da doce: Former Arsenal and Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has insisted that Wayne Rooney didn't "earn" his job as Birmingham City head coach.
da bet esporte: Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Pennant slammed Brady for appointing RooneySays he hasn't earned Birmingham jobLost four out of first five matches in chargeWHAT HAPPENED?
Pennant has questioned Birmingham co-owner and NFL legend Tom Brady for firing John Eustace, who was dismissed in October despite guiding the club to sixth position in the Championship.
Since replacing Eustace in mid-October, Rooney has managed the club in five Championship matches, losing four and drawing once. The Blues are now languishing in the bottom half of the table, eight points above the relegation zone.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Pennant went on to claim that the former Manchester United striker has not "earned the right" to manage a club of Birmingham's stature and advised Brady not to treat English club football as an American sport.
Recently, former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair warned the former NFL star against following the same path as the Glazer family, who have been extremely unpopular since taking over at Manchester United. Instead, Sinclair advised him to follow the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney model that has served Wrexham so well on the lower leagues.
WHAT PENNANT SAID
Speaking to , former Birmingham star Pennant said: "It's sad to see what's happening at Birmingham. John Eustace will be sitting there with a cigar and a cup of tea at home. Birmingham were sitting pretty in sixth, but they're now 18th and eight points off relegation. That's a catastrophe and a massive blunder. There was no reason to look at Wayne Rooney or any other manager considering what they did last season. I know it's early days, but it doesn't look as if it's going anywhere. Wayne Rooney hasn't earned the right to be given a job like this, but I thought the American owners saw him as a marquee name. They need to understand it doesn't work like that. It's not American football or basketball, it's English football, and you need a manager who knows how to win games."
He went on to insist that Brady and the rest of the boardroom officials at Birmingham should take responsibility for weakening the team. "It was definitely a mistake to sack Eustace. You can see why the fans are so upset," Pennant added. "They've taken the team from sixth to 18th in a space of a month – it’s barmy! The owners should be admitting the mistakes they've made and not talking about their visions for the future. They're almost fighting relegation. Getting into the Premier League is the vision – it's a really weird one. Birmingham fans must be seething to watch this. It's not only the results, it's the performances. They were hard to beat before, but now they're losing comfortably. A lot of the plight has to be down to Rooney and his staff. The club were sixth before and they were getting results under Eustace with the same players. Rooney took over a good team, and now they're 18th. Either the tactics, formation, and selections aren't working, and you have to look at that. Whatever the staff are doing is not working."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BIRMINGHAM?
Rooney's men will aim to get back to winning ways on Saturday when they take on Sheffield Wednesday at St. Andrews. Birmingham will be back in action four days later away at Blackburn Rovers.