Chris Davies makes controversial Patrick Roberts decision at Birmingham City F.C

Patrick Roberts’ future role in Birmingham City F.C.’s strongest starting XI has become a major talking point following his reduced involvement towards the end of the 2025/26 Championship campaign.

The 29-year-old winger enjoyed an impressive start to life at St Andrew’s after arriving from Sunderland A.F.C., quickly establishing himself as one of Birmingham’s key attacking players during the first half of the season. Alongside Demarai Gray, Roberts played a huge role in shaping the club’s attacking style before Christmas, regularly providing creativity and experience for Chris Davies’ side.

However, Roberts’ importance gradually declined during the second half of the campaign. The winger failed to start an away league match after January and was left unused on the bench during Birmingham’s final three fixtures of the season as Davies opted for a different tactical approach.

A major factor behind that shift was the arrival of Carlos Vicente from Deportivo Alavés in a deal worth around £7 million. After initially taking time to adapt, Vicente eventually became Davies’ preferred option on the right wing as Birmingham looked to evolve their style late in the campaign.

Although Birmingham ultimately finished 10th in the Championship, there were encouraging signs towards the end of the season, particularly with Vicente beginning to show the qualities that convinced the club to invest heavily in him.

Even so, Roberts still managed five league goals and five assists during the campaign, with only Jay Stansfield and Marvin Ducksch recording more direct goal contributions for Birmingham over the course of the season.

One Birmingham fan pundit admitted Roberts was perhaps unfortunate to lose his place completely but also understood Davies’ reasoning, suggesting the club prioritised integrating Vicente ahead of next season after making such a significant financial commitment.

The supporter argued that while Roberts could arguably have been given more minutes late in the campaign, it made sense for Davies to focus on helping Vicente settle into English football ahead of the 2026/27 season. They also stressed that Birmingham now appear to possess two very different but high-quality options on the right flank, giving the squad greater tactical flexibility moving forward.

Despite concerns over his reduced minutes, there remains a strong feeling among supporters that Roberts still has a major role to play next season. The winger remains highly popular with Blues fans, and his creativity, experience, and technical quality could still prove vital if Birmingham are to mount a serious push for promotion next year.