Birmingham City ‘Didn’t Get Their Man’ – Ex-Championship Star Sees ‘Negativity’ Reason | OneFootball

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Former Championship defender Ben Tozer believes that Birmingham City did not secure the striker they needed in the summer transfer window and stressed that placing all the pressure on Jay Stansfield is too much.

Blues had a record-breaking last season in League One as they put up a mammoth 111-point title-winning campaign.

Many expected Birmingham to storm the league based on their substantial summer spending and hitman Stansfield’s arrival, from Premier League side Fulham, topped all of them.

Birmingham paid an eye-watering £15m for Stansfield and he repaid them with 19 league goals in 31 starts for Blues.

Now Birmingham are in the Championship this year and were in a tug of war with Ipswich Town to sign Chuba Akpom in the recent window, but the Portman Road outfit had the last laugh, as they got their hands on the former Arsenal hitman.

Ex-Championship star Tozer feels that Birmingham needed a striker of Akpom’s profile and he is clear that Blues attack lack the pace to go behind the opposition’s defence in attacking scenarios.

He admitted that Stansfield is a fantastic striker, but giving him all the responsibility is a tough ask for him to fulfil in a league like the Championship, Tozer thinks.

“I think the only concern [for Birmingham City] is that they did not get the striker that they wanted”, the 35-year-old told EFL All Access (14:25) when he was asked why Blues have struggled a bit.

“They obviously got Stansfield last year, but [this summer] they went for Chuba Akpom.

“But they did not get the striker I thought they needed.

“I watched them in the first game of the season – as good as they were against Ipswich, I feel like the threat wasn’t there, the pace wasn’t there in behind.

“So, I feel like, maybe, they didn’t get their man, maybe there is a little bit of negativity around that.

“Stansfield is great as he is, putting it all on him – it is a tough ask.”

Even though they missed out on Akpom, Birmingham signed Kyogo Furahashi from Ligue 1 side Rennes and Marvin Ducksch from Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen.

Into August, one commentator revealed the feeling at Birmingham was that another striker was still needed.

Blues needed a trusted performer off the bench on Saturday, in the shape of Lyndon Dykes, to give them an injury time 1-0 win over Swansea City in the Championship.

It remains to be seen if Birmingham look for another striker in the January transfer window.