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
11
Tackles won
10

Season Snapshot

Minutes played
928
84.36 per match
Tackles won
10
Interceptions
7
Clean sheets contributed
29
as defensive proxy

Season Stats

Appearances
11
Minutes played
928
Tackles won
10
Interceptions
7
Clearances
29
Blocks
5

League Rankings

Among EFL Championship 2026/27 defenders

Tackles won
26th of 175
Interceptions
82nd of 178
Clearances
67th of 189
Blocks
52nd of 159
👑 Assist Kings #13 of 454
🟨 Most Cards #63 of 299
🎯 Pass Master #76 of 565
😈 Bad Boys #93 of 488
💪 Workhorses #243 of 464
👻 Ghost Players #339 of 464
img EFL
CAR
CAR
16:00
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
img EFL
BIR
BIR
15:00
Sat 7 Nov
SWA
SWA
img EFL
STO
STO
15:00
Sat 21 Nov
BIR
BIR

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
11 apps
30
Bradley Mayo
Age 22
0 apps
21
Ryan Allsop
Age 34
0 apps

Defenders

26
Bright Osayi-Samuel
Age 28
11 apps
4
Christoph Klarer
Age 26
11 apps
5
Phil Neumann
Age 29
11 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
11 apps 2a
14
Jhon Solís
Age 22
9 apps 1a
8
Paik Seung-Ho
Korea Republic · Age 29
8 apps 1g
16
Patrick Roberts
Age 29
8 apps 3a
18
Max Bird
Bristol City · Age 26
4 apps 1a
19
Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Blackburn Rovers · Age 24
2 apps
12
Marc Leonard
Age 24
0 apps
40
Menzi Mazwi
Age 20
0 apps

Forwards

7
Carlos Vicente
Age 27
11 apps 2g
28
Jay Stansfield
Age 23
11 apps 1g 1a
9
August Priske
Age 22
10 apps 4g 1a
32
Luis Vázquez
Age 25
9 apps 1a
10
Demarai Gray
Age 30
8 apps 3g
17
Liam Millar
Hull City · Age 27
7 apps 4g 3a
33
Marvin Ducksch
Age 32
6 apps
11
Scott Wright
Age 29
0 apps
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