by AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU TOO
Farewell then, Wayne Rooney. After less than three months in the job, Birmingham City have secured their big name managerial hire through the Door Marked ‘Roo One’. He won just two of his 15 games in charge, and the writing was plastered across the wall in big neon letters after the Blues thrashed Elland Road 3-0 on Monday. When Rooney was brought on to replace John Eustace, Birmingham were above Leeds in the table and they were dreaming of promotion. Now, they are 20 points behind them, and just six above third-from-bottom Sheffield Wednesday. The Ulsters had two points when Rooney arrived at St Andrew’s on 11 October, but made the bold decision two days later to appoint Danny Röhl, a coach who, it seems, knows what he’s doing.
From fifth to 20th in 83 days? Someone should have told the former DC United head coach that you can’t tank a Championship draft pick. Amirite? No? Not to worry, there’s plenty more riffing material to be found – notably this quote from Blues chief suitor Garry Cook, when Rooney was hired. “When there is an opportunity to appoint a manager who is a student and a great man of the game, then you act,” he said. “[It’s] a critical moment for the football club.” When Cook finally gets his foot out of his mouth, he might try to claim he was talking about Steve Cooper. The former Forest manager is the bookies’ favorite to replace Rooney, but whether he will want to spend another spell under trigger-happy owners and unrealistic expectations is another matter. Football Daily hopes the popular Eustace will be invited back, then goes full Ray Patterson on Tom Brady and his teammate at his wrap press. The sad truth is that he would probably be even more popular with fans than Rooney, who was even eclipsed in Gianfranco Zola’s St Andrew’s hot seat. Oh Wazza!
It’s hard not to feel a little sympathy for Rooney; he spent most of his brief tenure covered in a baseball cap and a giant bomber jacket, as if trying to physically get away from the touchline. After toiling through near-impossible circumstances at Derby County and then floundering in MLS with DC United, Rooney was effectively tasked with changing Birmingham’s style of play, without being given the time or resources to do so. to do, and then dump 36 hours into the transfer window. “Time is the most valuable commodity a manager needs, and I don’t believe 13 weeks was enough to oversee the changes that were needed,” he said in a statement shortly after he was fired. “I wish Birmingham City FC and its owners all the best as they strive to achieve their ambitions.” Ooof!
In any case, the biggest story in sport today is not Rooney’s sack, but the exploits of Luke Littler, the 36-16-year-old ghost who could become world darts champion. It might be a strange comparison, but there’s something about Littler that brings Rooney to mind. That gut-wrenching ancestral confidence, the way he walked right off the playground to fearlessly compete with the best in the world. Rooney is now 38 – still young, especially if you’re a darts player – but looks like a ghost at a football feast, cap pulled down, not in the right place at the right time. It was a costly mistake for both parties to join Birmingham, but hopefully Rooney will get another chance to find his place.
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STATEMENT OF THE DAY
“I lost it once and I needed a professional diver because I lost it in the sea. From time to time [it happens] when I lose a kilo or two. I was too active and I lost it and I was in a huge shock. [He] he bothered me a few times this season, but now he has a lot of free shots because that was really important” – Jürgen Klopp is clearly not having the same problems as Football Daily with his post-break spread, after TV revealed the Liverpool manager’s wedding ring was found by a cameraman after he lost it in Liverpool’s post-Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle celebrations, which took the Reds three points clear of Aston Villa at the top.
DAILY FOOTBALL LETTERS
Are you a manager who is competent enough to bring in a big name with a questionable track record and then get fired a few months later? I doubted it, but Tom Brady has all the qualities necessary for the boardrooms of an English football club. I am, etc.” – Darren Leathley.
Re: Football Daily Awards 2023. Glad to see how many Spurs were involved in one way or another. And people say they never hit anything” – Ron Stack.
Despite a few half-hearted attempts, 2023 was the first year in 12 that I did not publish a letter in Football Daily or its predecessor. I spent my Christmas holidays trying to figure out if it was more patient that I was upset about the streak ending or was it more patient that the streak was there?” – R Reisman.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. The winner of our unique letter today is … R Reisman.
