Birmingham City told to consider tweak - "Chris Davies is not going to change" | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has his say on Chris Davies' current approach and believes change is needed

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

For Birmingham City, it's not the ideal start to their first season back in the Championship they would've hoped for after the record-breaking points tally that they put up in League One last year.

With the Blues currently sitting in 15th place with 15 points on the board after 12 games, many supporters would've expected their side to be challenging in and around the play-off spots, especially with top-quality talent at Chris Davies' disposal.

A meeting with Portsmouth at St. Andrew's next on the calendar is something to bolster their hopes in their current situation, as consistency has eluded the Blues in the early stages of the season. Losses to Hull and Bristol City either side of a narrow 1-0 win against Preston have alerted fans to Davies' tactics - some saying that the former Wales youth international is in need of tactical changes.

With sack talk over the manager's name heating up, the 40-year-old may need to switch up his tactics and force quick improvements in order to save his job.

Chris Davies urged to give his Birmingham City players more freedom within their 4-2-3-1 system

For Chris Davies, he is commonly known for being a manager who is rather regimented in his ways and that has certainly been the case throughout his time with Birmingham as his chosen formation is 4-2-3-1, and he rarely strays away from that regardless of the opposition's tactics and personnel.

With the Blues performing somewhat below-par so far this season, it may be time for a change of approach. However, Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason, believes that the formation itself is sound, and the club have the players to carry it out in the right way, it's merely the fact that the system is "too coached".

Jason said: "The 4-2-3-1 approach that he has works perfectly fine for what we are trying to achieve. It's just how coached this system is. The actual formation is fine, and we have the players to play it. I think more the issue is that it's too coached, it's too 'this is the system and this is how we're going to play'. Like it's pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. There's no tempo to how we play. There's no getting the ball forward and really running at the opposition, which is really easy to defend against.

"I think the actual formation is not the problem, it's just we've got to move the ball quicker. Have a shot, you haven't got to score the perfect goal.

"It was the same thing in League One, to be fair, but the opposition was worse, and we eventually tired them out, and we could score, hence why we could win 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, etc."

Birmingham City supporters may have to put up with Chris Davies' stubborn tactical approach

With Birmingham City being very much stuck in their way for some time now when it comes to how they play football, Chris Davies is perhaps starting to because rather predictable by opposition on how he will set up and how he will try to break teams down, which for a manager in the second tier can be a dangerous game.

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason, believes that although him liking the system and thinking it has the potential to work on a consistent basis, it's not panning out that way in the Championship. However, Davies won't change his ways.

Jason said: "Chris Davies is not going to change his approach. He's openly said, 'this is my way of playing. This is how I believe you win games of football'. So he's not going to change that. It's quite obvious that he needs to change the system slightly. Not tonnes because it's not terrible, we look good on the ball, it's just that last little bit.

"But he's already said that he's not going to change it, and this is how we win games of football, in his eyes, and my theory is that because he's not going to change his style of play, I don't think his job is in jeopardy yet at all as well. I think he's got so much credit in the bank for last season with these owners. And I think the whole Wayne Rooney fiasco is going to save him as well, because these owners can't afford to do what they did last season.

"What also helps Chris Davies is that we're quite clearly not a bad side, and we're not going to go down. Hopefully he'll keep us up. Like I fully expect us to play Portsmouth and Millwall, touch wood, and beat them at home because, let's be honest, the squad we're got is very, very, good.

"He definitely needs to change his system up, but he won't do it because he's very 'this is my way of playing football', and I don't think it's going to cost him his job unless results get really bad, but I don't think they will because I think home form will save him.

"Unfortunately, I just think we're going to put up with it, Blues fans. Hopefully he turns it around, but personally, I don't see him turning it around.

"I like how we are currently, we just need to move the ball a bit quicker. I like the 4-2-3-1. I like the two holding players, and then the wingers coming in, and then our full-backs being wingers. I like it. I like how we bring players forward. We just don't create.