Chris Davies urged to snub divisive Birmingham City selection decision - he's not "totally to blame" | OneFootball

FLW’s Birmingham City fan pundit has commented over whether Chris Davies should drop James Beadle following his error at Loftus Road in midweek.

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…

Birmingham City are still very much in the hunt for the play-offs, but need to arrest an alarming run of form away from home.

Blues have made St. Andrew’s a fortress on their return to the second-tier, tasting just one defeat all season and winning their last four home league matches on the spin.

However, it’s been a sharp contrast on the road, losing four out of their last five away games that has haltered their progress to rise up even further up the Championship table.

But if they can sort it out, then they should be firmly in the promotion conversation, with the West Midlands outfit certainly showing plenty of positives under Chris Davies, particularly when expectations are so high.

Their latest defeat away from home came in midweek at Loftus Road against Queens Park Rangers, and it would have been particularly tough to take as Blues had drawn themselves level in the third minute of stoppage time through Patrick Roberts.

But Blues still fell to defeat in devastating fashion, as Kieran Morgan earned a last-ditch winner for the R’s to spark pandemonium in West London.

From a Birmingham perspective, a fierce amount of criticism was laid at goalkeeper James Beadle’s door, as Morgan’s strike flew through his outstretched hands.

Many Blues supporters have been calling for a change between the posts, as Ryan Allsop waits in the wings to reclaim the number one shirt, and with this in mind, FLW’s Birmingham City fan pundit has commented on what boss Chris Davies should do with Beadle ahead of the next run of fixtures.

Chris Davies advised to stick by James Beadle after QPR error

Speaking to Football League World, Birmingham City fan pundit Jason Moore has acknowledged James Beadle’s mistakes over the past couple of away games, but believes he still has better goalkeeping attributes to keep him in the side over Ryan Allsop.

Jason told FLW: “The criticism for James Beadle is more than fair. Against Southampton, he should have done better. I don’t think he’s totally at fault for the QPR goal though.

“You have someone run across him, and he looks like he sees it a bit late, but don’t get me wrong, I think he should be saving it, but I don’t think he’s totally to blame.

“I don’t think he’s quite there to be dropped, and to be totally honest, I don’t think Ryan Allsop has been very good at the start of the season.

“He didn’t do anything wrong last year, but he didn’t have much to do last year, so I’m not quite there for James Beadle being dropped.

“I know there are a lot of fans that think he should be dropped, but not for me. I’d give him another chance because, for me, he’s the better keeper. I think you can see why he’s rated so highly. I think his shot-stopping skills are great and his presence as an actual keeper is miles better than what we’ve got in Ryan Allsop.

“And people need to remember he’s 21. He’s a kid, he’s still learning and going to have a mistake in him, and it’s the worst position on the pitch to make a mistake, so I wouldn’t drop him.”

Birmingham City need to show faith in James Beadle

While it has been a disappointing couple of displays from James Beadle in the Birmingham City goal, Blues must persevere and encourage him to bounce back from these setbacks.

At 21, mistakes are always going to happen, while Ryan Allsop didn’t crown himself in glory when originally starting the season between the sticks, and then being displaced by Beadle at the beginning of October.

If Allsop isn’t deemed to be good enough for a promotion-contending team, then it seems pretty pointless to have a full circle moment and drop a keeper who has a lot more potential and can thrive as the season develops.

As our Birmingham City fan pundit Jason alluded to, Beadle still has a lot more favourable attributes over Allsop too, and the last thing Chris Davies should do is dent Beadle’s confidence by taking him out of the team, and putting back in a goalkeeper who unsettles the defence.

It’s a risk of making the backline so much more disjointed than it needs to be, and the club needs to be solid in that area if they are to sustain a promotion push.

Therefore, Davies should stick by his number one and give him the opportunity to redeem himself and showcase why he is the preferred choice.

If a series of other mistakes begin to creep in, then action may have to be taken, but for now, Beadle needs to be encouraged to make errors, as it will only improve him in the long run.