Birmingham City: Alex McLeish 'judas' claim made after historical Aston Villa decision

The Scottish boss swapped B9 for B6 after Blues' last Premier League relegation

Birmingham City's recent past has certainly been chequered, but supporters will be hoping that sooner rather than later, they will return to the Premier League.

Blues have resided outside the top-flight for over 15 years now, having spent the majority of the subsequent years lingering in the bottom-half of the Championship due to a lack of investment.

However, Knighthead Capital Management have certainly been trying their utmost to reverse such fortunes, having completed an initial takeover from BSHL in July 2023, before becoming majority owners in November 2025.

The American investment group's first season at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park did end in a shock relegation to League One, though, but since then, the Second City side responded in a record-breaking fashion under Chris Davies before solidifying their position back in the second tier whilst also unveiling exciting and grand plans for a new 62,000-seater stadium and Sports Quater complex in Bordesley Green.

Davies' tenure as Blues boss certainly hasn't been smooth sailing in the past two years due to the high expectations set on the club, but if successful, he could be the club's first manager to achieve promotion to the top-flight since Alex McLeish in May 2009.

However, whilst the club did enjoy successful times under the Scot, Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, like many other supporters, will now only remember him for one decision.

Birmingham City fan pundit issues Alex McLeish 'Judas' claim after 2011 Aston Villa controversy

Action Images

The 67-year-old already had strong managerial pedigree with the likes of Rangers and Scotland before replacing Steve Bruce at St. Andrew's in November 2007, although he couldn't prevent Birmingham from being relegated at the end of the 2007/08 Premier League season.

However, the club responded with a first-time promotion and then finished ninth in the top-flight in 2010, which was their highest finish since 1959.

The 2010/11 season couldn't have been more dramatic, though, as the West Midlands side defeated Arsenal in the EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium, with Obafemi Martins' last-gasp winner clinching a 2-1 win and just the second-ever trophy in Blues' history.

However, a poor run of form afterwards, compounded by a 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on the final day, saw McLeish's side relegated under a backdrop of ownership uncertainty which surrounded Carson Yeung.

McLeish then left St. Andrew's on June 12th, 2011 but was appointed as Villa's new boss five days later after the departure of Gerard Houlier.

Asked by FLW about how he views McLeish many years later, Moore said: "There's always going to be an element of 'he'll always go down in history for getting us that trophy', but he'll always, always, always be overshadowed by the fact that he left us for Villa.

"Just don't do it. Simple as that," he added. "The thing was, he would have been an absolute legend at the club. But the fact that he decided to go to Villa, no, he'll always be a Judas now. And I'd be very surprised if he's ever welcomed back to the club.

"Hypothetically, if he did a half-time interview with the club on a matchday, he'd just get booed out of the place by, I'd say, 90% of fans," Moore claimed.

"He's a Judas and (I) don't care that he wants the trophy. He's a snake, and he went to the enemy. That's how he will always be remembered at Birmingham City."

Alex McLeish explained why he swapped Birmingham City for Aston Villa

McLeish wasn't the first manager or player to ever cross the divide, with Ron Saunders, who won Villa the First Division title in 1981, being a high-profile example as he opted to move across the city less than a year later, even though the B6 club went on to win the European Cup under Tony Barton.

Despite also managing in Old Firm encounters against Celtic at Ibrox, the Glaswegian later admitted that he was taken by surprise regarding the reception he received from both sets of fans, with Villa fans also protesting against the potential decision when speculation over his appointment came to light.

"I was backed into a corner when I left Birmingham. I felt that I was being undermined, so I had to get out. The goalposts shifted and I had no alternative but to leave at the end of the season. But I didn't anticipate the reaction of the fans on both sides," he said.

"I'm not on social media, but by all accounts I was getting slaughtered. I made sure I didn't get any feedback on that because that would have made it even worse. You don't want to be doing training every day on a downer, with your head down. I was going in there every day with my head held up."

Aston Villa fans don't look back on Alex McLeish's tenure with any fondness

The 2010s proved to be a bleak decade for both Second City rivals, and McLeish's appointment did very little to halt the beginning of a well-documented decline at Villa Park.

Only a handful of additions were made to his squad throughout the season, whilst Ashley Young and Stewart Downing left for Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

Although the Villans went unbeaten in their first seven Premier League games that season, the tide soon turned as they only won seven of their 38 games, with the last of those coming on March 10th, 2012 against Fulham.

As a result, survival was only achieved by two points and McLeish was relieved of his duties and eventually replaced by Paul Lambert, meaning that neither set of rival fans reflect on the Scot's tenure at their club with any deal of fondness these days.