Birmingham City manager Chris Davies’s job is reportedly under serious pressure from the hierarchy as tensions grow on the 40-year-old.
The Blues are currently 12th on 15 points following a 1-0 away win at Preston North End yesterday evening.
A Success Story
Davies built a strong reputation as an assistant before his Birmingham City role. He worked under Brendan Rodgers at Swansea and Liverpool before coming his assistant at Celtic, where the club won back-to-back trebles, and Leicester, which saw the Foxes win the 2021 FA Cup. He later assisted Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham for a season.
Appointed Birmingham’s head coach in June last year on a four-year deal, Davies inherited a team relegated to League One. In his debut season, he headed a remarkable turnaround, securing promotion to the Championship with a record-breaking 111 points, which was the highest in EFL history and worldwide that year.
Birmingham dominated, earning Davies the EFL League One Manager of the Month for February 2025 and the overall Manager of the Year award. His tactical emphasis on possession and pressing has yielded 49 wins in 73 games by now, boasting a 67% win rate. Early in their Championship campaign, the Blues have shown spirited form, adapting seamlessly to life back in the second-tier.
x – full time yesterday
Pressure From Ownership
Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies is now reportedly facing escalating pressure midway through the Championship season. After 11 games, the Blues sit 12th with 15 points, already 10 points behind leaders Coventry City.
A recent 1-0 victory over Preston North End on October 21 provided brief respite, but defensive errors, including set-piece vulnerabilities and a slightly blunt attack of just 11 goals scored, have fueled minor concerns among the Blues faithful. Sources report Davies has roughly two weeks, which will take them into the mid-November international break, to deliver improved results against Bristol City, Portsmouth, Millwall, and Middlesbrough, or a dismissal could be sooner than expected amid one win in their last six across all competitions.
Owner Tom Wagner’s recent UK visit to attend matches underscores the board’s impatience.
Knighthead Capital Management, spearheaded by co-founder and chairman Tom Wagner with minority stakeholder and former NFL star Tom Brady, drives this scrutiny. Since their takeover just over 2 years ago, an astounding £43m has been spent this summer alone on stars like Demarai Gray, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Tommy Doyle, assembling a squad primed for another promotion push.
Wagner’s vision is audacious to say the least, plainly, a Premier League return by 2026-27, followed by elite contention, backed by a £2-3bn “Sports Quarter” regeneration whch includes a 62,000-seat stadium by 2030/31 which was supported by the Government and Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, who described the project as an”exciting venture that highlights how sport can be an important driver for regeneration and growth.”
The projects also look set to create 8,500 jobs and rival Manchester’s Etihad complex. “Birmingham will get to the Premier League at some point,” Wagner boldly claims, viewing the club as a “sleeping giant” ready for revival. For Davies, aligning with this timeline is paramount for his future at the helm.
A FANTASTIC AWAY DAY W!!! ✊ pic.twitter.com/GsqWt37cN3
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) October 21, 2025
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This Season’s Expectations
Davies faces intense pressure from Birmingham City’s owners, Knighthead Capital Management. Wagner has clearly stated he demands a top-two Championship finish this season to secure Premier League promotion by 2026-27, an ambitious goal for a team freshly promoted from League One.
With £43m spent on signings, Birmingham’s mid-table position after 11 games highlights inconsistency. Ipswich Town’s back-to-back promotions in 2022-24 prove it’s possible, but consolidation in the Championship should surely be the priority for a newly promoted side. Wagner’s vision to transform Birmingham into a global football force leaves little room for any form of falter
Writers View
The rumours around Chris Davies’ potential sacking at Birmingham City feel like a bit of a panicked reaction in a league that is inevitable, to say the least. Just two weeks to salvage his job after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Preston. It’s harsh, but hardly unexpected, like Tom Wagner has identified that top-two push, eyeing Premier League glamour by next summer. Ambition’s all well and good, yet the Championship is English football’s hardest and most unpredictable league.
Look at Wrexham, for example, Hollywood’s story, has had a stagnant mid-table season so far with losses to Southampton and West Brom, a draw with Sheffield Wednesday. Even glamour can’t buy instant success. For Birmingham, freshly promoted, consolidation must take priority. Davies surely deserves breathing room to mould his squad, and sacking him now risks repeating past ownership mistakes, surely?
