BRUM IS BLUE!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks so I’ve not managed to get as much written up as I know I should. I didn’t get anything up around Wembley and that now seems a distant memory so I won’t try and catch that up, I also didn’t get a chance to look at anything for Good Friday’s fixture against Crawley or even a look at Burton before the game Tuesday night. That said I think now is a good time to look to the future.

I think the fact that the main task was accomplished prior to Wembley played a slight part in the lacklustre performance they put in against Peterborough. I know after that game I wasn’t the only person that felt that it wasn’t a huge concern, it would have been the cherry on the cake but it wasn’t essential that we did the double, as the League was the main priority. Blues can still smash the points tally but the draw to Crawley had me thinking it might not quite be motivation enough, Tuesday changed my opinion slightly but still if we don’t smash the League One Points Tally, set by Wolves of 103, it’s again not a massive issue.

Personally I still think Blues will come away with the record, I’m not going to suggest Tuesday night had me thinking we were back to full steam, as we seemed more content to just relax and retain the ball, but given that most of the teams we will play as we close out the season don’t have anything really to play for themselves I think we’ll win every fixture through the retain-the-ball mentality. Realistically Cambridge could be the only team still fighting for something but I think they’ll be down by the time we face them.

It’s been no shock that Blues have dominated the league this year, we should never have gone down as it was but it also did us a favour. Blues were able to spend a tad more freely and having the financial backing combined with the ability to use it in a way we wouldn’t have in the Championship kind of allowed us to get our ducks in a row. On top of that Blues did the things that needed to be done to allow us to spend next season by generating additional revenue, a 45% increase in revenue with the commercial aspect of income nearly doubling. I wouldn’t suggest we brought the league (In fact the accounts show that what many fans of other clubs suggested we paid for Stansfield was in actuality the entire transfer spend of all 15 players brought in), but we have utilised being able to operate a bit more freely, to bring the correct infrastructure to meet PSR going forward.

So, it’s a long winded route to get to my main topic, how will Blues fare next season in the Championship? I personally think if we didn’t recruit any further players we’ll be looking at a mid-table finish, potentially hitting the play off spots. Blues built a Championship team last summer which is another reason we were able to so easily make do in the division. I think we will however see one or two signings brought in over the summer that will both bolster and create competition within the squad.

Blues aren’t looking to just float in the Championship though, Wagner and Brady don’t settle for average. They’ll recognise a job well done but mid-table will just not be the what these pair are aiming for. They will set an aim, the only aim that any of us really care about, they will aim for promotion and say “What do we need to do to achieve this?” rather than aim for mid-table saying “This is where we’re at.”

We’ve seen from announcements of new stadiums, infrastructure development and even the transformation of the match day experience just how ambitious these owners are and when I say they’ll want promotion to the Premier League I genuinely believe even this isn’t the dream that these guys are really chasing. They want Blues in the Champions League one day and this is just the journey.

One thing that will be hugely important with a battle to the top of the Championship has to be the manager. I have seen a few people question if Chrissy Davies will be able to replicate what he’s achieved in League One. I personally think he will likely have to say goodbye to his 71% win rate, I don’t think anyone can refute that, but he does seem more than capable of giving it a solid go.

If anything he’s the kind of individual who will have benefitted from being in League One because he is very methodical, League One has allowed him to make mistakes that may well have been punished in the Championship and I feel he would definitely be the kind of individual who utilises mistakes as an opportunity for learning. He’s been able to do things a little wrong and not have to panic about the repercussions. His calm, consistent approach has allowed him to develop a solid team but he can be reactive to the situation at hand which will hopefully alleviate the issue we had with Rooney who seemed incapable of doing so. I don’t think we will replicate the possession based football to such an extent but I also think that Davies both knows this and can adapt to it as appropriate.

For me, I believe we will do fine in the Championship. I also think we’ll only be in it for one season; and that’s the truth. It could be just a hope, a dream, a prayer, but I genuinely think we’re in the right company to push for excellence. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll be happy with a mid table finish. I just don’t think that’s what we’re going to see. It’s maybe this wave of positivity but genuinely I think it’s the best time to be a Bluenose at the minute and I think anything is possible but these owners want excellence!

I reckon next season we will hit the ground running and I would be surprised if we don’t go up again.