Birmingham City

Alex Cochrane

A left back who prioritises defending his box before thinking about anything further forward, the type of full back a manager trusts not to gift the opposition a chance. He learned that discipline in Scotland, playing a Scottish Cup final before English football came calling.
England Birmingham City DEF
Appearances
9
Tackles won
10

Season Snapshot

Minutes played
748
83.11 per match
Tackles won
10
Interceptions
6
Clean sheets contributed
26
as defensive proxy

Season Stats

Appearances
9
Minutes played
748
Tackles won
10
Interceptions
6
Clearances
26
Blocks
3

League Rankings

Among EFL Championship 2026/27 defenders

Tackles won
12th of 158
Interceptions
73rd of 168
Clearances
55th of 183
Blocks
73rd of 149
👑 Assist Kings #18 of 421
🟨 Most Cards #44 of 254
😈 Bad Boys #79 of 467
🎯 Pass Master #112 of 554
💪 Workhorses #218 of 434
👻 Ghost Players #262 of 434
img EFL
BIR
BIR
20:00
Tue 13 Oct
PNE
PNE
img EFL
BIR
BIR
15:00
Sat 17 Oct
QPR
QPR
img EFL
CAR
CAR
15:00
Sat 24 Oct
BIR
BIR
img EFL
LIN
LIN
12:30
Sat 31 Oct
BIR
BIR
img EFL
BIR
BIR
20:00
Tue 3 Nov
MIL
MIL

Alex Cochrane, Defending Comes First

Cochrane developed in Scotland, playing in a Scottish Cup final before returning to English football with Birmingham.

Cochrane defends first and looks to join the attack second, a left back who would rather stay compact and deny a cross than gamble on getting forward and leaving space behind him. That disciplined approach was shaped in Scotland, where he played a Scottish Cup final for Hearts and built a reputation as a defender managers could trust in the biggest matches. Birmingham moved to bring that steadiness south, a fit for a squad chasing promotion straight away.

The trade off with a full back this conservative is that he offers less of an attacking outlet than fans expect from the position in a league that wants full backs to create too. Cochrane offers control rather than end product, which suits a team wanting calm on one side of the pitch while looking for width elsewhere. Whether Birmingham ever ask more of him going forward is worth watching.

The Rest Of The Squad

26 players

Goalkeepers

1
James Beadle
Age 22
9 apps
30
Bradley Mayo
Age 22
0 apps
21
Ryan Allsop
Age 34
0 apps

Defenders

26
Bright Osayi-Samuel
Age 28
9 apps
4
Christoph Klarer
Age 26
9 apps
5
Phil Neumann
Age 29
9 apps 2g
2
Ethan Laird
Age 25
7 apps
23
Dael Fry
Middlesbrough · Age 29
2 apps
25
Kristoffer Lund
Age 24
2 apps
3
Lee Buchanan
Age 25
0 apps

Midfielders

24
Tomoki Iwata
Age 29
9 apps
8
Paik Seung-Ho
Korea Republic · Age 29
8 apps 1g
14
Jhon Solís
Age 22
7 apps 1a
16
Patrick Roberts
Age 29
6 apps 2a
18
Max Bird
Bristol City · Age 26
2 apps
19
Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Blackburn Rovers · Age 24
1 app
12
Marc Leonard
Age 24
0 apps
40
Menzi Mazwi
Age 20
0 apps

Forwards

7
Carlos Vicente
Age 27
9 apps 2g
28
Jay Stansfield
Age 23
9 apps 1g
9
August Priske
Age 22
8 apps 2g 1a
32
Luis Vázquez
Age 25
8 apps
10
Demarai Gray
Age 30
6 apps 1g
17
Liam Millar
Hull City · Age 27
5 apps 1g 3a
33
Marvin Ducksch
Age 32
5 apps
11
Scott Wright
Age 29
0 apps
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