Birmingham City after the whistle: exits galore, a behind-the-scenes reshuffle and stadium commitment

A lot has happened at Birmingham City since the end of last season. A lot had to happen, too, following the club’s relegation to the third tier for the first time in 30 years. And still not much is happening.

Relegation is never on a club’s wish list, but at least it will give Knighthead a chance to hit the reset button after a chaotic first year as owner. The Americans will have learned valuable lessons from what turned out to be a tough task of a championship campaign.

The club are now looking for a new manager following the departure of Tony Mowbray. Mowbray, 60, stepped down two weeks ago to prioritize his health and give the Blues the chance to find a successor in time for the start of pre-season.

With pre-season still weeks away due to the later start date of August 10, the Blues have been able to bide their time in the search for Mowbray’s replacement. The new boss will become the fourth permanent appointment of the Knighthead era and will be tasked with leading the club back to the Championship at the first attempt.

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Most likely the new manager will bring some coaches with him. Mark Venus – who is Mowbray’s lieutenant – has left to create another vacancy. Then there’s Ashley Cole and Pete Shuttleworth.

Cole, 43, is well-liked by the club’s top brass and was poached by them in October when Wayne Rooney joined as manager. Shuttleworth is the last remaining manager Rooney insisted on following the departures of Carl Robinson and John O’Shea.

Rooney, now Plymouth Argyle manager, will be allowed to add a coach of his choice to work with the Pilgrims’ existing staff. Shuttleworth will likely be a contender for that position.

The exits will continue. The Blues are currently changing their research system to ensure that their decisions will be guided by data and analysis.

The recruitment squad, which is led by Craig Gardner, has 10 players to replace after five were released and another five, including goalscorer Jay Stansfield, left at the end of loans.

Genuine transfer links have been few and far between as the club search for their next manager. Players are unlikely to join a club without a manager.

The same can be said for the out-of-contract players the Blues want to keep. Lukas Jutkiewicz is keen to stay and help the Blues return to the Championship and all parties hope a deal can be reached.

It’s a similar story with John Ruddy, who is open to staying but, as you’d expect, is waiting to find out who the manager is before signing anything. One of the names in the frame, Alex Neil, managed Ruddy at Norwich City.

As has been the case throughout Knighthead’s tenure, it is the work off the pitch that is most commendable. Work to improve St Andrew’s has accelerated over the past month and two new screens have been installed inside the stadium.

To their credit, Knighthead continue to throw money at St Andrew’s to improve the fan experience despite plans to move to a new stadium in the next decade.

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