Yahoo News League One promotion rivals already fear Birmingham City - and they haven’t even signed a player
Birmingham City already have their League One rivals quivering – and they haven’t even signed a player yet.
Blues have been installed as favourites for the League One title after suffering relegation from the Championship for the first time in 30 years. The club are in the process of appointing a new manager after Tony Mowbray stepped down two weeks ago, and haven’t yet replaced any of the 10 players who have been released or returned to their parent clubs following loans.
However, with two months to go until the new season starts, Blues have plenty of time to get their house in order. Once the new manager checks in, the signings will inevitably start to roll through the door.
And teams aiming to compete with Blues in the upper echelons of League One are clearly concerned by their potential. American owners Knighthead will ensure Blues have the biggest budget in the third tier.
READ: Jordan Graham opens up on broken promise & what he wanted to tell Blues critics
READ: Exits galore, a reshuffle & stadium commitment as Blues recover from relegation
Detailing a conversation with his own manager, Richie Wellens, Leyton Orient winger Jordan Graham – formerly of Blues – admitted that Blues’ relegation is a blow for clubs hoping to win promotion to the Championship next term.
“It’s a really difficult league,” Graham told the Keep Right On Podcast. “Obviously Birmingham is a massive club and they have really big investment now and it seems like the club is in a good place.
“I remember speaking to my manager on the last day of the season, Richie Wellens – who’s a wicked gaffer, really talented, knows his football inside out – and he said, ‘What about Blues?’ Going into the last game of the season we didn’t know what was going to happen. I said, ‘It will be carnage if Blues get relegated.’
“I remember him saying to me, vividly, it’s the last thing we want. ‘If Birmingham come down, with the investment they have and the stature of the club, they really should be going back up.’ That’s not the type of team we want to come down because we want to try and get automatic promotion. Whereas you look at a Huddersfield or a Sheffield Wednesday, there’s a chance they might get caught down here.
“It’s going to be difficult playing against Blues because I think they are going to be really good next year.”
The last time Blues played in the third tier they completed a league and cup double. Barry Fry was their manager at the time and he has backed the club to repeat that feat.
Fry, who is Peterborough United’s director of football, said: “You can do the double next year. The club has never been in better hands than the new owners. They are going to get you back to the promised land of the Premier League.”
