Birmingham City has answered the Junior Dixon question six times

Red-hot striker Junior Dixon notched another brace for Birmingham City’s second string against QPR on Tuesday.

Junior Dixon continued his successful debut season with Birmingham City’s second string by scoring twice against Queens Park Rangers’ under-21s on Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old striker scored both goals in the Blues’ 2-0 victory, reclaiming first place in the Professional Development League North. Steve Spooner’s squad is in a three-way title chase with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.

Without Dixon’s goals, the Blues would most likely be out of the race. The former Crystal Palace youngster has 14 league goals and another four in cup tournaments.

Still, no first-team call-up has arrived. Dixon hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season and hasn’t appeared in a squad since making up the numbers for Preston in September.

The simplest straightforward answer is that under-21 goals continue to have little weight in first-team selection. Blues fans have seen many young strikers score goals for the youth teams over the years without ever receiving a first-team call-up.

Ronan Hale couldn’t stop scoring in the youth setup, but he never received a first-team callup. Kyle McFarlane came closer to breaking through, yet he was still overlooked.

Dixon has not been utilized by any of the six managers in charge of a first-team game this season. Even Spooner, who has supervised Dixon’s goal glut, went with more experienced players for the FA Cup clash at Hull City in January.

They’ve all looked at the powerfully built striker. Dixon has attended numerous training sessions at the first team’s camp in Henley-in-Arden this season.

Dixon’s case has also been hampered by the Blues’ large roster. Despite the Blues’ injury woes this season, the manager has been forced to leave high-profile players out of the 20-man team. Gary Rowett left out Emanuel Aiwu, Cody Drameh, Manny Longelo, Andre Dozzell, and Alex Pritchard last weekend.

The most likely conclusion that all Blues managers have reached is that Dixon is not yet ready. He’s still young and hasn’t played senior football yet, so putting him in the middle of a relegation battle would be irresponsible if he hasn’t quite reached the level. We won’t know unless he’s given an opportunity, but the situation Blues are now in does not encourage experimenting.

The Blues typically send a group of young players away for preseason, and Dixon will undoubtedly get an opportunity to shine. If a spot in the Blues’ first team isn’t on the horizon for next season, a loan move would help him bridge the gap between development and first-team action.