'Absolutely huge' - Pundit in disbelief over late-season Birmingham City decision as fans take aim at EFL
A Birmingham City star has received a surprise snub despite a stunning 2024/25 campaign
Birmingham City fans have enjoyed a season to remember in League One after smashing numerous third-tier records en route to winning promotion back to the Championship.
The Blues exceeded Reading’s long-standing EFL record of 106 points in a single season by winning 2-0 away at Blackpool to take their overall tally to 108 and it could still get better when they end the season with an away trip to an already-relegated Cambridge United team that are gearing up for life in League Two.
A victory for Birmingham would take them to 34 wins in a league season, beating the EFL record held by Doncaster Rovers of 33 which was set back in 1946/47.
Birmingham have been treated to many great individual performances along the way but one notable name that’s controversially been snubbed for this year’s Player of the Season award is Austrian Christoph Klarer.
Birmingham fans fume at Christoph Klarer omission
Birmingham’s midfield dynamo Tomoki Iwata has been nominated for the League One Player of the Season award after a sublime campaign which has seen him register six goals and one assist while dominating battles in the middle of the park.
The Japan international definitely deserves his flowers for an excellent debut campaign after swapping Glasgow for the West Midlands over the summer. He joined eventual winner Richard Kone in the running to win this year’s top prize while there was also a mention for Barnsley’s Davis Keillor-Dunn, who has contributed 16 goals and seven assists for a Tykes side that has been nowhere near expectations this term.
Jay Stansfield also misses out on the nomination despite scoring a staggering 19 goals in his debut season, but the most shocking omission from the perspective of most Blues fans was defender Christoph Klarer, who has been sensational since his arrival from SV Darmstadt in Germany.
His performances over the course of the campaign have won him plenty of plaudits from Blues fans. One posted on X: “Love Iwata. Proper love n all but how has Klarer not been nominated??”
Another added: “In a way, it might be good if Klarer keeps getting overlooked. Don't want people clocking on to just how good he is.” A third explained: “I’m in complete disbelief how Christoph Klarer hasn’t been nominated/shortlisted for player of the season.”
Christoph Klarer’s season in numbers
Christoph Klarer has racked up 53 appearances across all competitions, scoring one goal and contributing three assists. The bulk of those have come in the league and he’s played in a total of 42 games over the course of the campaign.
The imperious Austrian centre-back has brought solidity to a Blues team that conceded far too many goals last term and has proven himself a class above most attackers in the division this term.
Klarer has conceded 24 goals and kept 20 clean sheets in 42 matches. That means when Klarer is on the pitch, his team concedes a goal every 155 minutes, which makes him one of the most influential defenders in the division. He’s also in the top 99 percentile when it comes to successful passes this season with 2716, which means he’s completed more passes than everyone else in the division. He’s won 182 headers which also shows he rarely loses an aerial duel in a league where many teams try and opt for a more direct style of football.
EFL expert Ali Maxwell adds that his form should have been enough to seal the Player of the Season award, speaking on the Not The Top 20 podcast, Maxwell explained: “For me, Christoph Klarer is a standout performer in League One this season and should have won this award.
“He’s been their most important player; the standards he sets in and out of possession are absolutely huge. Yeah, they’ve got some good midfield players, and Iwata was nominated for the award, and some of Iwata’s goals in the early part of the season, in particular, had him pretty high on people’s radars.
“But for me, Klarer is almost as important to their possession play, he plays so many passes per game, the quality of his passing short and long is backed up in the FotMob data. He gets into the opposition half and if he gets in the final third, he’s not a massive negative like most centre backs would be in that position. But also his aggression, the way he carries himself, the way he snuffs out counterattacks, no one can beat him on the ground, no one can beat him in the air, he’s an astounding player for this level. Klarer, for me, is the Player of the Season in League One rather than Richard Kone.”