Birmingham City are said to be interested in one of their former bosses.
But it’s not John Eustace who Birmingham City are apparently keen on following the sacking of his successor Wayne Rooney earlier this week.
Recent reports have claimed that Gary Rowett, 49, is now a frontrunner for the Blues vacancy, almost eight years after he left the club.
Rowett is remembered fondly by Birmingham City fans having left the club in 6th place of the Championship table upon his surprise ,sacking in 2016.
His sacking and Gianfranco Zola’s subsequent appointment and subsequent failure, is very similar to the situation that’s arisen here with Eustace and Rooney.
But despite a prolonged spell at Millwall which came to an end this season, Rowett may not be such a good fit for Birmingham City right now.
Why Birmingham City should avoid Gary Rowett at all costs
There’s no doubting his experience or pedigree at Championship level.
To last four years in one job is tough enough, but Rowett also guided Millwall to some comfortable and impressive league finishes; 8th in the 2019/20 campaign, then 11th, 9th, and 8th in the following seasons.
But Rowett’s time at The Den came to an end and rightly so, with Rowett himself saying that the time was right for the pair to part ways.
And often times during his sell with the London club, Rowett was quite widely criticised for his set up and his tactics.
Millwall fans often vented their frustration at Rowett on social media for his largely negative style of play which favoured defence instead of attack.
And that’s fine if it delivers results. But Millwall consistently finished outside the play-offs despite increased investment and in this modern age of attacking, exciting football, Rowett quickly fell out of fashion.
So for Birmingham City who will no doubt look to continue on this pursuit of ‘no fear’ football that Rooney was supposed to usher in, Rowett simply seems like a wrong appointment; not in the sense that Rooney was the wrong man, given his lack of experience and overall inability as a manager, but that Rowett doesn’t do what the Blues want their manager to do.
Rooney’s appointment was something of a sideways step for the club. But bringing Rowett back would be a backwards step.
The owners have a lot of making up to do after this Rooney fiasco and the timing of his sacking too, just after the very start of the transfer window, and so this next appointment is crucial in saving this season and saving their reputation among fans.
Birmingham City are away at Hull City in the FA Cup this weekend.