Birmingham City’s aims for Championship campaign that includes huge summer spending spree

National World - LocalTV

Birmingham City’s promotion from League One marked a season of resilience and revival. Under Chris Davies in his first role as head coach, Blues rediscovered their identity at St Andrew’s—securing late goals and strong home form that reconnected the team with it’s supporters.

Transcript

00:00Birmingham City's promotion from League One marked a season of resilience and revival.

00:09Under Chris Davies in his first role as head coach, Blues rediscovered their identity at St Andrews,

00:15securing late goals and strong home form that reconnected the team with its supporters.

00:21Momentum grew as the squad pierced together a vital winning run, blending emerging youth with seasoned professionals.

00:30Who delivered in tight, high-pressure fixtures.

00:32That balance brought both stability and belief, laying the groundwork for the challenges that await in the second tier.

00:40As the club looks ahead, the main question is whether Birmingham can carry their unity and tenacity into the championship.

00:50With a well-rounded mix of enthusiasm and know-how, there's quiet confidence that Blues can steer clear of immediate trouble,

00:57establish themselves in mid-table and gradually build towards loftier ambitions.

01:03We caught up with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to revisit the key turning points in a gritty campaign

01:10and to gauge how Blues might fare as they begin their next chapter back in the championship.

01:16Charlie, on Birmingham City, obviously we mentioned the summer window was going to be big

01:24and you obviously put out on yourself that you weren't expecting it to be so big,

01:28but the owners came and confirmed that they are going to go big again.

01:32This is an incredible era for Birmingham City.

01:35I mean, it started last season and they sort of built up.

01:38I mean, it could have even started when they got relegated and the positivity around that relegation was remarkable to see.

01:44But they are now back up to the second tier.

01:46They've now got a job to do again.

01:50Loads of transfer rumours in and out.

01:51I mean, these are big rumours as well.

01:53Big players, lots of experience that could happily drop down to the likes of Birmingham City.

01:58And then there's also Wrexham as well.

02:00You know, why wouldn't a player want to come and join these teams at the moment?

02:03Because the only way is seemingly up.

02:06The momentum is really with those clubs, isn't it?

02:09You've got those who've been in the championship for a long time

02:11and you would normally consider to have a better chance of finishing in the playoffs.

02:15But it's a weird anomaly in the case of both Wrexham and Birmingham.

02:20They're going to be immediately pushing for the playoffs, I think.

02:23But then what happens to the likes of West Brom and Middlesbrough and Coventry,

02:26who've been on the fringes or just about inside for so many years now,

02:30it's going to be really exciting to see.

02:32And as you say, there's probably going to be a lot of investment from Birmingham's side yet again.

02:36And there's been a lot of focus on trying to bring in free agents to start with.

02:40Of course, contracts expiring on June 30th means that the first part of the transfer window

02:45is probably more focused on those free transfers.

02:48But once we head into July and August,

02:50once we've had a few fixtures at the start of the season as well,

02:53a few areas of the squad, a few gaps might kind of get a bit clearer.

02:57And then Chris Davis will look to improve in those positions.

03:00But yeah, I think there's some fantastic names being linked to the club.

03:04One that I quite like to see happen and makes a lot of sense is Tommy Doyle from Wolves.

03:10Been linked to a potential loan move or a permanent move.

03:13Permanent would probably be a bit too expensive at this stage.

03:16But of course, not really fitting into Vito Pereira's plans at Molineux

03:20could shift into that Birmingham midfield,

03:23competing with the likes of Iwata and Pike Sung-ho.

03:26It's been such an amazing partnership, Iwata and Pike.

03:28But if you have someone like a Doyle, who's maybe a little bit more creative,

03:31a bit better with his longer passing,

03:33it could give Birmingham a bit of a different dimension.

03:35But he's just one of many, many players that have been linked to the football club so far.

03:39And the fans are rightfully getting excited because a few years ago,

03:42they'd be spending a million tops maybe on a top signing and hardly that.

03:47And quite often they were flops.

03:49So and spending way too much wages on players that didn't quite deserve them.

03:52Now, yeah, the wages are high.

03:54The transfer fees are going to be high as well.

03:56But it seems like there's a lot more kind of thought behind every transfer.

03:59And they should start into Davies' plans pretty well.

04:01Definitely the underdogs.

04:02They just sat deep and it was quite difficult to break down.

04:05Birmingham got a bit frustrated at times,

04:07but then Davies would be a bit more flexible about it.

04:10Might use his wing backs, push him a bit higher up,

04:12or push his centre-half up a bit, like Christoph Clara,

04:14to really push defences.

04:16I think it's really important for those that are currently there

04:19and have trusted in that project.

04:20And maybe drop-down divisions as well.

04:23In the case of Christoph Clara,

04:24he left the Bundesliga to join Birmingham in League One.

04:27Definitely a reward for them.

04:28And of course, seeing the bigger names come in from the Premier League,

04:31they don't want to be gazumped by them.

04:33They don't want to lose their places.

04:34It would feel totally unfair on them.

04:36But having the added competition just pushes players to their limits

04:39and will give Birmingham ultimately the best chance

04:41of finishing in those play-off positions.

04:43We'll see you next time.

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