GARRY MONK
KEITH DIXON EXAMINES HOW MANAGER GARRY MONK HAS GOT BIRMINGHAM CITY BACK ON AN EVEN KEEL...
Praise for the Blues boss
ON THE last day of the season, it was the first time in three years Birmingham City had not been fighting for their Championship survival. Despite the deduction of nine points by the EFL for breaking spending rules, the Blues secured their place in football’s second tier on Easter Monday with a 3-1 win away at Rotherham United.
This was followed by two drab draws against Wigan and Reading - but we Bluenoses are loving the lack of excitement.
It is all down to one man - and that is Garry Monk. In 2018, we were 22nd in the league with nine games left to play when he took charge at St Andrew’s.
As any Bluenose will tell you, our per
formance this season has been remarkable. We have finished in 17th position, 12 points away from the relegation places and are the only side in the bottom half to have a positive goal difference.
I know this is clutching at straws but this is being a Birmingham City fan! Here’s another straw to grasp – adding back the deducted nine points, we would have finished 14th.
Monk has taken a group of players that he inherited and moulded them into a team that clearly wants to do its best. As a fan, you may think that’s not too much to ask, but we never had that at St Andrew’s under the regimes of Gianfranco Zola, Harry Redknapp and Steve Cotterill.
Monk’s focus has been exceptional as he trimmed the squad he inherited from Cotterill, clearly assessing whether each player matched his qualities for hard work and dedication to his game management methods. Goalkeepers Tomasz Kuszczak and the overrated, overvalued David Stockdale were removed from the first-team squad, although still on the payroll, to be replaced by the free transfer Lee Camp, who is unorthodox in his approach but an
effective shot stopper. The disappointing Jonathan Grounds was replaced by Kristian Pedersen, our only signing who cost money.
At the same time as Pedersen’s signing, we had to submit information for the three year period 2015-2018 regarding the League’s Profitability and Sustainabilty (P&S) rules.
The EFL determined that Blues had recorded losses in excess of the permitted amounts and the case was referred to a disciplinary commission. This meant we had to adhere to a business plan imposed by the EFL.
The business plan allowed the registration of Pedersen plus five further additions if required.
The further additions included the successful loan/free signings of Camp, Connor Mahoney, Kerim Mrabti and Gary Gardner.
Monk and his management team have put on the pitch for every game 11 players who are fit, know their roles in the side, give 100 per cent and want to work for each other. They are clearly maximising what talent they have in the ranks.
Look at the statistics:
We had two strikers who had scored ten goals each by Christmas – a modern day record. Che Adams finished the season with 22 goals supported by Lukas Jutkiewicz’s 14 – a testimony to the effectiveness of Monk’s striker coach James Beattie.
Over the past 12 months, there has been an increase in turnover from £17.25m to £18.8m accompanied by a related increase in attendances from 18,650 to 21,042.
Once again, this is down to Monk. He gives what the Bluenoses want – commitment from 11 shirts!
His approach seems simple. Play players in their position – Jota has been a revelation since given the right-sided midfield role for which we paid Brentford £6m.
Another great thing about Monk is that his post-match comments are those with which the fans can identify. It’s as if he was at the same match as us!
You might think this is another straw for grasping but compare this to the meanderings of Cotterill, never better evidenced by his post-match comments after we lost away to Aston Villa in February 2018.
“We lost the game because the occasion got to the younger players,” he said.
The reality was that only one member of the squad was under 24 years of age! Madness - even for Blues.
Off the pitch, it is the usual story for Birmingham City – organised chaos.
The investigation by the EFL for breaching Fair Play regulations resulted in the deduction of nine points which, thank God, we did not appeal against! It could have been so much worse.
Five senior members of the management team left the club without obviously being replaced.
Our annual accounts for 2017/18 show a loss of £37.5m, an increase of over £20m on the previous year when our losses were a mere £16.4m.
The majority of the increase in the operating loss is due to the costs incurred in the summer of 2017 by Redknapp.
He made 12 signings of different complexions of which only Jota, Maxime Colin, Harlee Dean and Marc Roberts have proved their worth at first team level.
The remaining eight: Stockdale, Cheikh Ndoye, Carl Jenkinson, Cohen Bramall, Sam Gallagher, Jeremie Boga, Liam Walsh and Jason Lowe failed. Memorable names, I don’t think!
I fully expect good old Harry (King of the Jungle) and Sandra to be in pantomime in Croydon this Christmas?
All Bluenoses are concerned that we might lose Monk to a bigger, wealthier club but hopefully he appreciates what he has at Birmingham and, after experiences at Middlesbrough, Leeds and Swansea, will reject approaches if managerial vacancies occur during the close season.
Keep Right On!