Eustace Leaves – My Personal Thoughts

I don’t generally do negative posts, and always try to see the positive in things. I intend to do the same here. However I do think some criticism is reasonable.

The rumours around JE leaving the club to be replaced by Wayne Rooney, have been circulating since the last international break. However they reached fever pitch this weekend and especially yesterday. A number of people who I trust were saying that it was happening. Sure enough, this morning the club released a statement confirming JE’s departure.

Like most clubs, we have a number of fickle fans who when we lose 1-0 with a dodgy bounce off someone’s backside – go into meltdown and demand the whole squad is changed, the manager sacked and vow never to go again. Yeah that’s an exaggeration to make a point, but on social media and other platforms only two weeks ago – a number of fans were calling for John Eustace to be sacked.

I remember reading a number of responses saying that he didn’t know where to put players for their correct positions, substitutions were rubbish and style of play was too negative. Now while some, or all, of that may be true at times – I think that accusation can be placed at any manager’s feet. They have issues with injuries, players not on form and all sorts of things we are not in the know about. We never know the full extent. The thing is – while it’s fair and reasonable to be critical of poor performance, this over-reaction of some, is quite frankly embarrassing. I remember someone saying be careful what you wish for, hmmm yes!

Anyway back to the topic. I want to thank John for his tenure. He has managed the club through some very difficult times and always with dignity, professionalism and a smile. This season we have shown some of the potential of what we could be, the last two results being an example. I wish him well wherever he goes.

Our previous owners seemed to change managers like dirty washing. Now while some deserved to get the sack, we got the reputation of a club that didn’t give managers a chance. I always felt that could have an impact on who might apply. The whole, will I be trusted to do a job thing!

The new owners seem far more professional and switched on, and I’m sure they don’t want to be sacking a manager every season because of poor results. It should be remembered that JE wasn’t their man and the likelihood of him having a sustained tenure was always improbable.  One of the criticisms I have seen this morning, is the timing which seems odd, well from the perspective that our form seems to be picking up again.

Before I continue with the previous point, one concern I have about the sudden sacking, is the dressing room. The players have clearly wanted to play for Eustace. I really hope this change of manager doesn’t cause a rebellion as we have seen in other clubs – thinking of Chelsea and Mourinho as an example.

Back to my previous point, the last two games we had good performances, scoring 7 goals in those two games and only conceding 2. However, if Rooney has always been their man, then the timing does make sense with him unable to leave DC United until now and it being an international break.

So what about Wayne Rooney. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it does seem likely that he’ll be our next manager. His track record isn’t that great so far, but he has only had two clubs. Derby he did a reasonable job in very difficult circumstances. Although the Derby fans I have spoken to weren’t keen on him. He hasn’t exactly pulled up trees in the US either.

His media persona isn’t too great and clearly he has baggage that has been well documented over the years, so why him? I have read that his agent is a friend of Cook, and that was the likely connection. I’m not going to criticise that, it happens everywhere in all businesses.

I think the key factor is that he is a household name, over much of the world. I would imagine that is probably the reason he has been targeted. The new owners are business people. They understand the power of franchise and marketing. Let’s face it, all of us would love to see big investment to push us to the next level.

So in conclusion, I am disappointed that Eustace wasn’t given longer to really establish himself, but I’m sure he’ll find a new job soon. The new owners have only bought positivity in since their arrival. More communicative, funds for the best transfer window for years, and of course the ground being well on the way to being fully open again. Fans have responded by returning to matches after, in some cases, long self enforced absences. I am loathe to criticise because so far so good, so I am going to choose to trust the decision making. I say this, because unlike the previous owners who didn’t appear to care, I believe Tom and his staff do care and really do want us to succeed.

We will have to wait and see if Rooney is the right person, or a stepping stone for investment purposes – but one thing is for sure, I support Birmingham City and not any individual player, manager, owner etc. I really hope the fans, who have been magnificent in recent games, can get behind the team even if the manager isn’t their choice.