Trials and tribulations

Andy Munro looks at the Birmingham City transfer window.

First the good news in that signing Tahith Chong for £1.5 million is a snip and if he stays fit, the Dutch winger will be a real asset both in terms of pace and his commitment. Signing a speedy left back, albeit on loan, from West Ham will also fill a real gap and also allow us to play 4-4-2 if we want to vary things. The young loanee Hannibal looked a real character in his cameo against Norwich (and hiw we need characters to brighten our current footballing days down at St. Andrews) and let’s hope his diminutive stature doesn’t work against him in the hurly burly of the Championship.

Also, on the plus side is the fact that we actually got a fee for transferring Odin Bailey, a youngster who flattered to deceive. We have also got Sam Cosgrove off our books, hopefully with Plymouth paying all or most of his wages.

However, on the minus side, we never got to sign a striker and one has to wonder why our attempts seem to verge on the desperate by leaving things so late. This may yet come back to haunt us with our strikers the wrong side of thirty. Given our ’embarrassment’ of riches, this is how I would line up the Blues: Ruddy; Colin, Trusty, Sanderson, Longelo; Beilik, Bacuna, Graham; Hannibal, Chong; Hogan(or Deeney).

In conclusion, the signing of a striker would have turned an okay transfer window into an excellent one.