Birmingham City: A football financial specialist issues a caution in light of both on-and off-field events
Birmingham City has been cautioned by Dr. Rob Wilson about the consequences of being demoted to League One.
Dr. Rob Wilson, an economist from Sheffield Business School and an expert in football finance, has warned Birmingham City after they were demoted.
The Blues had a turbulent season as they were dropped into League One on the last day of play.
Their most recent match, a 1-0 victory over Norwich City, proved insufficient to close the gap with their competitors because each of them won their own games.
The Midlands team, who haven’t participated in the third division since 1995, will now be getting ready for life there.
Tom Wagner, the club’s new owner, will be eager to make sure the team competes for promotion back to the Championship the following season.
A football financial specialist cautions Birmingham City
Dr. Wilson has cautioned Birmingham that their financial status will deteriorate the longer it takes them to receive a promotion.
He thinks that in order to justify and finance any plans to build a new stadium, the team needs to compete well in order to draw larger crowds.
Dr. Wilson told Football League World via OLBG that “there will be an exponential amount of damage done to Birmingham City’s plans if they don’t bounce back from relegation at the first attempt.”
“The damage is limited if they recover.
“Of course, their earnings will decrease, but it will only be by about five or six million from the Championship into League One.
That being said, they must produce bums on seats—a result of strong sporting events—if they intend to construct a new stadium.
“Bums on chairs is not a formula for the kind of sporting predicament that they’re in right now.
“What they must do is start strong in League One and win all of their games between September and Christmas.
“If that occurs, the football team’s attendance will soar, and a promotion will set them on an even higher trajectory.”
Birmingham City’s challenging Championship run
Birmingham City record set by Wayne Rooney (transfermarkt.com for all competitions)
Games
triumphs
Pulls
Diminished Values
W%
15
2.
4
9.
13.33
In October, John Eustace was fired as manager of Birmingham, which was ranked sixth in the Championship table.
Wayne Rooney’s terrible appointment marked the start of the team’s decline in the standings.
Gary Rowett took over in the dugout in February when Tony Mowbray, who had succeeded Rooney in January, took a sick leave.
Due to Rowett’s inability to keep the Blues out of the bottom three, Birmingham, Rotherham United, and Huddersfield Town were all demoted.
Birmingham faces a pivotal summer ahead.
Birmingham has to assemble a club that can compete for the top spot again, thus they will need to be active in the transfer market this summer.
The new owners’ terrible first year has been greatly exacerbated by their lack of football industry knowledge.
Wagner must take responsibility for his errors and choose the appropriate individuals to handle crucial behind-the-scenes decision-making.
Although it’s evident that the US investor has high hopes for the team, a string of bad choices have ended up being very expensive, and relegation might now put them back several years unless they can get promoted on their first try.
