Birmingham City hit the jackpot with deal to sign ex-Celtic player | OneFootball

Paul Caddis was worth every penny of the fee Birmingham City spent to bring him to St Andrew's in 2013

Birmingham City's relegation to play in the third tier for only the fifth season in their history in 2024 was a long time coming, after the Blues had flirted with the bottom three for the better part of eight seasons.

Barring a play-off finish in their first campaign back and a couple of 10th-placed finishes, the highest that Birmingham finished in their 13-year stay between 2011 and 2024 was 17th.

But their relegation could have been confirmed a decade earlier, as they entered the final day of the 2013/14 campaign needing a point away at Bolton Wanderers to survive ahead of Doncaster Rovers, with Donny losing simultaneously against Leicester City.

The Blues weren't upholding their end of the bargain, though, as they looked down and out at the Reebok Stadium, until a late comeback, punctuated by an equalising header from Paul Caddis, sent 3,500 travelling fans into raptures, saving their Championship status.

That alone would have been enough to be worth all the £150,000 that the Blues spent the summer ahead of that season to bring him in from Swindon Town, but the former Celtic full-back would carve out a brilliant career in the West Midlands from then on.

Paul Caddis was an underrated hero at Birmingham City

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Caddis, who came through the Celtic academy, got his EFL move in 2010, joining Swindon, who had just come off the back of a play-off finish in League One. His first campaign at the County Ground was a disaster, though, as the Robins were relegated to the fourth tier.

But, he'd quickly make up for it, captaining the side to the League Two title and showing clear ability to play higher up the EFL. Ultimately, that opportunity came a little sooner than expected, as, following a disagreement with then-Swindon boss Paulo Di Canio, he was stripped of the captaincy and phased out of the side.

Birmingham would bring him in on loan for the 2012/13 campaign, where he'd play a useful role in a mid-table finish, making 27 appearances, and that acted as a trial almost ahead of the £150,000 purchase they made for the then-25-year-old in September 2013.

That 2013/14 term was a near-disaster under Lee Clark. As alluded to, Birmingham were seconds away from falling into League One, as they went two goals behind at Bolton in a game that they needed to draw to remain in the division.

A Nikola Zigic goal gave the Blues hope with 12 minutes to go, and Caddis netted his fifth goal of the campaign at just the right time to keep Birmingham in the division.

For the next couple of years, Caddis was a stalwart in the Blues' side under Gary Rowett, following Clark's dismissal in October 2014, donning the captain's armband at times as Birmingham didn't flirt with relegation, instead registering back-to-back 10th-placed finishes.

The full-back played in all but one game in the 2014/15 campaign, and made 40 appearances the following season, scoring 10 and assisting six across the two years. Unfortunately, though, that would be where his time at Birmingham abruptly came to an end.

Birmingham City never finished in the Championship top half after Paul Caddis departed

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Despite being such an influential part of the Birmingham side over four years, making 160 appearances and contributing 30 goals in that time, too, Caddis' time at St Andrew's came to an end in the 2016/17 season.

Gary Rowett removed him from the squad due to fitness issues and had the Scotsman train with the development squad to improve his fitness. He'd dislocated his shoulder during that time and wouldn't be back until January, when Rowett was relieved of his duties in favour of Gianfranco Zola.

The Italian boss didn't have Caddis in his immediate plans once he returned, so he had his contract cancelled by mutual consent that month - a rather unfortunate end to his Birmingham career.

The Blues wouldn't record a better finish than the two 10th-placed ones with Caddis in the side until the 2025/26 term under Chris Davies, helped by the financial backing of owner Tom Wagner. Before then, Birmingham would consistently float above danger in the second tier until they fell into League One in 2024.

Ultimately, the former full-back is still held in high regard at St Andrew's, and gave many modern fans their best memory of supporting Birmingham when they completed that late great escape in 2014.

He was a really underrated and, as it turned out, underappreciated part of Birmingham's recent Championship history, and one that not many expected to have such an impact after arriving from a newly-promoted League One side.