Birmingham City are once again on the search for a new manager after the departure of Garry Monk.
Rumours had been circulating that Monk had fallen out with board members and it all came to a head on Tuesday when the club released a statement confirming that Monk was leaving the club. Birmingham finished the season 17th in the Championship following a points deduction for breaking the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.
However, before that Monk’s side had made great progress and were for a time contenders to get into the Championship play-offs but then points deduction ended those hopes.
The row between Monk and the board was rumoured to have been down to transfer policy. The club did a swap with arch Midlands rivals Aston Villa with Jota going to Villa Park with Craig Gardner coming to St Andrews.
With Monk departing it echoes a similar story to another Gary. Gary Rowett was another who was very well liked by the supporters. At the time of his sacking the club were just outside the play-offs and ended up battling to stay in the league.
Now attention turns to who will replace the former Swansea, Leeds and Middlesbrough Head Coach at St Andrews.
There are a number of candidates who could replace Monk but I believe Birmingham should be looking at Chris Hughton. This is a man who in my opinion was harshly sacked by Brighton at the end of last season. He has history at Birmingham having been in charge for the 2011-12 season leading them to a fourth placed finish, losing to Blackpool inn the play-off semi-finals.
It will depend on what the thoughts of the Birmingham board are and what their ambitions for next season will be. Chris Hughton has a proven track record in the Championship winning promotion from the division twice.
He has also proved that he can hold onto a job for the long term and he can turn a clubs fortunes around. All you have to do is look at the job he did at Brighton. Her took over the South Coast side when they were struggling at the bottom of the Championship and in just two years managed to get them promoted to the Premier League and kept them up twice.
This is a man who won’t be out of work for long and one I’m sure Birmingham fans would take back in a heartbeat. He is a safe pair of hands and would get the club pushing for a place in that top six.
