Midlands is fondly remembered.
Upson made 127 games for Birmingham City, became an England international, and made the club a lot of money, therefore signing him from Arsenal in 2003 was a great decision.
Matt Upson’s career after leaving Birmingham City
Upson left Birmingham in January 2007 and spent four years with West Ham, where he made 145 appearances, 18 more than at St Andrew’s, until leaving in the summer of 2011 following the Hammers’ relegation to the Championship.
After two years at Stoke City, where he battled for regular playing time, he moved to the Championship with Brighton, initially on loan, before signing permanently in 2013.
It appeared that Upson’s Premier League career was over, but after their promotion to the top flight in 2014, Leicester City signed the experienced central defender, but he made only six appearances before leaving when his contract expired in the summer of 2015.
Upson completed his career in an unlikely location: Milton Keynes. He spent a season with Championship team MK Dons, but after only seven appearances, he departed the club and retired in the summer of 2016.
Despite a somewhat disjointed and disappointing conclusion to his career, Upson was a very accomplished defender in his heyday, as seen by his 21 England caps, and had considerable success with Birmingham and West Ham.
However, the Blues will believe they got a terrific deal with Upson, and he was the ideal signing. They signed him for a low fee, he performed well, and he made money for the club; it was a good bargain all around, and the defender is still fondly regarded at St Andrews.
