 Davies as assistant manager ofCeltic in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Paul Davies | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-03-27)27 March 1985 (age 40) | ||
| Place of birth | Watford, England | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Birmingham City (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2004 | Reading | ||
| International career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001 | Wales U17 | ||
| 2002 | Wales U18 | ||
| 2003 | Wales U19 | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2024– | Birmingham City | ||
Christopher Paul Davies (born 27 March 1985) is a professionalfootballcoach and former player who is the manager ofEFL Championship clubBirmingham City.
Davies was a youth player forReading andWales before retiring in 2004, aged 19. He became a football coach, initially coaching youth teams in England and abroad, before becoming assistant toBrendan Rodgers atSwansea City,Liverpool,Celtic andLeicester City.
After a season atTottenham Hotspur as the senior assistant coach toAnge Postecoglou, Davies became manager of Birmingham City in 2024.
Christopher Paul Davies was born on 27 March 1985[1] inWatford, England.[2] He qualified to play football forWales through his Welsh father.[3] He wascapped for the WalesUnder-17,18 and19 teams.[3]
Davies signed withReading, aged 16, where he captained the youth team coached byBrendan Rodgers.[4] Despite appearing regularly for the Reading reserve team, Davies was forced to retire from professional football in 2004, aged 19, due to anarthritic condition in his foot.[5][3]
In 2004, Davies began studying for hisUEFA coaching licences while also attendingLoughborough University, where he obtained a first-classhonours degree in Sport Science.[6] He worked as a youth coach atLeicester City and also coached in the United States and New Zealand.[7] While in New Zealand, Davies was a youth coach atHawke's Bay United, where he worked underJonathan andBobby Gould.[7]
In 2010, aged 25, Davies was recruited as an assistant toBrendan Rodgers atSwansea City.[8] During his time at Swansea, Davies specialised in opposition analysis andtactics.[7] In his first season, Swansea were promoted to thePremier League.[9] After Swansea secured a second season in the Premier League, Davies was offered a coaching position with the club's reserve team.[7]
Davies moved with Rodgers toLiverpool in June 2012 as the club's head of opposition analysis.[4][10] In his second season, Liverpool finished second in the Premier League behind championsManchester City.[11] Davies left the club in October 2015 when Rodgers was replaced byJürgen Klopp.[12] During his time at Liverpool, Davies completed hisUEFA Pro Licence, earning the qualification in 2015.[5]
Following six months atReading as a first-team coach in 2016,[13][14] Davies joined Rodgers as his assistant manager atScottish Premiership clubCeltic.[15] In their first season, Celtic won the domestic treble for only the fourth time in the club's history.[16][17] Under Rodgers and Davies, Celtic broke their 100-year-old record for successive domestic games unbeaten, going 69 matches without defeat.[18] They won the treble again in Davies's second season.[7]
In February 2019, Davies moved with Rodgers toLeicester City, again as his assistant manager.[19] They finished fifth in two consecutive seasons, missing out onUEFA Champions League qualification on the last day of both seasons, but won the2021 FA Cup and theCommunity Shield.[7] Davies left the club with Rodgers in April 2023.[20]
On 27 June 2023, Davies was appointed as senior assistant coach toAnge Postecoglou atTottenham Hotspur.[21]
On 6 June 2024, he departed Tottenham Hotspur in order to become the manager ofBirmingham City. He signed a four-year contract with the newly relegatedEFL League One club.[22]
Following an unbeaten month of thirteen points from five matches, Davies was namedEFL League One Manager of the Month for February 2025, as Birmingham extended their lead at the top of the league.[23]
By the end of the2024–25 season, he had guided the club to promotion to the Championship, at their first time of asking, surpassingReading's 2005–06 record of 106 for the highest points total in the EFL.[24] Birmingham later went on to amass the highest points total in world professional football, with 111.[25]
Due to his record-breaking debut season in football management, Davies won the League One Manager of the Year award.[26]
"Controlling the game with the ball will always be central to my philosophy but I want a degree of tactical flexibility to adapt to different opponents and different situations. I'm a pragmatic person, and I feel that transfers into my coaching."
During his early career as a youth coach, Davies usedfutsal coaching to improve the technical development of players, including their ball control and passing.[7] He then developed his tactical knowledge at Swansea and Liverpool, having worked in opposition analysis roles at both clubs.[27]
At Celtic and Leicester, Davies's job was to "lead training on a day-to-day basis, managing the other coaches and working closely with the sports science department".[7] His sessions included on-the-field training, as well as individual meetings with the players and video analysis.[27]
Davies's coaching style has primarily been influenced byBrendan Rodgers, having worked with Rodgers at several clubs throughout his career.[3][27] He also cites the work ofRoberto Martínez andPaulo Sousa at Swansea, as well as the influence ofPep Guardiola on English football.[7]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Birmingham City | 6 June 2024[22] | present | 74 | 49 | 13 | 12 | 066.22 | [28] |
| Total | 74 | 49 | 13 | 12 | 066.22 | |||
Birmingham City
Individual
