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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