Birmingham City supporters may have been puzzled by Arsenal, Barcelona history: View | OneFootball

Alexander Hleb joined Birmingham City on loan for the 2010/11 season but failed to live up to expectations at St Andrew's

The 2010/11 season was a strange one for Birmingham City for a number of reasons, and one player in particular endured a torrid campaign at St Andrew's.

After a 9th place finish in the Premier League the previous year, expectations were high at St Andrew's in the summer of 2010, and things looked positive, particularly after they announced the signing of Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb on a season-long loan.

The Belarusian attacking midfielder had vast Premier League experience thanks to his time at Arsenal between 2005 and 2008, which has subsequently earned him the move to Barcelona, and while playing time was hard to come by at the Camp Nou, perhaps understandably given their embarrassment of riches and calibre of players, he was still a player with a good reputation.

On paper, it appeared to be a good signing, but things didn't quite work out for Hleb in England's second city.

Birmingham City supporters would have been puzzled by Alexander Hleb's Arsenal and Barcelona past

Hleb joined Birmingham City at the end of August 2010, and made his debut in the middle of the following month, a 3-1 away defeat to West Brom which set the tone for both his spell at the club and his side's fortunes that season.

A couple of days later, he played in his side's third round League Cup tie at home to MK Dons where he scored in a 3-1 win, and it looked as if he'd made a decent enough start to life at St Andrew's, but it wasn't to last.

Injury problems would plague his time at Birmingham City, and he struggled to string a run of games together, with seven league games the most he played consecutively before being ruled out with injury.

Even when he did play, he wasn't particularly impressive, and Birmingham supporters would have been forgiven for wondering how he had played for the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona.

In total, Hleb managed just half of the Blues' Premier League games, playing 19 times, scoring once and registering just once.

Given his stature and the hype around his signing, a lot more was expected from the Belarusian, and he was unable to help his side avoid the drop, with Birmingham being relegated to the Championship on the final day of the season.

Both Hleb and Birmingham City fared better in the cup competitions, and he registered three assists in three FA Cup games, along with one goal in his two League Cup appearances.

However, that wasn't enough to win over the club's fanbase, and he didn't do himself any favours by saying that the club's style of play didn't suit him, and he'd instead like to move to Arsenal again.

In April 2011, Hleb said: "I want to give my best for Birmingham but if I have the chance to go back to Arsenal, of course I would.

"I am happy and enjoy my time here, everything is good, but this is a little bit not my style of football."

Hleb returned to Barcelona after his spell with the Blues, and he never returned to English football, presumably to the delight of the St Andrew's faithful.

It's fair to say that Hleb failed to live up to expectations with Birmingham City, and he's not fondly remembered by the club's support.

Alexander Hleb's signing encapsulated a strange 2010/11 season for Birmingham City

The 2010/11 season was a strange one at Birmingham City, and despite relegation from the Premier League, they enjoyed success in the League Cup, beating Arsenal in the final and subsequently qualifying for the Europa League.

Birmingham fans were obviously delighted to have won a major trophy, but just a couple of months later they were relegated, overshadowing their impressive achievement at Wembley just a couple of months prior.

Bizarrely, the League Cup with Birmingham was the only major honour Hleb won in English football, despite spending three years with Arsenal, although he was injured for the final, which meant he wasn't part of the team that beat his former side.

The 2010/11 season is certainly one of the most memorable seasons in Birmingham's history for a number of reasons, and having Hleb on loan from Barcelona just added to its uniqueness.

His time at St Andrew's wasn't a success, and it proved to be one of the more puzzling transfer moves of Birmingham's Premier League days.