Despite being promoted from League One only seven months ago, Birmingham City were widely expected to launch a prolonged promotion challenge this season.
For one reason or another, Blues have had a strong focus on developments at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in recent years, with the lofty plans put in place by American ownership group Knighthead Capital Management raising expectations about what Chris Davies’ side can achieve on the pitch.
The West Midlands side, like many of their Championship competitors, has had mixed results in the first four months of their 150th anniversary campaign, despite a steady influx of high-profile players and seasoned second-tier performers to the Second City over the summer.
Birmingham suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road to Queens Park Rangers in their previous match. The vast majority of Bluenoses had very few complaints about the balance of play, as Kieran Morgan quickly responded to Patrick Roberts’ initial 93rd-minute equaliser in front of the travelling support with a fierce drive that flew past James Beadle and kept the three points in West London.
Prior to the midweek match in the capital, Davies had faced a barrage of questions about his side’s contrasting form at home and away from St. Andrew’s, and it is a situation that many members of the club are struggling to understand.
However, with plans for the impending ‘Powerhouse’ stadium, a 62,000-seater arena as part of the multi-billion pound Sports Quarter regeneration project in East Birmingham, being known, the aforementioned combination of circumstances do provide a slight sense of irony that Tom Wagner will be aware of.
Birmingham City hopes to maintain St. Andrew’s hostilities at the ‘Powerhouse’ stadium.
On November 20th, Wagner and his team announced their new stadium ideas to the globe at Digbeth Loc Studios, sparking immediate controversy.
Outsiders and sections of Blues supporters, unsurprisingly, questioned the ‘name’ itself, with many anticipating a high-profile sponsorship deal to follow ‘Powerhouse’, considering the club’s pre-existing relationship with brands such as Nike, Undefeated, and Delta Airlines.
It is a name and design that pays respect to Birmingham’s industrial legacy, with 12 big chimney-themed buildings and an interior built on numerous atmosphere-based characteristics.
This includes a 360-degree wall of support across the stadium, as well as acoustics that the Blues hope will terrify visiting teams by reproducing the atmosphere that St. Andrew’s has maintained since its inception in 1906.
The 119-year-old ground is currently a ‘Powerhouse’ for Davies’ side as well. Since his appointment in June 2024, just four teams have won in B9: Fulham, Newcastle United, Port Vale, and Hull City, with the latter suffering its only home defeat in these parts since April 2024.
Unsurprisingly, such impressive form has contributed significantly to Birmingham’s current 11th-place finish in the table, with 20 of their 28 points coming at home.
After being chastised for being shot and goal-shy in the early weeks of the season, Blues have certainly eradicated such flaws in recent home games, flying out of the blocks against Portsmouth, Millwall, Norwich City, and Watford, winning four in a row and scoring 14 goals in the process.
Birmingham City must fix their poor away form amid play-off chances.
However, if they are to maintain their status as serious playoff contenders, they must improve on the road.
Birmingham have used a similar attitude and team selection away from St. Andrew’s, which is plainly not appropriate at the moment, as they are naturally treated with significantly more respect at home, given their generally excellent form.
This was obvious once more against Julien Stephan’s side in midweek, with Demarai Gray essentially marked out of the game by Amadou Mbengue, while Jay Stansfield and Marvin Ducksch were forced to feed off scraps before Kyogo Furuhashi came on at half-time.
Indeed, the Blues have only taken one point from their previous 15 road games, a draw at West Bromwich Albion in a game they battled to control for huge portions, sandwiched between defeats to Bristol City, Middlesbrough, Southampton, and QPR.
However, Davies’ men have shown grit and character in their two away victories, coming from behind to upset Blackburn Rovers on August 16th and keeping a clean sheet as they became the first team to leave Deepdale with three points against Preston North End.
As a result, they will seek to rebound from two huge setbacks by defeating an out-of-form Charlton Athletic side at St. Andrew’s, where they will undoubtedly be favourites.
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