This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham have struggled to bag goals on a regular basis so far this season and it's an issue that manager Lee Bowyer will need to sort out soon.

The Blues have fallen to five losses in their last six Championship games and during that run, they've scored just one goal.

They've tried several different pairings up front and have rotated their side but it has yet to pay off. Birmingham just cannot break down the opposition's defence right now and it has led to them plummeting down the table.

Lee Bowyer's side are now staring the relegation places in the face and will be desperate to turn their fortunes around in their next game against Huddersfield.

 

 

The one problem that needs solving to be able to get that crucial win would be to find goals in the team. That needs to be the first priority, as if you can't score, you can't win. It's all well and good having a solid defence but you will only bag draws if you can't put the ball in the back of the net.

Who then, should start up front for the Blues in their next fixture? Who needs to start playing for the side in attack in their pursuit for goals. We asked some of our writers to give their verdict on who should be playing up front for Birmingham going forward, as they try to end this run of negative results...

Adam Jones

As an outsider and someone who isn't part of the squad, Troy Deeney has to start on paper after scoring seven goals in 19 Championship appearances for Watford last term.
He may not have made a huge number of appearances considering his previous status as a key player at Vicarage Road, but that's still a tidy scoring record and one that Lee Bowyer needs to utilise in the Blues' quest to get out of their rut.
The 33-year-old is reliable - and reliability is the main thing the Birmingham City manager needs right now.
This is why he should also start Chuks Aneke having previously worked with him at Charlton. He was a proven goalscorer in League One last season and could be a massive threat again this term if he can translate his form from the third tier to the Championship.
This would completely shake up the Blues' front line after disappointment against West Brom and considering their current attacking record, this is exactly what they might need.
Jordan Rushworth
It has been a very difficult period for Birmingham City and the first major test of Lee Bowyer’s managerial reign at St Andrews. One of their most obvious issues of late has been their lack of output in the final third and they have failed to score in any of their last five league matches. Bowyer has plenty of options to choose from upfront with the likes of Lukas Jutkiewicz, Scott Hogan, Troy Deeney and Chuks Aneke all battling for game time for the Blues. Deeney’s move to Birmingham has not worked out for him so far and the fact that Aneke came off the bench ahead of him against West Brom shows that he has a lot of work to do before he can command regular starts this season. Therefore, you would not expect Deeney to lead the line for them against Huddersfield Town. Aneke could well be handed a rare chance to start by Bowyer after he came on against West Brom and he might be worth a run out to see if he can make a difference for them. Jutkiewicz should keep his place because he always offers a threat in the air and he leads the line well for the Blues and contributes to the team even when he is not scoring. Hogan does often get into good positions in the final third for Birmingham, but he is at times a little too wasteful. Bowyer might want to consider resting him and handing Aneke a chance to show what he can do. Marcus Ally Birmingham’s main strength on the pitch is their wingers. Tahith Chong and Jeremie Bela will cause problems for any Championship backline and in a front three with Scott Hogan they will be a handful. Hogan came agonisingly close in what was a good performance from the Blues at The Hawthorns on Friday evening, but with the quick turnaround maybe this is the time to reintroduce Troy Deeney. Deeney’s link-up play with Chong and Bela could be more effective and give the Terriers’ backline a lot to contend with. With Maxime Colin’s injury Bowyer should switch to a back four, allowing Chong and Bela to play further forward where they can impact the game more. Chuks Aneke is not mobile enough at second tier level so it is between Hogan and Deeney to be deployed in between Chong and Bela in a front three. Bowyer may see it differently.