Birmingham City have appointed Wayne Rooney as their new manager.

The 37-year-old former England captain has joined the Championship club on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Rooney succeeds Blues head coach John Eustace, who was sacked on Monday after 15 months in charge.

The ex-Everton and Manchester United striker's appointment is the first managerial change made by Blues' new American owners Shelby Companies Limited since they took over in July.

Rooney will be supported by his former England team-mate and current England Under-21 assistant Ashley Cole and his old United colleague John O'Shea, the assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland men's national team.

Carl Robinson and Pete Shuttleworth will also be part of Rooney's backroom staff after both assisted him at DC United.

It will be Rooney's third job in management following spells at the MLS club and Derby County and his first game will be at Middlesbrough on 21 October.

"Wayne is a born winner," Blues co-owner and chairman Tom Wagner said.

"We believe, with the support of his coaching staff, the club, and our supporters, he will take Blues forward on the next stage of our journey.

"His playing philosophy will help to realise the ambitions we have set for Birmingham City.

"Wayne has been preparing for an opportunity like this since he embarked on his coaching education whilst still a player at Manchester United.

"He and his staff have the full support of the board and everyone at the football club."

'I can't wait to get started'
Rooney retired from playing and was appointed Derby boss in January 2021, following a spell in caretaker charge.

His time at Pride Park was marred by off-field troubles. He saved them from relegation from the Championship by a single point four months after taking on the role.

But during his first full season in charge in 2021-22, the Rams were given a 21-point deduction for being in administration and EFL breaches, alongside a transfer embargo. Derby were relegated to League One and Rooney left in June 2022 with the club still in administration.

He returns to England after just over a year with Washington-based DC United.

Wayne Rooney as Derby manager
Wayne Rooney was unable to save Derby from Championship relegation following a 21-point deduction in 2021-22
"I am absolutely delighted to be joining Birmingham City at such an exciting time," Rooney said.

"It is very clear that they have a plan and are committed to realising their ambition for the club."

Rooney added that he and Blues are "fully aligned" on what is expected of him and says the "challenging environments" he has put himself in has "got me ready for this opportunity".

"It's a project that gives me a sense of purpose and I can't wait to get started," he said.

"I have a clear way that I want the team to play, and my coaching staff and I will work hard to implement it. We will create a winning culture here with an identity that gets Blues fans on their feet.

"My job is to elevate the club to the next level. I know what the expectations are and our job is to deliver."

Birmingham chief executive Garry Cook called Rooney's appointment a "defining moment" for the club before adding the new boss will work straight away with technical director Craig Gardner in evaluating the squad and identifying potential transfer targets in January.

What does Rooney inherit?
Birmingham are the longest serving occupants of the Championship, having completed the third of their short stays in the Premier League in 2011.

That was the same year they beat Arsenal at Wembley to win the League Cup, making them the last West Midlands side to lift a trophy.

This is their 13th successive attempt at getting back to the top flight but they have only once gone close to a return, their first season back in the second tier under Chris Hughton in 2011-12, when they were beaten by Ian Holloway's Blackpool in the play-offs.

Birmingham beat neighbours West Brom
Birmingham beat neighbours West Brom at St Andrew's in their last Championship game
Since then, despite the efforts of 10 different bosses, they have come closer to relegation than promotion - twice staying up on the final day, under Lee Clark in 2014 and Harry Redknapp in 2017.

But they are handily placed this season and sixth in the table having won three of their first four league games and then twice last week, to edge within two points of third-placed Preston.

Rooney must 'push club towards Premier League'
Analysis - BBC Radio WM's Birmingham City reporter Richard Wilford

For Wayne Rooney this will be a different challenge - the timing of the managerial change points to high expectations at St Andrew's and the sort of pressure he was more accustomed to during his playing career.

Blues have afforded him a large backroom staff, and the presence of former Wolves midfielder Carl Robinson and Rooney's Derby and DC United colleague Pete Shuttleworth is every bit as important as the bigger names Cole and O'Shea. They add some coaching and analytical experience to the mix.

He inherits a good squad, arguably the best the club has fielded since Chris Hughton was at the helm more than a decade ago.

Now Rooney must show that he can continue pushing the club forward towards a future in the Premier League.

Adam Murray has been sacked as head coach of AFC Fylde, who are bottom of the National League with two wins from 15 games this season.

Murray, 42, helped the Coasters into the non-league's top tier with promotion from National League North last term, after three seasons away.

However, one win in the past 12 games and three straight defeats was enough for the club's ownership to act.

Director of football Chris Beech will take interim charge of the first team.

Fylde host Leek Town in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Premier League

Zinman 16
Blue B 16
Lady J 11
Derby 10
Minizin 6
B.B.B. 5
Dingle 2
Stairs -1

Average scoring week this week with half in double figures and half not!!  Zinman and Blue Baggie lead the way on 16 points each.  For the first time I can recall, these two predicted identical scores across all 10 games with the only differences being where they put the Bonus and Scoreballs, which in the end they matched scores as well!!  They got 2 CSs, got a CR on the Gamball but missed on the Bonus.  Coincidence or not??  I will let you decide!!

Lady Jane was third with 11 points, she missed on both the major balls but like the leaders did get 2 CSs to offset that.  Derby keeps up his solid start to the season with 10 points, got the Gamball but missed on the Bonus.

Minizin is 5th with 6 points, not his best week but he keeps adding points to his total.  BBB saw a bit of a slump, could have been worse had he not been the only player to score positive points on the Bonus!!  Dingles struggles continue with a poor 2 points, he missed on all his balls and needs to find some form from somewhere.  Stairs had another bad week, his third in a row and during those 3 weeks he has totalled only 9 points, his excellent start to the season seems to have deserted him.

111 Minizin
110 Stairs
110 Derby
104 Zinman
94 Blue Baggie
86 BBB
84 Lady Jane
61 Dingle

Plenty of positional changes this week.  Minizin is our new leader with Stairs dreadful form seeing him give up a 14 point lead in the last two weeks!!  To make it worse for Stairs, Derby is now level on 110 points and Zinman has become the 4th player to reach the century and stands just 6 behind him.  Its now very tight at the top!!

Bit of a drop to Blue but at least he has pulled out a bit of a gap to BBB, who is now just 2 points ahead of Lady Jane.  Dingle is doing a Sheffield Wednesday and is well adrift at the bottom and looking like relegation fodder!!!

A couple of stats to ponder, the PL has now amassed a huge 233 points more than the Championship.  Even when you consider there is one more player in the PL the numbers are vastly in their favour.  The PL players are averaging 95 points, thats more than the leader in the Championship where the average is 20 points less at 75!!  If this rate of scoring disparity persists we could see a relegated player getting more points than one of the promoted ones replacing them in the PL!!

Cheers
SCO


Championship

AAA          10pts
Twerton      6
SCO          4
BaggieOne  3
Snooty        2
Themaclad  0
Sanjay      -3

There's nothing like heading into an international break on a high and the Championship was certainly nothing like heading out on a high. Following week 6's ridiculously easy games, it seems I have gained my revenge - the last couple of weeks have produced poor scores but this week set new standards:
The lowest total points of the season - just 22;
The lowest number of correct score predictions - just 2;
The lowest number of correct result predictions - just 18; and
The first complete blow out on the gamball.

Four matches produced negative scores with only Everton and Blackburn's wins achieving double figures. It looks like the Championship need this week off!
AAA achieved a degree of mediocrity as he reached 10 points thanks to the week's high of 4 correct results, half of the correct scores and gaining points from his bonus. Twerton scored half of his points on the bonus to finish 2nd while SCO gained some satisfaction from getting the other correct score but not a lot else, finishing with just 4 points.

BaggieOne and Snooty both got 3 correct results, no correct scores and missed out on the gamball and bonus though BaggieOne did at least pick up a scoreball point. Themaclad failed to trouble the scorers, 2 correct predictions offsetting his losses on the bonus and gamball, while Sanjay turned in a performance only slightly better than James Linnington's as he totally blanked his predictions but was saved from utter humiliation by getting the week's 2nd scoreball point.

AAA    94
Twerton    92
Baggie1    82
SCO        80
Snooty      73
Themaclad 64
Sanjay      42 

Low scores but a change at the top as AAA overhauls Twerton - the only positional change this week. a bit of statting; Only 2 players, unsurprisingly AAA and Twerton have positive bonus totals, while even the reduction in the gamball penalty hasn't stopped Sanjay from accumulation minus 3 points from it. This week saw BaggieOne's 5 week positive gamball streak come to a crashing halt though he remains the highest scorer on this ball.

Some interesting gamball stats (well, I find them interesting!); On average across all games, 20.3% of correct results have been turned into correct scores - for the gamball the equivalent figure is just 7.9%. On average 36% of result predictions are correct - for the gamball this figure is 26%. It seems like I am selecting some tough games for the gamball as it should be!

Zin

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/foo...th-injury/

This year's Championships get underway in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Saturday 14 October to Saturday 21 October. Aberdeen was the birthplace of many famous people, notably Henry Cecil, racehorse trainer (I could hardly believe that either), Graham Garden of The Goodies (equally unbelievable), Denis Law and Paul Lawrie (now that's more like it!).

The participating teams are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States and Wales.

The Home Nations are -

England - 4th: Ben Fowler (Vice-Skip), 3rd: Anna Fowler (Skip), 2nd: Scott Gibson, 1st: Annabelle Martin

Ireland - Brian Mathews (Skip), Clare McCormick (Vice-Skip), Jason Medhurst (2nd), Stephanie McDonald (Lead)

Scotland - Jack Strawhorn (Skip), Amy Mitchell (Vice-Skip), Kaleb Johnston (2nd), Kirsty Gallacher (Lead)

Wales - Adrian Meikle (Skip), Dawn Watson (Vice-Skip), Andrew Tanner (2nd), Judith Glazier (Lead)
I've named all the right players, but not necessarily in the right order - now, where have I heard that before!

The 34 teams are split into 4 groups, most notably Group A which contains the 4 Home Nations plus Belgium, Israel, Japan, Netherlands and Sweden. More details to come later in the week.

2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score   (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Random Badger gives you 2 points

The random badger is used for any random prediction used once in each matchday sequence. For instance, a scorer at a particular match, the number of red cards in the matches or yellow cards or own goals or owt you want really within reason, I do need to be able to check whether it's correct or not. Please don't put stuff like....."Commentator says...."  
The joker   is played for one match in each sequence and if correct you get double points. So if you've predicted 1-0 and it finishes 2-0, you get 4 pts, but if you've predicted 2-0, that's 8 pts. But if you get it wrong, it's minus 2.
Jokers and badgers are optional. You don't have to play one if you don't want.

The prize for winning the league is one rep point.

Cup games: In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. Similarly with the badger, if your random prediction is affected by this, it'll be half the points.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  

End of season Play Offs: The one who finishes top of the league will still be champion, but after the season finishes there will be Play Offs between the top 4, with 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. This will take in stuff like the EFL Play Offs, FA Cup Final, final day of Prima Donna League, European Finals etc. It will be one matchday for the semis and one for the Final. It will be the individual scores for each matchday against the allotted opponent, with some kind of tie breaker for a drawn match.

The prize for winning will be enormous. Another rep point.

1. St Charles Owl = 184 pts
   
2. Baggiebob(BBB) = 170 pts
   
3. jjamez = 159 pts
   
4. neonfoxinthebox = 155 pts
   
5. theo_luddite = 144 pts
   
6. themaclad = 139 pts
   

European Championship Qualifying:
Thursday October 12th:
Cyprus v Norway

Friday October 13th:
Austria v Belgium
Republic of Ireland v Greece

Saturday October 14th:
Hungary v Serbia (19:45)

Sunday October 15th:
Wales v Croatia (19:45)

Monday October 16th:
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Portugal

Tuesday October 17th:
England v Italy
Malta v Ukraine
Northern Ireland v Slovenia

Bonus matches:
International Friendlies:
Friday:
England v Australia

Tuesday:
France v Scotland

League Two:
Saturday:
Notts County v Mansfield Town (12:30)
Wrexham v Salford City


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

1. Lord Snooty = 157 pts
   
2. ritchiebaby = 141 pts
   
3. WakeyTerrier = 137 pts
   
4. SHEP_HTAFC = 129 pts
   
5. Amelia Chaffinch = 126 pts
   
6. Devongone = 120 pts
   

European Championship Qualifying:
Thursday October 12th:
Spain v Scotland

Friday October 13th:
Netherlands v France

Saturday October 14th:
Ukraine v North Macedonia (14:00)
Northern Ireland v San Marino (14:00)

Sunday October 15th:
Turkey v Latvia (19:45)

Monday October 16th:
Belgium v Sweden
Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland

Tuesday October 17th:
England v Italy

Bonus matches:
International Friendlies:
Friday:
England v Australia

Saturday:
USA v Germany (20:00)

League Two:
Saturday:
AFC Wimbledon v Bradford City
Grimsby Town v Accrington Stanley
Harrogate Town v Stockport County


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Interesting if true....
.... in a nutshell, Lai has dropped the asking price to £35m to get a deal done.

https://www.footballinsider247.com/revea...ice-drops/

Boreham Wood 0-2 Chesterfield
Ebbsfleet 2-2 Halifax
Gateshead 3-2 Altrincham
Hartlepool 1-0 Eastleigh
Kidderminster 0-2 Wealdstone
Maidenhead United 2-1 Rochdale
Oldham 3-1 Dag & Red
Oxford City 2-0 Fylde
Solihull Moors 3-1 Aldershot
Woking 1-2 Southend
York 1-1 Bromley
Dorking 2-1 Barnet