Chris Davies: Who is Birmingham City's surprise new appointment as manager?

Birmingham City have appointed Chris Davies as their new first-team manager.

The 39-year-old has signed a four-year deal with the St Andrew’s outfit after being officially confirmed as Tony Mowbray’s successor on Thursday.

Now Ange Postecoglou’s former assistant at Spurs, Davies will begin work with Blues immediately, with the task of reinstating their Championship status as soon as possible following this season’s relegation to League One.

But who is the man being tasked with turning Birmingham’s fortunes around?

Injury impacted playing career

Davies, a former Wales youth-team international and Reading midfielder, was forced to hang up his boots at the age of 19 in 2004 because of a foot injury. However, with Brendan Rodgers his academy coach at the Royals, he soon turned his attention to that side of the game.

Indeed, Davies owes a lot to Rodgers as the Northern Irishman brought his former Reading youth-team captain to Swansea City for his first big break in 2010. He was lured to the Liberty Stadium after earning a first-class honours degree in sports science at Loughborough University and following spells coaching at Leicester and in both the USA and New Zealand.

Coaching career on an upward trajectory

From Swansea, Davies joined Rodgers at Liverpool following his 2012 Anfield appointment - a stay that lasted until 2015 when Jürgen Klopp was appointed Reds boss. A brief spell away from his mentor followed as the Watford-born man returned to Reading for six months as a first-team coach. However, it wasn’t long until he reunited with Rodgers again - this time at Scottish giants Celtic in 2016.

As assistant, Davies helped The Bhoys to a domestic treble for just the fourth time in their decorated history. Nearly three successful years at Celtic Park ended with a switch back to the Premier League as Rodgers moved to Leicester. An outstanding spell there saw the Foxes win the FA Cup and Community Shield before Davies left in April 2023, alongside Rodgers.

Time to learn and improve

A year away from front-line coaching saw Davies take in the coaching practices of clubs around Europe. "I went to Atalanta and Monaco, then came home and did Villarreal and Benfica before going to Wolfsburg," Davies told Sky Sports last summer. "It was about culture and mentality, right down to how they play, train and recover. It was really invaluable."

He added: "Possession-based football is my core idea”, as he reflected on his time spent with Villarreal.

The prospect of linking up with Ange Postecoglou at Spurs as the Australian’s assistant was something Davies couldn’t ignore last summer as he returned to the game. But an opportunity to become a manager for the first time with Birmingham was clearly too good to turn down.

The St Andrew’s club weren’t the first to recognise Davies’ talents, though. Swansea were keen to recruit him following their decision to part company with Michael Duff last December.

Speaking at the time Postecoglou said: "He's an outstanding individual; he's done some great work with us and great work in the past. It's not surprising to me that Swansea or other clubs would look at him.

"It's what you want, to be honest. You want good people and when you've got good people, they're going to attract attention.

"From my perspective, whatever that transpires to, it's very much in Chris' hands."

Birmingham’s ‘perfect fit’

The Aussie will, therefore, not have been surprised when Birmingham came knocking. But what made Davies stand out from the 40 coaches Blues are reported to have spoken to in recent weeks.

Birmingham City chief executive officer, Garry Cook, said: “Chris is an outstanding coach and person, that the playing staff and our supporters will instantly warm to. The goal was to identify a progressive coach, one who has demonstrated the ability to build teams and improve players in the squad. Chris has done this at leading clubs, being part of championship, cup and promotion winning teams, working with world class players and managers.

“He is a perfect fit for Blues. He is a meticulous planner, with an insatiable appetite for work. Known for his excellent man management skills, he will now focus on building a Championship ready squad in League One. He is the coach we wanted. Blues is the club he wanted. We are very pleased he is here.”

‘Exciting times’

With all that said, the last word goes to Davies himself. Upon his Birmingham appointment, he said: “I am proud and honoured to be the manager of Birmingham City. As soon as I spoke with Tom, Garry, Tom Brady, and other board members it was clear to me how passionate and committed the board and all of the Football Leadership Team are to bringing success to this club.

“It is a club with an ambition that reflects my own, and a plan to make it a reality. It is such an exciting time to be at Blues. I can’t wait to get started, meeting everyone at the Club and speaking to our supporters. I will give everything to build an attacking team that reflects this great city, and most importantly to produce a team that our supporters can be proud of. Let’s go.”