Chris Davies Defends Luis Vazquez After Viral Miss
Chris Davies is not joining the pile-on.
While social media has spent the week replaying Luis Vazquez’s miss at Derby County from every possible angle, turning it into a meme and lumping it in with the great howlers of Roger Davies and Ronny Rosenthal, the Birmingham City head coach has taken a very different line.
To him, it was a one-off. Nothing more.
“It was a freak,” Davies told BBC Radio WM ahead of Middlesbrough’s visit to St Andrew’s on Saturday. “He could do that 100 times and score 100 goals. It can only make him stronger.”
Backing Vazquez, not burying him
The Argentine striker has yet to start a league game for Blues and is still waiting for his first Championship goal. Derby should have been the moment. Instead, from close range, he somehow failed to convert and the clip went viral.
Davies moved quickly.
“I made a point to talk to him straight after the game last Saturday,” he said. “He’s a tough cookie. He’s shown no signs of fragility.”
On the training ground this week, the mood shifted. Vazquez found the net with a “good goal”, as his manager put it, and the reaction from his team-mates told its own story.
“When he scored a good goal in training this week, he got a big cheer from the lads,” Davies revealed.
The miss has delayed, not derailed, Vazquez’s start at Birmingham. The desire is obvious.
“He’s so desperate to score,” Davies said. “And we so want him to score. As soon as that first one goes in, it will all be forgotten about.”
Strong away, searching at home
While Vazquez wrestles with that first goal, Birmingham’s wider picture is quietly encouraging.
From four away trips – Sheffield United, Wrexham, Norwich City and Derby County – Blues have taken seven points from a possible 12, with only Norwich inflicting defeat. On the road, they look organised, dangerous and resilient.
The puzzle lies at St Andrew’s.
Birmingham have yet to win at home in the league this season, drawing 2-2 with Bristol City, 1-1 with Southampton and 2-2 with Wolves. Goals have come, but so have frustrations, as leads have slipped and momentum has stalled just when the crowd has been ready to ignite.
Davies knows the narrative. A tough opening run, a demanding fixture list, a team still taking shape. None of that has knocked his belief in the direction of travel.
“We’ve got the same amount of points as we did this time last season, but we’re a better team,” he said. “We’re more of an attacking threat, but we also look a bit more solid and more of a team.”
There is no attempt to pretend it is perfect.
“There’s still room for improvement in a few areas, but we can’t say we’re not pleased with the start we’ve made, given the challenge we had.”
Built on commitment
If there is a theme to Davies’ early weeks in charge, it is his insistence on the basics. Systems and shapes matter, but only after something more fundamental.
“Our love of defending is clear to see. It’s as good as scoring a goal,” he said. “That takes you a long way. So much gets talked about systems but you can’t get away from commitment.”
That line could define Birmingham’s season. A team that enjoys the ugly work, that treats a sliding block like a 25-yard screamer. A squad that rallies around a striker after a miss that would break some players.
Middlesbrough at home now offers two tests rolled into one: can Blues finally turn performances into a home win, and can Vazquez begin to rewrite the clip that has followed him all week?
For Davies, the answer to both questions starts in the same place – faith, and the refusal to let one moment dictate the story.
