A year is a long time in football – just ask fans of Birmingham City.
For those who follow the club, Saturday 4 May 2024 is a date that will never be forgotten.
Despite a 1-0 home win over Norwich City, results elsewhere meant Blues were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in 29 years.
But under the guidance of Knighthead, who had taken over in July 2023, there remained a fresh wave of optimism amongst the supporters.
Fast forward 12 months, and Blues had transformed into a winning machine, breaking records that had stood for decades, as they made a swift return to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Not only did they rewrite the history books, but they did so in style, and this is the story behind a record-breaking season.
A new man in the dugout
On June 6, 2024, Chris Davies was appointed Birmingham City’s new men’s first-team manager.
It ended a robust search by the club which saw close to 1,000 coaches being evaluated and more than 40 being spoken to directly or through their representatives.
An ambitious and progressive coach, having worked with some of the best players in the world, he was tasked with redefining the club, culture, and playing style.
He also had another remit – to win.
“I will give everything to build an attacking team that reflects this great city, and most importantly to produce a team that our supporters can be proud of.”
The latter was something that Birmingham City hadn’t been accustomed to prior to the 2024-25 season. In fact, they had lost 104 games from the start of the 2019-20 season through to the end of the 2023-24 campaign – the most of any club in England’s top four divisions.
Watch Chris Davies' first interview as Birmingham City manager
Blues had not finished higher than 17th in the Championship since 2016 and, in truth, hadn’t looked like returning to the Premier League since losing in the play-off semi-final in 2012.
Consecutive 10th-place finishes in 2014-15 and 2015-16 was as good as it got for Blues fans, with 17th-place finishes in 2018-19 and 2022-23 being the next best.
“I will give everything to build an attacking team that reflects this great city, and most importantly to produce a team that our supporters can be proud of.”
Those were Chris Davies’ first words following his appointment – and he didn’t disappoint.
As it transpired, 2024-25 will be remembered by everyone associated with Birmingham City as previous records were broken, new records were set, and a club was on the rise.
Home and away comforts
After 17 new signings, it was a new-look squad that took to the field for Blues’ opening-day draw against Reading in front of the biggest crowd of the season, as 27,985 packed into St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.
It would be a familiar sight across the campaign as Blues’ average home attendance hit 26,326 – the highest since 2006 when the club was in the Premier League.
Alfie May’s late penalty would eventually earn Blues a share of the points – the first game in a season-long unbeaten home run that would see Blues pick up 61 points on home soil – the most of any club in England’s top four tiers across 2024-25 – while their 19 wins at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park would be a new club record.
But it wasn’t just in B9 where Blues would prove dominant.
After racking up 61 points on home soil – dropping points on just four occasions – they would also claim 50 points on the road.
Of those 50 points, there were 15 away wins – the highest number of victories achieved by the club on their travels in a single season in the club’s history. For context, Blues had won 14 games on the road in the three previous seasons combined.
That winning culture was spreading – and the momentum would build very early on as Blues won nine of their opening 12 games to go top of the table.
Consistency
That level of consistency would be a hallmark of the campaign as a whole, and by the time they tasted defeat in the league for just the second time – a 3-2 reverse at Shrewsbury Town on November 23 – Blues were determined to lay down a marker.
“It was the sort of game where I can only apologise to the fans that came and watched us today,” Davies said after the game.
“To concede the goals that we did, was a million miles away from what’s acceptable and a million miles away from the standards I’ve set since I’ve come into the club.”
What would follow, was nothing short of remarkable.
While the defeat against Shrewsbury proved chastening for Blues, they then embarked on a hugely impressive 18-game unbeaten league run through to March 4 – the club’s longest sequence in the same season since a 20-match run between September 1994 and January 1995.
During that period, they hit top spot two days before Christmas following victory at Crawley Town – a position they would hold through to the season’s end.
With the added pressure of the Vertu Trophy, and early involvement in the FA Cup, Blues would end up playing 60 matches across the 2024-25 season, with the consistency level shown being another testament to the squad’s mentality.
Chris Davies’ side were behind at some stage in 12 of their 46 league matches but crucially only failed to get at least a point from three of those games – which were the only three league defeats of the entire campaign.
Overall, Blues won 21 points from losing positions in 2024-25, so even when they weren’t ahead, they had a good success rate of taking something from the game. That record was second in League One to Bolton Wanderers, who claimed 24 points from losing positions.
Dominance with the ball
It wasn’t just in the league standings where Birmingham City were a dominant force across the campaign.
As opponents would find out, holding onto a winning position against Chris Davies’ side was a tall order due to Blues’ dominance of the ball in games.
They averaged more possession than any other League One side (66.7%) and had the highest average ball retention in England’s top four divisions, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City (61.3%) and Championship winners Leeds United (61.1%) behind them, while only Barcelona (68.7%), Bayern Munich (68%) and Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (68.3%) averaging higher.
Davies has always been a firm believer in building a team that dominates possession. In an interview with The Coaches’ Voice in 2023, he stated that “controlling the game with the ball will always be central to my philosophy, but I want a degree of tactical flexibility to adapt to different opponents and different situations.”
That level of control led to meaningful possession across the 2024-25 season, with Blues attempting more passes (26,329) in Europe's top five leagues, while their 21,997 successful passes was second only to Paris Saint-Germain (22,305). Meanwhile, their 5,086 successful passes that ended in the final third of the pitch was second only to Manchester City and Arsenal in England’s top four tiers.
Davies’ side also led the way for forward passes across Europe’s top five leagues with 8,495 while they also laid claim to being the team with the most touches of the ball (35,478) in the EFL – almost 2,000 more than their nearest challengers, Leeds United.
Off the ball intensity
While their dominance of the ball was one thing, it was Blues’ work-rate out of possession which was equally impressive.
No side in League One allowed their opponents fewer passing sequences of 10+ passes in open play this season than Birmingham City, with this happening on just 73 occasions across 46 league games. For context, that’s an average of just over 1.5 times per game.
Perhaps more striking was Blues’ consistency to have open play sequences of 10 passes or more of their own within games – a feat which occurred on 708 occassions across 46 games, at an average of 15.3 times per fixture. This was the third best in England behind Manchester City (742) and Leeds United (720), with only Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona having more.
Blues also led the way across England’s top four tiers for having the least number of opposition successful passes in their half (3,835) while they allowed their opponents just 576 touches in the box across the entire league season, second only to Leeds United and ahead of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. Chris Davies’ side also averaged the highest turnovers per game in the EFL with 8.1.
Birmingham’s pressing intensity in the opposition’s half is further displayed by their low PPDA (average opposition passes per defensive action) in league competition. Essentially, the lower the figure, the fewer passes you allow your opponents before you engage with a defensive action.
Across Europe’s top five leagues in 2024-25, Blues’ PPDA is the lowest of all teams (8), ahead of Paris Saint-Germain (8.3), Barcelona (8.2) and Monaco (9).
Opponents struggled to string any kind of open play passing sequences together against Birmingham in the league this season, with Blues consistently breaking up any long spells of possession for opposition sides.
Blues also won possession in their opponents’ final third 212 times – the best in League One – and second only to Championship sides Portsmouth (232) and Leeds United (223). The next best in England's top four tiers was Bournemouth, who won possession on 216 occasions.
Ryan Allsop won the Sky Bet League One Golden Glove award for 2024/25
Ryan Allsop won the Sky Bet League One Golden Glove award for 2024/25
That set the tone for Blues’ defensive solidity, with their 22 clean sheets being bettered only by Wrexham (24) in League One, while just 31 goals conceded in the league was the third best in England’s top four tiers.
That ability to defend from the front was one thing, but at the other end they only faced 348 shots across the season, which was the second best in the EFL behind Leeds United (308), with Premier League heavyweights Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool making up the top five.
Attacking intent & ‘pounding the rock’
“The fans want to see us igniting the stadium. It's not just about having possession, it's about using that possession to find the best route to attack.”
Those were Chris Davies’ words just a week before the season started, and with Blues coming up against a low block with opponents set up to frustrate, patience would often be required.
But the attacking intent was evident, with Blues having the second-most penalty area entries (1,641) in the EFL across the season, leading them to score a league-high 84 goals which was second only to Leeds United’s 95 in the EFL. What was perhaps most pleasing, however, was that Blues had the third highest number of shots in League One yet saw their shot conversion rate at an impressive 13.9 – the third best in England’s top four divisions – which demonstrated that clinical edge.
For Blues fans who regularly watch or listen to interviews before or after games, many might have heard both the manager and players referencing the concept of ‘pounding the rock’.
“The fans want to see us igniting the stadium. It's not just about having possession, it's about using that possession to find the best route to attack.”
More commonly used in US sports as a reminder to stay focussed on the fundamentals – and with Blues facing sides set up to defend – it is about doing the right things, keep playing the patterns and eventually you will find a way through.
And find a way through they did – on a regular basis.
The attacking prowess was there for all to see across the campaign, with Blues scoring 111 goals in all competitions, overtaking their 109 from the 1893-94 season but still six goals shy of the club’s record of 117 set in the 1994-95 season.
By the time Blues had beaten Rotherham United 2-1 at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on February 1, they had made their best start to a league season in the club’s 149-year history having taken 63 points from 27 games.
Record breakers
As the campaign progressed, there were numerous records in sight, but the mantra was always one game at a time.
Chris Davies’ calm demeanour radiated throughout his squad, with players embracing the challenges they faced week in, week out as the season reached its climax.
When automatic promotion was secured following a 2-1 victory at Peterborough United on April 8, the title was confirmed four days later as Blues became the first EFL team since Notts County in 1997-98 to win the division with as many as six games still to play.
A century of points was secured with a 1-0 away win at Stevenage as Blues became the fastest side in EFL history to reach 100 points, beating Reading’s previous record of 44 games.
Just three days later, in the club’s final home game of a memorable season, the stage was set for another record to be broken.
A 4-0 victory over Mansfield Town saw Blues break the League One points record, with a further two wins ensuring that the club finished on 34 league wins – breaking the all-time English Football League record set by Doncaster Rovers in 1946-47 and becoming the outright holders of the EFL points record with a mammoth haul of 111.
It was a remarkable achievement for what was a truly remarkable campaign.
The comeback really was greater than the setback.
Built with Shorthand