Birmingham City’s academy has always been a conveyor belt of talent at St. Andrews.
Demarai Gray, Nathan Redmond and Jack Butland have all come through the ranks with The Blues. The jewel in the crown of the youth setup in the West Midlands is of course, Jude Bellingham. The Borussia Dortmund star already has 156 senior appearances to his name despite being just 19 years of age. The 17-time England international will represent the Three Lions at the FIFA World Cup this winter and oddschecker, which compares odds and provides free World Cup offers, has made Gareth Southgate’s side one of the favourites for glory in the desert.
The latest in the long line of young stars rising through the City’s youth setup is Worcestershire’s own George Hall. The 18-year-old featured just twice last term, but this season appears to be his breakthrough campaign. The Redditch-born star has featured 16 times for The Blues this term, starting on five occasions. He has even managed to chip in with an assist and a goal, which came in the 1-1 draw at home to recently relegated Watford. The highly reputable website Transfermarkt values the young central midfielder at £1.6m already, and that will only rise if Hall can continue to impress under manager John Eustace.
The Blues bounce back after a tough start
It looked as though a season of misery may have been on the cards for City this term. Despite picking up a win and a draw in their first two fixtures of the new Championship campaign, things came crashing down pretty quickly. Back-to-back defeats against newly promoted sides—firstly Wigan Athletic at home and then a particularly disappointing 2-0 defeat away at Rotherham United—left Eustace’s side fourth from bottom and only outside the drop zone on goal difference. Since then though, they have gone from strength to strength.
Their season really kicked into gear on September 14th with a trip to The Hawthorns to face local rivals West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies too were a side that were in disarray under the hapless Steve Bruce, and City certainly took advantage. The visitors were expected to get beat once again but a hat trick from striker Scott Hogan sent their travelling fans into raptures and ensured that they headed back home with a 3-2 victory under their belt as well as a massive three points.
Further positive results and performances were to follow. Back-to-back victories over Bristol City and Hull City, as well as impressive draws against high-flying Sheffield United and Burnley, saw The Blues rise up the table. Prior to Friday’s defeat away at Sunderland—a fixture in which the visitors would have moved into the playoffs with a victory—City were on a four-match unbeaten run, including two victories against Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City. The 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light however brought Eustace’s men back down to earth.
What can we expect of Hall and Birmingham throughout the rest of the campaign?
Thanks to the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, City won’t play again until December 10th when they travel to Blackpool in a fixture which is more than winnable. The Blues have further fixtures in the weeks following where they will be expecting to pick up three points.
Over the festive period, three of City’s four fixtures will take place at St Andrew’s. Reading, Hull City and Middlesbrough will all head to the West Midlands, and if the hosts can pick up a couple of wins, then they will definitely be in the playoff picture.
That in itself will be quite the achievement. Before the campaign began, City were earmarked as one of the favourites for relegation to League One. And after four defeats in their first seven, it looked like falling through the division’s trap door was a distinct possibility. But as things stand, The Blues sit in tenth place in the league table and have confounded their critics, who must currently be eating their words.
Article written by Peter D
