Can Tom Brady take Birmingham City back to the Premier League?

FT Desk

• 14 Sept 2023 13:00 BST
• 4 min read

There has been no shortage of mind-boggling takeovers in recent seasons. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund took over Newcastle United barely two years ago and immediately catapulted them back to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in two decades. American business mogul Todd Boehly bought Chelsea off of longtime owner Roman Abramovich last year and subsequently pumped £1bn into the club’s playing staff, however, the Blues still look like a shadow of their former selves.

Slightly further down the footballing pyramid, however, one of the stranger takeovers in the footballing world took place. Back in August, American football quarterback supreme Tom Brady acquired a minority share in championship side Birmingham City, and fans are already excited as to what the future may hold for the St. Andrews club. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has invested in a number of sports teams in recent years, including the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and Bluenoses will be hoping to follow in the Nevada franchise’s footsteps.

The Raiders got their new season underway in perfect fashion back on September 10th. Despite reliable NFL spreads making them a 29/20 underdog for their opening-day trip to the Denver Broncos, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo managed to steer the visitors to a narrow 17-16 victory. Birmingham have similarly been underdogs for a number of their matches so far this season however, they have been in scintillating form thus far, picking up three wins and two draws from their opening five fixtures.

Troubling Times

The last decade or so hasn’t been kind to fans of the Blues. Back in 2011, the club had its finest hour when a late Obafemi Martins strike secured a 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Wembley in the League Cup final, securing a spot in the UEFA Europa League for the first time in the club’s history in the process. Inexplicably however, they were relegated that same season following a 2-1 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur.

In the decade since City have never looked likely to secure a return to the Premier League. In fact, if anything, it looked as though they may well be moving in the opposite direction. In the last six seasons, the best finish they could achieve in the second tier is 17th, and the year before last, they narrowly avoided relegation after finishing way down in 20th.

This season however, with Brady on board, the future is suddenly looking bright. The club had a brilliant summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Oli Burke and Lee Buchanan from German outfit Werder Bremen, as well as securing the signatures of talented young players such as Dion Sanderson, Ethan Laird, Krystian Bielik, and Tyler Roberts. The result? A sensational start to the season.

Can They Build on Their Impressive Start to the Campaign?

The Blues stunned everybody on the second matchday of the 2023/24 season as they knocked off recently relegated Leeds United at St. Andrews courtesy of a last-gasp penalty from striker Lukas Jutkiewicz. Further victories would follow, firstly on the road at Bristol City where they would secure a 2-0 victory, before following that up with a 3-1 victory at home to newly promoted Plymouth Argyle. In their most recent outing, they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Millwall however, their early season form has seen them rise to fourth place in the Championship standings.

So far, their success has been built on a staunch defence. They have only conceded three goals in their opening five fixtures, the joint-lowest in the division alongside early league leaders Preston North End. Last season, however, it wasn’t their defence that was the problem, it was their attack. Only five teams scored fewer than Brum’s 47 goals last season, and two of those teams were relegated.

So far this season, they have netted seven goals, which is par for the course and as long as their defence remains water-tight as it currently is, that shouldn’t be an issue. However, should they begin to ship more goals, they will need the likes of the aforementioned Jutkiewicz, as well as Scott Hogan, Sam Cosgrove, and impressive Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield to start finding the back of the net with more regularity.

The Championship Remains as Unpredictable as Ever

The second tier of English football has long been considered as the most competitive league in European football, and this season, it looks like that will continue to be the case. At present, Preston are the league leaders, a team who have only known midtable mediocrity in recent years. They are joined at the division’s summit by newly promoted Ipswich Town, who are looking to make it back-to-back promotions this season.

Of the recently relegated sides, Leicester City are currently positioned highest, sitting pretty in third after winning four of their first five. Southampton are currently seventh, while Leeds are way down in 15th. Norwich City had looked to be the early pacesetters however, they slipped to a 2-1 defeat away at lowly Rotherham in their most recent outing, and Birmingham will be looking to avoid any similar banana skins as the season progresses.