Birmingham owner mocked after footage emerges of 'cringeworthy' pep talk to fans at Wrexham

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner has been mocked after footage emerged of him giving a "cringeworthy" pep talk to his club's fans. The American financier can be seen in a video shared on social media urging Blues supporters to sing more at half-time during their Championship clash at Wrexham on Friday night.

It came after the co-founder of Knighthead Capital Management, who bought Birmingham in July 2023, claimed fans weren't loud enough during the first half. The Midlands side were 1-0 down at half-time in the so-called "Hollywood derby" after midfielder George Dobson put Wrexham ahead early on.

However, Patrick Roberts struck back with his first goal for Birmingham shortly after the break to earn them a point. There was no sign of Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, or Blues part-owner Tom Brady at the Racecourse Ground.

But Wagner was in attendance in the away end to cheer on his team and was captured on video trying to rouse Birmingham fans during the break. He gave his motivational speech at the side of the stand whilst drinking a beer and sporting a blue bobble hat.

"The energy on the pitch isn't great, but they [the team] are going to feed off of us and we haven't been great either," said Wagner. "We need to be louder in the second half and we need to sing more in the second half.

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"Let them feed off of us. Text your mates and in the second half, we'll let them know we're with them. Let's see what happens."

Supporters of other teams poked fun of Wagner after the footage was circulated on X as one wrote: "Got to be the most cringe thing I've seen this season." A fan of Birmingham's neighbours Aston Villa posted: "Every day I thank my family for making me Villa. Dear lord."

Another person said: "He does something more cringe every season," while someone else added: "Delia Smith vibes." However, Birmingham fans rallied to their owners' defence after praising Wagner for his passionate comments.

Watch the video of Wagner's speech below

One wrote: "No it's not cringe at all, it's the owner of the club telling the away fans that they weren't good enough first half." Another Blues supporter wrote: "What, having an owner that speaks to fans and doesn't hide in VIP? He's actually right though."

Wagner's actions were also backed by a Rotherham fan, who added: "I actually like this, he cares and is willing to tell the fan base to step up. Fans can be the 12th man sometimes and players thousand of times have said this. Wish our chairman was like this instead of showing himself once when its season ticket renewal time."

Wagner was interviewed by Sky Sports about Birmingham's rivalry with Wrexham after both sides secured automatic promotion from League One last season. He praised Reynolds and Mac for the success they have achieved with the Red Dragons and said the competition between the two teams had helped bring in extra money.

He said: "There's a great amount of banter that exists and I think it speaks to just how passionate Ryan and Rob are about their ownership here and what they've done, not just on the pitch but for the community. It's a wonderful thing.

"Set aside what's going to happen to me when I walk by this stand in a little bit and hear all the cat calls, the reality is that the fans appreciate what this has brought.

"Our fans appreciate the publicity it's brought. It's revenue, it's spending and part of the reason I read all those social media comments is because we get paid for it so keep all the negative comments coming. We love it.

"All joking aside, I think it's good for the communities and there's been enormous growth in the two foundations as a result of what we've done. That's just great and that's what we're here for."

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