Davies must give Birmingham City’s £7m star the Stansfield treatment

Birmingham City’s dim hopes of pulling off an incredible run of back-to-back promotions look set to finally fade away.

Three league defeats on the trot now leaves the Blues eight points outside the play-off picture, while sixth-placed Wrexham also have a game in hand under Chris Davies.

At times this season, the West Midlands giants have appeared to be hitting their stride just in time to advance to the play-offs, with January and early February appearing to be unbeaten in eight games in the second tier.

However, all that promise has come to pass, as many of Birmingham’s opponents have fallen below their normal levels in all recent games.

Davies even dropped Jay Stansfield to the bench in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic, as the 23-year-old continued to suffer through ups and downs, like the rest of his team-mates.

Why Davies abandoned Stansfield

Last season in League One, Stansfield was the man Birmingham relied on to get back into the Championship.

Indeed, the former Fulham striker led by example, with 19 massive strikes in the third period helping the Blues win the title in style.

The campaign hasn’t played out quite as smoothly for the number 28, however, due to his poor performances under the microscope in recent times, as Birmingham’s playoff bid has fallen short.

On the surface, Stansfield’s tally of nine goals and six assists from 34 Championship games is pretty impressive.

However, in the Blues’ last second-tier run, the Devon-born striker added a woeful one goal and one assist to his woes, as his ability to change tackles in the blink of an eye seems to have disappeared from his repertoire.

Against the Addicks, Davies rolled the dice and gave Stansfield 33 minutes to try and turn around a 1-0 defeat.

Instead of taking the game by the scruff of the neck, the 23-year-old managed to fire just one narrow shot into the home side’s net, in an unforgettable 12 touches, as his first place was up for grabs.

Davies may feel he has to cut other first-teamers, in the same way as Stansfield, as the season winds down to its disappointing end.

Another Birmingham star is set to receive the Stansfield treatment

Of course, the campaign isn’t over until it’s a mathematical impossibility that Birmingham can’t make the playoffs.

But, it seems far-fetched that the Blues will disrupt the top six, with ten second-tier clashes remaining for Davies and Co.

Davies may be tempted to ditch underperforming players to try and breathe new life into his squad, with Carlos Vicente now worried he could be pushed to one side for the next Championship clash, just like at Stansfield, after a poor performance on the road at Charlton.

The numbers don’t lie. Indeed, the Spaniard – who has two goals and one assist for the second-tier side since leaving Alaves in January – failed to get back into gear against Nathan Jones’ determined men, scoring no goals and failing to finish in four attempts.

In addition, Vicente, who cost a pretty penny as England’s underclassman for £7m, gave away 12 injuries with just 34 touches. Even Ryan Allsop between the sticks will manage plenty of touches, as James Beadle’s replacement for the Valley has amassed a modest 54.

Patrick Roberts could be another one Davies thinks will end this important month of games, as Vicente continue to struggle against Boro and Millwall, failing to muster a single shot in both of those defeats.

Davies has already made it clear in his last few shows that he is not afraid to leave good players if they don’t pull their weight, and Vicente is perhaps one of the best to feel his Stansfield wrath.

Related

Worse than Stansfield: Birmingham must capitalize on Wagner’s big mistake

Jay Stansfield is not the only one struggling at Birmingham City.