When we checked in with Birmingham City FC right before the holidays, it looked like the team was headed for a decent stretch of games. Things turned rather differently than expected.
On December 20th they managed to lose 0-3 to Sheffield United in part due to an 18th-minute red card to Tommy Doyle. The Blues followed that up on Boxing Day (December 26th) with a 1-1 draw with Derby County which saw both teams get a red card although Christoph Klarer’s was at the end of the game. Then on December 29th they played a much more even game with Southampton, again ending 1-1. Then on New Year’s Day they got utterly embarrassed by Watford, lozsing by another 0-3 scoreline.
That left City stuck in mid-table group and falling further behind the playoff spots with a huge game looming…
The club immediately jumped into action in the transfer window, signing left back Kai Wagner from the Philadelphia Union. Tom Brady, with his Philly connections, apparently was involved in the deal. The price tag was not disclosed but his contract had a €2.3 million release clause; the Blues are thought to have paid around €2.5 million ($2.9 million). He has no connection to owner Tom Wagner – he’s German. He was a 2025 MLS All-Star and was best known for generating assists: 54 over 253 games in 7 years. He joins fellow Germans Marvin Ducksch and Phil Neumann on the Blues roster. They need to make Ride of the Valkyries their walk-out music now.
He was put straight to work. Just 3 days after the Watford loss he started in a home game with Coventry City, who had beaten the Blues 3-0 back in September (a Jack Robinson red card contributed to that). Coventry were in a slight slump of their own although they remain well clear at the top of the Championship.
It took Wagner less than 6 minutes to add to his assist tally, finding compatriot Marvin Ducksch for the opening score. However, Coventry drew level just 2 minutes later only to go down again 9 minutes after that when 20-year-old loanee Lewis Koumas scored his first Blues goal from a very tight angle.
Things stayed that way for a good while after that although Coventry kept up the pressure, finally evening the score again after 60 minutes. But Ducksch wasn’t done and put the Blues for the 3rd and final time 3 minutes later with a shot almost as tight as Koumas’. And to cap it off Coventry’s Bobby Thomas got red-carded deep into stoppage time.
Statistically it was an unusual game for the Blues. Normally dominant in possession they had a lowly 29% of the ball and managed 9 shots in that time, with all 3 on target finding the net. Still, an important win to get very much back on track.
Even so, the Blues sit 14th in the table and are 7 points out of the playoff spots. The team’s goal difference has edged back into the negative at -1. There is a lot of work to do over the last 20 games.
That will have to wait. This weekend the FA Cup is on the agenda. This will be the 3rd round, which is where the Championship and Premier League teams get into the competition. Birmingham will head to Cambridge United (Saturday, 11:45am, ESPN+). United are 6th in League Two and got to this point by beating Chester FC 3-0 in Round 1 and Stockport County 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in Round 2. Chester are in the National League North (England’s 6th tier). Stockport, you may remember, were a challenger for the League One title all last season but ended up blowing it in the promotion playoffs.
There isn’t much else going on in the transfer market for Birmingham City. There is some speculation that Lewis Koumas might get recalled by Liverpool from his current Blues loan; Chris Davies is hopeful that won’t be the case as Demarai Gray is likely out with an injury until February and he is needed, especially after his score last week. There were also expectations that striker Kyogo Furuhashi – who still not scored this season – would end up back at Celtic, where he played before joining French side Stade Rennais. Celtic are by their own standards in a slump, a lowly 3rd in the Scottish Premiership. So bad is it that they fired French coach (who was highly successful leading the Columbus Crew) after a whopping 33 days in charge and a record of 2-6-0. They are under new management with the legendary Martin O’Neill, who is looking to right the ship quickly. However, both the Blues and Kyogo nixed the possibility of a deal.
Otherwise, the club has said goodbye to Eiran Cashin, Dion Sanderson and Emil Hansson. Anderson was already out on loan with Derby County. None of these are surprises. However, the Blues are in need of some depth so some dealmaking is certainly in the offing. We shall see.
