Though their paths crossed for a mere single campaign, the destinies of newly arrived Championship sides Birmingham City and Wrexham have become interestingly intertwined in the minds of English football enthusiasts.
Wrexham and their fellow promoted squad share several similarities. Both progressed from League One the previous season. Both boast prominent North American ownership with worldwide ambitions. Both aim to cultivate their expansion through investments in both infrastructure and the player transfer market.
They entered League One from opposing positions a year prior, but Birmingham’s descent and Wrexham’s ascent – their second consecutively – united two clubs exhibiting a developing rivalry on the pitch and similarly ambitious figures behind the scenes.
Are Birmingham finally getting it right?
Blues chairman and co-owner Tom Wagner could scarcely present a more contrasting figure than Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, yet he mirrors their aspiration to elevate an EFL club beyond the boundaries of the United Kingdom and into the Premier League.
Football clubs at all tiers issue comparable statements of purpose annually. Clubs at the lower levels of non-league mention the National League. Clubs marginally outside the National League discuss the EFL. It’s largely empty rhetoric.
Wrexham ascended from the National League to the Championship not by being clever underdogs, but by behaving like a major club and possessing the resources and insight to substantiate it. It’s likely the only feasible approach.
When NFL icon Tom Brady asserts that Wagner and his associates are “trying to make Birmingham City a world-class team,” it carries the aura of typical boasts from overly ambitious football club owners. Birmingham followers have grounds to be more distrustful than most.
Nevertheless, this instance might diverge. Brady and his minimal stake are a distraction, yet Birmingham’s actual proprietors have cleared a sequence of tacit reliability assessments since the Blues slipped into the third division for a gratefully brief and straightforward period.
An ‘exhilarating’ Wrexham-esque documentary series is even forthcoming. Prime Video will debut all five episodes of Built in Birmingham: Brady & The Blues on Friday, August 1, likely stirring the club’s long-suffering devotees before the commencement of a pivotal season.
Birmingham are backing up the talk for the first time in years
However, that’s merely a diversion. While Wrexham has structured their advancement on a related endeavor, Birmingham is chronicling a rise already in motion.
They proved dominant in the third tier and possess superior qualifications for the Championship compared to the North Walian outfit.
When FourFourTwo visited St Andrew’s – St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, to use its complete title – as the Blues progressed towards promotion last season, the perception of a club finally secure in its identity was unmistakable.
Such an impression doesn’t arise from discussions or intentions. It cannot be sparked even by the most well-meaning revitalization strategies. It transpires on the football field, where Birmingham holds an advantage over the Red Dragons and, seemingly, the means to advance even further.
The Blues have already enlisted eight new players this summer. Brighton & Hove Albion loanees James Beadle and Eiran Cashin provide enhanced squad depth, while Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Tommy Doyle arrives on loan with a noteworthy reputation.
Bright Osayi-Samuel and returning local talent Demarai Gray contribute higher-level expertise. Former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi could evolve into a prolific goal-scoring threat in the second tier.
Acquisitions of this nature only materialize with substantial financial capability, yet they also represent the efforts of former Blues and Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner, a promising technical director in the owners’ estimation, recognized with the director of football designation earlier this year.
While Gardner displays promise in a technical capacity, manager Chris Davies is undertaking one of football’s most demanding positions and executing it with apparent ease. In several aspects, this is indeed the case. This doesn’t diminish Davies’ impressive introduction to life in the managerial seat.
In FourFourTwo’s assessment, the 40-year-old represents a sharp and skilled strategist possessing comprehensive game knowledge, projecting himself with a complete, yet non-overbearing, assurance.
He proved capable of forging a team from an expensively constructed, talented group in 2024-25. Replicating this feat in the Championship presents a comparable challenge, complicated by heightened expectations and a greater degree of complexity.
Despite Wrexham’s ongoing upward trajectory in the spotlight, despite their exceptional transfer influence, despite the undeniable skills manager Phil Parkinson contributes to the dressing room, they’re likely to devote more time glancing upwards in the standings than they’ve become accustomed to.
With Wagner at the helm, Gardner in the central role, and Davies guiding the operation, the Red Dragons can anticipate Birmingham to be among the teams situated above them.
