[themaclad]

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.

[talkSAFT]

They deserve each other!

[themaclad]

Potted

[themaclad]

Birmingham City have sacked manager Wayne Rooney after just 83 days in charge of the Championship club.

The 38-year-old was appointed on 11 October following the controversial decision to dismiss John Eustace, with Blues sixth in the table.

Since then they have slipped to 20th, Monday's 3-0 loss at Leeds having been the ninth defeat of his 15-game tenure.

"Football is a results business and I recognise they've not been at the level I wanted them to be," Rooney said.

Professional development coach Steve Spooner will take interim charge for Birmingham, who have also parted company with one of Rooney's backroom team, former Wolves and Wales midfielder Carl Robinson.

'It will take time to get over this setback'
Rooney said he now plans to take a break from the game.

"I would like to thank (co-owners) Tom Wagner and Tom Brady and (chief executive) Garry Cook for the opportunity to manage Birmingham City and the support they all gave me during my short period with the club," he said.

"However, time is the most precious commodity a manager requires and I do not believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed.

"Personally, it will take me some time to get over this setback.

"I have been involved in professional football, as either a player or manager, since I was 16. Now, I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager."

14 August - 'No limit' for Birmingham City, says Tom Wagner
9 October - Blues sack John Eustace as head coach
11 October - Blues bring in Wayne Rooney as manager
25 November - Rooney gets first win as Blues boss at sixth attempt
21 December - Rooney will turn Blues around, says ex-academy boss
The appointment of former England captain Rooney, who previously had spells in charge of Derby County and MLS side DC United, bore comparisons with the club's ill-fated decision to sack Gary Rowett in December 2016 and replace him with a globally-known name in Gianfranco Zola.

But Zola won just twice in 22 games before being sacked in April 2017, to be succeeded by Harry Redknapp.

Since Blues' new American owners Shelby Companies Limited appointed Rooney, again in the search for global impact, he has also won just two matches - and the board's hope for successful, more exciting football has not been met.

Rowett, who left Millwall in October, is already being touted as one of the names under consideration to become caretaker boss - a list that also includes former Swansea City and sacked Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.

Blues are six points clear of the relegation places and travel to Hull City in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

They face three crucial league games before the close of the January transfer window - all against teams just above them in the table, Swansea and Middlesbrough at home, either side of Stoke away.

It was always assumed that Rooney, appointed after the last transfer window closed, would be given the January transfer window to put things right.

But the club have opted to act now, giving a new manager time to work on any potential new signings.

Rooney is now the shortest-serving Blues manager, in terms of time period, in their 132-year history. But he lasted two games longer than Redknapp, who, after keeping Blues up, left six weeks into the 2017-18 season after just 13 games.

Rooney has plug pulled sooner than Zola
Analysis - BBC Radio WM's Richard Wilford

Few observers at St Andrew's can be accused of 20-20 hindsight when suggesting that Rooney's short-lived tenure was inevitable.

The parallels with Zola's ill-fated half-season in 2016-17 were hard to ignore, the main difference being that the new owners have chosen to pull the plug far sooner.

That Birmingham CEO Garry Cook should choose to promise "no-fear football" at Rooney's unveiling was to hang an albatross round the former England striker's neck.

Gianfranco Zola at St Andrew's
Gianfranco Zola won just two of his 22 matches in charge of Birmingham in 2016-17
Some of the players would understandably fear a radical change of style. They frankly had not been recruited to implement it in the first place.

Eustace had everyone singing off the same sheet, challenging for a play-off spot. Like Rowett seven years earlier, he may not have achieved a top-six finish in the end, but both would surely have avoided the chaos that followed.

If there was one sliding door moment for Rooney, it came at Plymouth.

Following a fully controlled win at Cardiff and a decent showing in defeat at home by Leicester, Blues were ahead at Home Park when Krystian Bielik was harshly sent off. They failed to defend a 3-1 lead with 10 men, leaving Devon with only a draw.

Flat, listless performances against Stoke, Bristol City and then Leeds clearly concentrated minds as the Championship's trap door drew closer.

Given the apparent stability and undoubted ambition of the new ownership group and the positive work they are clearly doing off the field, this will serve as a sharp lesson about the realities of football. Timing is everything, and profile alone does not garner league points.

'Change in best interests of club'
In a statement, Birmingham chief executive Cook said they felt the time was right to move in a different direction.

"Despite their best efforts, results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset. Therefore, the board feels that a change in management is in the best interests of the club," Cook said.

"The club's board and management are fully aligned and will continue to drive transformation and take bold steps to rebuild Birmingham City into the organisation its fans and community deserve.

"We are committed to doing what is necessary to bring success to St Andrew's.

"Unfortunately, Wayne's time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction.

"The search for a successor begins with immediate effect and we will update supporters when we have further news.

"The remaining coaching staff will be required to continue with their duties to assist Steve Spooner."