Wayne Rooney has been sacked by Birmingham City after 83 days. Rooney lost nine of his 15 matches and supporters turned on the former England and Manchester United captain during Monday’s 3-0 defeat by Leeds.
For Birmingham and their ambitious American owner, Knighthead, Rooney’s exit is an embarrassing end to a disastrous episode. On the day Rooney was unveiled at St Andrew’s their chief executive, Garry Cook, promised “no-fear football” but they are left needing to salvage their season amid the threat of relegation to League One. Birmingham are six points above the drop zone.
No Championship team have taken fewer points than Birmingham since Rooney’s appointment in October was heralded “as a defining moment for the football club” by Cook.
Cook will come under scrutiny from fans after he drove the move to appoint Rooney on a three-and-a-half-year contract and sack John Eustace, who had guided the team to sixth. Cook tried to sign Rooney as a player while CEO at Manchester City and failed in his attempt to lure him to the Saudi Pro League, in his spell as its executive president and CEO last year, before arriving at Birmingham.
Steve Cooper and Paul Heckingbottom, recently sacked by Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United respectively, are among the targets to take over from Rooney but it is unclear whether they would be tempted.
“We are committed to doing what is necessary to bring success to St Andrew’s,” Cook said. “Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction.”
Rooney, who joined Birmingham shortly after resigning as DC United manager in the US, said: “Football is a results business – and I recognise they have not been at the level I wanted them to be. However, time is the most precious commodity a manager requires and I do not believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed. Personally, it will take me some time to get over this setback.”
The 38-year-old, who has also managed Derby, wants to continue as a head coach. “I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager,” he said.
Rooney’s tenure was punctuated by difficult moments. At the end of his first home match, a defeat by Hull City, he conceded some of his players had informed him they felt uncomfortable playing his style of play.
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After the defeat at Leeds, Rooney said: “We are in a difficult moment, there’s no denying that; we have to pull together to get through it. I hope we can bolster the squad in January.”
Birmingham supporters may draw comparisons with the club’s ill-fated decision to sack Gary Rowett in December 2016 in favour of appointing Gianfranco Zola. The Italian won two his 22 league games before resigning four months later.
The coaches John O’Shea, Ashley Cole and Pete Shuttleworth, all of whom Rooney brought into the club, will stay to help the professional development coach, Steve Spooner, who has been appointed interim manager. Rooney’s first-team coach, Carl Robinson, has departed.
Day-tay.