Birmingham City fought over this Aston Villa flop, but…

admin | December 17, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Birmingham City striker Scott Hogan has failed to hit the back of the net for the Blues this season, scoring just twice in all competitions.

The Irish international is in his fourth full season at St Andrew’s having moving across the city in January 2020, initially on a short-term loan from Aston Villa.

The Blues, on the other hand, made the deal permanent that summer, signing Hogan on a four-year contract from their bitter rivals.

Hogan worked his way up through the ranks of Woodley Sports, Halifax Town, Mossley, Stocksbridge Park Steels, Ashton United, and Hyde before gaining a spot in the EFL with Rochdale in 2013.

After a good season with The Dale in League Two, he was signed by Brentford in the summer of 2014. This is where Hogan really established himself.

Scott Hogan’s impressive strike rate at Brentford

Hogan had a dreadful first season at Griffin Park, appearing in only two games for 32 minutes before injuring his ACL in September.

Not the best start for the striker aiming to establish a name for himself in the Championship after making the huge step up from League Two. He’d also miss the majority of the 2015/16 season, returning just in March 2016.

This means Hogan was injured from September 2014 to March 2016. An incredible 18 months of football had been lost.

On March 19, 2016, he made his debut for the Bees against Blackburn Rovers, playing just 14 minutes as the club tried to ease him back into action.

He’d get two more eight-minute cameos off the bench in victories over Ipswich and Bolton before playing 18 minutes against Bristol City in April. Hogan’s first goal for Brentford came against the Robins, when he equalized to save a point for his club.

He’d follow that up with two goals in 14 minutes against Cardiff the next game, before closing the season with two goals in the final two games against Fulham and Huddersfield.

Hogan concluded the season with seven goals in 172 minutes of action, an extraordinary feat for a player coming back from a catastrophic injury.

He’d flourish for the Bees the following season, netting 14 Championship goals before January, prompting Aston Villa to approach him as they sought promotion to the Premier League.

Scott Hogan’s record since leaving Brentford

Hogan struggled for Villa in the second half of the 2016/17 season, scoring just once.

The next season, he scored six league goals for the team and played eight minutes in the play-off final loss to Fulham.

The next season was even worse for Hogan. He appeared in just 15 games throughout all competitions, scoring twice as Villa finally achieved promotion.

With Villa now in the Premier League, Hogan had no future at the club and joined Stoke City on loan.

He only scored twice for the Potters before being recalled by Villa in January and loaned to bitter rivals Birmingham in a surprise transfer. Hogan had a stronger season for the Blues, scoring seven goals and securing a permanent transfer to St Andrew’s.

The following season, he scored seven times for the Blues before breaking into double figures with ten league goals in 2021/22. The next season, Hogan duplicated the feat, scoring exactly ten goals, but has struggled this season.

Hogan has only scored two goals in 17 appearances, with only one of those coming in the league. Hogan has played occasionally since Wayne Rooney’s arrival, but has recently been relegated to the bench.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it’s unclear what Hogan’s future holds. He has lots of life remaining in him at only 31 years old.