Meet the opposition | Birmingham City
As Swansea City prepare to host Birmingham City on the opening day of the 2023-24 season, we take a look at our visitors.
What’s their story?
Initially formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, the club became Small Heath and then Birmingham, before finally settling on its current name in 1943.
Small Heath are listed as one of the founding members of the Football League Second Division, and were the first champions of that league.
The Blues have played home matches at their St. Andrew’s ground for 116 years.
The highest league finish in the Blues 147-year history came in the 1955-56 season where they finished sixth in the First Division. They also reached the FA Cup final that year – their joint best performance in that competition, having also finished as runners-up 1931.
Birmingham are two-time winners of the EFL Cup (1963 and 2011) and were runners up in 2001. They are currently in their 13th straight season at Championship level, the longest continuous period of any club in the second tier this campaign.
How’s their form?
There’s plenty of optimism around St. Andrew’s ahead of the new campaign. The Midlands outfit have had a change of ownership in the summer and have made some shrewd additions to the squad.
The Blues have had a positive pre-season campaign with victories over Cheltenham Town, Northampton Town and La Liga 2 side FC Cartagena, followed by a narrow defeat to Peterborough United.
They began their pre-season schedule with The Arthur Cup, a match played between Solihull Moors and the Blues at St Andrew’s in memory of young Arthur Labinjo-Hughes which raised money for child protective services in Birmingham.
Who’s the gaffer?
John Eustace. The former Coventry City, Stoke City and Watford midfielder is heading into his second season as the Blues’ boss.
He began his coaching career with two years at Kidderminster Harriers before leaving to join Queens Park Rangers as an assistant manager under Steve McClaren.
Following McClaren’s departure, he retained his role under Mark Warburton and remained loyal to the former Brentford boss despite having opportunities to take on the lead job at other clubs.
However, he departed the London outfit following the appointment of Michael Beale as Rangers' boss, after Warburton's exit was confirmed at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
As a player, Eustace came through the ranks at Coventry and became a first-team player when the Sky Blues were in the top-flight.
Notable spells at Stoke, Watford and Derby followed in a career that took in just shy of 400 league appearances.
Who’s the captain?
Veteran goalkeeper John Ruddy started the 2023-24 pre-season campaign wearing the armband following the departure of Troy Deeney this summer.
However, since the permanent arrival of Dion Sanderson from Wolverhampton Wanderers in mid-July, it has been the centre back who has most often been named captain.
The 23-year-old defender came through the ranks at Wolves and had loans at Cardiff City, Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and two spells at the Blues before joining Birmingham City on a permanent basis in July.
Over those two spells at the Blues, he made over 54 appearances with the majority of those (34) coming last term. He was their seventh signing of the summer.
Despite being relatively young, Sanderson emerged as one of the vocal leaders at St Andrew’s last term and became a popular figure among the fans.
Ruddy, at 36 and with a wealth of experience, is the other natural candidate. He was key to the Blues survival fight last term and was voted players’ player of the year.
Who are the key men?
Ruddy brought a wealth of experience to a young, inexperienced Blues side last term and he was widely considered to be one of the best performing shot-stoppers in the league throughout 2022-23.
The former Premier League keeper, who had top-flight spells with Norwich City and Wolves, has surpassed 500 career appearances and is one of the candidates for captain this season.
Wales international Tyler Roberts was the first new face through the door at St Andrew’s this summer and his arrival was seen as a statement of intent from the Blues new owners.
The attacking player is versatile and was deployed as a forward, winger and number 10 at Elland Road, but is most likely to appear through the middle finding pockets and trying to get his side on the front foot.
A key figure in the Blues midfield, Juninho Bacuna, is another one to watch. Since arriving at St Andrew’s in January 2022, he has been an integral part of the Birmingham side and recorded a team-high six assists last term.
The combative 25-year-old picked up 12 yellow cards and one red card last season and Birmingham boss John Eustace has said that the Curaçao international makes his side more competitive and raises the standards for the rest of the squad.