Birmingham City fans won’t have been revelling in their Monday night win over Wrexham for too long, hopeful that their entertaining side can pick up another early season victory in League One against Rotherham United today.
Steve Evans’ Millers will be a stern test for the Blues away from home, much like Phil Parkinson’s Red Dragons were early on last time out, but Birmingham boss Chris Davies will want his side to show off their unbelievable ability again to put another third-tier opponent to the sword no matter who awaits them.
Although he would have been very pleased with the nature of his side’s 3-1 win against Wrexham, the former Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager turned fully-fledged Blues boss will be tempted to make tweaks here and there regardless, with the possibility that Alfie May could surprisingly drop out alongside a suspended Krystian Bielik.
Alfie May's performance vs Wrexham
May was utilised in more of an attacking midfield role against the visitors from Wales, with Jay Stansfield stealing the show as the main striker over the experienced sharpshooter.
It will take time and adjustments on Davies’ end to ensure he gets the most out of both May and Stansfield up top, considering the potent 31-year-old centre-forward did pick up the League One Golden Boot accolade last campaign with Charlton Athletic.
The ex-Addicks striker already has four goals next to his name from five league encounters too, including this penalty on the opening day to get up and running in a Blues shirt, but he was uncharacteristically quiet versus Wrexham all the same.
Away from the likes of Alex Cochrane who was always trying to find an opening to catch Phil Parkinson’s men cold, May wasn’t that involved with play as much, with the left-back amassing a ridiculous 125 touches compared with his teammate’s lesser 47.
Stansfield, on the contrary, would need even fewer touches than May’s total to fire home two crucial strikes, with just 29 touches managed, as May only had two efforts on goal all night too playing behind the standout number 28.
May was handed out a middle-of-the-road 6/10 rating after the game subsequently by Birmingham Live journalist Alex Dicken, who stated that he ‘didn’t look entirely comfortable’ playing in a backseat role to the former Fulham man.
This could result in Davies shockingly dropping the 31-year-old, to gift another of his summer recruits in Marc Leonard a chance to shine in a position he knows well.
Why Leonard could replace May
Leonard starred last season in midfield for Northampton Town in League One, before becoming a major target for a whole host of League One and Championship outfits this summer, with Birmingham ultimately winning his services.
However, the ex-Brighton and Hove Albion man has only started three of his side’s five league games to date, but that might well change today in South Yorkshire.
Position played
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
CM
41
5
2
DM
27
0
1
AM
19
1
4
RW
1
0
0
Looking at his numbers above when playing week in week out for the Cobblers over two loan spells, Leonard excelled when playing in an attacking midfield spot on occasion – away from his standard central midfield duties – with one goal and four assists coming from this spot in the team across 19 appearances.
It also feels unlikely that the Scotsman would displace either Tomoki Iwata and Seung-Ho Paik in the holding midfield spots in Davies XI soon, with Iwata scoring the final goal of the game last time out to secure a well-earned three points for the Blues, whilst Paik also notched up two key passes from deep as his partner.
Also capable of scoring audacious long-range strikes like the one above, Leonard – who was described as an “exceptional” talent by his ex-Northampton boss Jon Brady last season – could be the perfect temporary replacement for an underwhelming May, despite having yet to feature in that attacking berth for his new club.
There’s no doubt that Davies will look to use his full squad this season to ensure positive results continue, with such a tweak potentially in store later today.
124 touches: 8/10 Birmingham star was just as good as Stansfield v Wrexham
Birmingham City fans would have been overjoyed with their team’s 3-1 win over Wrexham.
1 ByKelan SarsonSep 17, 2024