Birmingham City are stepping into the unknown slightly falling down to League One, knowing the lower level can be a brutal customer for a sleeping giant.
Sunderland were submerged in the third tier for longer than anticipated when relegation was confirmed in 2018, staying put in the league for four seasons before promotion was secured, whilst the likes of Preston North End also didn’t instantly bounce back upon relegation either, and even finished 15th during their first dire campaign back at the level in 2012
That’s why this next management appointment at St. Andrew’s seems so critical, needing to recruit a leader who can swiftly return the Blues back to where they belong, instead of being imprisoned in the division below for a protracted period of time.
This might be why Birmingham are aiming to be highly ambitious with who they bring in as Tony Mowbray’s replacement, therefore, with one possibility having just participated in the Championship play-offs instead of fretting about a basement struggle.
Birmingham could hire Championship manager
It was revealed late last week by Football Insider that Carlos Corberan was in the sights of Birmingham as a potential future manager, with the Spaniard’s agents even in contact with the Blues to smooth out certain specifics.
However, already having their job cut out thanks to relegation, the effort to try to entice Corberan to drop down a league has been made much more difficult when you consider football journalist John Percy has revealed he is a strong target for the Leicester City post too.
It would also cost in the region of £3.5m-£4m for Leicester or any suitor to pick up Corberan, who is still tied to West Brom, which might be too much money for a bruised Birmingham to hand out after dropping to League One.
Yet, the ambitious American owners at Birmingham could well have this cash available, knowing that the current Baggies manager – who has been described as a “genius” by former Leeds man Romario Vieira – would be perfect to demonstrate his League One rvials that they mean business.
It might also be fairly useful for experienced attacker Lukas Jutkiewicz after watching what the Spaniard achieved at Huddersfield Town, changing Danny Ward during his spell with the Terriers.
Why Corberan may be excellent for Jutkiewicz
Still still to secure a new agreement with the Blues, Jutkiewicz might have a fire back in his belly to succeed with Corberan at the helm, who turned around the fortunes of another unreliable striker in Ward when managing in West Yorkshire with Huddersfield.
Only scored four goals last season in total, Jutkiewicz’s narrative is identical to that of Ward’s when Corberan came at Huddersfield in 2020, having netted only one solitary league strike during the 2020/21 season before the current West Brom man worked his magic.
| Ward’s goal record at Huddersfield – before and after Corberan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Games played | Goals scored |
| 2023/24 | 21 | 3 |
| 2022/23 | 36 | 5 |
| 2021/22 | 43 | 14 |
| 2020/21 | 20 | 1 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | ||
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