Inside St Andrew’s: Stansfield position admission as Birmingham City ‘really impress’ auditors
The latest Birmingham City notebook features Jay Stansfield, the club's academy audit, Phil Neumann, Alfie Chang and George Hall
Jay Stansfield has admitted he enjoyed playing wide for Birmingham City in League One – even if it was detrimental to his goals tally.
Chris Davies shifted Stansfield out to the left-wing at times in Blues’ record-breaking season to accommodate Alfie May.
There is no denying Stansfield’s numbers were better when he played through the middle, but the space he was afforded out wide made it an enjoyable experience.
Asked for his main ‘learning’ from the season, Stansfield said: “Learning how to play different positions. When I came here for Fulham I played left-wing and you can get the ball more.
“It’s tough to compare, when you’re playing League One we were the team that everyone wanted to beat so teams were putting 10 men behind the ball and you get two big centre-halves mark you and all they want to do is kick you.
“That’s football in League One. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great football to play in but the type of player I am, I thrive off space in behind, getting past people, and playing on the wing gave me that freedom to show my qualities and get at people.”
Blues will strengthen their attacking arsenal for the Championship and Stansfield’s versatility is key. In the past two seasons Stansfield has proved he can thrive in any of the four attacking positions in Blues’ 4-2-3-1 set-up.
The academy audit went ‘really’ well
We know that the Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC) must have been quite impressed by Blues’ academy set-up to hand them Category One status once again, but we shouldn’t underestimate the lengths Knighthead have gone to.
Academy and infrastructure costs don’t count towards Profit and Sustainability so no expense has been spared by Knighthead. Head of coaching Mike Scott says their aim has been to meet a standard dubbed ‘Cat One+’.
Word has reached industry insiders Training Ground Guru over just how impressed PGAAC were by Blues’ offering.
“Auditors were REALLY impressed with Birmingham City's Academy,” Training Ground Guru posted on their X account. “Word is they now have one of the best set-ups in the whole country, up there with the best of the Cat 1s.”
Neumann bows out with a goal
Phil Neumann saved his own farewell match with a late equaliser for Hannover 96 against Fürth in his final appearance at the Niedersachsenstadion.
The defender managed to shake off an ankle injury to play his 32nd Bundesliga II match of the season on Sunday.
Afterwards, Neumann said: “It was a nice ending for me. I’m happy that the fans were able to chant my name again. I had three really great years here. I matured as a footballer, and many teammates became friends.”
Chang and Hall’s pain eased
This season has been less than ideal for Blues starlets Alfie Chang and George Hall. Chang has taken longer than hoped to recover from a nasty knee injury he sustained in August 2023 and Hall has been blighted by hamstring issues again.
But the pair played key roles in Walsall's first leg play-off victory over Chesterfield on Sunday – and Chang netted his first professional goal.
The midfielder finished smartly from the edge of the box to double Walsall's lead after Taylor Allen’s penalty and the Saddlers held on to their two-goal advantage in the second half.
Chang had to be replaced in the second half but both players will hope to feature on Friday night when Walsall will try to book their place in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.
John Ruddy in ‘not ideal’ situation
Eyebrows were raised when John Ruddy ignored the contract offer on the table at Blues last summer and opted for a back-up role at Premier League side Newcastle United.
Having been an ever-present in two seasons at Blues, Ruddy hasn’t made a single appearance for Newcastle this campaign.
He was always likely to be third choice when he moved to St James’ Park, but he probably didn’t anticipate being part of a five-man goalkeeping union.
Eddie Howe has flitted between Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka this season but beneath them lie Ruddy, Greece international Odysseas Vlachodimos and Mark Gillespie.
“The goalkeeper situation has been slightly difficult this year,” Eddie Howe admitted to ChronicleLive.
"We have a high number of goalkeepers which probably wasn't ideal. Those players have handled that situation very, very well. It's not easy. They have been really good professionals, all of them.
"They have created a really good team network and trained really well. They have helped whoever has been playing be at their best for match day. I am full of compliments for them. But let's wait and see."