Birmingham may have just beaten Reading 6-1 - a result that cost former Royals' boss Nigel Adkins' his job - but do not be fooled - it was only a few weeks ago that the Brummies shipped eight at home to Bournemouth in one of their most humiliating results of all time. Since holding aloft that League Cup trophy in February 2011, the club has simply spiralled out of control, lurching from one unmitigated disaster to the next. It seems like only yesterday that the club was still knocking boots with the country's top teams, attracting World Cup winners to St. Andrews and making surges for Europe. Now, they remain trapped in the Championship - the barren wasteland of fallen giants from the Premier League. To emphasise the point, 14 of the 24 clubs currently plying their trade in the second tier of English football have been relegated from the top-flight during the last decade. For Birmingham, it's not simply a case of near misses at promotion - indeed, their primary goal for the season is to stay in the Championship, having been within seconds of experiencing the anguish and humiliation of a demotion to League One in May. It is a very different Birmingham City to the one that graced the Premier League under the likes of Steve Bruce and Alex McLeish - it's a shame to see. If only they had a couple of their old boys back - what a different side they could have then. Take a look at the ten former Birmingham City players they could do with now.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
