Birmingham City rue Rooney risk, Ainsworth nears sack at QPR? – F365’s Championship Spotlight | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney, Gareth Ainsworth and Michael Carrick.

Wayne Rooney and Birmingham City headline this edition of Championship Spotlight as their owners’ unnecessary managerial switch quickly goes awry…

WAYNE (BOO)NEY RISK FALTERS I have showered Birmingham City with praise in recent months as the increased investment their new American owners provided helped them become one of the major winners coming out of the summer transfer window.

Under novice manager John Eustace, the Blues overachieved last season to stay up with relative ease and their impressive start to the season made me feel smug after I backed them to mount a surprise promotion push.

Under Eustace, they were sitting pretty in sixth place after 11 games amid lingering speculation surrounding his future. The 43-year-old was more deserving of a new contract than he was the sack, but he’s not a famous enough name for Birmingham’s owners, who unceremoniously ushered in Rooney to replace him.

Rooney – to his credit – has not gone down the Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard route of taking a big job too soon, but he hardly set the world alight at Derby County (albeit in what was difficult circumstances) or DC United. This is another example of a young manager being appointed on the grounds of their work as a player and he is already up against it at Birmingham.

Two games have resulted in two defeats, with Rooney and his players booed off by an irate home crowd after their 2-0 midweek loss at the hands of Hull City.

Birmingham’s squad were never going to get used to Rooney-ball (the far less entertaining version of Ange-ball) straight away and the Manchester United legend deserves time to flex his managerial muscles, but the early signs are worrying after the Championship outfit took an unnecessary risk in replacing Eustace, who *finally* had the club moving in the right direction.

Morale was on an upward trajectory with the American owners enjoying a dream start, but recent fan outrage proves cracks are already starting to show and it’s all their doing following their brainless call to appoint Rooney.

THE ROCKER IS ON THE BRINK AT QPR While it’s too soon to be calling for Rooney’s head, it is now surely only a matter of time before QPR part company with Gareth Ainsworth.

The ex-Wycombe Wanderers boss did just enough to save QPR from relegation following their severe freefall down the table last season, but their woes have carried over into the new campaign.

QPR are winless in eight Championship games and (along with Sheffield Wednesday) are already becoming cut adrift from the rest of the pack with six points separating the Hoops and 21st-placed Huddersfield Town.

Ainsworth’s preferred style of play isn’t exactly pleasing to the eye but when Wycombe were in the Championship, it set them up to be solid defensively.

Yet now, that side of the game is one of QPR’s weakest points with them having the worst defence in the division with 24 goals conceded in 13 games. They are also being hampered by their inability to score goals (just nine scored in the league) so not much is going to plan at Loftus Road.

Ainsworth has just five wins in 27 games as QPR boss and with his side battling Sheffield Wednesday for the ‘worst team in the Championship’ tag, a managerial change is required if they are going to salvage something from what looks set to be a disastrous relegation season.

LEICESTER AND IPSWICH RUNNING AWAY? QPR have been as bad as Leicester City and Ipswich Town have been good this season with the Championship pace-setters already running away from rivals at the top of the league.

Leicester were always going to be near the top of the Championship this term. They had a side that was ‘too good to go down’ last season and even without James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, their squad outclassed most clubs in the second-tier even before new head coach Enzo Maresca rebuilt it in his image with some expert signings.

Not much was known about Maresca ahead of this season but he is the latest Pep Guardiola disciple to thrive in the Championship, with Leicester City on track to reach a record points total.

The Foxes have already surpassed their tally from last season as they have 36 points in 13 games, but Ipswich are just five points behind them with a game in hand.

Ex-Man Utd coach Kieran McKenna has given Ipswich a new lease of life since taking over with his attack-minded style taking League One by storm last season. The Tractor Boys were many people’s dark horses for promotion in the Championship this term but few anticipated them doing this well.

Ten wins in 12 games is a stunning start for a newly-promoted side and if they claim all three points from their game in hand – as things stand – there will be 12 points separating second and third in the Championship.

This does not mean the Championship promotion race is already settled because this league is a tiresome slog for even the best of teams. Dips will come for Leicester and Ipswich at some point, but their scintillating form suggests they will take some stopping.

BORO THREATEN 2022/23 REPEAT I jumped the gun and tipped Boro to sack Michael Carrick after he was left in the lurch following the exits of 39-goal duo Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer in the summer.

Though their season ended in play-off heartache, Carrick was rightly lauded for turning Boro into a promotion contender after they were in the relegation places when he took over.

But their dismal start to this season (seven games without a win) and subsequent criticism towards Carrick shows how swiftly the perception of a manager can change, yet he is now firmly back in the good books.

After falling short last season, Boro were backed to battle for promotion when Championship onlookers were making their pre-season predictions and their miraculous turnaround under Carrick suggests they will live up to expectations.

Along with the top two, Middlesbrough are among the in-form teams in the Championship and with six wins on the bounce, they have clicked into gear and should only be looking upwards from this point.

As stated above, Leicester and Ipswich will be tough to halt, but Boro’s rapid rise indicates they could soon be best placed to challenge the top two for a spot in the automatic promotion places.