Birmingham City go into today’s game at home to Luton Town in the Championship relegation zone.
It’s been coming for Birmingham City. They’ve endured a torrid season under Aitor Karanka and having seen performances worsen throughout, they’ve now dropped into the bottom three.
They sit in 23rd-place of the table, level on 28-points with Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday. A win could lift Blues as high as 19th today but in Luton Town, they face a side capable of beating any team in the division.
READ: Swansea City man rinses Sheffield Wednesday on Twitter with ‘pitch’ jibe
Of all the poor performances from Birmingham City’s players this season, one stands out after receiving ongoing criticism throughout – Mikel San Jose.
The Spaniard has featured 20 times in the Championship this season. He often finds himself sitting just in front of a defensive four and having played every minute of every Birmingham City game in 2021, he’s only become more and more of a contested name among fans.
Karanka likes of have an enforcer sitting just in-front of his defence, so who else could come in to replace San Jose?
There’s not many options for him to choose from as it stands – Adam Clayton could come in but he’s proved equally contested this season, Gary Gardner could potentially drop back but then who would fill his spot in central midfield?
It’s been evident all season long that for Karanka, as much as he might be (part of) the problem, he doesn’t have a team all that worthy of playing Championship football.
It looks like they need a miracle to beat relegation into League One this season. But their miraculous recovery could kick-start today with a what’d be an impressive win at home to Luton Town.