The owners of Birmingham City have appeared to have missed the part in the fabled ‘How to run a Football Club’, or at the very least a page that says – if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it, following a shock managerial decision, that saw manager John Eustace depart.
This comes off the back of a 3-1 win over close rivals West Bromwich Albion last Friday night, a result that’s puts the Blues up into sixth place. A solid start to the season, that not many would’ve predicted so why the change?
Well, part of the official club statement that went with the move to let Eustace go said:
“A new first-team manager will be announced in the coming days who will be responsible for creating an identity and clear ‘no fear’ playing style that all Birmingham City teams will adopt and embrace,”
As the rumours started of Eustace being let go, on the other side of the Atlantic a certain high-profile name was leaving his managerial post. Wayne Rooney left his position as manager of DC United after the club failed to reach the MLS Playoffs.
Would it be amiss to say that the American owners of Birmingham, led by Tom Wagner, have seen a big name and been drawn by the relatability of this as they grow their brand in the Midlands? After all they have recently hired Tom Brady, the NFL superstar, to give them another injection of cash as well as a solid footing in a world where ‘celebrities’ are a hit at sporting events.
Eustace has had his own rumours, as Rangers were thought to be keen for his services, so it may well have been that he was on his way out and Birmingham acted on this. However, if Rooney is to step in he doesn’t have the credentials as a manager so far to back up his global name.
After taking the reigns at Derby County as caretaker boss in November 2020, he won three of his 11 games in charge, this was enough for the Rams to give him the job full time. But over the next season and a half his win record hardly improved, winning just 22 of his 73 games, gaining 1.14ppg. Overall his time at Derby wielded a 28.2% win rate.
His move to DC United was like most others that MLS bosses make. A big high-profile name, taking charge of a club that is underperforming. At first there were signs it could work as the results took an upturn, but eventually this started to fall away, and after a full season with 53 games as the man calling the shots, his win percentage was even lower at just 26.4%.
Writer’s View
Harsh? Maybe. But the move overall does not make footballing sense. Compare the stats to Eustace, who has had to battle through off the filed dramas to help Birmingham into their current lofty position (a 33.3% off of 63 games), you can see how the decision would be a strange one to say the least and leave fans head scratching.
Of course there will be the hype that goes with Rooney sitting in the dugout. Birmingham fans will be right to err on the side of caution, while the rest of the football world try and make sense of it all.
