Former Birmingham City striker Emile Heskey said in an exclusive interview with The Real EFL that things ‘haven’t been right’ at the club for a while now.
Heskey might have made his name at Leicester and Liverpool, but in 2005, he became Birmingham’s Player of the Season and their Player’s Player of the Season. He appeared 68 times for the Blues in the Premier League, bagging 14 goals, but those days must seem a long while ago.
They’re now in the third tier for the first time in 30 years, and speaking exclusively to the Real EFL, Heskey outlined why he felt things had gone so badly wrong.
“The infrastructure of the club hasn’t been right for a while now; recruitment hasn’t been good either,” said the 46-year-old, speaking to us courtesy of 888sport.
“Birmingham City have become a selling club over the years, so the good players you have then get sold and not replaced.”
As a selling club, transfers coming in need to be of a certain quality, and Heskey admitted that is a major issue with the club.
“You need stability now, with a clear philosophy of the way you want the club to be on and off the pitch.
“They have had a number of bad transfer windows, which then causes setbacks. Let’s hope that now they can show stability and progress forward.”
The Blues last played in the third tier in 1994/95, a season in which they won the league title and the Football League Trophy. That was the same season Heskey made his Premier League debut for Leicester, starting a career that ended with 62 England caps, and seven goals.
However, success this season is not so assured for Chris Davies’ team. Despite likely having a bigger budget than many of the sides they’re going to face, League One has proven to be a challenge for some of the bigger clubs. Derby County had two seasons there, and Sunderland endured three, while former Premier League sides such as Bolton, Charlton, and Barnsley are still fighting to get out.
The Blue’s 13-year stay in the Championship was ended after a disastrous season, where manager John Eustace was sacked with them hunting a top-six spot. Wayne Rooney came and went, overseeing a complete collapse that resulted in them finishing 22nd.
That came despite a final-day win against Norwich, as Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, and Blackburn all also won.
Editor In Chief