SIMON JORDAN: Don’t bash Wayne Rooney, what was he doing at Birmingham City? The club’s owners got what they deserved after a poor appointment without any substantive thinking
- Wayne Rooney was sacked after scoring ten points from fifteen games in charge
- He was a remarkable footballer, but what were his management credentials?
- Mail Sport's chief football reporter Sami Mokbel gives the latest on Ivan Toney, Conor Gallagher and more It all starts
Birmingham City's owners have gotten exactly what they deserve, but that comes as no surprise to me.
When they appointed Wayne Rooney, I said from the start that it was a bad appointment of signing for new owners without any substantive thought.
Well, he got ten points from fifteen games, took Birmingham from sixth to twentieth in the Championship and is now out of a job.
A season has been wasted and I'm not the least bit surprised. We were told they would play 'no fear football', but one thing they clearly feared with Rooney was relegation.
I don't want to bash Rooney. He was a remarkable footballer and fair to him for wanting to try management. But what were his credentials? What were the criteria? The motivation? The blueprint?
Wayne Rooney's appointment was poor due to the new owners chasing signatures
Rooney was a remarkable footballer, but there was no indication that he was the man the owners of Birmingham City (pictured) should hire as manager
What did the Birmingham owners think they saw that suggested he was the man? He must have delivered a great interview, or was his appointment the management version of a shirt selling exercise?
While Rooney's career has been dissected, analyzed and written off since his sacking on Tuesday, the focus should really be on the intellectual capital leading Birmingham.
Criticism of new owners is often about not having the right people advising them, and in the case of Birmingham that was former Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook.
He would be the experienced head to guide the new owners, but his sage advice was to attack Rooney and wax lyrical about his abilities and the reasons for his appointment at the time.
Apparently he was still potentially in favor of keeping the better half of 'Wagatha Christie' in situ.
Rooney took Birmingham from sixth to 20th in the Championship and is now out of a job
You really have to question Cook's thinking there. Rooney is a famous footballer who has held several managerial positions.
Neither was particularly successful and neither warranted the opportunity to get the Birmingham job.
It's always difficult for new owners, but they really should have left it alone and watched John Eustace, Rooney's predecessor, play.