Should he Che or should he go?

If you stand within a metre of Neal Maupay, he’ll hit the deck and start rolling.

If you stand within a metre of Neal Maupay, he’ll hit the deck and start rolling. If you go to Millwall looking for a fight, you’ll definitely find one and if Blues have a young player that shows any sign of promise, you can guarantee that he won’t be around much longer. Some things in life just seem like dead certainties and we’ve been sorely reminded of this over the last few days.

Those of you that consider yourselves to be my most loyal readers (aka my Mom and Dad) will know that I’ve been quite a harsh critic of Che Adams over the past couple of years. He may have been blighted by injuries but I sincerely believe he’s failed to live up to the hype since joining from the Blades. Until this season…

This season, Che has come alive!

After bagging just 12 league goals in his first two years with the Blues, Adams has now netted 15 times in the first chapter of 2018/19 and his run of great form is showing little signs of slowing down. Naturally, this has caught the attention of some of the bigger boys in English football and the fight is now on to keep hold of Che’s services.

His goal against Norwich was one of the sexiest turns I’ve ever seen on a football pitch. In fact it was so beautiful that I immediately ran to my bedroom and ripped down my poster of Johan Cruyff before uploading footage of Che’s touch to PornHub

It’s no secret that Birmingham have had a little difficulty in balancing the books over the last 3 years (in the same way that the Titanic had a little difficulty avoiding icebergs). Money doesn’t grow on trees and if it does, such foliage certainly doesn’t grow anywhere near Small Heath! We have very few living assets to sell at St Andrews but a young, prolific striker is a sure fire cash grab. The question is though, do we strike whilst the Adams’ hot?

I could probably put forward decent arguments for both selling and keeping Che. At least, I hope I can otherwise this article could contain more drivel than usual…

Anyway, allow me to share my Point of Blue with you (see what I did there?) Please note that this is an article of two halves and at times I may be playing Devils Advocate!

I don’t rate Che Adams as highly as some. I realise that this is a ridiculous statement and many of you have probably navigated away from this diatribe already, but hear me out. Do I think Che’s been awesome this season? Yes. Yes I do. In fact, his goal against Norwich was one of the sexiest turns I’ve ever seen on a football pitch. In fact it was so beautiful that I immediately ran to my bedroom and ripped down my poster of Johan Cruyff before uploading footage of Che’s touch to PornHub.

Adams has fired home from all angles and his link up play with Jukey has been phenomenal at times. Yes, without doubt, Che has been one of our top performers this season.

This season.

J-Mags was brilliant for a season too and went on to win POTS. There aren’t too many people voting for him this year though is there?

Che Adams is still very young and it would be silly for me to suggest that he’s a one season wonder. However, based on the evidence, that’s what he is so far. Che’s value is at an all time high and if we’re assuming that he’s destined to follow in Demarai Gray’s footsteps and leave eventually anyway, surely it’d be wise to cash in now?

My criticisms of Che are borne out of pure frustration. He clearly has it within him to be an incredible player but he’s shown a real lack of effort at times and as great as his fancy flick-ons may be on paper, they so rarely find their mark. The talent is there and this season he’s truly shown what he can do. He really has been fantastic this season – I cannot over state that and I sincerely hope that I don’t get misunderstood. My concern is that the team as a whole are firing on all cylinders this year, but what about the next campaign? Is Che becoming the class of player that so many believe he can be, or is he just elevated on a par with those around him?

As I stated last week; I try to steer away from doom and gloom. I like to think I’m also a realist though. Rumour has it that Burnley tabled a bid of £8m and Southampton have looked to beat that. Well in the words of Will from The Inbetweeners, “I like football, but I don’t like Burnley. Burnley can f**k off!”

£8 million is a chunky slice of quiche though and even if we may not have permission to spend it, it’ll show the EFL that we are at least attempting to rectify our financial woes – especially since we pulled their pants down and chuckled whilst signing Kristian Pedersen against their wishes.

So that’s my argument for selling in a nutshell. To summarise (as my English teacher always taught me to do) Che’s value is at an all time high right now so if we’re going to cash in, now’s the time to do it – especially after his second half performance at Swansea which ensured that any scouts at the Liberty Stadium returned home with glowing reports. Secondly, I worry that the old Adams may rear his head before too long and the possibility of trading him in for a £10m cheque – and subsequently 2 or 3 future signings – may pass us by.

Having said all that, there is certainly an argument for retaining Che’s signature too. I mean, just look at the kid’s record this season! We couldn’t beg, steal or borrow a goal this time last year but now CA9 is scoring for fun. I honestly don’t think that the playoffs are on the cards this year but who knows about next season? If Monk, Jimmy and the Real Pep are serious about building a legacy at the club then Che Adams is surely one of the vital keystones.

Since going public in the Summer with my dissatisfaction with the striker, Che has made me look like an absolute mug week in, week out and long may it continue. I will happily offer myself up to ridicule if Blues continue to hold their position in the Championship and Adams keeps putting in the type of shift that we all know he’s so capable of. Perhaps his lacklustre start at the club was down to sub par management? Maybe it was the inconsistency of team selections? Injuries undoubtedly played their part too, as did the revolving managerial door. Monk & Co are finally steering this ship in the right direction and it’d be disingenuous to suggest that the rise in morale hasn’t been one of the driving factors in our sudden success. Success relative to previous campaigns of course!

Regardless of the fact that I may have pointed out more arguments for selling that keeping (I’ve had a long day at work, I’m probably just being grumpy) I err on the side of retention at the moment. By all accounts, our owners are loaded and although a quick cash grab may temporarily appease the EFL, as far as I’m concerned they can EF’ Off.

We will never see the Premier League again if we insist on selling our Grays, our Butlands and our Adams. We’re better off leaving the status of ‘Selling Club’ to the likes of Brentford and although keeping hold of our potential future stars may upset the powers that be at the EFL (and maybe even the players themselves) it’s in the best interests of Birmingham City Football Club’s long term success and that should ALWAYS be our priority.

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2 Comments on “Should he Che or should he go?”

  • Graham

    says:

    We are already within ftp for this season !
    So things can only get better !

    Reply

    • Chris Goulding

      says:

      FFP works over 3 seasons, pretty sure we’re not within FFP as things stand.

      Reply

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