Tom Wagner and his consortium have done a lot of good for Birmingham City since they arrived at St Andrew’s.
Many Blues fans, who were looking forward to a new era, hailed them as heroes for simply ending the BSHL era.
Wagner and his team are still a huge source of pride for Birmingham fans.
After spending heavily during the summer transfer window, the Midlands club is in a strong position to return to the Championship at the first attempt.
More supporters than ever have purchased season tickets, and they are now excited to see their team play again.
They may play in a lesser division, but their victories are providing excitement to fans, who are perhaps having the most thrilling season in recent years.
Everyone associated with the club will be hoping that their success continues, having made such a strong start to the 2024/25 season.
However, they did not need to be in League One in the first place.
John Eustace exit was a turning point for Birmingham City
The Wagner era got off to a great start, with then-manager John Eustace leading the club to a top-six finish heading into the October international break.
They were especially excited at that point because they had just won 3-1 against local rivals West Bromwich Albion in their previous game before the break.
However, just a few days after the triumph, Eustace was fired and replaced by Wayne Rooney, who was hired in to adopt the board’s preferred style.
Unfortunately, his time at St Andrew’s was a catastrophe, with only two league wins during his brief tenure before being fired in January of this year.
He was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who had to take a leave of absence after being diagnosed with colon cancer. His assistant Mark Venus was unable to bring the squad back on track, so the Blues made a last-ditch attempt to climb to safety by signing Gary Rowett for the remainder of last season in mid-March.
Despite going unbeaten in their final four games of the season, including a victory over Norwich City, they were relegated due to poor results.
Clearly, the decision to fire Eustace was a watershed moment, and it was a terrible mistake that the board could have avoided.
Birmingham City board will still hold John Eustace fear
Davies and his team are off to a great start this season.
They have only lost one league game this season and are on track to return to the second tier at the first opportunity.
Wrexham’s draw against Cambridge United last Saturday was another boost to the Blues’ automatic promotion hopes, and despite having a very strong squad at his disposal, current manager Chris Davies has done an excellent job of dealing with expectations and getting his new-look team playing.
With so many signings made over the summer, it’s expected that it took them some time to get into gear.
However, they had a good start to the season with an average 1-1 draw against Reading on the first day of the season.
Promotion is not guaranteed, and some Birmingham fans may remember the Eustace sacking until they are promoted back to the second tier.
The board may still be considering that decision, hoping for a second-tier return by the conclusion of the season.
If promotion is secured, everyone will forget about it. But if they fail in their promotion quest, many Blues fans will rue the board’s decision to dismiss Eustace even more than they already do now.
