Birmingham City announced on Sunday that both of the Spanish players that they had taken on tour with the club to Portugal have been signed. Both Agustin “Agus” Medina and Ivan Guzman have signed two year deals with the club, but 28 year old Guzman will be immediately loaned out to UE Cornella for the season.
Blues announced on Saturday the addition of Francisco “Paco” Herrera to the coaching staff at St Andrews. The 65-year-old comes to Birmingham City with a wealth of experience at clubs in Spain, along with a spell as assistant manager, chief analyst and scout for Rafa Benitez at Liverpool.
One of the focal points of the coverage of Blues’ return to pre-season training has been Jude Bellingham. The 15-year-old attacking midfielder has featured prominently in imagery and videos posted by the club on social media as they look to showcase their homegrown talent.
Garry Monk has been sacked as manager of Birmingham City Football Club. In an announcement made on the official website it was confirmed the 40-year-old manager had parted company with Blues in a decision the board of directors believes are in the best interests of the club.
On Thursday I tweeted that I, along with the guys from We Are Birmingham, had heard the relationship between manager Garry Monk and Ren Xuandong had become very fractious and that Monk’s continued role at the club has come into question.
Derby County escaped sanction under the EFL Profit and Sustainability Rules by selling their stadium to another company owned by their owner Mel Morris. The sale and subsequent long term lease back ensured that the Rams made a profit last season and did not fall foul of the rules in the same way Blues did. Should Blues do the same thing with St Andrew’s?
Birmingham City took another point towards confirming their Championship status for next season in a scrappy draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday. That draw leaves Blues in 18th place, six points clear of Rotherham in 22nd with four games remaining.
Statements made yesterday by Birmingham City and the EFL confirmed that neither the club nor the EFL will be appealing against the nine-point deduction laid down by the Disciplinary Commission in March. The EFL have also confirmed how Blues P&S calculation will be looked at for this year.
A well-fought 1-0 win over Leeds United ended Birmingham City’s run of defeats and pushed Blues into 17th spot above Queens Park Rangers. With six games left in the Championship season and five points separating Blues and Rotherham in 22nd place have Garry Monk’s men done enough to end fears of the dreaded “R” word?
The dust has now settled after the big news of Birmingham City being sanctioned with a nine-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules. The questions now have to be asked as to how Birmingham City got into the mess it did and how it can ensure it does not happen again.
