One team who has been suffering for two straight seasons now is Birmingham City. The club, who conquered England by winning the English League Cup as recently as 2011, is now facing uncertain times in the lower end of the Championships. Birmingham endured a tough last season when they won just two of their 24 matches under Gianfranco Zola and were left with a mammoth task of seeking two wins in their last three matches. Harry Redknapp was appointed as the new boss and the experienced Englishman led them to safety.
However, in this season he endured a terrible start to his campaign which saw him lose six and win just one of his eight matches in charge before getting the sack. Redknapp had to leave but on stayed his coup of a signing from France in the form of Cheikh N’Doye. The 31-year-old Senegalese midfielder and former Angers captain was snapped up by Birmingham on a free transfer.
N’Doye had a slow start to his career and made his way into the top way after reaching his 20s. He eventually made to the international circuit as well by playing for his national team and now went on to captain Angers. The midfielder was brought to Birmingham in an effort to help the club improve their team.
Seven months into the season and Birmingham are once again down in the pit and placed 23rd on the table. They are suffering from the threat of relegation once again and N’Doye despite playing 25 matches for his team has not been able to produce much.
His influence has gone further down in the recent weeks and it is now being claimed that French club Strasbourg are considering taking him back to France on a loan deal while his former club Angers are also angling for a deal for the Senegalese.
Should a move go through, it will see Birmingham lose a solid 6”3 defensive midfielder and given their current place in the league, it will be hard for them to get a replacement. Moreover, even though N’Doye’s influence has waned, his experience could prove to be vital when the crunch time comes in a few months. Birmingham could use all the help they can get to help the team stay up in the league and losing N’Doye should not even be considered. Then again, with the player unable to get game time, he might force a move away from the club leaving Birmingham powerless.
