Birmingham City have now failed to finish in the top-half of the Championship table for six-straight seasons, so where are Gary Rowett’s side that last secured a top-half result now?
The Blues enter the final weekend of the 2021/22 season 20th in the table and can only go potentially as high as 18th by beating Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. They had finished last term in 18th-place, following 20th, 17th and two 19th-places since Rowett’s 2015/16 side.
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Rowett orchestrated the St Andrew’s natives’ joint-best finish since Birmingham last made the play-offs in 2011/12 in fourth. Chris Hughton could not secure an instant return to the Premier League that term, with Blackpool edging a 3-2 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.
Play-off football has continually stayed out of the Blues’ reach side Hughton’s side fell just short. Birmingham’s best Championship results since 2012 have seen the club finish 10th in 2014/15 and again in ‘15/16. They also finished in 12th-place during the ‘12/13 season.
So, six years on from their last top-half finish, where are the Birmingham side that Rowett led to a 10th-place finish in the Championship standings during the 2015/16 season now?
Tomasz Kuszczak – Rowett’s goalkeeper now retired after Birmingham spell
Tomasz Kuszczak guarded the Birmingham net in 41 of their 46 games on route to finishing 10th under Rowett in 2015/16. The 11-cap Poland international registered 15 clean sheets over his outings. But Adam Legzdins briefly took over during five of their last seven games.
The Blues had signed Kuszczak in 2015 after his brief spell with Wolves, after his release by Brighton in 2014. The goalkeeper would spend four seasons at St Andrew’s before retiring in 2019, boasting a career 92 games with the Second City side – more than any other club.
Paul Caddis – Ex-Birmingham right-back now retired after Swindon spell
Birmingham moved to retain Paul Caddis in 2013 after spending the previous term on loan at the club. He would remain at St Andrew’s until 2017, and featured in 40 games for four goals and an assist in Rowett’s squad that ended the 2015/16 Championship term in 10th.
Caddis would go on to play for Bury following his release by the Blues in January 2017, plus Blackburn and Bradford. He also returned to Swindon Town in 2019, having left the County Ground for Birmingham, and the one-cap Scotland international is now retired since 2021.
Michael Morrison – Reading now reaping rewards of Rowett’s Birmingham defender
Michael Morrison’s Birmingham career initially began on loan from Charlton Athletic and is now plying his trade at Reading. The Blues retained the centre-half with a permanent deal in 2015 and kept hold of his services until the Royals came calling in the summer of 2019.
Reading face decision time on the 34-year-old’s future now, though, with his contract up in June. Morrison has played 28 games so far this season after returning from a lengthy knee injury. He also captained Rowett’s side across 46 second-tier appearances during 2015/16.
Paul Robinson – Ex-Birmingham defender now Rowett’s assistant at Millwall
Rowett clearly thought highly of Paul Robinson from their time together at Birmingham as the former Blues defender – who played 25 games in 2015/16 – is now his assistant coach at Millwall since last July after leaving his position as the St Andrew’s side’s U18 manager.
Robinson ended his playing career in 2018 before accepting an academy role at the West Midlands outfit. His time in the Second City saw the centre-back play 175 games across all competitions after joining in 2012 following Bolton’s decision to release him that summer.
Jonathan Grounds – Exeter add defender from Swindon after Birmingham exit
Jonathan Grounds started each of his 45 appearances under Rowett for Birmingham in the 2015/16 Championship term. He is now plying his trade in League Two at Exeter City after moving to St James’ Park from Swindon in July, just eight-months after he left St Andrew’s.
The Blues allowed Grounds to join Swindon in September 2020 and he proved a regular at the County Ground. He made 31 appearances in League One, and has so far featured in 14 fourth-tier matches with Exeter as they fight Forest Green Rovers for the League Two title.
Stephen Gleeson – Ex-Ireland international now semi-pro with Hitchin Town
Stephen Gleeson spent four years at Birmingham between joining from MK Dons in 2014 and joining Ipswich Town in 2018. He amassed 125 appearances for the Blues, including a starting role in 42 Championship matches under Rowett during the 2015/16 campaign.
The four-cap Republic of Ireland international provided five goals and three assists on way to finishing 10th six years ago. He would later enjoy spells at Aberdeen, Solihull Moors and Hemel Hampstead and Southern League Premier Division Central Hitchin Town since 2021.
Maikel Kieftenbeld – Rowett reunion at Millwall for former Birmingham man
Rowett raided FC Groningen with Birmingham to sign Maikel Kieftenbeld for a mere €250k (£215k) ahead of the 2015/16 Championship season, and he is now back with the five-cap Netherlands international at Millwall after returning to raid St Andrew’s in January 2021.
Kieftenbeld made 183 appearances across all competitions for the Blues during his time in the Second City. The defensive midfielder also offered six goals and four assists, but is yet to open his Millwall account. Rowett has fielded the 31-year-old 39 times with the Lions.
David Cotterill – Ex-Birmingham winger now seeking fourth club since exit
Former Birmingham winger David Cotterill is now seeking his fourth club since leaving the West Midlands in 2018. The 24-cap Wales ace left Doncaster Rovers for St Andrew’s in July 2014, and has since played in India for ATK, plus Welsh outfits Barry Town and Newtown.
But Cotterill left Newtown in January 2022 and is yet to join a new club at 34-years-old. He played more often for Birmingham than any other club in his career with 108 appearances. Of those outings, 28 came in the 2015/16 second-tier season for four goals and six assists.
Jon Toral – Spaniard soaking up Super League at Crete after second Birmingham spell
Jon Toral spent the 2015/16 Championship season with Birmingham and helped Rowett secure the Blues’ last top-half finish on loan from Arsenal. The Spaniard later returned to St Andrew’s for another season in 2020/21, before joining Greek Super League side Crete.
He never made a senior appearance for Arsenal and also enjoyed loan spells with Granada and Rangers before joining Hull City in 2017. Yet his Second City return saw the 27-year-old reach 56 appearances for the Blues – matching the figure he had set with the Tigers.
Jacques Maghoma – Rowett’s winger now tackling Non-League football with Hemel
Jacques Maghoma was a key part of Rowett’s side that secured Birmingham’s last top-half Championship finish in 2015/16, and is now playing in the National League South at Hemel after a brief spell at Northern Premier League Division One Midlands side Spalding United.
The winger returned to England with Spalding in July 2021 after trying his hand in India at East Bengal. Maghoma joined the Indian Super League side from Birmingham in October 2020, with whom he played 180 games for – including 40 during the ‘15/16 league season.
Clayton Donaldson – Rowett’s Birmingham top-scorer now firing York to play-offs
York City could end the season with promotion into the fifth-tier as they will end the term in the National League North play-off positions. Rowett’s main striker from Birmingham’s last top-half Championship finish, Clayton Donaldson, could also be a key reason why they do.
Donaldson joined York last summer and has been a regular part of their promotion-chasing side. The 38-year-old’s career has taken him to the sixth-tier following stints with Sheffield United, Bolton and Bradford since leaving Birmingham for Bramall Lane in August 2017.
The 10-cap Jamaica star made 117 appearances across all competitions during his time at St Andrew’s. Of his appearances, Donaldson made 40 in the 2015/16 Championship term to help claim Birmingham’s last top-half finish under Rowett with 11 goals and 11 assists.
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