Wayne Rooney quits Birmingham bench after tragic results

When Wayne Rooney sat on the Birmingham bench in October, everyone was excited to see where he would take the team. He had done well at Derby less than two years ago in the Championship for the club’s then poor situation, but not this time! After 15 league games, in which the charges of the legendary English striker had won only twice, the management recognised that a new coach needed to be found.

Rooney as coach

Rooney is no longer a rookie coach. He settled on the bench in November 2020, when he took over an absolutely devastated Derby team that had suffered a great tragedy. In fact, in the following season, the English team had to reckon with a deduction of 21 points. In the end, County needed only 7 points to save themselves. It can be said that the 38-year-old coach did a good job considering the situation.

He then headed to the USA, where he led D.C. in the MLS. United, after which he was lured back to England by Birmingham. By then he was managed by John Eustace, whom Rooney replaced after 11 league games, during which he scored 18 points.

In the following 15 games, however, Birmingham won only 10 points, beating only Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday. However, a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United on New Year’s Day was too much for the club’s management.

The club clearly did the best it could. There has been talk in England for some time that Rooney’s arrival meant big changes in tactics that did not suit the players. This too will be a great experience for the former outstanding striker in the future.

Rooney ends his third coaching engagement with a 26.1% win percentage in 153 games coached. That’s not a good statistic.

What’s next?

A coach will always be judged by results, and so far Rooney hasn’t got them. However, we need to look deeper into the matter. Firstly, the English coach is still at the beginning of his journey and is gaining experience.

The second thing is also that he has so far led teams that certainly on paper did not have the squad to win regularly. In Derby’s case, it was also about the devastating decision to deduct points.

Rooney’s very brief engagement at Birmingham will surely be a big lesson for both sides. So it will be interesting to see the further development of the Liverpool native, on whom there are high hopes in England. However, this minor tragedy may well put the brakes on his take-off.

Source: X, BBC, Transfermarkt