Chris Davies’ future at Birmingham City has recently come under examination and uncertainty, and with pressure mounting on the under-fire head coach, Michael Carrick has emerged as a leading prospect to take over at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.
That’s according to a new update from Football Insider on Saturday afternoon, which describes the former Middlesbrough manager as a “leading contender” to take over if Davies is freed of his duties by ambitious owners Knighthead Capital Management.
Birmingham’s bullish ambitions to compete for successive promotions from League One to the Premier League were well known after returning to the Championship with a stunning triple-figure point haul, which preceded yet another summer of lavish transfer spending on a slew of eye-catching arrivals including German international Marvin Ducksch, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Demarai Gray.
However, the Blues have struggled to impose similar dominance in the Championship, often being undone by their own inconsistency and the division’s third-worst away record.
Davies’ side appeared to be turning a corner after a mixed start to life back in the second tier, but they have now lost three of their last five games over a difficult festive period, dropping to 15th in the table, just six points behind sixth-placed Bristol City, at the halfway point of the season, and that could force the club’s top brass into action.
Michael Carrick could take over for Chris Davies at Birmingham City.
According to the aforementioned source, Carrick has emerged as a strong possibility to become Knighthead’s new managerial hire, assuming they decide to part ways with Davies amid “huge doubt” over the 40-year-old’s future in the Second City.
The pressure on Davies is thought to have increased following the Blues’ dismal Boxing Day home stalemate with John Eustace’s Derby County, with his side next facing fellow promotion hopes Southampton on Monday evening.
Just last week, Football Insider revealed that Birmingham had began putting up a shortlist of potential successors to Davies, who was said to need six points from home games against Derby and Southampton to keep his job.
With Davies appearing to be on the verge of being fired, Carrick is reportedly a major target for Blues as they consider successors in the dugout.
Carrick, whose name has recently been bandied about online by a lot of Birmingham fans, is still out of work after being released by Middlesbrough in the summer.
The former Manchester United midfielder guided Middlesbrough to the play-offs after taking over in 2022/23, but failed to return to the top six after losing to Coventry City in the season’s semi-final.
Carrick lost his job after a dismal 10th-place finish in the previous season, but he remains an appealing contender and might soon be back in the Championship with Blues.
Michael Carrick would offer Birmingham City continuity if Chris Davies is sacked.
It’s no wonder that Carrick’s name is currently on the minds of Birmingham’s top decision-makers, as the 43-year-old shares many stylistic similarities with Davies.
Like Davies, he is a progressive head coach who prefers a slow, possession-based style of play, which would provide much-needed continuity to a group created and taught to play a specific way.
The notable disadvantage would be Middlesbrough’s defensive flaws under his leadership, and there is also a school of thought that Birmingham should be more aggressive, dynamic, and front-footed to unlock the wealth of talent in the squad’s possession, but Carrick’s considerable Championship experience means that he could be an ideal potential successor to Davies as well.
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