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Two Birmingham City players set for chance after Chris Davies liked what he saw
Birmingham City boss Chris Davies was pleased by how his tactical tweak involving the defence paid dividends during Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Exeter City - and he's open to continuing with the experiment when Blues make for Blackpool in the FA Cup on Sunday (kick off 1pm). Davies opted to name three centre halves in his starting XI and dropped right-back Ethan Laird as part of a pivoting back-line which reaped the rewards.
An essential component of the newly shaped defence which comfortably kept the Grecians at bay was Ben Davies, summoned back to the starting XI for the first time since the trip to Sutton United in the first round of the FA Cup; the experienced centre back played alongside Christoph Klarer, which meant Krystian Bielik shifting out wide, but there was clearly a balance to Blues' play which allowed them to build from the back and break down their hosts.
Davies is in line to start again at Bloomfield Road, as he returns to the corner of the country from which he hails, and if as expected he gets the nod, it'll be another opportunity to cement his claim on the Blues starting XI going forwards into the Christmas schedule.
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"Ben has grown throughout the weeks and months since he's joined us," Davies said. "He contributed really well just recently. When you have a left footed centre back it gives you good balance in the first build up, to get the ball out or to play through the lines. He also reads the game very well, he's composed and calm but competitive as well. He's a good player and I was pleased with how things looked.
"It was just a little tweak in how we were going to set up. What you have are two quality players who are able to adapt quickly. Krys Bielik from that position gave us progression, he picked his passes at the right times. He was good on that side and he gave us more of a presence. Alex, when he gets forward he can get the ball from out of his feet and cross, then he's one of the best, definitely at this level, at crossing and he nearly had an assist. I was pleased with how it worked.
"I liked the look of it. We're still learning about the players. Any manager, once you've had them long enough, you can start to experiment in different positions, but I just thought it had a good balance and it was good for that particular game as well. Sometimes it can be quite opposition specific depending on their strengths and weaknesses."
Another player who is in line to come back into the starting XI - and who, in truth, might've otherwise felt hard done by having come out of the side through no fault of his own in the first instance - is Taylor Gardner-Hickman. The Bristol City loanee had operated at right-back during September and October as Ethan Laird recovered from an ankle injury. Laird was quickly restored upon a return to fitness.
"Taylor, as an example didn't do anything wrong," Davies added. "Taylor contributed well to the team, but they were just decisions I made for what suited us best moving forward, but Taylor has been training exceptionally hard, gives his all. I love the way he plays football because he plays with passion and desire. He's full blooded but he's a very good technical player as well.
"As I say to all the players, you're at a team which plays a high energy style, expect a lot of hard running. We're playing potentially 60 matches this season, so you're going to play. If you look back, when in May, I'm pretty sure 95% of the squad will be satisfied because of the minutes they've played."
