The Retained List

Blues announced their retained list on Saturday night. Here's my take on the key details.

Late on Saturday 18^th May, Birmingham City published their Retained List ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.  

The club officially said goodbye to long-serving players Ivan Sunjic, Marc Roberts, Gary Gardner and Scott Hogan. Tate Campbell and Marcel Oakley left the club having not been able to capitalise on first-team call ups with Oliver Basey, Rico Patterson, Callum Sullivan, Finley Thorndike, Kieran Wakefield, Morgan Dance and Pharrell Williams joining them.  

An option was exercised on the contract of Keshi Anderson, who will stay for another year with John Ruddy and Lukas Jutkiewicz offered new deals. Junior Dixon, Laiith Fairnie, Harley Hamilton, Sahid Kamara and Femi Olofinjana had their deals exercised, Rico Browne and Brad Mayo will be sticking around and all second-year scholars have been offered pro deals.  

And the following players remain under contract: Ethan Laird; Josh Williams; Krystian Bielik; Dion Sanderson; Lee Buchanan; Emmanuel Longelo; Juninho Bacuna; Alfie Chang; Jordan James; Brandon Khela; Paik Seung-Ho; Keshi Anderson; Siriki Dembele; Romelle Donovan; George Hall; Koji Miyoshi; Alex Pritchard; Tyler Roberts; Ben Beresford; Junior Dixon; Tommy Fogarty; Harley Hamilton; Josh Home; Sahid Kamara; Byron Pendleton. 

I’ve caught up on my end of season National League stuff, so let’s look at those that have moved on. 

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Saying Goodbye 

As I’ve gotten older and understood more about the game and some of the intricacies of what helps and doesn’t help footballers, I’ve provided more leeway towards individuals. It takes a lot for me to lose it with somebody.  

I reached that point with Marc Roberts in March 2024.  

Injuries have hampered him over the last couple of seasons but he had stepped up for John Eustace when needed during the previous campaign, building a solid enough partnership with Kevin Long to help Blues get over the line, and returned for Tony Mowbray’s final two games against Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, performing well alongside Krystian Bielik, who took on most of the ball-playing aspects of our game. Then came three matches that led me to decide that all solutions were better than a Marc Roberts return to the side.  

The first was against Ipswich Town where his battle with Kieffer Moore largely went the way of the striker, helping me recall my concerns about his ability to deal with physical strikers. He’s a 6”4 centre-back that allows himself to be pushed around at times and it’s so frustrating to watch. The third goal was awful to watch with our experienced centre-half not reacting to the situation around him. The second was against Millwall. He may argue he was fouled. I don’t believe he was. Somebody may find a clip to prove me wrong, but I don’t believe Kevin Long or Lukas Jutkiewicz put themselves in a situation where a slight nudge puts them off balance that much, especially not in the 90^th minute of a huge game in our battle to survive. And the third was against Middlesbrough, where he picked up a muscle problem early doors yet only went down asking to be subbed off once we conceded. I hated it.  

Looking back, I know I was probably harsh. For example, the third against Ipswich comes as a result of Gary Gardner playing right-back for some reason and being nowhere near the right position. And I’m aware that Roberts had rushed himself back quickly to help the side out, which we would normally praise if it worked out well. The entire team were a mess under Mark Venus and the soft nature of the goals we conceded were infuriating. Was Roberts at fault more than anybody else? Of course not.  

Like every Blues fan, I was frustrated. We were losing football matches. We were sliding down the table. We were conceding poor goals and looked incapable of creating them at the other end. We were just a poor, poor side.  

Even though Roberts likely ends up in a promotion battle with Blues this season – there's something about moves to Rotherham United or Huddersfield Town that feel right for the 33-year-old Yorkshire lad – it just felt like he needed to move on and the club needed to move on from him. Like Harlee Dean and Kristian Pedersen before him, there’s just too much ill-feeling. He gets a fresh start and possibly a return home while the club can move forward with their ambitions. Good luck to him.  

That feeling also goes for Ivan Sunjic, Gary Gardner and Scott Hogan.  

I’m not sure where Gardner goes from here. He’s 31 and has started four games in two seasons of football. He was rarely available in Eustace’s first season and started once despite being in the squad on 41 occasions this season. He has started 30+ games in a league campaign three times in the last decade, two of those with Blues. 

At times, he’s been excellent. He was an important part of Garry Monk’s side. He rarely gives less than his best when he’s given the shirt with his forward running and willingness to get in the box key features of his game. But he doesn’t showcase the ability he has – and he does have ability – anywhere near enough, often akin to a headless chicken in midfield with a lack of care in possession whether receiving under pressure or showing composure after a lung-busting forward run. There is a role for him somewhere, I’m just not sure where that is right now.  

Scott Hogan is the other name fans have been happy to see move on. He’s had a weird time of things at Blues.  

He leaves with the rather lazy tag of being a lazy footballer. I find him more complex, personally. I think he’s an individual that struggles to hide his emotions and when his confidence is low, you can see it a mile off. The head drops, the shoulders slump, he starts thinking too much about what he’s doing and nothing goes right. The difference between that version and the one we see if he scores early doors, the one that makes regular runs in behind and closes down defenders quickly, is stark.  

In some respects, having a 32-year-old striker that produces such polarising performances based on a level of confidence is unforgivable. But then, he was battered at Aston Villa and subsequently cast aside, struggled for regular game time at Sheffield United and Stoke City, wasn’t wanted by Aitor Karanka and Lee Bowyer, John Eustace would have loved an alternative and Wayne Rooney, Tony Mowbray and Gary Rowett gave up on him quickly. He leaves Blues a shadow of the player that was worth eight figures just shy of a decade ago.  

Still, he leaves Blues having played 9425 minutes of football, around 104.7 matches, having scored 35 goals, a record of around one goal every three matches. There will be plenty of managers looking at that and wondering if they can make him feel a million dollars and get a big goal return from him. A thought that crossed my mind is that I could see him joining Salford City – he's from Salford – under Karl Robinson and bagging a hatful at League Two, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up in League One or at a lower Championship club.  

Ivan Sunjic’s release has divided opinion.  

Personally, I’m on the side of letting him go. He joined with a big reputation and for a lot of money but has never shown the ability to go with that. His technical limitations have been problematic, the Croatian lacking the awareness and quality in possession to help the team play a more progressive style of football. Admittedly, a part of that has been no thanks to the poor quality of coaching and tactical acumen of Blues managers and coaches down the years, but he has still been below par.  

Still, he should be commended for his work ethic whenever he put on the Blues shirt. He has never given any less than 100% and his better qualities were on show at both ends of his final campaign under both John Eustace and Gary Rowett. Even when he’s been out of form and performed like a dog chasing a tennis ball rather than keeping to his position, he has been tenacious, hard working and tried to get the team going.  

I won’t comment too much on the young lads as I lack the knowledge. Timing has been the difficulty for Marcel Oakley who hasn’t been able to kick on after a bright debut against Colchester United and injuries have hampered Tate Campbell, who looked a real talent.  

Too all, I wish them good luck.  

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Sticking Around 

The big news from the retained list was that deals have been offered to Lukas Jutkiewicz and John Ruddy.  

At this point, it’s hard to say whether they will stay. My gut feeling is that Jutkiewicz will stick around while Ruddy waits to see what is on the table elsewhere, especially with rumours of Eustace and Blackburn Rovers being interested, meaning he would stay in the Championship and probably be a number one as he reaches the final years of his career.  

Information is limited at present with no clarity around the managerial situation and how the team will shape up next season. However, it can’t be doubted that both Jutkiewicz and Ruddy are big characters in different ways and will have big roles to play whether on the pitch or not.  

Ruddy is a leader as a communicator and talker, the type that demands high standards of himself and others. He holds people accountable and makes his feelings known when he’s not happy with something – Juninho Bacuna and Emmanuel Longelo are two players in particular that have felt that. You can see why he has been given the captain’s armband on numerous occasions. 

Jutkiewicz is a leader in his presence. He's somebody fans get behind because he battles for everything and never gives less than everything he’s got, whether it’s good enough or not. He’s a well respected figure within the club because of how he carries himself. He’s a selfless player, always doing what he does for the benefit of the team rather than himself and is regularly seen making himself a presence on the side of the pitch while warming up to have a say and providing nuggets of information for those playing.  

The other side to this is that when you look at the successful teams up and down the country, they have a core of players that were still around from the previous campaign. Only one or two new signings will play around 75% of minutes and it means that you have to rely on those that are still in the building. Jutkiewicz and Ruddy are about two of the most reliable footballers we have in the building and if it is to be believed that Mowbray is having an involvement in negotiating deals, then it’s easy to understand why he see value in keeping them around.  

Keshi Anderson has seen his contract extended. It’s been quite the season for the 28-year-old. He joiend up in pre-season to get fit and maybe earn a contract, doing both and becoming a key player after Siriki Dembele’s injury in August. He was a huge part of our game with his driving runs down the left-hand side and link up with Buchanan. He then fell to injury, was almost sold in January and looked to be bombed out in preference of other options. Gary Rowett returned and gave him his first start in six months when Blues hosted Coventry City. Anderson performed so well that he started each of the remaining games, Blues going undefeated in those matches.  

His fitness record remains a concern but he’s an intelligent footballer, one that works hard and he will set the standard for others coming into the building in a “if you don’t work hard, I’ll take your place” sort of way. Hopefully we see his runs under Eustace and Rowett over the course of a season in which injuries are less of a hindrance. 

I would love to talk more about the lads that are sticking around. Junior Dixon is the headline name, Blues U23 goalscoring sensation who will surely be pushing for first-team minutes next season. He could be a beneficiary of Blues needing to restructure so many things this summer, getting an opportunity in early pre-season and if he takes it, he could well force his way into the squad for the opening games regardless of whether Blues sign strikers.  

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Those That Are Left 

So what are we left with? The basis of a squad that should be more than good enough to tackle League One. 

Just look at some of the names: Laird, Bielik, Sanderson, Buchanan, Bacuna, James, Paik, Anderson, Dembele, Hall, Miyoshi, Pritchard and Roberts. Potentially Ruddy and Jutkiewicz. They are, by and large, Championship footballers in the right set up.  

Of course, some of those may move on. I would be gobsmacked if James and Bacuna are playing League One football next season. I anticipate that Laird, Bielik, Paik and Miyoshi will have offers. However, the majority are on lengthy contracts, earning good money, the club are no longer in a position where we have to sell and there are no major international competitions for players – Paik and Bielik – to worry about. They can afford a year in League One knowing that promotion means they could be challenging at the right end of the Championship next year if Blues get things right.  

We also have U18 and U23 sides that are doing tremendous things this year, reaching the final of their respective league seasons. We’ve spoken about Dixon. Romelle Donovan will surely fancy himself to step up having briefly shone under Wayne Rooney. George Hall and Alfie Chang come off the back of injury hit seasons and Brandon Khela comes back from a spell in Scotland. Tommy Fogarty has had a successul loan at Ebbsfleet United. There is talent ready to make their stamp on the side.  

And we have a budget like no other in League One. We will have to sign somewhere between 12 and 18 players this summer but we have the budget to stretch rather than doing everything on the cheap.  

The key thing now is utilising the budget right. Making sure we have the right person or people in charge of spending that money and making the final decisions. Making sure we have a leadership core ready to lead this summer. Making sure we leave ourselves with a little spare for another go in January, especially if we are in the mix of the promotion race. The likelihood is that we will grow into the season rather than starting it on fire.  

Good luck to those that move on to pastures new. Bring on what will hopefully be a summer of success.