Birmingham City clearly haven’t read the book on League One etiquette.
Teams do not just come down and keep spending top-end Championship money on players. They should cut their cloth accordingly, right? Big-spending clubs like Ipswich and Sunderland found out the hard way that money isn’t a route to success.
Mind you, I guess there is a certain amount of money that does get the pulse racing. Willum Thór Willumsson might have a God as a middle name, but for an estimated £4 million, he’ll be expected to hammer change in the course of the club’s history. Christoph Klarer was once on the books of Southampton, but unlike Jake Hesketh, he hasn’t trickled into League One, destined to drop further. he’s here for one season as the Blues look up, not down. It’s believed around £4 million secured his signature.
Klarer played Bundesliga football for Darmstadt last season. Yep, he defended against Harry Kane (okay, that might not have been difficult on Kane’s Euros showing), and this season, it’ll be up to Ben House to get the better of him. Willumsson could have been playing in Europe against the likes of Fiorentina and Chelsea next season. Instead, he might get a run out in the BSM Trophy against Shrewsbury or Walsall.
Then there’s the reported £6 million they’ve bid for Jay Stansfield, without mentioning Alfie May and Marc Leonard and more than £1 million spent on two keepers. Alex Cochrane comes from Scotland, Emil Hansson from the Eredivisie… it’s a different ball game.
However, I think there are some huge positives to take out of this, and I’ve come up with three that Imps fans should think about. I’m not saying I don’t moan about it; let that underlying jealousy flow as richly as you wish, but be aware it’s not all bad.
@thestaceywest Three reasons why all League One fans should be excited by #BirminghamCity and their big bucks players this season #leagueone #efl #kro #weareimps ♬ original sound – The Stacey West
1 – We all love a villain
Football is all about villains. I’ve used images of our last trip to Brum in this piece, and there’s Steve Bruce, the man who recalled Trevor Carson in 2011. Villain.
It’s a big pantomime where your team is always the hero. For Birmingham fans, they’re the Championship club cast down into the dungeons to fight their way back with pride. For League One clubs, the Blues are the epitome of everything wrong with the modern game, the ‘buying success’ bad boys like Sunderland before them.
Games where there’s a villain are more exciting, before and after. We all remember winning 3-1 at Sunderland, the euphoria of beating them at the Bank under Michael Appleton. Do you specifically remember away wins at Burton? No, because they’re not someone we hate. Ambiguity is a football supporter’s worst enemy.
By spending big, Birmingham have stuck their head above the parapet and in doing so, created a target. We all love a target.
2 – It creates a bigger game
21,000 supporters at St Andrew’s was going to be a big game anyway, just like Pride Park and the Stadium of Light. We wanted to knock the big boys down a peg or two, but now it’s even more intense. Can you imagine the day we go there, complaining our entire squad budget, transfers and all, is probably comparable to Klarer’s transfer fee? It’ll be a day to never forget, and the more they spend, the more they everyone will want to knock them off their perch.
Football is all about big games, and none will be bigger than this. With so many big names and big fees, it’s going to be brilliant for the other 23 clubs, especially the likes of us, Shrewsbury, Cambridge, Northampton, and that sort of size outfit. These games were once in a lifetime, and now they’re twice a season.
3 – It raises the standards
Klarer and Willumsson are top players, as are many of Birmingham’s signings. In bringing those players into League One, it raises the level for others. Ben House will surely relish going up against a defender who was playing against Kane last season. Sean Roughan’s game can only get better trying to manage a player from the top flight like Willumsson.
It also makes other players think twice. Currently A-star loans from the Premier League might be thinking that they want to play Championship, rather than League One, but this could help change their mind. If players from the Eredivisie are dropping into the division permanently, why would a young Premier League player not do the same for a year? Birmingham might be the big spenders, but it also applies to the likes of Bolton, who admitted putting four seven-figure bids in for players this summer.
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