By order of the Peaky Blinders, Wayne Rooney has been sacked from his post as Birmingham City manager with the club languishing in 20th spot in the EFL Championship.
Rooney endured a torrid time at St Andrew’s, winning just two of his 15 games in charge as the Blues went from promotion contenders to relegation candidates.
The former Manchester United star was never truly welcomed by the Birmingham faithful and lasted just 83 days before being dismissed.
Why did Rooney struggle so badly? It’s not just the 38-year-old who has failed to make a positive step up into management.
England’s Golden Generation of the 2000s has seen a number of star players transition into managers but none of them have had a fruitful time.
Here at SportsLens, we take a look at the players in question and try to conclude why being a world class talent doesn’t mean they’ll make just as good managers.
Wayne Rooney Sacked
Wayne Rooney’s sacking at Birmingham City was on the cards and his fate was sealed after a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United on New Year’s Day. Overall, Rooney suffered nine defeats from 15 outings and his record since taking charge makes for grim reading.
Since his first game on 21st October 2023, Birmingham won the least points, lost the most games and conceded the most goals of any other Championship side in that time scale. It really was a torrid time in the second city for the ex-England captain.
Rooney has since claimed he wasn’t given enough time at the club which is true to an extent, but management is very ruthless and with results and performances as bad as they were, time is a luxury that most can not afford in the modern game.
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) January 2, 2024
England’s Golden Generation
England’s golden generation, in particular the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, saw the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Gary Neville all play for the Three Lions in what was one of the most feared teams in the world at the time.
However, games and titles aren’t won on paper and despite a talented squad blessed with genuine world class stars, England never reached the heights expected of them. Portugal were often the bane of Sven Goran Eriksson’s side but at club level, the aforementioned players won the lot.
From UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup/League Cup titles these guys tasted an unrivalled amount of success in said competitions and the individual accolades that were picked up were of the highest level. So, once their playing days came to an end, they were ready to conquer the world as managers.
🚨🔵 Birmingham City have now fired Wayne Rooney with immediate effect, decision confirmed.
Rooney failed to win 13 of 15 games in charge.
“Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction”, club statement confirms. pic.twitter.com/NahBgU1Yi5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 2, 2024
Wayne Rooney Win Percentage
Wayne Rooney’s win percentage is actually lower than Gary Neville‘s and Paul Scholes’, which is saying something. Rooney’s win percentage stands at just 26.1% across his managerial career with Neville’s coming in at 35.7% and Scholes just above Wazza on 30.8%.
The likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have fared slightly better over the years. The Liverpool legend boasts an overall win rate of 57.1% with former Chelsea star Lampard on 41.3%. These figures certainly reflect how difficult and can be to make the transition from playing to managing.
What’s next on the cards for Rooney? He really hasn’t got a lot of options at the moment other than perhaps looking for a role at a smaller club with lower expectations. There’s no shame whatsoever in taking one step back to take two steps forward. It can often pay dividends in the long run.
24 – Between Wayne Rooney's first game (October 21st) and final game (January 1st) in charge, Birmingham City won the fewest points (10), lost the most games (9) and conceded the most goals (30) of any Championship side. Departing. pic.twitter.com/FK4xTWLIFZ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 2, 2024
Golden Generation Struggles
Why has the golden generation of England players struggled in club management? It surely comes down to a number of obvious factors. The main one being expectations are too high and their big names seem to warrant the better jobs, and this should never be the case.
They aren’t as naturally gifted as managers as they were players but the likes of Xabi Alonso (so far) and Zinedine Zidane are so why do the English crop fail but former European stars succeed? Perhaps it’s a mixture of cultural differences and more advanced training methods but it’s alarming how many former Three Lions stars are suffering.
All is not lost for Rooney, who joins Frank Lampard without a club and with Steven Gerrard struggling in Saudi Arabia and Gary Neville and Paul Scholes preferring punditry work, there’s plenty of future opportunities but it’ll be a case of going back to basics for England’s golden generation to get their managerial careers back on track.
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