Birmingham City have been relegated back to the Championship after a two-year stay in the top flight under Alex McLeish. Coming on the back of their best ever finish last time out, the Blues came into the season with high hopes. Their main summer acquisitions were Manchester Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster, to make up for the loss of Joe Hart, and giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic, who was hoped to be the answer to Birmingham’s well documented offensive timidity. Otherwise, the Scot kept his faith on most of the side that had just secured Birmingham highest ever finish, particularly his rock-solid defence, with Johnson and Dann in the centre and Carr and Ridgewell at full backs. In midfield, n season-ending injury to playmaker James McFadden meant an early reorganisation with Craig Gardner coming in the starting line up alongside Ferguson with the solid Larsson, Bowyer and Fahey taking turns in the engine room. In the attack, the combination of Jerome and Zigic looked a powerful proposition at first but it never really clicked, with Jerome out of form and struggling with injury throughout the season and Zigic taking time to settle in. The Blues had a long steady slide down the table and were unable to wrestle their way out of trouble in the second half of the season. Injuries proved too much to handle in the end for Alex McLeish, who at one time had no less than 11 first team players out of action. By the turn of the year, the Blues had only found the net 18 times, with no away win and were in the drop zone for the first time since returning to the top flight. McLeish signed Obafemi Martins and David Bentley on loan in the January transfer window to improve his side going forward but it did little to change their fortunes. Worse still, the injury Scott Dann sustained in early January, which effectively ended his season, dramatically affected the Blues’ defensive solidity. With less than one goal scored per game over the season, the Blues were always reliant on their backline. Martin Jiranek came in central defence alongside Roger Johnson but 36 goals conceded in the final 18 games of the season tells it own story. When Zigic finally seemed to find his bearings in English football, the Serb fell victim to a groin injury which put a premature end to his season after Easter. The Blues’ win in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal at the end of February proved to be a poisoned chalice. They only won one game in the last 12 games of the season after that, with punishing injuries restricting McLeish’s options. However, the overriding feeling in the wake their last day defeat at White Hart Lane, which condemned them to relegation, will be one of devastation for the fans, but not of surprise for the neutrals.
