Junior Dixon continued his impressive debut season in Birmingham City’s second string by bagging a brace against Queens Park Rangers’ under-21s on Tuesday night.
The 19-year-old striker scored both goals in a 2-0 win as Blues reclaimed top spot in the Professional Development League North. Steve Spooner’s side are locked in a three-horse race with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday for the title.
Blues probably wouldn’t be in the race without Dixon’s goals. The former Crystal Palace trainee has plundered 14 league goals and a further four in cup competitions.
And yet still a first team call-up hasn’t arrived. Dixon hasn’t played a single minute at senior level this season and hasn’t appeared in a squad since making up the numbers at Preston in September.
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The most simple explanation for that is that under-21 goals still don’t carry much weight when it comes to first team selection. Blues fans have watched lots of young strikers bang in the goals down the years for the youth teams without ever getting close to a first team call-up.
Ronan Hale couldn’t stop scoring in the youth set-up but a first team call never came. Kyle McFarlane got slightly closer to breaking through but, still, he was also overlooked.
None of the six managers who have taken charge of a first team game this season have used Dixon. Even Spooner, who has overseen Dixon’s goal glut, opted for more experienced options when he was in place for the FA Cup tie at Hull City in January.
They have all taken a look at the powerfully-built striker. Dixon has been no stranger to a training session at the first team’s base in Henley-in-Arden this season.
Blues’ bloated squad hasn’t helped Dixon’s cause either. Even with the injury problems Blues have had to contend with at various points this term, the manager has been forced to leave high profile players out of the 20-man squad. Gary Rowett omitted Emanuel Aiwu, Cody Drameh, Manny Longelo, Andre Dozzell and Alex Pritchard last weekend.
The most likely conclusion that all of Blues’ managers have reached is that Dixon isn’t ready yet. He is still young and hasn’t tasted senior football anywhere, so throwing him into the heat of a relegation battle would be negligent if he hasn’t quite reached the level. We will never know until he is given a chance, admittedly, but the scenario Blues currently find themselves in doesn’t really lend itself to experimentation.
Blues tend to take a clutch of youngsters away for pre-season and Dixon will surely get the chance to impress. If a place in Blues’ first team isn’t on the cards for next season, a loan move would be beneficial to help him bridge the gap between development and first team football.
