Alex Neil: My take on the front-runner for the Birmingham City job
With the fast-changing nature of football, this piece could become outdated very quickly. Especially when it comes to Birmingham City. A club with a very fast-changing nature over the last year.
Sad Mowbray news
Yesterday, it was announced that Tony Mowbray would be stepping down from his managerial duties at Blues to focus on his health.
‘Mogga’ was only in charge at Birmingham for eight games, four of which he won. Mowbray came across as a gentleman in all of his interviews and could’ve been the man to propel Birmingham up the Championship. But unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. So my best wishes go out to Mowbray and his family for a speedy recovery.
How the media view the situation
In short, Simon Jordan told me yesterday on talkSPORT that Birmingham’s situation is a car crash.
While he’s not too far from the truth for matters on the pitch, there’s still optimism off the pitch.
I believe the club is in good hands, as do the vast majority of Blues fans.
The trajectory of the club has taken a downward detour because of relegation, but now is the time to look forward, learn from the mistakes of last season, and make the choices that are going to get Birmingham back into the Championship.
Here’s my take on the frontrunner for the Blues job, and how I think he would fare in the madhouse.
Is Alex Neil the real deal?
So, this is a developing story at the time of writing this article.
It had emerged in the afternoon that Alex Neil has held talks with the club over the vacant manager’s position at Birmingham.
With this name, I think it’s important for Blues fans to recognise the position we’re in. We are a League One club. And yes, of course, we are a big club, but a League One club nevertheless.
Blues don’t have the pull to attract a lot of the names being listed as the favourites by the bookmakers. Liam Rosenior, Scott Parker, Frank Lampard and Will Still are unlikely to join Birmingham because of the teams they’ve managed in the past, meaning they’ll be holding out for jobs higher in the English football pyramid.
Neil is a manager with bags of experience in the EFL. He has three promotions to his name. He’s an understandable candidate for the task at hand. And while I do understand the thoughts of some fans saying it’s not an exciting appointment, it’s an appointment that would give me hope that the club can get out of League One at the first time of asking.
It’s a U-turn from the board in terms of the style of football. Neil is not known for an expansive brand of football. However, this adapted approach shows a bit of realism from the board, recognising the situation we’re in and willing to appoint a manager who has the credentials and experience to get a team promoted from League One. If only some of these decision-makers had been this realistic when we were in the top six last season…
What players is he familiar with?
Neil was the Sunderland boss two years ago, navigating the Black Cats through the play-offs to get promoted.
In that team was a current Birmingham player, Alex Pritchard.
Pritchard was signed by Mowbray on Deadline Day in January. He only got to play under Mowbray at Birmingham once. Mowbray replaced Neil at Sunderland two years ago, but the opposite might be about to happen.
With Neil’s knowledge of the EFL, you would back him to identify transfer targets that would be suited to the Birmingham’s style of play and the rigorous schedule of a League One season.
It wouldn’t be a glamorous appointment and I am not all for the idea, but I understand the decision.
Everything that’s aligning
It is worth mentioning some of the pieces that are falling into place regarding background information.
Birmingham’s Head of Recruitment Frank McPartland looks to be on his way out of the club, and Stoke’s Head of Scouting Jared Dublin has just departed the club.
Neil worked with Dublin at Stoke during the 2023/24 season, so maybe there’s something in that? It’s a long shot, but with football in today’s climate, you never know how far clubs may think ahead.
Overall, I’m not against the idea of Alex Neil becoming the next Birmingham City manager. However, I can’t see this being a long-term thing because of issues that could arise over the style of play, as seen before with the board. They are looking for someone with the primary target in mind of getting out of League One. And as long as Birmingham earn promotion next season, I don’t mind who the manager is.
