Football Season Review

A bleak season for Birmingham when their atrocious end to the campaign nearly saw them go down, failing to win any of their nine games after the restart. They had looked reasonable enough early on in the season with Pep Clotet bringing some fresh hope. But despite some initial early season optimism, it became clear that a bid for the play-offs was never realistic. Clotet had some good ideas but was never the most convincing of managers for the club. They had a disastrous last month when Clotet announced he would leave at the end of the campaign, while several players were also released to save money. That so nearly proved costly. Clotet was eventually sacked with Birmingham staying up more by luck than judgement. They really need to appoint a new manager quickly but off the field matters are unlikely to help. However, Birmingham did find Jude Bellingham, a teenager who excelled so much, he agreed to join Borussia Dortmund for £25 million at the end of the campaign - something which may well save Birmingham City financially. Bellingham had a good season with Ivan Sunjic also impressing in midfield while Scott Hogan's goals made him an excellent loan addition.

Player of the Season: Jude Bellingham