Birmingham City’s transformation under Chris Davies has been quietly impressive. After the turbulence of recent years, Davies has brought stability, identity, and direction—culminating in a strong League One campaign that reconnected the fans with the team.
We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld to assess Chris Davies’ impact.
We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld to assess Chris Davies’ impact.
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00:00Birmingham City's transformation under Chris Davis has been quietly impressive.
00:07After the turbulence of recent years, Davis has brought stability, identity and direction,
00:14culminating in a strong League One campaign that reconnected the fans with the team.
00:21Blues cruised to the League One title and the signs of long-term progress are there.
00:27The team played with greater purpose and structure, young talents were given key roles
00:33and off the pitch a more professional culture has taken root.
00:38Davis has clearly instilled belief and the supporters have responded.
00:43It's still early days in his tenure but the project feels different, rooted in modern ideas with a clear pathway forward.
00:53Recruitment has been smarter, performances more consistent and crucially,
00:59the club is no longer just looking to survive but to grow.
01:04The next step while turning promise into results, whether in the playoffs or preparing for another campaign in the championship,
01:14Birmingham are now having the platform to build a side capable of lasting success.
01:19We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to assess Chris Davis' impact
01:25and whether Blues fans are right to believe this could be the start of something bigger.
01:32Charlie, on Birmingham City, let's just touch on Chris Davis.
01:36Now obviously, you know, across the campaign we've mentioned their incredible job, Blues and the investment, etc.
01:42But they still had to go and complete the job. Chris Davis has come in his first managerial job, you know,
01:49and then he wins League One Manager of the Year, deservedly so.
01:52New League One points record as well, beating their neighbours Wolves to that record.
01:57Obviously, he didn't go to pan in the Virtue Trophy final, but just as a whole, a League One season.
02:02You know, we mentioned before, you know, very, very start of the season that it could, this is exactly how they wanted it to go.
02:08And it has panned out to pretty much perfection.
02:11How impressed with Chris Davis have you been and him galvanising this group and believing in a project for the future?
02:18I've been very impressed. I think it's difficult to come in as your first manager's job with so much pressure on your shoulders.
02:25And the football club didn't help with the levels of pressure with the amount of money they spent.
02:28So that helped Davies in the long run with having a better squad to deal with and having a likelier,
02:34be likelier to get promoted and to win the League One title.
02:38But it did bring that added pressure and weight on his shoulders.
02:41I think he's dealt with that really well. He's kept level-headed throughout.
02:44He's focused on the basics first. First and foremost, making his team the fittest in League One was one of his big demands at the start of the season.
02:53He wanted to make sure he had two players in each position capable of stepping up if there were injuries taking hold at any point,
03:00which at that point they did.
03:02The likes of Tomoki Iwata, Peh Singh Ho, unavailable Lieber Cannon as well, having some serious injuries at left back.
03:08Even Jay Stansfield out for a little patch.
03:10Lyndon Dykes, Alfie May, etc.
03:12Some key players getting injured and that was anticipated by Chris Davies in the transfer window.
03:18And also just the way he's kept them motivated when they look destined to win the title, look destined for promotion.
03:24He made sure that every single week, every single day in training that they were staying dedicated to the course.
03:29They weren't letting anything slip.
03:31That's just, that is very impressive, I think, motivation-wise, just to keep that level going so, so consistently throughout such a long season.
03:39Then to go and break the League One points record.
03:41I mean, are there many better achievements in the EFL from a manager's first ever season as a manager?
03:47I'm not too sure.
03:48Really, truly remarkable what he's done in the football club.
03:51And it's exciting to see what he can do in the championship.
03:53I think the investment will continue in the summer, potentially a new striker.
03:57I know that Alfie May played fantastically in League One at times, maybe a little bit inconsistent this season,
04:02but probably not strong enough to be in the championship week in, week out.
04:07The same could probably be said for Lyndon Dykes as well, though he's had lots of injury problems.
04:11We've not quite seen the best of him just yet.
04:13You might be thinking, what about Jay Stansfield?
04:15But I think he plays quite well as a number 10 or just wide off the left or right,
04:19or maybe even a two-striker formation if Chris Davies wants to switch things up.
04:24They're going to have one of the best revenues in the entire championship
04:27behind the teams that have been recently relegated from the Premier League anyway.
04:31Blues will be able to match those in the playoff fight.
04:34So I think they can go on and spend not as much as they want, but a decent chunk again
04:39and make sure that they are ready to get promoted in the next couple of years.