Wayne Rooney gained plenty of plaudits for his work at Derby County. In his first managerial role he was right up against it, dealing with administration, a 21-point deduction, and a squad hardly worthy of the Championship made up of academy graduates and free transfers.
The Derby fans were won over by his commitment, open communication and battling style, and it’s worth noting that they picked up enough points in his one full campaign in charge to finish 17th. To keep them in the hunt for safety until mid-April was near enough a miraculous effort.
“It is one thing, however, to stand up and out when you are facing every type of adversity football can throw at you, it is another altogether to take a club moving in the right direction at last further up the Championship tree,” says Sky News reporter Gholam Simeon.
“And speaking of trees, Rooney hardly pulled any of them up in his spell at DC United. Were he not the name he is, it is hard to imagine anything on his managerial CV being enough to convince the new Birmingham owners that he has earned the chance to replace John Eustace at St Andrew’s.
“The 37-year-old still has plenty to prove.”
Wayne Rooney and Birmingham City are the perfect pairing right now. Both at a crucial crossroads, and each having big ambitions for the future.
The sacking of John Eustace has been explained by Birmingham’s chief executive, Garry Cook, who says the previous head coach was “misaligned” with the club’s leadership team, on a number of key points.
Cook is trying to keep the Birmingham support on-side, knowing the sacking is unpopular with a significant proportion of them, who don’t see Rooney – who has only taken charge of struggling Derby County so far in England – as a managerial upgrade.
After all, under Eustace, Birmingham reached sixth in the Championship, and have taken six points and scored seven goals in their last two Championship matches. A harsh sacking, for sure.
But when you realise that the plan to recruit Rooney stretches back several weeks – when Blues took only one point from three matches against Preston, QPR and Norwich – Birmingham’s bosses think it is easier to justify and explain their decision.
“It was inevitable. Eustace knew it. New club owners like to bring in their own people in key positions,” says Ron Dorsett.
“And when you look at the mission statement of owner Tom Wagner when his Knighthead Capital Management group bought Birmingham three months ago, the recruitment of Rooney should come as no surprise.”
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