Last week, Birmingham City made their second signing of the summer when they confirmed the arrival of Derby County defender Ryan Shotton for around £300,000 and after some of his performances at centre half last season with Michael Morrison, anyone will admit, we have one of the best pairings in the league now.
The former Stoke City player managed to keep three clean sheets in his first four games under Blues boss Gary Rowett and with those sort of stats in his back pocket, Rowett and Shotton will be hoping for a similar sort of return over the entire course of the 2016/17 Championship season.
Captain Morrison has been one of the most influential signings the club has made since our relegation from the Premier League in 2011 and with his leadership on and off the field being so impressive, it leaves you thinking, what happened at his old club Charlton Athletic for them to let him go?
Throughout the 2015/16 season, Morrison was a rock for Blues and despite having the odd shaking moment here and there during some games, overall, he was categorically one of our best players over the course of the 46 games in the league.
With Shotton and Morrison now set for an entire season together, you have to wonder, if the back five, that includes Tomasz Kuszczak, can stay strong and robust, surely we have to be there or there about at the end of the season. Yes, we may only get into the play-offs, but that would be a fantastic achievement especially if we get the right investment in January.
If the pair stay as strong as we know they can, I am wondering whether there will be many other partnerships that will be as close as theirs. Down below are the partnerships that I think will form for each club in the division and following on I will suggest which ones I think could match Shotton’s and Morrison’s for unity and togetherness.
Aston Villa – Micah Richards and Tommy Elphick.
Barnsley – Marc Roberts and Alfie Mawson.
Blackburn Rovers – Grant Hanley and Shane Duffy.
Brentford – Andreas Bjelland and Harlee Dean.
Brighton and Hove Albion – Lewis Dunk and Connor Goldson.
Bristol City – Aden Flint and Luke Ayling.
Burton Albion – Ben Turner and Damien McCrory.
Cardiff City – Sean Morrison and Bruno Ecuele Manga.
Derby County – Jason Shackell and Richard Keogh.
Fulham – Richard Stearman and Tim Ream.
Huddersfield – Christopher Schindler and Martin Cranie.
Ipswich Town – Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith.
Leeds United – Kyle Bartley and Sol Bamba.
Newcastle United – Chancel Mbemba and Jamaal Lascelles.
Norwich City – Russell Martin and Timm Klose.
Nottingham Forest – Matt Mills and Michael Mancienne.
Preston North End – Paul Huntington and Calum Woods.
Queens Park Rangers – Joel Lynch and Nedum Onuoha.
Reading – Paul McShane and Jake Cooper.
Rotherham United – Tom Thorpe and Greg Halford.
Sheffield Wednesday – Tom Lees and Glenn Loovens.
Wigan Athletic – Dan Burn and Donervon Daniels.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – Danny Batth and Mike Williamson.
Out of the 23 partnerships that have been listed, there are four that stand out to me as possibly the toughest anybody in the league will come up against next season.
Those four pairings are Villa’s, Brighton’s, Newcastle’s and Norwich’s. Out of those four teams, I personally think the Magpies have the strongest in the league, closely followed by the Seagulls and I think there will be stiff competition for the team who keeps the most clean sheets next year in the Championship.
When you compare Blues’ centre back pairing to the other 23 in the league, you have to admit that we do have a very solid duo that could potentially battle it out with the best in the league.
Blues fans, which team do you think has the best centre back pairing in the league? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below!
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