Birmingham City appointed Wayne Rooney last month, ousting John Eustace despite a strong start to the season.
Since, Birmingham City have won just one of Rooney‘s opening six matches in charge; the last game vs Sheffield Wednesday which ended in a 2-1 Blues win.
The win kickstarts the Rooney era after what’s been a turbulent start to life at St Andrew’s for the legendary former England striker.
His main task is not only delivering Birmingham City to the Premier League, but doing so in style.
The term ‘no fear football’ has been banded around since Rooney’s installment and, slowly but surely, we’re seeing evidence of a more aggressive Birmingham City side.
Rooney hasn’t covered himself in glory just yet. Results have obviously been poor and the style mostly criticised.
But Rooney and his tactical nouse has been praised following Birmingham City’s most recent ‘Open House’, in which more than 100 Blues supporters heard talks from various figures within the club.
And Rooney gave a presentation outlining his style, methods and what not, and his insight has received praise from the popular Blues account @almajir, who wrote online:
“Interestingly, there was even a presentation from the football staff at the club. This included men’s first team manager Wayne Rooney, who spoke about the identity on the pitch going forwards.”
Almajir added:
“My words cannot do this justice as it brought a lot of sense into the buzzwords we have heard about the way they want the team to play.
“While I am sure the win over Sheffield Wednesday helped, Rooney’s eloquent talk – no erms here – solidified in my mind some of the positive things I thought I’d seen with the team and have given me more belief that he can be the man to take the team forward.”
Rooney receives praise, but results are needed
Rooney may surprise some with his tactical insight.
When at Derby County, many thought Liam Rosenior to be the brains behind the operation and his subsequent success as Hull City boss would back that up.
And Rooney’s struggles so far at Birmingham City echo that idea too. But Rooney, having had such an elite playing career and having been in management for some time now, will have knowledge.
He’s a UEFA Pro License holder too which many are quick to forget, and it seems his tactical presentation impressed given the high praise it’s received from Almajir.
However, in what is a results-driven business, Rooney needs to start putting more points on the board if he’s to keep Almajir and Blues supporters on board.
Everyone appreciates that time will be needed and that Rooney needs support. But it was a massive risk to appoint Rooney and so far, at least, results haven’t been up to standard.
With each game, fans will hope to see a better Birmingham City side and if Rooney can have some spending money for January then Blues could finish strong.
Up next for Birmingham City is a trip to Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.