Birmingham City lauded for "masterstroke" signing who was an "absolute idol" | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has named one signing in the club's history that proved a masterstroke

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City are heading back for the Championship next season as look as they maintain their form to the end of the campaign.

Chris Davies’ side have built a strong lead over the chasing pack, and will be confident of automatic promotion this season.

The Blues spent big last summer in order to build a team capable of going straight back up at the first attempt.

Birmingham will be hoping to make smart signings again this summer in order to maintain their competitiveness going up a division, with their long-term sights set on the Premier League.

Birmingham transfer masterstroke identified

When asked what the biggest transfer masterstroke the Blues have ever pulled off was, FLW’s Birmingham fan pundit Mike Gibbs named the arrival of Christophe Duggary in January 2003.

He believes the addition of the World Cup winner was crucial to their top flight survival at the time, with supporters immediately falling in love with him due to his impact.

“I think the biggest masterstroke, for me, was probably Christophe Duggary back in the early days of the Premier League,” Gibbs told Football League World.

“I think he signed in January 2003, but just came in the first six months he was there, I think he was pretty much the sole reason we stayed in the Premier League that season and enabled us to really kick on, and I think we stayed up for about four or five years.

“He was a masterstroke.

“He came in, had an immediate impact, adored by the fans, that sort of cool icon, gracious footballer, World Cup winner obviously.

“I think fans just fell in love with him, he’s still seen as an absolute idol and icon of the club.

“He played for 18 months and certainly once he joined permanently in the summer he didn’t have as much of an impact in the second season.

“I think he was a masterstroke, to get a player of that quality into the club and the difference he made, it genuinely was a masterstroke.”

Dugarry scored five goals in 16 league appearances during his initial loan stint, helping Birmingham finish 13th in the table.

Duggary’s impact was short but sweet

Duggary arrived at Birmingham in the tail end of his career, but he had a major impact in a short span of time that fans will always remember fondly.

His five league goals during that loan spell meant the club stayed safely clear of the relegation zone in their first Premier League campaign.

While his first full season at the club didn’t quite have the same success, that doesn’t take away from how important a signing he was at the time.