Birmingham City lost 1-0 to John Eustace’s Derby County this weekend, and their former boss couldn’t resist a dig at his former owners, as reported by Birmingham Live.
Birmingham City were beaten 1-0 by Derby County in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime. This result means it is now just one win in six for BCFC. Additionally, they have also lost four of those matches.
As a result, Birmingham have slipped out of top-six contention. They are now sitting 11th in the table and 10 points adrift of the play-off places. This situation has prompted calls for Chris Davies to be sacked.
The defeat was at the hands of former Birmingham City boss John Eustace, who was sacked rather unjustly in 2023 by the Blues’ ownership. Speaking after the game, Eustace could not resist a dig at the club’s ownership.
As relayed by Birmingham Live, Eustace said: “I thought we were excellent, it could have been four or five today and I don’t think anyone would have had any complaints. It was just that final finish today.
“I thought we were very dominant, we played with no fear, and there was a really exciting brand of football at times.”
Eustace was full of praise for Birmingham City despite his dig
The “no fear” comments from Eustace came from the BCFC’s owners’ statement upon his sacking. In that statement, they declared they wanted the club to play that style of football.
Eustace also has every right to feel aggrieved, given that the club appointed Wayne Rooney. Rooney was sacked in the same season, before the Blues were subsequently relegated to League One.
His Derby County side was the better one on the day as Birmingham City struggled to get going at Pride Park. The Blues looked far from their best. However, Eustace still has admiration for his former side’s current crop.
Chris Davies’ decision to switch to a 3-4-3 system for the first time in his managerial career did little to help matters. Ibrahim Osman was used at left wing-back and endured a difficult outing. This prompted Davies to revert to his usual 4-2-3-1 setup after the break.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Eustace said. “Birmingham are an excellent footballing team. It made no difference to our approach.
“We have to respect they are pushing for the play-offs, as we are, and I was worried about Derby County, that’s all I cared about. Whatever system they want to play, that’s fine, but I was just focused on us today.”
Chris Davies’ reaction to the Derby County defeat
Davies has put the result and performance down to the club’s poor away form this year. The Blues are simply not the same side on the road as they are on home turf.
St Andrew’s has long been a fortress for Birmingham City. BCFC went unbeaten at home in League One last season, winning 19 of their 23 matches there. Davies’ side also boasted the best away record as they secured the title with an incredible 111 points.
Birmingham City’s home and away form this season
| Form | Wins | Draws | Losses | GD |
| Home | 9 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
| Away | 5 | 3 | 12 | -15 |
This season, however, has told a very different story. Birmingham City sit 7th in the home form table but 19th for away results. Saturday’s defeat at Pride Park marked their 12th loss on the road in the Championship campaign.
Davies admitted to the club that ‘scoring and creating chances away from home has been a big challenge’ for his side this season, adding: “We’ve been a different animal home in a way this season. That’s the truth of it. At home, we’re one of the best teams. Away, we’ve been really, really poor.”
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