Wayne Rooney the manager of Birmingham City, and he plans to maintain the high performance levels of the majority of the team as they face a match at the Riverside on Saturday, following a successful season that has them currently in the sixth position in the Championship with 18 points from their first 11 games. Rooney’s goal is to enhance the team’s entertainment factor while keeping their upward momentum intact.
He will inherit a tightly-knit group of players, many of whom have excelled in the first two months of the season. However, it’s common for certain players to experience an upturn in fortunes when a new manager takes charge, and two individuals come to mind in the case of Birmingham City.
On the Keep Right On podcast, Alex Dicken highlighted two players who could see improvements under Rooney’s management. Dicken said, “There is one player whom I believe will benefit from the change in leadership, as well as potentially adjustments in the team’s style and formation if Rooney decides to make such changes, and that player is Jordan James. He has seen limited playing time this season, and it was unclear how he would fit into John Eustace’s system.”
“Eustace favored a solid defensive structure, so James was not considered a holding midfielder. Although he had a promising pre-season performance on the right side of a trio of attackers, he failed to make a lasting impression when he started against Plymouth.”
“That position isn’t his natural role; he’s more of a number eight who can occasionally contribute with goals. He’s one player who stands to benefit greatly from this transition.”
“The other player I’d like to mention is Scott Hogan. This is mainly because he was out of the starting lineup in the last week under Eustace, with Jay Stansfield performing well. Hogan’s confidence seemed to take a hit after missing a penalty in the game against Millwall.”
“Having Wayne Rooney, arguably one of England’s greatest ever strikers, coaching and providing guidance on a daily basis can only be beneficial. It’s also worth noting that Hogan is a Manchester United fan, so having Rooney around will certainly resonate with him.”
“While the other players will receive new ideas and information, they have already been performing well this season. These two individuals, however, are likely to benefit the most from this managerial change.”