Wayne Rooney out at Birmingham City only 83 days after Tom Brady’s club hired the England legend as manager

Tom Brady’s Birmingham City are on the lookout for a new manager after sacking Wayne Rooney following a 3-0 loss away at Leeds United in the Championship on Monday. The Blues are marooned towards the foot of English soccer’s second tier, just six points above the relegation zone despite the former England international and Manchester United player taking over when the club was in an early season playoff position. Birmingham are currently 12 points off of sixth and final playoff place from which they fell, which is now occupied by Sunderland.

“We are committed to doing what is necessary to bring success to St. Andrew’s,” said Chief Executive Officer Garry Cook in an official statement. “Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction. The search for a successor begins with immediate effect and we will update supporters when we have further news.”

“I would like to thank Tom Wagner, Tom Brady and Garry Cook for the opportunity to manage Birmingham City FC and the support they all gave me during my short period with the club,” added Rooney in his own personal statement. “Football is a results business — and I recognize 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. I have been involved in professional football, as either a player or manager, since I was 16. Now, I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager. Finally, I wish Birmingham City FC and its owners my best wishes in the pursuit of their ambitions.”

We break down Rooney’s whirlwind failure at  St. Andrew’s.

Wait, wasn’t recently appointed as manager?

Correct — just 83 days ago to be precise. Rooney has been dismissed, along with members of his staff, after just 15 games at the helm. The now 38-year-old replaced John Eustace back in October and oversaw nine losses from those 15 outings. Rooney has taken Birmingham from sixth to 20th in the Championship table and taken new American owners Shelby Companies Limited, not to mention retired NFL superstar Tom Brady, further away from their aim of a Premier League return.

How did it get so bad so fast?

It should be pointed out that things were not exactly bad under Eustace before the risky decision was taken to part ways with him. The Blues were still in playoff contention at that time yet now sit just six points above the relegation places and face a difficult FA Cup third round proper trip to Hull City this weekend with no replacement named just yet. Birmingham arguably should have known all about the risky nature of replacing Eustace with Rooney without results justifying the decision. Back in late 2016, the same club sacked Gary Rowett and replaced him with Gianfranco Zola yet the Italian oversaw just two wins from 22 games before he was dismissed just four months later and succeeded by Harry Redknapp. Zola took the Blues from seventh in the Championship and outside of the playoff places on goal difference to within three points of the drop zone and has not managed another club since. Rowett, ironically, is currently available, having left Millwall back in October and could be reappointed on at least a caretaker basis as Birmingham look to secure their second tier status.

What does this mean for Rooney’s managerial career?

Although it is not necessarily the end of the road, Rooney will have a tough time convincing another club to gamble on him after his stints with DC United in Major League Soccer undid the encouraging start he made with a doomed Derby County. Like fellow former England internationals Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, Rooney is a high-profile name in the English game, yet one who looks to be equally out of his depth as the other former members of the Three Lions’ setup. There might possibly be one final chance to come, but he admitted himself that it will take “some time to get over this setback” — his reputation will not survive another battering. Gerrard’s came in Saudi Arabia after also losing his job in Birmingham with Aston Villa who are currently Premier League title contenders under Unai Emery despite mainly using the same squad which the Englishman had available to him at Villa Park.