Birmingham City: Harry Redknapp decision is surely biggest Blues regret of 21st century – View

Birmingham City: Harry Redknapp decision is surely biggest Blues regret of 21st century – View.

Birmingham City have made a number of big errors over the years, even though things are going well for them at the time of writing.

Thanks to a successful ownership transition that occurred during the summer before the season began, the Blues performed admirably under John Eustace and appeared to be in a strong position early in 2023–2024.

Eustace was fired in October of last year, even though his squad was in the running for promotion at the time, because the board and new owner Tom Wagner were eager to see a change in the team’s playing philosophy.

The unfortunate appointment of Wayne Rooney as his replacement left the current Plymouth Argyle boss with a steep learning curve as he attempted to step into Eustace’s shoes.

Despite a few unfortunate circumstances throughout the previous season, Eustace’s dismissal proved to be a turning point for Blues, as they were demoted at the conclusion of the previous campaign.

One of the clubs that kept up at their expense was Eustace’s Blackburn Rovers, which only served to aggravate the situation.

Wagner had a terrible start to his time at St Andrew’s, despite his best efforts, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to make Birmingham a dominant force in English football.

All of this will be forgotten if he can lead the team back to the Championship and into the top division of the second division.

Their 2023/24 campaign was a real blow for them though – and we take a look at another big regret the club will have – as we turn the clock back to 2017.

Harry Redknapp’s spell at Birmingham City was a disaster

After being appointed in April 2017, Redknapp managed to lead Blues to two victories, which was sufficient to maintain their status in the second division, despite losing his first game in charge at Aston Villa.

He had only managed three games, though, and even with his expertise, it was unknown how his tenure at St Andrew’s would pan out.

A summer shopping spree just months after his employment didn’t work out well for the seasoned manager, who could have been a huge success in the Midlands.

During the 2017–18 season, he managed just eight league games. Of them, he won just one and his team only managed to secure five of the 24 available points; their only other victory came against Bristol City.

They were now in danger of being relegated, which would have greatly disappointed them given their strong start to the season and their number of games that they could have won.

During their eight-game streak, they have only preserved one clean sheet, which came in a 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers.

And given Birmingham’s dismal start to the season, the Blues were forced to fire Redknapp.

Birmingham City’s spending spree impact lasted beyond the 2017/18 campaign

Unfortunately, their spending didn’t pay dividends in the long term, even though some of their signings looked excellent on paper.

Both Maxime Colin and Harlee Dean were a part of a bad run at St Andrew’s, despite the fact that they both had some respectable contributions to make and the potential to be true assets.

It’s unfortunate since, after moving from Griffin Park, these two had the potential to be fantastic players for the Midlands team.

Not only did many of these recruits not have a significant effect, but their expenditure also restricted the amount of business they could conduct going forward, and the club lost points in 2019 for breaking financial regulations.

Their progress was hindered during the 2018–19 campaign by this nine-point suspension, and their summer 2017 spending was a major factor in their financial violation.

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