Man-united and England legend Wayne Rooney has been sacked as the manager of Birmingham City Football Club’s Men’s first team after 83 days on the job, who has replaced him? 

 

Ex-footballer and England Striker Wayne Rooney was appointed as the Men’s first team manager for BCFC back in October 2023, on a 3-and-a-half-year deal, taking over from previous manager John Eustace, who was sacked due to ‘misalignment with leadership’. Previously, Rooney acted as head coach for DC United, but parted ways with the Washington Team after 15 months, to return to England after failing to make MLS Play-Offs.  

The 38-year-old was appointed as manager of the blues to ‘elevate the club to the next level’ and ‘deliver’. After just 83 days, on Tuesday 2nd January, the Club’s Board parted ways with the manager after results were ‘not the level I wanted them to be’, owner Tom Wagner revealed.  Rooney had 9 losses out of a total of 15 games, only securing two wins from his time with the club. The Championship team moved down 14 places in the league table during Rooney’s stint as manager, going from 6th place in the league down to a concerning 20th.  

In an official club statement, Chief Executive Officer, Garry Cook, commented: “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.” 

6 days later, Birmingham City are ‘delighted’ to announce the new manager for the club, ex-football player and manager Tony Mowbray, who was dismissed from Sunderland back in December 2023, after 15 months with the championship team, after 2/9 wins, placing them at 9th place in the league. Mowbray is known for management at multiple teams, 2 of which being midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion, and Coventry City. 

 

Signed on a two-and-a-half-year contract, it was announced on February 19th that Tony Mowbray would be forced to temporarily withdraw from the role due to medical treatment, so his assistant Mark Venus would take charge for a month. A month later, it was once again announced that the ex-Sunderland manager would be on medical leave until the beginning of the 2024/25 pre-season, which meant that Former City manager Gary Rowett would return for the remaining 8 games of the season.  

 

It’s been a crazy couple of months since Wayne Rooney left the Blues, with 3 different managers sitting in the dugout since January of this year, but where will Birmingham City place at the end of the 2023/24 season? And will Tony Mowbray be able to lead the team to eventual victory after being in the Championship League for 13 years, like the Blues are hoping?