Wayne Rooney was appointed manager of Birmingham on October 11th, just days after the controversial dismissal of John Eustace, who was fired after leaving the team in sixth place in the playoffs and overseeing two good wins at home against Huddersfield Town and local rivals WBA. As media attention was high due to Rooney’s status as one of England’s most decorated strikers in modern history, it was viewed as the next stage of the club’s path to a positive future, with the goal of transforming the club’s style of football and returning to the Premier League in the near future.
However, the first three games did not go as planned, with the club suffering three consecutive defeats, scoring only one goal and conceding six. This has resulted in fans being unhappy with the club’s methods, Rooney rushing through the changes, and even some fans shouting verbal abuse at Rooney, which has been denounced by many fans. It has caused a bit of a sour environment within the club since.
A worried supporter has contacted the club. On the Small Heath Alliance forum, @Bluesince62 posted the club’s response to this fan’s worries.
The user wrote below: “I realize it’s only words, but this was the response to a concerned fan who contacted in, worrying about the impact of the abuse and offering support – truly lovely to see.” “Up the Wagner, the Manager, a
Although we haven’t seen the original email, the club’s answer urged fans to remain patient and optimistic in the face of hardship, despite Rooney’s difficult start at the club:
“Thank you for contacting the Club and providing your views and support. It’s very welcomed after a stressful week.
“Birmingham City Football Club’s objective is to be world-class in all it does. After years of neglect, reforms are required in all aspects of the Club in order to achieve this goal. We’ve started the procedure. It will take time, but we have a plan and, more importantly, the required support to make it a reality.
“Our owners and Board are in it for the long haul, and they have the determination to succeed.
“We appreciate your ongoing support for the team and the Club we love as we move forward.
Meanwhile, Blues coach Pete Shuttleworth believes Rooney will be a good coach, citing his relationship with the manager and prospective objectives.
“This is our third team together, and I hold him in the highest regard. We all know what a fantastic player he was, but I also believe he will be a very successful manager.
“I always thought we had difficulties in our first two jobs in terms of Derby County with the administration and how he dealt with it, he united the whole club, even though we were going through a period where we didn’t know if we were getting paid, if the club was going to go bankrupt at the end of the year, it was still a happy place to go to, and the players enjoyed it and were playing some good football. Although the points deduction finally overcame
“Then when he invited me to accompany him to America, it was a fantastic experience; it’s a tremendously underestimated league in the MLS that is incredibly technical. It took us a little longer to get the players into the game we wanted to play, but when we did last season, we had some good joy out there, some good results, and even though we just missed out on the playoffs, it was a major improvement, and we got the club moving forward.
“It’s nice to be with him, the third club; I believe he has all of the potential to be a very, really good coach. He approaches the game with an instinct and intuition that I haven’t seen in other folks I’ve worked with. Himself and the other coaches are here to instill our style of play on this club, make it interesting for fans to watch, and move forward.”Birmingham’s next game is against second-placed Ipswich Town, who have only lost once in the league all season, a chaotic 3-4 defeat to Leeds. It will not be an easy game, but fans may be hoping for a nice outcome from the m
I hope after the frenzy and over the top reaction to Wayne Rooney’s appointment we can now reflect on the facts . Firstly just cast your minds back a few months when we had nothing to look forward to ,the new owners have raised our expectations , the work on the ground has forged ahead and we have hope ! Common sense say’s back the owners to the hilt they will not accept failure , just be patient after all the misery we now have optimism . Yes recent results have been bad but then again most teams who are doing well now have been through bad times . On John Eustace i think it’s fair to say he earned our respect for the work he put in however, the owners wanted to go in a different direction and we should back that decision . It’s all about raising the profile of the club to attract investment which in turn benefits the club . I may be overly optimistic here but surely let us all calm down we will turn the corner soon .KRO
If in it for the long haul why the immediate attempt to play ‘no fear’ football and risk the stability achieved in the last few months. After all we have been told many times it’s ‘a process’, so please practice what you preach. Also please respect and listen to the fans. Patience should be reciprocated, and the fans are the beating heart of this great club.