Birmingham City – Season Review

A season that started out with so much hope and promise, turned into yet another relegation battle for the roller-coaster ride that has become Birmingham City.

The 2020/21 season will forever be known as a season like no other. An entire season of football played behind closed doors, with little to no fans present. It was probably a good thing for Aitor Karanka in the end, because he would have found out just how the Blues faithful felt as the players trudged off after a 3-0 drubbing by the out-of-form Bristol City.

Although I suspect he would have known long before that result.

But I am getting ahead of myself. With a late-ending previous season and a delayed start to the the 2020-2021 campaign Birmingham City found themselves searching for their sixth permanent manager since Gary Rowett was sacked in 2016, and on 30th July 2020 Aitor Karanka was announced as the new Head Coach of Birmingham City on a three year deal.

The fanfare brought by his arrival was immense, including a media reveal where then CEO Xuandong Ren stated that he had chased Karanka for a long time, that he finally had his man and how this was the start of a three year project to get the Midlands club back into the big time and possibly even beyond.

There was some scepticism, but with Karanka getting Middlesbrough into the Premier League in 2016 and backed by nine new signings (soon to be ten in November), there was hope and optimism that finally, Birmingham City would avoid a relegation battle and maybe even push for promotion.

The season started on a bit of a bum note – losing 1-0 at the St. Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium to Cambridge United in the 1st round of the Carabao Cup. Whilst not the greatest start to a new season with a new management team, there was still reason to be optimistic. That optimism paid off in the opening game of the season, when Blues defeated beaten Play-Off finalists and one of the favourites for promotion Brentford 1-0 at St. Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium.

This was the start of a four game undefeated streak, which was ended mid-way through October through a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Before that game, Blues were eighth in the league – the last time they would be in the top ten all season and a worrying pattern had slowly started to emerge – Blues weren’t scoring many at all or even creating many chances. But there was a solidness to the defence that had not been there before, so they weren’t shipping goals – yet.

Back-to-back defeats to Wednesday and Norwich City diluted some of the early optimism, but a draw and two wins in the next three games reignited hope – Blues sat 11th in the table at the end of October. A lead thrown away against early strugglers Wycombe Wanders and being played off the park by Bournemouth allowed the clouds to begin to gather.

Three draws on the bounce saw November come to a close and after losing to surprise package Barnsley at the start of December, murmurings of discontent started to arise. Not only did this team not score many goals, but they were no longer looking as solid at the back. This was to become painfully clear by the end of the year.

After the loss to Barnsley, Blues faced two tough away games at Bristol City and Reading, who were flying. But, contrary to the form books, Blues came away with six points from those two away games, lifting them to 15th in the league and there was a feeling a corner had been turned – after all, these were the clubs first wins since the end of October. However, the worst was yet to come.

Narrow losses to Watford and Cardiff were overshadowed by a hammering from Middlesbrough at home. These three games were the start of the wheels well and truly coming off of the bus. A dour 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest followed and heading into the final game of the year, the ominous feeling of a relegation battle loomed. But instead of circling the wagons and fighting, a 4-0 mauling at the hand of Derby County ended what had been a turbulent year for Blues, with them ending 2020 in 18th position in the league.

All hopes of a fresh start for Blues in the New Year were very quickly dashed as Blackburn Rovers became the latest side to brush Blues aside. Following a 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup (via a Kevin De Bruyne masterclass) a rare win and clean sheet against a COVID-hit Middlesbrough bought some relief, before a loss to Preston North End and further poor performances against relegation rivals Coventry City and Wycombe saw Blues slide to 21st in the division. But it didn’t stop there.

A 3-2 defeat to promotion-chasing Bournemouth gave cause for some hope, but losses to Luton Town and Millwall saw Blues drop to 23rd in the league and fans started to call for changes to be made. Many felt this was the year that they saw their beloved side drop to League One, after so many years circling the drain.

One thing that did not improve the mood around the club was the interview on Radio WM that CEO Xuandong Ren gave to Richard Wilford.  Ren talked about a number of issues – self sustainability for the club, the issues with the stands at St. Andrew’s and he stoically stood by his man and backed Karanka to the hilt to get the club out of relegation trouble.

Following the backing of the manager from the CEO, a minor miracle happened at Hillsborough when Blues, courtesy of a Scott Hogan finish, picked up three valuable points and a clean sheet against another relegation rival. This started a brief run of picking up seven points in four games, with the only blemish a 3-1 loss to league leaders Norwich.

This run of games kindled some hope that maybe there would be another escape, like so many times before – a consistent team was picked for the first time all season. Things were starting to look up. But, like many other times this season, it all went to pieces.

An away trip to Barnsley was next on the cards, But Aitor Karanka did not pick the same team as he had for the previous four games, thoroughly disappointing Blues fans and the result that followed did not improve their mood either – a 1-0 defeat in what was a terrible game of football. The calls for a managerial change were almost deafening. However, no change was forthcoming.

Next up was the visit of Bristol City, a team out of form and tumbling down the order. The result of this game changed the entire course of the season. Blues lost 3-0 and that was the last time Aitor Karanka was in the dugout for the Blues. Rumours began to circulate on the Sunday after that game that he had been let go and the club eventually put out a 21-word statement on the 16th March stating that Aitor Karanka had stepped down as head coach. That is of course, not counting the weird tale of Karanka being sacked and still having to attend a birthday lunch for the CEO where it was announced he was leaving… talk about slightly awkward.

This parting of ways was, in many Blues fans eyes, a long time coming and possibly too late to save the club from relegation. But all were adamant this was the right decision – and who can blame those thoughts when Aitor Karanka left Birmingham with a win percentage of just 21.1% and the second worst goal difference in the league.

Only 10 games to go and the next four were the hardest by far – Blues had to face four of the top six. Who could possibly not just steady the ship, but full on turn it around? For that they turned to a club hero. Lee Bowyer was announced as Birmingham City Head Coach until June 2023 mere minutes after announcing the previous incumbent had stepped down – although they were both the wort kept secret in football.

So with a new man in the dugout, Blue now had 10 games to save themselves from relegation. Could they do it?

24 hours after being announced as new Blues manager, Lee Bower picked his first Blues team. What happened next was the stuff of dreams. By the end of the evening, Blues had run out 2-1 winners against a side pushing hard for promotion to the Premier League. Bowyer had his dream start and suddenly there was hope amongst the Blues faithful once more.

Next up – Watford at Vicarage Road. A daunting task and Blues lost 3-0. But there was still optimism amongst around the club –  it wasn’t the 3-0 thrashing it seemed to be on paper. What came after this match is simply astonishing – no-one could have predicted it.

Blues went on a six-game unbeaten streak, consisting of four wins and two draws, ending in a 2-1 victory over Derby County which secured their status in the Championship for another season. Fairy-tale just about covers it. From almost no hope to safety in eight games is an outstanding achievement and cemented Bowyer’s place as a hero to Blues fans everywhere.

Birmingham went on to lose the last two games of the season 4-0 and 5-2 respectively, but Bowyer didn’t care. he had done what he set out to do and used the last two games to look at fringe players and youth players – a useful exercise considering the ride he had just been on.

Off the pitch, it was announced three days after the season had ended that CEO Xuandong Ren had resigned. This was undoubtedly due to internal pressures. After all, Karanka had been his appointment and the people above Ren had to pull the trigger. His position must have become untenable. Add that to fan protests such a banners and a plane that had flown over Vicarage Road stating that he must go, all signalled a one way exit for the CEO.

So there we have it – another roller-coaster season for Birmingham City. One that started with so much hope, but very nearly ended in disaster. I think Blues fans can be optimistic heading into the 2021-2022 season – they have a Head Coach at the helm who knows and understands the club and the fans. The CEO, who was very much to blame for a lot of problems that Blues have faced, has gone. They begin next season in the Championship once more, where anything other than a relegation battle will be deemed a success. Of course… there is always one dark horse who sneaks into the play-offs at the end of the season… and it is time that this sleeping giant of a club awoke. Can Blues fans dare to dream again?

Birmingham City Season – 2020-2021 in numbers

Final Position – 18th

Longest Unbeaten Streak – 6 Games

Win/Draw/Lost – 13/13/20

Goals Scored – 37

Goals Against – 61

Top Scorer – Lukas Jutkiewicz (8)

Clean Sheets – 14

Biggest Win – 2-0 (v Stoke City)

Biggest Defeat – 4-0 (v Cardiff, Derby)

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