Finally Birmingham City’s Boss Has Decided To Make This “Bold” Decision On His Star, Is It A Good One?

Chris Davies could be about to make his most ruthless Birmingham City decision yet

Chris Davies is a manager who enjoys making the difficult decisions. There is a ruthless streak to Birmingham City’s young boss that some of his predecessors have lacked.

And it’s a good job, too, because Davies might soon have to drop one of Blues’ most in-form players. Ben Davies hasn’t put a foot wrong whilst deputising for captain Krystian Bielik in the heart of Blues’ defence but now faces losing his place in the line-up.

“I want difficult decisions and I want there to be competition for places and everything else that comes with that,” the Blues manager says of his centre-back conundrum. “I’ll look at it over the week and the piece and decide what I think is best.

“They are two quality players who are very good in their own right and have done really well for the club.”

Bielik is fit and available once again after a month out with an ankle injury and has come through a week of full training unscathed. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him restored to the XI at Davies’ expense

It would be no slight on Davies who, in his 10 games for Blues this term, has contributed to seven victories and four clean sheets. His 89 percent passing accuracy suggests Blues’ stand-in centre-back is adept in possession, but it’s defensively where Davies excels. Unlike Bielik, who will occasionally take a risk at the back, Davies is more of a ‘no nonsense’ defender.

But it is Bielik’s ability in possession which gives him the edge. The Poland international has an array of passes in his locker, from incisive balls between opposition lines to raking switches, such as the one which picked out Ethan Laird in the build-up to Alfie May’s goal at Wycombe in August.

Bielik is essential to Blues’ tactical set-up and build up play from the back. As we know, Blues’ 4-2-3-1 formation becomes a 3-2-5 in possession and Bielik sees a lot of the ball in the middle of the back three.

The onus is often on Bielik to get Blues moving through the thirds in a way that few other League One centre-backs, including Davies, can. That is why manager Davies might drop his namesake despite a series of strong showings next to Christoph Klarer