Is it a sign of things to come?
Blues 2-0 defeat of Wrexham was down to a more belligerent and basic style of play, allied to a no-nonsense attitude.
The January signings were to the fore and whilst it wasn’t an aesthete’s dream, the performance was effective and did the important thing – garner the victory, a much-needed one.
Blues have, at times, been as direct this season (think Coventry City, Leeds United most notably recently).
But the stock-in-trade of controlled possession and moving the ball around to move the opposition around we have tended to see from them was missing.
There were patches of play that still had the elements of what Chris Davies builds his methodology on.
But everything was a lot quicker, more forward thinking. James Beadle went long and there was an onus to compete for second balls, then go from there – which Blues did very well on this latest instalment of the ‘Hollywood derby’, whatever that is.
The speed and forthrightness of Carlos Vicente and Ibrahim Osman on either flank was instrumental within the scheme of things, plus how Blues got balls to them. And in August Priske, Blues had a totem they happily zeroed the ball up to in the air, or invited him to spin after down the side or behind.
So, a different dimension to the style and one that, if intertwined with those aforementioned core characteristics, could make Blues a less predictable and more problematic side in 2026/27 perhaps.
There are other issues to address in the summer and leaving aside what may or may not happen to the manager, it is widely acknowledged that more Championship savvy and physicality is required, plus athleticism and/or tweaks to the system in order to play verticality and be a real threat in transition, which have been two of Blues glaring deficiencies as the season has progressed.
Most people seemed to leave St. Andrew’s happy with the win. There was no discourse about the manner in which it was achieved. And that’s football, I guess. In the final analysis, winning trumps everything. And playing with an aggression, a bit of oomph and purpose.
Davies adapted the tactics to ‘make them defend’, as he pointed out that Wrexham are happy to let the opposition have the ball and then try to counter and go route one themselves.
It was about throwing Wrexham a little off kilter and not allowing them to organise, sit in around their box and then, for example, clear away hopeful centres after Blues have gone round in circles a bit, as we’ve witnessed when they’ve been at their most muddled when usually chasing a game.
Wrexham had only lost four matches on their travels previously – the second best mark in the division.
It has to be registered, too, that considering a 5-1 biffing at home in midweek and with an opportunity to cut the gap to the play-off places, Wrexham were pretty insipid. Not one shot on target and for a team that wins the highest percentage of aerial duels in the division, both goals came from crosses.
And they’ve spent how much? How much?!
Kai Wagner bounding down the left made a difference. Injury to him, Alex Cochrane and Lee Buchanan – all natural left-backs – gave Blues a real balance issue in recent weeks.
And what of Vicente, going all Nigel Gleghorn to head in the opener at the back post just after half-time?
Clearly, he has quality and a industrious nature. The more he assimilates to Championship football, the more he is likely to flourish and impact, as he did here and at Ipswich Town the previous week.
Priske remains an interesting one. It doesn’t come naturally to him to be a target man figure, despite his 6ft 3in frame. And he’s been beaten up by a few old Championship hands a few times already since joining in the winter window.
I think we have to temper the thought of him becoming a rumbustious, knock ’em over centre-forward who will carry the attack next season. He is still learning about English football at this level and Mick Harford he ain’t.
He did, though, show a willingness to compete in the air and his sprightly running – he can stretch defences, which Blues haven’t done enough this season – was also encouraging.
He has different attributes to Marvin Ducksch, who is more of a bounce-pass, touch player with vision. So Priske allows a direct style and through balls to be more effective, as was evidenced here.
A word, too, for Christophe Klarer and Phil Neumann. Kieffer Moore could have been a thorny problem for Blues; he wasn’t. They did what you want your centre-halves to do as a first task: defend, head it, clear it – especially in this division.
Whilst it would be preferable to have that balance of right-footer, left-footer, when these two are the pair in the heart of defence Blues are more resilient.
