Birmingham City’s start to the 2024/25 campaign has been as good as anyone could have hoped for.

Chris Davies’ team are flying high at the top of the League One table and on course for an immediate return to the Championship. They have also started their Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign well and earned plaudits for a spirited showing in their Carabao Cup exit to Premier League side Fulham

Their success has been built around a possession-based playing style with a whole host of new players – 17 to be exact including club-record signing Jay Stansfield, Austrian defender Christoph Klarer and midfield workhorse Tomoki Iwata to name a few.

Another summer arrival, Alfie May, has already netted five goals to put himself among League One’s top scorers. Stansfield isn’t far behind with three league goals in five games.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. Blues have had injuries to key players to deal with and Davies has already changed his goalkeeper. Bailey Peacock-Farrell got seven games before Ryan Allsop was drafted in.

Now that we’re into the second international break of the season (Blues aren’t playing their game against Cambridge this weekend because of call-ups) the Keep Right On Podcast – namely Alex Dicken (AD) and Brian Dick (BD) – have decided it’s a good time to rate every player.

Other than Lee Buchanan and Alfie Chang, every member of Blues’ squad has played minutes this season and the vast majority have managed more than 100. Here is what they said about Peacock-Farrell, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Emil Hansson and Jay Stansfield…

Bailey Peacock-Farrell

AD: “Most people would admit Peacock-Farrell hasn’t had the best start to the season which is why he lost his place. He’s made three errors in the seven league games that he’s started which have led to goals, so on that basis I will give him a five.”

BD: “I’m going to go five and a half. Like you say, there have been mistakes and he’s lost his place so we can’t go too overboard with that one.”

Taylor Gardner-Hickman

BD: “He has probably been the most pleasant surprise and that is probably related to expectation. He came in relatively late in the window and you think, ‘OK, that’s a fifth central midfield player, what’s going on there?’ We’ve seen his versatility because his impact has come at right-back. I’m going to go seven and a half for Gardner-Hickman on the basis that he would probably regard himself more of a centre-mid than a right-back but he’s been really good since he’s come in for Laird. Could he play with more flamboyancy? Possibly, but there’s a physicality about his style of play. I’m a convert to Gardner-Hickman.”

AD: “I agree. When he signed I thought he would be third or fourth choice central midfield player because of the quality Blues had in that area. I wouldn’t say he’s reinvented himself because they signed him knowing he could play at right-back but he’s done it so well in the absence of Laird. I can’t disagree with you, seven and a half seems about right.”

Emil Hansson

AD: “Hansson is one of the summer signings who the jury is still out on for me. I’ve been more impressed with him recently. Funnily enough, the most impressed I’ve been with him was against Peterborough and Chris Davies can’t have been as impressed as I was because he hooked him at half-time! He got an assist there and got a goal with his first touch against Shrewsbury so I’m going to go six and a half – I think he has done more than a six. I would like to see him go on the outside and be a little bit more unpredictable in his play.”

BD: “I think I can get to six and a half if we’re thinking about the fact he’s arrived to a new country. I spoke to his former coach about him and he said he needs to be better in the defensive side of his game and actually, I think he’s been reliable in the defensive side of his game. For my constant carping about him not going on the outside enough, I can get to six and a half because he’s made six starts, he has come off the bench three times, so he’s done better than broken even.”

AD: “I’m going for an eight because three goals in five games is very good in the league, and he’s also got one assist, but if you look back at the Rotherham game he was instrumental in that first goal as well even though he didn’t get a goal or an assist. He’s been involved in most of Blues’ good play. The tactic of him running in behind to create that space or a chance for himself is clearly something Blues are going to pursue. I think he’s going to score a shed load of goals and he probably should, let’s be honest.”

BD: “My starting point was seven and I was wondering whether I could get to seven and a half so I’m quite surprised by that, but you have talked me up from seven to seven and a half. Everything you say is right, what I would add is there’s a huge amount of pressure with the price tag. He certainly catches the attention of opposition fans and I love the way Blues fans have rallied around him.”

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