Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes that Birmingham City have a real chance of pushing for promotion this season, despite previously writing them off.
The Blues return to the second tier having taken League One by storm last season. After suffering a shock relegation from the Championship in 2024, they spent big in order to bounce back at the first time of asking. This saw Chris Davies guide his side to the league title, racking up a record 111 points in the process.
The drop to the third tier allowed Birmingham to build a squad capable of competing in the division above, with some claiming that back-to-back promotions could be on the cards. In doing so, the West Midlands-based outfit would return to the Premier League for the first time since 2011.
Goodman Sees Birmingham Challenging
Davies has already plunged into the transfer market to strengthen his squad, with no fewer than nine new faces having arrived at St Andrew’s. Having previously stated that Birmingham would struggle to replicate their dominance in League One, Don Goodman now believes that they could challenge the likes of Ipswich Town and Southampton to one of the two automatic promotion places. Speaking to Football League World, he stated his favourites to win the division:
“That’s obviously a very difficult question at this stage, with so long left to go in the transfer window, but without wishing to be boring you’d have to go for the obvious ones.
“When I say obvious, I would say Ipswich.
“When you look at the calibre of player they have at their disposal, you would expect them to be up there.
“Southampton same, they have some quality players, I do think that squad might look a little different though.
“Leicester, we don’t know how the points deduction is going to impact them, so we’ll have to wait and see on that one.
“And in terms of some of the others, with every passing signing and every passing week, having written Birmingham City out of it, you’d have to say they are assembling a really strong squad, which reminds me of Ipswich.
Writer’s View
The Championship is one of the most competitive leagues in world football. Last season saw two teams break the 100 point barrier whilst third-placed Sheffield United finished on 90. Although Leeds United and Burnley are gone, Ipswich and Southampton are likely to enjoy good seasons, whilst the Blades will also be targeting a top two finish after their play-off disappointment. Birmingham will certainly be in the mix but it won’t be the walk in the park they enjoyed last season.
