BRITAIN’S most loyal football fan who hasn’t missed a match for 50 years says he has no regrets – despite his obsession costing him his marriage.
Birmingham City supporter Rob Shannon has watched his side more than 2,300 times in a row – first going to see them beat Derby County in 1974.
But he admits the Championship football club could be to blame for his divorce from his ex-wife, who was a fan of their West Midlands arch rivals Aston Villa.
Rob said: “She used to say, ‘You love Blues more than me’.
“I always joked, ‘I love Villa more than you’.”
The dad-of-two, 64, loyally follows the Blues both home and away – having attended his first game as a four-year-old boy during the 1962-1963 season.
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He has seen them play in all four league divisions – including several stints in the Premier League – as well as all League Cup and FA Cup games over the past half a century.
Only the Covid-19 pandemic kept him away from their St Andrew’s home ground, when lockdown restrictions forced football clubs to play behind closed doors.
He said: “My mum and dad took me down when I was a boy around the 62-63 season and I’ve loved going ever since.
“It’s become a bit of an obsession – I just follow them through thick and thin, although it’s been more like thin and thin.
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“People say you must have seen all the ups and downs and I joke it’s mostly downs for Blues.”
Stand-up comedian Jasper Carrott, another Birmingham City fan, has previously joked: “You lose some, you draw some.”
Yet Rob, from Sheldon in Birmingham, did get to enjoy a day of glory at Wembley for the match he says is his most cherished.
City, then managed by ex-Scotland international Alex McLeish, clinched a surprise last-minute 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in the 2011 Carling Cup final.
Rob said: “My favourite game was without a doubt the Carling Cup final – it was the best day of my life, and the European games that followed were really special too.
“But any game that we beat the Villa is also my favourite.
“I’ve also seen a couple of wins at Anfield and Old Trafford, which doesn’t happy very often for us.”
His favourite player was former Birmingham and England striker Trevor Francis, who became Britain’s first £1million footballer when moving to Nottingham Forest in 1979.
Rob was saddened by Francis’s death last month at the age of 69 at his home near Marbella in Spain.
Rob said: “I was devastated when Trevor Francis passed away.
“I got to know him and his sons – he is still my favourite player.
“I’m proud to now volunteer at the club as part of their Former Players Association – I get to arrange for ex-players to come back to the club for games.”
He is also an admirer of ex-City star and England international Jude Bellingham, who came through Birmingham’s youth ranks and this summer joined La Liga giants Real Madrid for £115million from Germany’s Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Rob named his son Andrew, 32, after the club’s St Andrew’s stadium – and even once discharged himself from hospital to attend an away game at Swansea City.
He now hopes the club can return to the Premier League having been away since relegation in 2011.
American NFL legend Tom Brady sprang a surprise last week by revealing he has become one of the club’s joint owners.
Brady, recently rumoured to be dating Kim Kardashian, has “entered into a partnership” with Birmingham’s new owners Knighthead Capital Management LLC.
Rob said: “There have been some good times really but it has been a bad few years – although the new owners sound like they really mean business and are very ambitious.
“Getting the likes of Tom Brady on board can only be a good thing so I think the future is bright and I certainly have no intentions of stopping.
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“I’d resigned myself to the fact I would probably never see Blues in the Premier League again but hopefully we can get back there under these new owners.
“It’s the hope and anticipation that kills you, though – but I guess that’s what being a football fan is all about.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
