Birmingham City Warned by Former English Star
Birmingham City has been forewarned by former England international Alvin Martin that they will “lose an absolute fortune” should they be demoted to League One.
On Saturday, Blues traveled to Huddersfield Town, another struggling team, hoping to improve their chances of surviving in the Championship with three points.
However, they were only able to draw 1-1, which puts them in the drop zone. In order to have a chance of staying in the division, they will need to defeat Norwich City at home the following weekend.
While observing, former West Ham United and England defender Martin said that, considering the caliber of Birmingham’s team, he is astonished that the team is in this situation.
Although he thinks the Blues are doing well, he issued a warning, saying that if they are demoted, they would suffer significant losses and it will be uncertain what will happen to them going forward.
“You look at Birmingham and you wonder why they are where they are,” Martin stated on talkSPORT’s GameDay Live following the Huddersfield match.
They may require a center-forward; Jay Stansfield, a young player who was playing up front today, has skill, but he struggles to hold the ball up.
“Yet they have a lot going for them, and it’s clear that with the new owners in place, the focus will be on sticking around and making more investments in the squad for the upcoming campaign.
However, you have to question what will happen to Birmingham in the long run if things don’t work out for them the next week.
“Having the money is fine, but they will lose a huge amount of money in League One.”
Before Birmingham’s owners fired John Eustace as manager and appointed Wayne Rooney, who served as interim manager until January, the team was doing well early in the season.
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Former Hull City, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Derby County West Brom and Leicester City defender Curtis Davies will retire at the age of 39.
The center-half arrived from Derby County on a one-year contract last summer and has played for Cheltenham Town for one season.
After playing football for more than 20 years, Curtis Davies is probably going to announce his retirement.
Darrell Clarke, the manager of Cheltenham Town, expressed this opinion shortly after the Robins’ 2-1 loss at Stevenage on the last day of the season, which doomed them to relegation from League One.
After the final whistle, the team’s oldest-ever EFL player, Davies, spoke to a dejected team in the changing room. Clarke added, “Curtis has just spoken and what a warrior he is.” I’m sure he’ll end the day now, but wow, what a guy.
“He said it was a privilege to play with these boys, for their resilience this season and he doesn’t mince his words, so that’s credit to the boys – they’ve had a response from a proper warrior.”
Davies had been left out of the starting lineup for two games before Clarke took over at the end of September, but the new manager swiftly brought him back in.
Davies was sent off in Clarke’s first game as manager—a 2-0 loss at home to Fleetwood—but he has been a lock for much of the season, leading by example in terms of his demeanor and professionalism.
“We just had to find a way to get Curtis Davies into the team because he defends his box so well and attacks the opposition box so well too,” Clarke stated.
“He wasn’t playing when I initially arrived, but he is a fierce player.
“He has his limitations because he’s 39 now and his legs aren’t as fresh as they used to be, but what a guy.”
Davies has played for Luton Town, West Brom, Leicester City, Birmingham, Hull, and Derby County in the Championship as well as Aston Villa, Birmingham City, and Hull City in the Premier League.
During his time at Cheltenham, the former England Under-21 international achieved a lifelong goal by earning his first cap for Sierra Leone.
Born in London, Davies was a scholar at Luton Town before helping Luton win the League One championship in 2004–05. In 2016, he played for Steve Bruce’s Hull squad, which made it to the Premier League through the play-offs.
In the 2014 FA Cup final at Wembley, which the Gunners won after extra time, he had also scored for Hull against Arsenal.
His lone goal in 38 Cheltenham appearances came in a 2-1 victory at Burton Albion, meaning the fight to stay alive went down to the very last minute.
