Birmingham City’s catastrophic campaign came to an end with the club dropping into League One, despite a final-day victory over Norwich City.
The season began with a takeover from American businessman Tom Wagner, who brought with him a new board of directors and even seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
At the time of the takeover, John Eustace was in the Blues’ hotseat and had guided the club to Championship safety in the previous season. After a positive start to the campaign that saw the club sit within the play-off places, a decision was made that ultimately looks to have cost Birmingham their second-tier status.
The new owners decided to sack Eustace and install Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney as the club’s new manager. Rooney’s managerial record was hardly worth shouting about before he arrived in the second city, albeit having had to negotiate a tough period in the history of Derby County.
Having taken the reins with the club sitting in sixth place, Rooney oversaw an incredible slide down the table and left City in 20th place. The horror show produced just two wins and ten points from 15 matches in charge. Rooney’s departure led to the board appointing experienced manager Tony Mowbray, who had taken Sunderland to the play-offs in the previous season.
Sadly, Mowbray had to temporarily step away from his role due to ill health, opening the door for a return to St Andrew’s for Gary Rowett who had managed the club between 2014 and 2016. Both managers accumulated 11 points from eight league games but the club still fell short and must now prepare for a third-tier football.
So, could the Blues struggle in League One and even face a successive relegation? To put it simply, yes!
Dropping into League One with a squad assembled for the Championship is an expensive and likely unmanageable situation. Firstly, the Blues won’t be able to keep hold of young midfielder Jordan James. The Welsh international has already been the subject of interest from Italian side Atalanta and will doubtless have multiple options this summer.
Huddersfield and Birmingham will no doubt lose some of the better players after their relegation from the Championship was confirmed. See Jack Rudoni and Sorba Thomas leaving Huddersfield while Juninho Bacuna and Jordan James won’t be playing for Blues in League One. #htfc #bcfc
— Darren Witcoop (@DarrenOWitcoop) May 4, 2024
Along with James, Birmingham has several players of high value including Juninho Bacuna, Ethan Laird and Dion Sanderson who may all be looking to leave the club. That’s not to mention those returning to their parent clubs, with Jay Stansfield one of five players due to end their temporary stays at St Andrew’s.
The squad looks set to be stripped back and will need to be rebuilt to even consider mounting a promotion challenge next season. It will be a busy summer for the man in the dugout.
That raises another question – who will be in charge of the club come the August kick-off? Tony Mowbray is away from the club, rightly prioritising his health, yet the club have felt the need to release a statement on interim manager Rowett.
Just two days before the final showdown of the season, the club moved to deny rumours that Rowett’s role was set to be made permanent. The statement points to the original arrangement still being in place, that of the interim manager seeing out the final eight games before stepping aside.
Heading into a challenging summer with uncertainty surrounding the top job at the club is not an ideal situation. City fans have seen first-hand what a mistake in the hiring and firing of managers can do to a season. Of course, Mowbray’s health must come first and all at The Real EFL wish him well.
Birmingham City are there to be shot at next season and will be a ‘Cup Final’ to many of the teams they will face. With the need to replace those players likely to leave, recruitment is going to be crucial. Players will need to be able to handle the expectations that will follow the club everywhere they go.
Money will be there to spend following the sales of those players mentioned earlier, but it must be spent right. Experience must be added to youth and talent be combined with a know-how of dealing with opposition raising their levels against you every week.
League One is not an easy competition and Birmingham have no divine right to exit via the top end. In recent years, big clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland have found it difficult to get back to the Championship.
With the division almost complete for next season, it is shaping up to be an incredibly difficult league to get out of. Big-spending Wrexham and Stockport County have earned promotion from League Two and will be joined by Huddersfield Town and usual suspects at the top of the third tier, Rotherham United.
Throw into that mix the potential for Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United to both fail in their quest for promotion and you have a tasty top end! That’s without mentioning two other former Premier League sides, Wigan Athletic and Reading, who will start this campaign with points deductions.
Birmingham City have to get their house in order and recruit expertly during the off-season. They cannot allow the Wayne Rooney hangover to last and if they begin the season feeling sorry for themselves then they will be punished.
They will be targeted as a scalp by everyone they play and must produce their best performances week in and week out to be successful. The mistakes of this season cannot be repeated or the 2024-25 campaign will be another long, and fruitless one for the Blues.
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