How Tom Wagner may have caused major Birmingham City, Chris Davies issue | OneFootball

Blues have seen their expectation levels skyrocket under Knighthead's ownership

There have been many 'sleeping giants' within English football who have found themselves in need of a clear rebuild over time to bring back the good times.

The likes of Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland all immediately spring to mind on this front. But, it's fair to say that the transformations of those historic clubs didn't perhaps quite gain as much attention as Birmingham City's rebuild under Knighthead Capital.

Tom Wagner was lauded as a saviour for his initial investment at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in July 2023, before eventually ending any associations with a controversial period of Far-East ownership through a full takeover last November.

Even though the American's first season in the B9 boardroom ended in chaos and disappointment through relegation to League One, the New York-based hedge fund investor's status remained unchanged, with it only increasing his desire to succeed.

Then came the appointment of Chris Davies, in what was, and still is, the 40-year-old's first full-time managerial role.

With several other high-profile names linked with the vacancy, it was a gamble, but a well-calculated one as, despite hefty investment, his side cruised to the League One title in record-breaking fashion with 111 points.

Therefore, the real 'acid test' for Davies and his squad would be the Championship, particularly with many expecting the West Midlands side to continue riding the crest of a wave and potentially emulate Ipswich Town's recent success of two successive promotions.

However, whilst Wagner is still, unsurprisingly, thought of in high regard in these parts as he continues to recover from a recent stroke, his summer words may have created an issue which has led to several sack calls coming Davies' way.

Tom Wagner set out extremely ambitious expectations upon Birmingham City's Championship return

Wagner, of course, has been the brainchild behind many developments at St. Andrew's since his initial takeover.

The biggest of those, undoubtedly, is the Powerhouse Stadium - the 62,000-capacity ground which will be the heartbeat of the Sports Quarter regeneration project in East Birmingham.

With the Blues owner also joined on the board by the likes of NFL 'GOAT' and Advisory Board Chairman, Tom Brady, the current spotlight on the club has been like never before.

During the early weeks of Birmingham's solitary campaign in League One, Wagner declared that he would aim to see the club back in the Premier League by 2026, meaning back-to-back promotions would have to be achieved in order to fulfil said ambitions.

With a continued raft of spending in the summer, those ambitions clearly didn't change as he set out his plans for the current season whilst discussing his long-term vision after the Sports Quarter development was effectively green-lighted in June.

When asked about the opportunity of a double-quick promotion, Wagner was quoted by BBC Sport with the response of "(that) is certainly the goal."

Chris Davies has been the subject of sack calls amid intense Birmingham City pressures

With the weight of expectation firmly on his shoulders, Davies has been the subject of sack calls at various points of the campaign.

Indeed, with there now just over one month of the campaign to go, it has become a hot topic of discussion as to whether he will continue in the dugout next term, or whether Knighthead will deem a 'consolidatory' campaign as a failure.

This wouldn't be the first decision of a similar ilk in recent times to have split opinion either, with Hull City's Turkish owner, Acun Ilicali, pulling the plug on Liam Rosenior's tenure at the MKM Stadium in May 2024 after the Tigers missed out on a play-off place by three points.

Blues' owners also developed a ruthless reputation in their early days when John Eustace was controversially dismissed with the club sixth in the Championship in October 2023 in place of Wayne Rooney, who won just two of his 15 matches in charge.

Under normal circumstances, a position of 10th with 53 points from 38 games played, with there still being an outside chance of reaching the top six depending on results, would be deemed largely successful for a newly-promoted side.

However, with their lofty ambitions and hefty investment - which was further demonstrated in January - it is clear that Birmingham are a club no longer satisfied with 'normal', instead always striving to be the best in class, which could prove detrimental in some ways.