Football Season Guide

Birmingham City will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ipswich Town and seal back-to-back promotions. The Blues cruised to promotion last season, smashing the League One points record, hitting 111 points as they were crowned Champions. It never looked in any doubt to be honest, possessing the strongest squad in the division by some distance. Given the expectation, it was a personal triumph for Chris Davies in his first year as a head coach. Credit must go to the owners, Birmingham Sports Holdings, led by Tom Wagner for learning from previous mistakes, such as the appointment of Wayne Rooney shortly after taking over in 2023, which ultimately led to their relegation from the Championship. The financial resources dwarfed their League One rivals and there is clearly intent to do the same again. There are grand plans for a 60,000 capacity stadium as part of a huge sports quarter development a stones throw away from St Andrews. Meanwhile on the pitch, the new signings suggest Davies won’t be swayed by any kind of loyalty to the players who won League One at a canter. Goalkeeper James Beadle has signed on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion with Ryan Allsop expected to become his understudy. Eiran Cashin and Phil Neumann looked set to form a new central defensive partnership however injury might see those plans revised for the start of the new campaign at least. The biggest changes come in attack however with wingers Bright Osayi-Samuel and Demarai Gray and striker Kyogo Furuhashi signed for significant fees. Gray’s return has a sentimental fell about it but is the capture of Kyogo which really stands out. The Japanese international played a big part in Celtic’s repeated SPL title victories and has Premier League potential. Davies is expected to make further additions too before the transfer window closes as he pursues back-to-back promotions.