The Gary Rowett Conundrum

This is where we are. And I`m not having comments that ‘we`ve spent money` because in half a decade, Blues have spent £4m in the transfer market. Yes, finances have slightly improved, but the budget is still pittance when compared to other Championship clubs.

‘But Burnley didn`t spend any money and they went up`. Excuse me? How much did Andre Gray cost? More than the entire Blues squad – more than Birmingham City have EVER paid for a player.

‘But we should be challenging for the play-offs`. Really? Our team, on paper, should be nearer the bottom than the top. It is because of Gary Rowett that we are not fighting relegation and, as a result, expectations have increased and have become too high.

Rowett isn`t without his faults. I found the introduction of Robert Tesche in place of Che Adams strange. Not because Adams should have stayed on – he was quite visibly knackered – but because perhaps a more attack minded player should have come on to try and turn the game round.

Tesche was bought on to stop Wolves running through our midfield which they did at a canter. The German midfielder was stripped off and waiting to come on before Wolves` second goal. At that time, it would have made sense. But as soon as Danny Batth scored to put the Dingles ahead, Tesche should have been told to sit back down.

But it’s easy from the stands to shout ‘play two up front’. That really worked against Oxford didn’t it?

Anyway – the strange atmosphere at St. Andrews and the hostility towards Rowett all comes because of too much expectation. Ok, Rowett could be more forward thinking in the way he sets his team out. But are we really berating a manager who saved us from relegation (an over achievement) and led us to two 10th placed finishes (two over achievements) on the feeble budget available to him? Are we knocking a manager for not turning Blues into certain play-off contenders in just a season and a half? If so, you need to speak to Sheffield Wednesday fans, Leeds fans, Forest fans, Derby fans, Brighton fans, among others, about how difficult it is to get out of this league.

I will repeat what I said last season. If teams in the Championship finished in order of the amount of money they had spent, Blues would have been 20th last season. This season we`d be looking somewhere in the region of 16th.

Berate the manager all you want. But remember, you berated the manager before him too. Isn`t that what Villa so famously do?