The winners and losers from Birmingham City’s first 13 matches under Chris Davies
With nine wins, two draws and two defeats, Birmingham City couldn’t have asked for a much better start to life under Chris Davies.
The new man at the helm has transformed Blues’ playing style with a raft of new signings and has them on course for an immediate return to the Championship. Blues are finely poised in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy too.
Now that Blues have played 13 games – which usually works out at around a quarter of the season – we have had time to draw conclusions. After rating every player last week, we have now looked at the winners and losers of the campaign so far.
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Winners
Christoph Klarer
It goes without saying that Klarer has been the big winner of Blues’ brilliant start. The Austrian expected to play second fiddle to Dion Sanderson at the beginning of the season but an untimely red card for Sanderson handed him his chance.
Klarer grasped it with both hands and passed every test. It is no surprise Klarer, with 28 percent of the votes in our survey, is the player that has most impressed Blues fans.
The partnership of Klarer and Krystian Bielik in the middle of Blues’ defence appears to be one that could carry the club through not only League One, but the Championship too.
Alex Cochrane
Cochrane is the last remaining League One ever-present in Davies’ squad. Granted, he currently has no competition for his place, but Cochrane has performed so consistently that we haven’t longed for Lee Buchanan.
The summer signing from Hearts now has the left-back shirt and it’s difficult to envisage Buchanan getting it back easily when he returns. Cochrane also produced one of the assists of the season to set up Jay Stansfield against Wrexham.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Of the 17 players that arrived during the summer, Gardner-Hickman wasn’t one who set pulses racing (with all due respect). Blues signed a very capable Championship midfielder but it’s at right-back where Gardner-Hickman has excelled.
The 22-year-old has made himself popular with Blues fans with his wholehearted displays and long may it continue.
Paik Seung-ho
Paik has become the fulcrum of Blues’ team under Davies. Davies recently stressed that there was never any chance of Paik being sold in the summer and the South Korean has since been rewarded for his loyalty with a new contract and an international recall.
Losers
Bailey Peacock-Farrell
Peacock-Farrell would have wanted a seamless start to life at St Andrew’s but it has been anything but. A few glaring mistakes cost the goalkeeper his place in the team and he has now picked up a shoulder issue. Hopefully he subscribes to Garry Cook’s mantra of the comeback being greater than the setback.
Dion Sanderson
The club’s former captain was on course for redemption in early August after a solid pre-season campaign but his luck turned. Sanderson struggled against Reading before being sent off against Charlton to open the door to Klarer. Then came an injury to compound his misery.
Having been Bielik’s partner at the start of the season, Sanderson has slipped down the defensive pecking order due to a two-month absence.
Marc Leonard
Most of us can sympathise with Leonard. The young Scot impressed us all in the first month of the season only to see his game-time evaporate since the signing of Tomoki Iwata.
Leonard is clearly a good player and is considerably younger than Blues’ first choice midfield pairing, but he might not play the part in this promotion charge that he expected to.
Lee Buchanan
Buchanan has been desperately unlucky. Two months out is bad enough, particularly when your replacement is performing so well, but to get injured days after returning to training is devastating.
The 23-year-old finished second in the Players’ Player of the Year award last season which shows what his teammates think of him. Hopefully Davies can get a good look at him soon.