Chris Sutton has delivered an interesting take on Birmingham City and their recent sacking of Wayne Rooney.
Birmingham City made the bold decision to sack John Eustace back in October, replacing him with Rooney.
Blues sat in 6th at the time of Eustace’s sacking and had just beaten Midlands rivals West Brom 3-1. But Rooney leaves the club in 20th and now just six points above the drop zone.
It’s been a torrid spell for the club but there seems to be brighter times on the horizon with several exciting managers being linked with the job, including the likes of Jesse Marsch, Tony Mowbray and Paul Heckingbottom to name a few.
But there’s still a lot of reaction to Rooney’s sacking going around and Sutton is the latest to have his say.
Chris Sutton says Wayne Rooney was ‘stuffed’ by Birmingham City
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, former striker Sutton had his say on Rooney’s Birmingham City exit, saying:
“I think he was stuffed at Birmingham City. Stuffed by [CEO] Garry Cook, stuffed by the ‘no fear’ football thing, which has come back to bite the owners in the backside. That was awful. They promised a manager and a brand of football, which was unrealistic. That’s been the biggest issue.
“I think Birmingham fans expected something different and they didn’t get it. Then you go back to the John Eustace sacking, how unfortunate it was for Eustace, but unfortunate for Birmingham City. They were flying under John Eustace and now they’re in a relegation scrap.”
Rooney treated harshly, but he should never have had the job
Sutton makes a good point.
Rooney was given the impossible task of implementing that ‘no fear’ football that we heard so much about, and with a team that was built to perform under a more defensive boss in Eustace.
It seemed like Rooney would at least be given a transfer window; to his credit, his did transform the way that Blues played and pressed, but results were so lacklustre that he had to go, and the fact of the matter is that Rooney was the wrong appointment from the start.
The timing of the sacking is poor and somewhat harsh on Rooney. But it suggests that Blues have been looking for their next manager for a while now and the board will be determined to get this next one right.
But after seeing how Rooney was treated by the club, there may be a few managers cautious of coming in and taking the hotseat; especially the more experienced ones like Mowbray, and he’s only just come out of another job as well.
Mowbray was arguably given the same treatment as Rooney at Sunderland, if not worse treatment given the fact that his side were in 6th at the time of his sacking.
So it’s certainly a crucial month for Birmingham City both on and off the pitch.
They now find themselves without a manager, in need of new players, and with just a six-point buffer to the drop zone, and all coming after such a positive start to the season.
Up next is an FA Cup clash away at Hull City this weekend.