Kieran Maguire drops brutal Cook verdict as ‘sexy’ Rooney deal ‘bites’ Birmingham

Since taking over Birmingham City in July, the club’s new owners have tried to accomplish “too much too soon.”

That is the opinion of finance specialist Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Wayne Rooney’s dismissal as manager.

Rooney was fired by the Blues on Tuesday (2 January) after only 83 days as manager at St Andrew’s.

Former Manchester United and England great Rooney was appointed by Birmingham’s new owners to replace John Eustace when the team was sixth in the Championship table, but they are now 20th after Rooney lost nine of his 15 games in charge.

Shelby Companies Limited, a US firm led by Tom Wagner, purchased Birmingham in July.

Rooney signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Birmingham in July, and Sky Sports writer Rob Dorsett reports that talks between Rooney and the club about his compensation payout are ongoing.

Maguire believes that the euphoria around Birmingham’s new owners has soon dissipated as a result of their poor off-the-field decisions.

“The new owners’ behavior at Birmingham City is a textbook example of how a new dawn fades, and that new dawn faded extremely quickly,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“There is no doubt that the previous owners acted in their own self-interest rather than in the interest of Birmingham City football fans.”

“The new owners have attempted to correct this.

“However, the decision to fire a popular manager in the form of John Eustace meant that there was little sympathy for Wayne Rooney.”

“Rooney attempted to implement the sexy football that the new owners desired, but this required a change in training culture, which did not manifest itself on the field.”

“I believe they tried to do too much too soon.”

“They are naive in terms of their lack of understanding of football, despite appointing Gary Cook, which has come back to bite them.”

In other news, Birmingham City are in talks with two managers, with one ex-Leeds United manager emerging as the frontrunner.