Blues have seen many players come and go at St Andrew’s this century and we a look at some of their most underrated present and former first-teamers.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Under Tom Wagner, Birmingham City could now be set to enjoy a much brighter future.
BSHL didn’t command the fanbase’s support and with that, a change of ownership was arguably needed to get the club back on the right track.
Now they have a new custodian, they can make a fresh start and Wagner has been able to make a good start to life at St Andrew’s because of a couple of sales and the revenue they generated from Jude Bellingham’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid.
With the money they have brought in, Wagner has been able to make plenty of permanent additions during the summer window and this is a real positive for Birmingham as they look to build for the future.
The fact they couldn’t keep hold of Jobe Bellingham is a shame – but they have plenty of other promising young players who can step up to the plate now and develop in the Midlands.
Some will impress, some will disappoint and others will go under the radar.
Speaking of players going under the radar, Football League World’s Birmingham City fan pundit Mike Gibbs has listed who he believes are the eight most underrated Blues players of this century.
He may have started his playing days at Charlton Athletic – but the keeper kickstarted his career north of the border at Motherwell before joining Birmingham in 2013.
Joining the club on a free transfer, Randolph proved to be a shrewd acquisition and was one of the first names on the teamsheet throughout his two-year spell at St Andrew’s.
The only regret Birmingham may have is the fact they were unable to generate a fee for him, with the Irishman joining West Ham United on a free transfer in 2015 after his two-year contract had expired.
He now plies his trade for AFC Bournemouth, but it remains to be seen whether the Cherries will extend his deal beyond next summer.
Colin is unlucky because he represented Birmingham during an unsuccessful time for the club.
Big things were expected from him after he joined from Brentford and although he didn’t always grab the headlines, the Frenchman was extremely versatile as a player that could operate in central defence, at full-back and at wing-back.
Leaving the club when his contract expired earlier this summer, he has since returned to his home nation to link up with Metz.
Even if he had been a free agent now, a return to St Andrew’s wouldn’t have been likely considering Blues have Cody Drameh and Ethan Laird as options on the right-hand side.
And they also have a respectable number of options at centre-back.
Carsely spent time at Blues during the back end of his career and even during his time at St Andrew’s, he certainly knew how to take care of himself and be aggressive in the middle of the park.
The key advantage he had coming to Birmingham is the experience he had under his belt, playing regularly for Derby County, doing extremely well at Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City before spending six years at Everton.
The midfielder already achieved a lot before his move to Blues, but helped the Midlands club secure promotion back to the Premier League during his first campaign there and spent two years there in total.
He ended his professional career back at Coventry and has since gone into coaching, with the 49-year-old now the England U21 manager.
It’s a shame that Clemence ended his playing career at a reasonably early age, but he still achieved a great deal, playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham and Leicester City.
He joined Blues when they were in the top flight and suffered relegation to the Championship – but managed to score four goals in 34 league appearances as he helped Blues to get back to the top tier at the first time of asking during his final campaign at St Andrew’s.
Clemence is perhaps best known for working as a coach now, working alongside Steve Bruce on numerous occasions.
Many defenders often go until the radar and Cunningham was no different.
Not only was he a fine servant for Birmingham, he also spent long periods at Millwall and Wimbledon.
He also made a real impact at a senior international level for the Republic of Ireland, making 72 appearances.
It’s just a shame his time at Blues didn’t end on a more positive note, with Cunningham’s comments in the press causing a storm during the latter stages of his spell at St Andrew’s.
Taylor should be regarded as a real icon of the noughties for Blues.https://fulltimesport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/maxresdefault-2.jpg
Proving to be reliable between the sticks, he was unlucky to lose his starting spot and can’t blame himself for that considering Joe Hart and Ben Foster spent time with the Midlands side during the latter stages of his time at St Andrew’s.
He may not have made too many more professional appearances following the end of his time at Birmingham, but he was nearly 40 at the time of his departure and did well for Fulham before he arrived at St Andrew’s.
The shot-stopper was also heavily involved in the Northern Ireland international setup during his career and has passed on his wisdom after going into coaching. He is now Blues’ goalkeeping coach.
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