{"id":291833,"date":"2023-10-09T18:26:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T18:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=291833"},"modified":"2023-10-09T18:26:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T18:26:04","slug":"birmingham-city-fans-unconvinced-by-wayne-rooney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/birmingham-city-fans-unconvinced-by-wayne-rooney\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham City fans unconvinced by Wayne Rooney"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Birmingham fans are unconvinced by the looming appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager &#8211; as they lament sacking of John Eustace with club sixth in the Championship<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The former manager was appointed in summer 2022 and has overseen stability\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Despite a rip-roaring start to the season, Blues&#8217; leaders are keen for new intent\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Birmingham City fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share their unease at the sacking of manager John Eustace.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speculation had been mounting over the weekend that the Blues boss was due to receive his marching orders, with the ownership group &#8211; which includes NFL legend Tom Brady &#8211; deciding to dismiss Eustace on Monday after just over a season at the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport reported on Monday that Wayne Rooney had emerged has the clear frontrunner for the role after leaving his previous position at DC United.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rooney mutually terminated his contract\u00a0MLS\u00a0side after their failure to make the league&#8217;s play-offs, and Birmingham are said to have made an initial approach to the former Derby County manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Under Eustace, Birmingham currently sit sixth in the Championship, and most recently recorded a 3-1 victory over local rivals West Bromwich Albion on Friday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342327-12611075-image-m-158_1696864404703.jpg\" height=\"440\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Many Birmingham City fans were disappointed to learn of the dismissal for John Eustace<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342325-12611075-image-a-150_1696864219184.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The front runner to take over from the former head coach is thought to be Wayne Rooney, and the Blues are said to have approached for the ex-Derby County manager<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342335-12611075-image-a-154_1696864242601.jpg\" height=\"290\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Supporters seemed unconvinced by the change in direction taken by the club&#8217;s leadership<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>The club&#8217;s fine start to the season has seen many fans take to social media to share their confusion over the manager&#8217;s sacking.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;ll get behind (Rooney) and the team! But this feels like such a terrible decision!&#8217; One user posted. &#8216;Eustace felt like a great fit, seemed to have the players on side, had us playing decent football! Was a steadying influence\u2026 let\u2019s hope this isn\u2019t (Gianfrano) Zola 2.0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Sorry to see JE go!!!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Another added: &#8216;Another big difference is John really wanted to be at blues, Rooney Is only coming because no one else would be stupid enough to take him&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One referenced Birmingham&#8217;s statement on Eustace&#8217;s dismissal, sharing: &#8216;The club deciding to change is one thing. But some of the lines in that statement put unnecessary black marks on John Eustace&#8217;s reign and simply aren&#8217;t true.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Puts even more pressure on the next guy (we know who that is) This has been handled so, so badly.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In their communications around the former manager&#8217;s sacking, Birmingham claimed that their intention was to shift the football club&#8217;s &#8216;mentality&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It is essential that the Board of Directors and the football management are fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition across the entire Football Club,&#8217; the statement began. &#8216;With this in mind, Birmingham City has today parted company with Head Coach, John Eustace.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>After praising Eustace&#8217;s tenure, the club dialled in on the specifics required by their ideal candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These include responsibility for &#8216;creating an identity and a clear &#8220;no fear&#8221; playing style that all Birmingham City teams will adopt and embrace&#8217;.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342333-12611075-image-a-152_1696864232573.jpg\" height=\"211\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342339-12611075-image-a-153_1696864235634.jpg\" height=\"188\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A few fans wondered why Rooney was being considered for the role based on the club&#8217;s decisive statement\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342851-12611075-image-a-159_1696864562172.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Birmingham are enjoying a promising start to the season and currently sit sixth in the table<\/p>\n<p>Some on social media wondered if Rooney was the right man in light of the magnitude of the task, with one user suggesting alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;If \u201cambition\u201d and \u201cwinning mentality\u201d are the key attributes &#8211; I do not expect to Rooney in the dug out,&#8217; the user posted. &#8216;I expect to see a (Ralph Hasenhuttl) or a (Graham) Potter in charge, as that would be a clear statement of intent.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Aside from his foray into MLS, Rooney&#8217;s managerial career has been stymied by the checkered fortunes of former club Derby.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During his appointment, the club went into administration and were handed a 21-point deduction.<\/p>\n<p>But Rooney&#8217;s grit and determined managerial style was lauded by supporters, but the crippling punishments levied at the club still saw Derby relegated from the Championship in April 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The supporter&#8217;s reference to former Chelsea star Zola was likely shared in fear of recent history repeating itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, Birmingham were in spitting distance of a play-off place when then-boss Gary Rowett was sacked and replaced with the Italian, who most recently served alongside Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During his 24 games in charge, Zola torpedoed the Blues&#8217; Premier League prospects as they slid from seventh to 21st, with Harry Redknapp appointed before the season&#8217;s end to keep the club from hurtling down to League Two.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another fan however threw his weight behind the reported first-choice new manager, stating: &#8216;It&#8217;s surely no coincidence this is all happening in the International break is it. Blues next play on the 21st. Gives Rooney and his team plenty of time with the squad.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342657-12611075-image-m-157_1696864367267.jpg\" height=\"402\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>In 2016-17 Gianfranco Zola oversaw a disastrous tenure at St Andrews &#8211; sending the side from seventh to 21st<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342337-12611075-image-a-151_1696864224190.jpg\" height=\"243\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/16\/76342331-12611075-image-a-155_1696864246822.jpg\" height=\"208\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Some fans however through their backing behind the possible manager<\/p>\n<p>Rooney&#8217;s family added fuel to the fire of speculation that he might be making the move to St Andrew&#8217;s when his son Kai began following a flurry of Birmingham players on Instagram on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Eustace&#8217;s future remains equally in doubt, but at the start of September the manager was thought to be an early candidate should Michael Beale be replaced at Rangers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Beale was sacked from the Ibrox after a dismal run of form that sees them sit four points behind loathed rivals Rangers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Without their former manager, the side had a torrid time in Europe, losing their midweek Europa League tie to Cyprus&#8217; Aris Limassol 2-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12611075\/Birmingham-City-fans-Wayne-Rooney-John-Eustace-Championship.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Birmingham fans are unconvinced by the looming appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager &#8211; as they lament sacking of John Eustace with club sixth in <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/birmingham-city-fans-unconvinced-by-wayne-rooney\/\" title=\"Birmingham City fans unconvinced by Wayne Rooney\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Birmingham City fans unconvinced by Wayne Rooney - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/birmingham-city-fans-unconvinced-by-wayne-rooney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Birmingham City fans unconvinced by Wayne Rooney - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Birmingham fans are unconvinced by the looming appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager &#8211; 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