Two reasons why Birmingham City ditched John Eustace for Wayne Rooney - and why St Andrew’s fans have cause for concern

Surprise speculation over the future of Birmingham City head coach John Eustace has been rife over the past few days and now it’s official – he has departed St Andrew’s despite a remarkable start to the season.

Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney is the man hotly tipped to come in as his big-name replacement.

Blues are sixth in the Sky Bet Championship heading into the October international break, soaring way beyond all expectations. Most wouldn’t have foreseen their degree of success, even after a strong summer transfer window.

As a result, supporters of Birmingham and other clubs in the English second tier are in a state of shared confusion at the sudden decision. After all, it would be a huge risk for the new board to relieve the over-achieving Eustace for a largely unproven Rooney.

That’s the argument of most, anyway. But there must be a reason why Blues are set for such a monumental managerial shake-up. With that in mind, here’s our best effort at summing up the possible reasoning behind the rather bewildering situation.

Why would Birmingham risk it all for Wayne Rooney?

For us, there can only be two true reasons. Either it’s because Eustace could well leave for Rangers or a Premier League job after all, or it’s the colossal reputation and fanbase pull the newly jobless Rooney could bring to the West Midlands.

Probably the latter is our assumption.

Blues’ new American owner Tom Wagner is speculated to want a bigger name at the helm at St Andrew’s to help propel Birmingham into becoming a wide-reaching, global brand, especially in the United States.

Rooney, as the record England outfield appearance maker and all-time Man Utd top scorer, is an icon of football and not just in this country. The former attacker has also pre-built a reputation in the US from his time at DC United.

In terms of coaching experience, there’s actually not too much disparity between Rooney and Eustace as the latter doesn’t exactly have breadths of it either.

What the recently sacked Birmingham boss did have on his side, though, was the extraordinary progress he oversaw in such a short period of time at St Andrew’s.

More importantly, he had gained the full support of Bluenoses, something that hasn’t been achieved at the football club in a very long time.

It’s an almighty risk to see Eustace out but an even bigger one to bring in Rooney. There could well be a large disruption to the Blues faithful at a vital moment in the club’s history.

Gary Rowett to Gianfranco Zola part two?

If the second part of the jigsaw of Eustace going and Rooney arriving does go through, Birmingham fans will be desperate to not see a repeat of the infamous Gary Rowett to Gianfranco Zola switch in 2016.

Blues were seventh in the Championship in December of that season after a brilliant effort from Rowett, but the decision was made to terminate the manager’s contract and replace him with a bigger name.

The reason given was a determination to “lead the club to a bright and exciting future” with supporters to be rest assured the call was made with a “strategic, long-term view and with the club’s best interests at heart”.

Zola lasted just five months and led Birmingham to merely two wins in 24 matches.

What is Wayne Rooney’s managerial record like?

Rooney guided Derby County to a record of 14 wins, 13 draws and 19 defeats during the 2021/22 season but saw the Rams relegated due to a points deduction. They would have stayed up with 55 points otherwise.

On the whole across his spells with Derby and DC United, Rooney has managed 137 games, winning 39, drawing 34 and losing 64. His favoured formation is a 4-2-3-1.