Birmingham City have a plethora of talent at their disposal in League One. But the arrival of Jay Stansfield has arisen questions about Alfie May’s involvement.
With the sheer mass of quality in Chris Davies’ side, a new problem of ‘who should lead the line’ has reared its head. Stansfield – who arrived on Deadline Day from Fulham – was the subject of a move worth more than £15 million. This amount of money has labelled the 21-year-old as a guaranteed starter in the Birmingham set-up.
However, after arriving on a free from Charlton Athletic this summer, May has scored four times for the Blues since the season’s beginning. Problems of team balance and equal playing time could now become an issue in Davies’ squad, with both strikers needing to slot into the line-up. Typically, the West Midlands side have opted for a lone number nine in recent seasons, but a change could be accommodated.
Against Walsall in the EFL Trophy last night, Birmingham opted for a two-man strike force, with May and Stansfield playing alongside each other. A 1-1 draw highlighted that there is still work to be done on the cohesion of the squad. Christoph Klarer was the Blues’ only goalscorer in the fixture, but a loss on penalties handed the League Two side an extra point.
Speaking to Birmingham Live, the former Leicester City assistant coach offered his thoughts on going forward with a two-man partnership:
“With Jay, he’s a player that I see more running in behind, on the shoulder, making those movements. He can drop and link a little bit.
“(Yesterday) was a bit of an experiment in terms of playing them both together and seeing how they linked up. Jay can play as a nine, or a false nine or a 10. He can play out wide as well so he’s pretty flexible.
“But because he’s got good movement and makes good runs in behind, he’s good up on the last line.
“Ultimately, when people are singing songs about you, it’s usually a good thing. It’s because you are a good player and they want to upset you or rattle you a little bit.
“He’s probably going to get a bit of that, I would say, but I don’t see that fazing him too much. I think it can be water off a duck’s back. I thought he coped with it pretty well.”
Writer’s View
It’s isn’t often that too much quality has been a problem for a League One side, but this is the luxurious position that Birmingham find themselves in, thanks to their extortionate investment in the window. In a league where experimentation is often worth it, there will be no harm starting the two up-front together; the talent on show is undeniable.
This supposed flexibility isn’t necessarily a good thing however, as Stansfield being shifted out to the wing nullifies some of his attacking threat as a central striker. But, dropping May is an equally bold move, with the 31-year-old continuing his mesmerising form from last season and translating it to a Blues shirt.
The situation could seem like a lose-lose, but also a win-win, dependant on the outcome of the next few weeks of experimentation. On one hand, there is too much talent up-front, meaning that Birmingham seem forced into playing both otherwise one, or either, become unhappy. If the situation of two strikers doesn’t work, then this decision of dropping one becomes forced.
On the other hand, a successful partnership could flourish in the upcoming match-weeks, with the two taking the league by storm and combining both of their differing qualities. Either way, Birmingham seem to have no doubt that promotion is on the cards. Spending over £30 million more than the next biggest league spender, the Blues’ fans should expect nothing less.
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