A former Birmingham City captain has secured his first managerial job today.
Birmingham City made headlines for their managerial change earlier in the season.
John Eustace was ousted despite pushing the club up into 6th place of the Championship table, only to be replaced by Wayne Rooney who now has Blues in 17th.
It’s been a tough start for the former England man but he’s made some definite changes at the club, transforming Birmingham City into a much more aggressive and high-pressing side.
But today there’s managerial talk elsewhere in the English Football League, with former Blues forward and captain Troy Deeney landing his first managerial job.
Troy Deeney named Forest Green Rovers Head Coach
Deeney saw his Birmingham City contract expire at the end of last season.
The Watford legend joined ahead of the 2021/22 season and went on to spend two seasons at St Andrew’s, making 54 Championship appearances and scoring 11 goals along the way.
He captained the side, showing a lot of quality in terms of playing ability and leadership, and some were surprised that he wasn’t handed a new deal going into this campaign.
The 35-year-old chose to drop down to League Two with Forest Green Rovers where he took on a player/coach role, but after a poor start to the season, Rovers sacked David Horseman and have now replaced him with Deeney.
Although it’s not confirmed by Forest Green, it seems like Deeney will take a step back from playing, potentially drawing an end to a professional career that spans almost 16 years.
This season in League Two, Deeney featured 16 times for Forest Green, scoring four.
What kind of coach could Deeney become?
One thing is certain, and that’s that Deeney worked under a tonne of coaches at Watford, so he’s had plenty of experiences playing under different managers and coaches.
It’ll be interesting to see what he’s taken from his previous managers and previous experiences of the game, and how he decides to line up with Forest Green Rovers next time out.
His first game in charge is a home game vs Gillingham on Friday night.
Rovers currently sit in 23rd place of the League Two table and are five points adrift as they face the possibility of a second-successive relegation, after what was a dire season in League One last time round.
Forest Green are an interesting club, if not controversial in some ways, and this appointment of Deeney is another interesting bit of news to come out of the League Two strugglers.
Expect Birmingham City fans and Watford fans as well to be keeping an eye on how Deeney fares in the dugout, in what is a very difficult maiden job for the former striker.