, Comment: Will Birmingham City sack Lee Bowyer? What type of manager could they replace him with?

Comment: Will Birmingham City sack Lee Bowyer? What type of manager could they replace him with?

Lee Bowyer looks to be on the brink of losing his job at Birmingham City, after Monday’s 6-1 defeat at Blackpool in the Championship.

Birmingham City have endured another torrid season in the Championship. They sit in 20th place of the table and many would argue that Blues are only safe this season because of Derby County’s points deduction, and the fact that Reading, Peterborough United and Barnsley have all been especially woeful.

The Royals could yet finish above Birmingham City though. Blues have finished in 21st just once since their relegation from the Premier League in 2011, but they’ve finished 17th or lower in each of the past five seasons and they look set to finish below that spot once again this season.

Reports surfaced before the Blackpool defeat that Bowyer was under pressure at Birmingham City. That defeat has no doubt cast doubt over his future, but will the club actually sack Bowyer?

Yes, is the simple answer. It could easily happen and it could happen before the end of the season. Although he’s had very little resources to work with, and the fact that he inherited a very poor playing squad form Aitor Karanka, Bowyer has failed to galvanise this Blues side like he did when he first took charge.

What type of manager could replace him?

It’s difficult to say what type of manager Blues could go for next. Bowyer is the eighth manager to oversee at least 10 games in charge of Birmingham City since Gary Rowett took charge of 2014, and all the club’s managers in that time – Gianfranco Zola, Harry Redknapp, Steve Cotterill, Garry Monk, Pep Clotet and Karanka have all had different values in terms of the football they want to play.

Having different styles of managers at the helm has left Birmingham City with a mismatch set of players. It’s difficult to see even what kind of football Bowyer wants his Birmingham City side to play because the players are just that – a set of players brought in at will, with no real end goal in mind.

Given Blues’ budget, and the fact that they can’t go out and sign the best attacking players and so on, a defensive-minded manager might be the best fit for them, or at least a manager who emphasises the counter-attack. Whether the club would look to replace Bowyer with a foreign import or raid the lower leagues again remains to be seen, and which mangers would want to take on the poisoned chalice that is the Blues job remains likewise.

Up next for Birmingham City is a home game v Millwall this weekend.

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