I'VE promised former Villa defender Earl Barrett I'd give him a plug for this commendable event in Brum on Tuesday night encouraging ethnic minority groups to work in the football industry.

So if it applies and appeals to you, please get in touch with him asap and get along.

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FORMER Aston Villa star Earl Barrett will be hosting a free session aimed at getting ethnic minority groups into the football industry in Edgbaston next week.

Earl, who now works as ambassador for the Kick it Out campaign to rid football of racism, will be at the Centennial Centre from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday.

He will be joined by fellow Villa oldboy Mark Walters, West Bromwich Albion legend Brendon Batson and ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Bob Hazell.

Also on the panel will be Lincoln Moses, who is the manager of Britain's first black-led football club, Continental Star FC.

The event for aspiring coaches, managers and administration staff is part of Kick It Out's 'Leading the Game' series looking at pathways into the football industry for under-represented groups.

Representatives from Birmingham County FA will be there and refreshments will also be provided.

There are limited places so anybody interested in attending should email Earl Barrett on earl@kickitout.org or call 020 7684 4884.

Starring Alex McLeish, Mick McCarthy and Colin Tattum.

Having been laid low with a nasty cold, BPM Media video editor Phil Vinter took my place in the hot-seat to grill chief sports writer Colin Tattum on Birmingham City's 1-0 victory over Fulham.

Hear the thoughts of Alex McLeish and Barry Ferguson.

FA Cup fever is on the horizon and it's time for football's next fairytale story.

Forget Paulton Rovers V Norwich City, the stand out David V Goliath tie for me is Walsall at Zamaretto Southern League Premier Division outfit Stourbridge and I've got a feeling that the Glassboys can replicate the heroics that catapulted Chasetown into FA Cup folklore.

I'm struggling to find the odds on a Stourbridge victory but you heard it here first: Amblecote, Saturday November 7 2009 - The scene of the next great FA Cup giant-killing.

Carson Yeung's trusted sidekicks have already made a good impression since starting work at Blues on Monday morning.

They have breezed in with statements on how they plan to create a St Andrew's 'family' and their hopes of tempting back Blues' many disillusioned fans.

And they've already shown signs of being true to their word by rubber-stamping vice-chairman Michael Wiseman's suggestion to slash the cost of tickets for the forthcoming home match with Manchester City. There has even been hints that they will go better than the previous regime's successful 'Kids for a Quid' scheme by letting children in for FREE!

Not to mention the real issue that will get Blues fans' mouths watering - January cash for Alex McLeish to bolster his squad. The general vibe is that money is no object if the right player comes along.

However, the thing that has impressed me most so far didn't come from a grand statement or gesture. It was the fact that the new chairman and vice-chairman football, Vico Hui and Sammy Yu, turned up to last night's reserve match against non-league Solihull Moors at Damson Park.

The Chinese duo, along with their PAs, watched a youthful Blues second-string, containing only three first-teamers, beat Solihull 3-1 in a Birmingham Senior Cup tie.

A true sign that the new owners care about ALL levels of the football club - even the currently unattached Blues women's team as Yu suggested in a BRMB radio interview less than an hour before his dash to Damson Park.

If Flavio Briatore isn't booted out of QPR following his part in the F1 race-fixing scandal, then the Football League's 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' is a farce - simple as that.