Former Birmingham City manager Barry Fry has claimed that Lee Bowyer is the perfect man to manage the Blues, and believes he can ensure they avoid relegation from the Championship this season.
Bowyer was appointed as manager at St Andrew's earlier this month after resigning from his role with Charlton Athletic, and has gone on to beat Reading 2-1, before losing 3-0 at Watford, in his first two games in charge of the Midlands club.
Now it seems as though Fry believes that the former Blues midfielder is the perfect man to take over in the St Andrew's dugout.
Speaking to Football Fan Cast about the one-time England international's appointment, Fry said: “Lee is the ideal man to go into Birmingham City because he's very positive, he's very committed, he's very positive he’s very knowledgable, he’s honest and he gets the best out of the players.
"And when you look at the Birmingham squad, it’s a good squad, but each and every one of them are underachieving.”
As things stand, Birmingham are currently 21st in the Championship table, three points clear of the relegation zone with eight games of their league season still to be play.
Fry however, is confident that Bowyer will be able to keep the club up this season, as
he added:
“I back Lee, the Bluenoses will back Lee and I think he’ll do enough. Although he’s got a difficult task, he’ll do enough to keep the Blues in the Championship.”
Next up for Birmingham in their battle against relegation is the visit of promotion chasing Swansea City to St Andrew's on Friday night.
The Verdict
I do think that Bowyer has a decent chance to keep Birmingham in the Championship this season.
There have certainly been signs of promise in the two games since he took over as manager, and that result against Reading was particularly impressive.
As a result, there are reasons for Birmingham to be confident now, and the fact that Bowyer already knows the club is surely going to help all concerned with the lift it could give to those around St Andrew's.
Even so, Rotherham's games in hand mean that things are currently out of Birmingham's hands with regards to avoiding relegation, meaning it could be a nervous few months for those associated with the Blues.
