Birmingham City are very ambitious under its US owners, who haven’t been hesitant about declaring where they want the team to be in the future.
As a result, while a mid-table position in the Championship would generally be celebrated for a newly promoted team, it’s fair to argue that doesn’t apply to the Blues.
They were bold in their League One recruitment, and since Jay Stansfield’s arrival, many more statement signings have followed, causing the football world to take notice.
4 Chris Davies will be feeling the pressure at Birmingham City
Naturally, such expenditure puts pressure on the club, and while Davies deserves a lot of credit for Birmingham’s great, record-breaking campaign last season, he understands it won’t stay forever.
Reaching the Premier League is only the first stage for Tom Wagner, so expect him to be brutal if he believes someone else can lead the Blues to the top division instead of Davies.
Of all, there are a lot of games to play, and many Birmingham fans will believe he can bring the squad back on track.
Wagner must plan for all possibilities and should consider three potential replacements.
3 Sean Dyche
It makes sense for Wagner to investigate managers who have previously produced at this level, and Dyche, who is presently unemployed, has two promotions to his name from Burnley.
He did an excellent job at Turf Moor and has now progressed to become a successful Premier League manager.
So there’s no certainty he’ll drop to the Championship, but Birmingham is a club with a lot of promise and might help Dyche construct the team he wants.
It may not always be pretty, but he has the potential to lead the Blues back to the Premier League and establish them there.
2 Bo Svensson
Another out-of-work manager, Svensson has a strong reputation in Germany due to the incredible job he accomplished with Mainz, which began with keeping them in the Bundesliga against all odds, followed by two top-half finishes and promotion to Europe.
While things did not go as he had hoped, and he had a brief, difficult period at Union Berlin, there is no doubt that Svensson is a talented head coach.
He has previously been linked with Leeds and Wolves, so he may need convincing to return to the Championship, but the project at St. Andrew’s is sure to pique his interest.
Svensson would put together a dynamic, forward-thinking club that Blues fans would like seeing.
1 Jens Berthel Askou
Hearts may be the major story in Scotland for outsiders as they aim to end Glasgow’s domination and win the title, but Motherwell’s 25/26 season is possibly the biggest surprise of all.
Under Askou, the Fir Park outfit has been overhauled. He inherited a club that finished eighth last season, but they are currently in contention for the league, thanks to some wonderful football, with so many members of the squad reaching previously unthinkable heights.
On a shoestring budget, Askou has transformed Motherwell into the best team to watch in Scotland, and it appears just a matter of time before he leaves.
Askou would require time and support to adopt his specialized, possession-based system, but Wagner would offer it, and the thought of the Dane working with higher-caliber players might transform Birmingham into a formidable side under his leadership.
xz
