Fresh reaction given to 'mind-boggling' Birmingham City situation ft Neumann - it's 'absolutely ridiculous' | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit issues his verdict on the Blues' centre-back pairing predicament

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…

Chris Davies has faced heat from Birmingham City supporters over his choice of centre-back pairing this season - He may have got it right now.

After signing in January as a free agent from Bundesliga 2 side Hannover 96 before linking up with the Blues in the summer, Phil Neumann hit the ground running at St. Andrew's as he was introduced to the starting lineup for the first five Championship games for Chris Davies before merely warming the bench for their next five league fixtures.

In his absence, there has been a clear downturn in defensive form for Birmingham City, as highlighted by the goals they have conceded. The Blues shipped five goals when the German was partnered with Christoph Klarer, compared to nine when he's been sidelined.

With minutes being somewhat of a rarity for Neumann in recent weeks, the 28-year-old hasn't been given the opportunity to perform on a consistent basis.

However, due to Jack Robinson's suspension, and Eiran Cashin falling out of favour with the Welsh manager, Chris Davies reintroduced Neumann back into the starting XI, and he certainly took the opportunity with both hands. With more game time surely coming the way of the German partnered with Klarer, it's become a common narrative that Blues' fans want the pairing to become a regular occurrence in the long-term.

Birmingham City supporters are crying out for Phil Neumann to be a regular starter under Chris Davies

After a terrific display against Preston on Tuesday night, it will certainly be hard for Chris Davies to keep Neumann out of his teamsheet going forward. Not only did the defender keep a clean sheet with a stern defensive performance aided by the Austrian Klarer by his side, but the German notched the winning goal in their 1-0 win over the Lilywhites with a seemingly thumping header which turned out to strike his hand, but the official was none the wiser.

With it being very much a mystery why Neumann was dropped by Davies in the first place, Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, believes that himself and the majority of Blues fans are in agreement when discussing whether the 28-year-old should be given a starting role on a regular basis going forward.

Jason said: "100% Chris Davies has got to stick with that. Blues fans have been calling for that change pretty much since he was dropped. Probably since Coventry, and then you had Eiran Cashin come in after that, and he was absolutely shocking. We've been calling it for a while."

"The worst thing about the whole thing is that we flirted with Neumann for a year. A whole year."

"We found out this week at the Birmingham Open House that Chris Davies ultimately has the say on who they sign. He has the final say. So, the fact that he's had the final say on chasing Phil Neumann, then the final say to say 'Yeah, let's definitely bring him in' for a year, and then start him and all of a sudden, because he wants a left-footed centre back, he doesn't play him. I just don't know, it's mind-boggling, I just don't get it. He's been absolutely perfect since day one, maybe not the best at bringing the ball out, but his job is to defend."

Chris Davies urged to stick with Phil Neumann after solid defensive display versus Preston

After being sidelined since the 13th September, seeing Neumann's name in the lineup against Preston came as a relief to all Blues fans because, as aforementioned by Jason, their 3-0 loss to league leaders Coventry should have been a wake-up call to Davies to revert to his chosen partnership prior to the season kickstarting.

Davies opted for ex-Sheffield United defender Jack Robinson to step in for Neumann, but it turned out to be a horror switch up as the 32-year-old was shown a red card twice in his opening four games for his new club.

With Neumann patiently waiting in the wings for his call-up, Robinson's mishap handed him a perfect opportunity to step up to the plate, and he certainly did just that.

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason, believes that Davies should have seen enough by now to be certain of his centre-back paring for the season ahead. He said: "I can look past him probably not being the best with the ball at his feet, but as long as he can play in this system that Davies wants, then fair enough."

"This whole left-footed centre-back thing is absolutely ridiculous, and I hope after that performance last night, Davies has woken up and now knows 'Okay, Phil Neumann, Christoph Klarer, two absolute units, that's my partnership.' Cashin can come on and play his part, Jack Robinson will hopefully get released and never step foot in the club again."