Birmingham’s decline commenced with the dismissal of manager John Eustace, despite guiding the Blues to sixth place in October 2023. His successor, Rooney, endured a brief tenure of only 15 games before being ousted in January. Shortly thereafter, the team suffered relegation to League One, culminating in a dismal season. Now, goalkeeper Ruddy has shed light on the challenges Rooney faced upon assuming leadership from Eustace at St Andrew’s—a club co-owned by NFL icon Tom Brady.

Speaking on ‘Fozcast – The Ben Foster podcast’, Ruddy remarked, “What John [Eustace] had done over that year and a bit was build a squad who he knew would be competitive physically and get around the pitch. We weren’t an expansive football team but I don’t think we could have been. We went to Peterborough in pre-season and tried to play great football and we were 3-0 in 20 minutes against a very good Peterborough team. I think John quickly realised that we needed a solid foundation to build off, if you’ve got a good defence and we’re going, ‘Right, we’re going to make sure we don’t concede too many and then we’ve got pace and quality going forward’. And that’s what we had, a good balance.

“Wayne [Rooney] came in… the club put out this ‘no fear brand of football’ which I have got no idea what that means and I still don’t. Wayne came in and tried to implement a style of play that was more possession-based, building from the back, with the same players. After the second game we played Hull [City] at home and we lost 2-0 and I said in the changing room afterwards, ‘We are not where you [Rooney] need us to be at this moment. I don’t think we’re good enough to play your style of football. If we work at it and you’re coaching it, I have got no doubt we will be’. But it was going to take a lot of work and nailing down specific information and roles for every individual. I don’t think we did enough of it personally.” Ruddy continued.

While Ruddy acknowledged his rapport with Rooney and praised his tactical acumen, he suggested that Rooney’s struggle to coach players of lesser ability might stem from underestimating the gap between his skills and theirs. Ruddy recalled a training session where Rooney effortlessly executed a precise pass, showcasing the standard he was accustomed to, contrasting with the team’s difficulty in replicating it.

Rooney’s managerial track record reflects his challenges: a win percentage of 28.2 in 85 games at Derby County, 26.4 in 53 matches at D.C. United, and a mere 13.3 at Birmingham.

John Ruddy

This season he played in total 44 times for 3960 minutes for Championship.

He made 151 saves and conceded 62 goals. He received 1 yellow card and no red cards.

His team is currently 22nd in Championship. In the last match Birmingham City won 1-0 against Norwich City.

Birmingham City performance and stats

Birmingham City is currently 22nd in the Championship with 50 points.

In the last 46 games, it has won 12 times, drawn 12 times, and lost 22 times. In its last match, Birmingham City won 1-0 against Norwich City.​​

It has a negative goal difference after scoring 50 goals and conceding 65.​