Birmingham City Relegated to England’s Third Tier: A Tumultuous Season Under American Ownership

Birmingham City’s first season under American ownership has come to a close with the team being relegated to England’s third tier on Saturday. This is a division that they have not played in since 1995. The Blues were one of three teams relegated from the Championship, England’s second division, on Saturday. Despite defeating Norwich 1-0, they needed help from one of three games to stay up. However, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, and Blackburn winning their games sealed Birmingham City’s fate in England’s third tier for the first time in nearly three decades.

Rotherham and Huddersfield Town will also accompany Birmingham in League One next season. The team went through three head coaches during the 2023-24 season, including Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. When they replaced John Eustace with Rooney in October, Birmingham was in sixth place out of 24 teams. Eustace moved on to Blackburn, who narrowly avoided relegation by defeating league champion Leicester City.

Tom Brady joined Birmingham City’s ownership group in August after partnering with the club’s holding company, Knighthead Capital Management. Brady’s involvement with Knighthead Capital in the past led chairman Tom Wagner to seek out the expertise of the seven-time Super Bowl champion as a way to bring a winning mentality to the club. Despite the relegation, Wagner remains confident in the direction of the club with Brady on board, calling it a statement of intent to set the bar at a world-class level.

Unfortunately for Brady, he was unable to attend the match at St Andrew’s on Saturday as he was in Miami for the Miami Grand Prix and is set to head to Los Angeles for a Netflix special where he will be roasted by a celebrity lineup, including his former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.