Joe Gallagher has been assessing the chances of the three promoted clubs surviving next season as Burnley, Birmingham and Wolves face the might of the Premier League.
It is unchartered territory for the
Clarets, whilst
Wolves have only one season’s experience in the new elite of English football.
Gallagher has played for all three clubs during his career, and in the final instalment of his exclusive interview for Givemefootball; he assesses the attacking options at St Andrew’s.
Ian Clarkson asks the questions.
Q: How will the Birmingham strike force fare next season?
A:
Cameron Jerome is big, strong and quick and does well for
Birmingham. However, I am from a different era where your main striker – be it the number nine or ten – has got to score a lot of goals. That is the one area where he should do better and score more goals as that is what you are ultimately judged on as a striker.
Hopefully he can score more goals in the Premier League this time as he works his socks off. If they can get 15 games out of
Kevin Phillips and he scores eight or nine goals for them then that would be a fantastic achievement. We don’t know what Christian Benitez will bring, but the reports I have read are very exciting.
Q: They need Benitez to be a success don't they?
A: The Blues will need him to succeed as they are going to need all the help they can get next season. The potential at Birmingham is enormous but they just need to have a lengthy spell in the Premier League. It is difficult to establish yourself in the top flight but it would be good to see the Blues do it.
There are some good players in the Championship who I would like to see them try and sign such as the lad
Darren Pratley from
Swansea. He was the best midfielder I saw all season at St Andrew’s last year and it would be good if they could attract him to Birmingham.
Q: What do you make of Wolves' strike force?
A: Wolves have a potentially excellent pairing in
Kevin Doyle and
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. However, don’t forget
Chris Iwelumo. I know he is currently inured but if he comes back firing on all cylinders like he did last season, then he could have a big impact for Wolves in terms of scoring goals.
Q: Can all three of your former clubs survive?
A: I would love to see all three clubs survive. However, it is going to be very hard for all three clubs to do that as history tells you it does not usually happen.
If they can consolidate, like
Stoke did last year, then they can embark on a building process with the extra finance they receive from the Premier League every year.
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