Birmingham City could have 17 meetings after relegation to League One

Birmingham City could be reunited with a host of former players and managers who have been appointed to League One Football in the next run. Everyone connected with the Blues is hoping that their spell in England’s third tier will be nothing more than a stop-gap tournament where the club can reinvent their culture, start rebuilding their squad and develop a winning formula with Ipswich-like momentum Town.

That’s the hope. The Blues have a big summer ahead of them on the recruitment front if they are – as is the aim – to hit the ground running once League One kicks off in August. Just like in the championship, once the games begin, the punishing schedule dictates that it cannot be let up. The Blues will face a different kind of challenge in League One, where it will be a cup final of many teams.

There will also be plenty of familiar faces, up to 17 football figures who have once called St Andrew’s home at one time or another. Some of them are currently in the League One play-offs, others in the League Two play-offs, while others are still out of contract with their current clubs. However, Bluenoses will see names and faces they once recognized – even if for some it was briefly – as one of their own.

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Beryly Lubala made a career of it after failing to make the grade at the Blues. He initially joined Crawley Town where he made an impact before earning a move to Blackpool. After just one season with Burton Albion, he is now with EFL Trophy finalists Wycombe Wanderers.

At Cambridge United, there is already a reunion. The blues favorite Michael Morrison he returned to the club where he came through the ranks and was joined last season by his old boss Garry Monk. Monk awaited his next challenge after leaving Sheffield Wednesday and he and Morrison helped guide the U’s to safety.

At Leyton Orient it is Jordan Graham, who signed a two-year deal when he left St Andrew’s last summer. Defender Graham played 54 times for the Blues in two years under Lee Bowyer and then John Eustace but had to drop down to the third tier after being released. His old team-mate George Friend, meanwhile, has retired from the game since leaving the Blues but is now Bristol Rovers’ sporting director. Also there, although he does not have a contract, he is loaned out only once Scott Sinclair.

Charlie Lakin’s time at Burton Albion could be coming to an end. His contract is up, but on the basis that he is offered new terms, the Blues could see him next term – the Brewers nervously shrugged off relegation on the final day of the regular season despite being soundly beaten. Also at Burton is the former Blues loan midfielder Rekeem Harper.

At Charlton Athletic, the Blues could clash Chuks Aneke. The forward was reunited with Bowyer when he joined the Blues in 2021 and scored in a 5-0 rout of now Premier League side Luton Town earlier that season, but he was straight back at the Addicks months later and is still there.

Harley Dean is also under contract with Reading for another year, although it remains to be seen what the future holds for the Royals who has played just a handful of minutes this calendar year under Ruben Selles. Dean made 200 appearances and captained the Blues during his six-year stay.

Then come the possible reunions – they will depend on how the current play-off campaigns in Leagues One and Two go. Barnsley are likely to find themselves back in the third tier unless they can overcome a first-leg deficit to Bolton (where Cameron Jerome remains on the cards). Boy from the Academy of Blues Corey O’Keeffe and flop striker Sam Cosgrove currently operating at Oakwell.

In the other semi-final between Peterborough United and Oxford United, at least one of the former boss and posh director of football Barry Fry or Oxford defender (and this year a Burton loanee) Steve Seddon they will find their clubs in the same division next season. In League Two, Doncaster Rovers are in pole position to reach the final at Wembley and have done so Kyle Hurst in the hook. The former extremist on loan Jonathan Lekomeanwhile, he is on the books of MK Dons.

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