Wayne Rooney is a football legend. The former Everton and Manchester United player, among others, won 16 titles at Old Trafford and was the Red Devils’ all-time top scorer (253 goals). He was also England’s (53 goals) … until Harry Kane surpassed him recently (62). Talented and rebellious, ‘Wazza’ is considered Gascoigne’s heir and left his mark on a Premier League in which he is its third highest scorer (208 goals).
Rooney is one of the great English players of all time. However, he is having a harder time in his adventure on the bench as reflected in hishis numbers (13.3% wins) in a Birmingham City that has fired him due to the crisis of results that the team is going through. They have gone from dreaming of the Premier to bordering on relegation since their arrival. Nobody won fewer points (10), lost more (nine defeats) or conceded as many (30 goals) in the Championship as his ‘blues’. “Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction,” said CEO Garry Cook.
It all started in November 2020. At the age of 35, he hung up his boots at Derby County to become a coach, replacing Cocu. He managed to keep the ‘Rams’ in the Championship, the English Second Division. However, financial problems led to a -21 point penalty in the following season (2021-22) and, despite accumulating great results, they were relegated to League One (Third).
Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction.
And after an irregular adventure at DC United in the MLS (between July 2022 and October 2023 they only won 26.4% of the 53 games they played in the United States) he returned to England to help Birmingham City return to a Premier that they have not set foot in since 2010-11. “Wayne is a born winner. We believe that, with the support of his coaching staff, the club and our fans, we will take the Blues to the next stage of our journey. “His philosophy of the game will help realize the ambitions we have set for ourselves,” said Tom Wagner, co-owner of the Midlands team.
I have been building my coaching career, testing myself in challenging environments, to prepare for this opportunity.
“I have been building my coaching career, testing myself in challenging environments, to prepare for this opportunity. It is a project that gives me a sense of purpose and I can’t wait to get started,” said Rooney, who took over at St Andrew’s John Eustance who It had Birmingham City fifth, in playoff positions for promotion to the Premier. I signed for three and a half seasons with ambitious goals.
Closer to descent than to ascent
The results never came for the former English international. It started losing (1-0) against his former teammate Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough. They had three defeats in a row and it took them five games to achieve their first victory (2-1 against Sheffield Wednesday). Now, after directing 15 games against Birmingham City, He has only been able to win two. He has a meager 13.3% winning percentage which has made the ‘blues’ go from being eligible for promotion to getting dangerously close to the red zone. They are twentieth, twice as far from the playoff (12 points) as from relegation to League One (six).
“I am a fighter. We are going through a difficult period, there is no denying it, and we have to do what we can to get out of it. In my playing career I was not always successful. I fought to avoid relegation with Everton. I have been through also through difficult moments as a player. I have to believe in myself. It’s difficult, we have a very young squad and we need to strengthen ourselves, but in order to do so we have to continue believing.“, he explained after falling (3-0) in Leeds, adding his ninth defeat in 15 games with Birmingham City.
I’m a fighter. In my career as a player I was not always successful.
However, the mistake at Elland Road cost him his job. Furthermore, in England they are already comparing his data on the bench with other of his former teammates from the ‘golden generation’ of the ‘Three Lions’. In his coaching career, Rooney has won 26.1% of the games he has coached. Figures below what they look like Steven Gerrard (57,1% de victorias), Frank Lampard (41,3%), Gary Neville (35,7%), Paul Scholes (30,8%)… It’s time to reinvent yourself.
