Birmingham City has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent months. Over 20,000 season tickets have already been sold for the upcoming Championship campaign, and a further 14,000 supporters are waiting on the list. The area around St Andrew's is now dotted with fan parks, and the atmosphere around the ground is electric. The club’s leadership has laid out ambitious plans to re‑establish a strong link between England’s second‑largest city and the football team that carries its name, aiming to unlock the full potential of both.
Supporter groups are sprouting up across the globe, a development largely driven by the arrival of Tom Brady, and the prevailing narrative is that the Blues are gearing up to be ready for a return to the Premier League. In this environment of high expectations, an ambitious ownership group and a fanbase that has been starved of success, it is easy to understand why Birmingham City feels a sense of urgency.
Excitement inevitably breeds expectation, not only among the club’s internal staff but also among pundits, journalists and rival supporters. There is a palpable feeling that the club is on an upward trajectory, yet the reality is that building a sustainable, top‑flight side takes time. Looking back, last season may have been less about losing momentum and more about giving the organization a chance to catch its breath. To put the recent performance in perspective, one has to travel back to the 2011‑12 season, when Birmingham were competing in European competition—a far better achievement than the 10th‑place finish recorded in the 2025‑26 campaign.
"It was our first season back, which people found hard to remember at times," Birmingham manager Chris Davies told Sky Sports ahead of the opening league fixture against Sheffield United. He was not referring to the supporters—"they have been great"—but to everyone involved in the club’s ecosystem. Davies carries a heavy load of hopes and aspirations on his shoulders.
"One thing I learned is that I can handle it," he continued. "I can manage the highs and the lows." The lows were relatively few, as Birmingham clinched the League One title with a record‑breaking 111 points, their possession‑based brand of football proving utterly dominant. The step up to the Championship proved far more demanding. "You can read about the Championship, but experiencing it is something else entirely," Davies admitted.
The second tier of English football posed different questions, and his initial game plan—what he calls Plan A—only worked intermittently. "We came up from League One playing total football, maintaining around 80 % possession, constantly circulating the ball and dominating play. That approach worked brilliantly because we controlled matches for the majority of the time," he explained. "In the Championship we tried to stay true to that philosophy by recruiting technically skilled, smaller players, but there were matches where we simply lacked the physical punch, especially away from home." In that light, opening the season with a gritty Carabao Cup victory over Swansea—where Birmingham held just 39 % of possession but still scored the decisive goal—was more than a morale boost.
It hinted that the Blues have begun to add new dimensions to their style of play. The scorer, August Priske, is a robust 22‑year‑old Danish target man who joined in January and appears to have thrived during his half‑season in the Championship.
He also found the net against Barcelona at a packed St Andrew’s last month, further endearing himself to the fanbase. "Jhon Solis, Carlos Vicente and August arrived at the same time, and the six months they have had together have been their initiation into English football and the rigours of the Championship.
They are now ready to go and have performed admirably," Davies said. Vicente, a combative Spanish winger, supplied the assist for Priske’s goal at Swansea, while Solis—already a fan favourite after his strike against Barcelona—adds a physical presence in midfield that complements Priske’s aerial threat up front. "When I looked back on the season, I realised that to take the next step we need to improve our physicality. Modern football demands relentless man‑to‑man pressing and a strong emphasis on set‑pieces.
You need the stamina and strength to cope with that," Davies explained. That insight has shaped the club’s summer transfer strategy. In addition to the winter signings, Birmingham have secured centre‑back Dael Fry, a 6‑ft‑4‑in defender with close to 300 Championship appearances.
The expectation is that his experience will help the side adapt quickly to a more balanced approach. Davies is not looking to overhaul the identity that he has built, but rather to add layers to it. "When a team can keep the ball, it is easier to switch to a more pragmatic or direct style if needed, rather than being a side that only knows how to play pragmatically," he noted. The shift towards a more direct approach began toward the end of last season.
In mid‑April Birmingham were sitting in 17th place, but Davies used the brief international break to tweak the team’s shape, encouraging quicker transitions and a greater focus on set‑pieces. "I started thinking about being a little more flexible with our shape and positioning, emphasizing direct play, transitions and set‑pieces where possible. That’s how we finished the season," he said. The changes paid off: Birmingham closed the campaign on a five‑game unbeaten run, securing a respectable top‑10 finish and carrying renewed belief into the summer.
"It’s a delicate balance because we don’t want to lose what we are good at. Pressing remains a key weapon for us, and I think we didn’t see any other Championship side that could match the consistency of our press last season. It was very effective," Davies observed.
He added that once the team wins the ball back, they will look to accelerate forward more quickly and aim to win a higher proportion of set‑piece opportunities. To that end, Birmingham have appointed specialist set‑piece coach Scott Fry. Davies believes that dead‑ball situations are a clear avenue for turning the Blues into genuine promotion contenders. Solis scored from a set‑piece against Barcelona, and Priske’s winner versus Swansea came after a dead‑ball routine that saw Vicente deliver a perfect cross.
The emphasis on set‑pieces is already bearing fruit, and Davies is crunching the numbers. "We have a set‑piece coach because we need to score more from them. Last season we needed around 70 goals to be among the top teams; we managed 57. If we can add six or seven from set‑pieces and a couple from quick counters, we only need a handful more from open play.
It’s absolutely achievable," he explained. The sentiment around the club is one of optimism. Players now have a full season of Championship experience under their belts, understanding the challenges of away fixtures at places like Millwall.
At the training ground, Davies has stripped away the buzzwords that once adorned the walls, opting for a leaner, more focused mindset. Craig Gardner has departed as director of football, but the club has downplayed the impact, relying on the seasoned Mike Rigg to maintain continuity. Commercially, Birmingham continues to grow, boasting the highest revenue of any Championship club without relying on parachute payments.
Having weathered a period of turbulence and now stabilising, the next chapter awaits Birmingham City. The consensus among players, staff and supporters is that the club is ready to take the next step.
"I am confident that we can keep progressing. That is the big thing," Davies concluded.
"We just need to keep moving forward, getting stronger and staying true to the principles that have brought us this far."