Simon Jordan gives verdict on Wayne Rooney speculation surrounding Birmingham City | OneFootball

Highlights

Simon Jordan has given his verdict on the speculation surrounding the managerial position at Birmingham City.

John Eustace’s position at St. Andrew’s has been called into question following links to Scottish giants Rangers.

The Blues boss has earned a lot of plaudits for his work since taking over the club in the summer of 2022.

Michael Beale has been struggling to get results at Ibrox, which has led to reports suggesting that an approach may be made to replace him with Eustace.

This has led to further reports claiming that Wayne Rooney is being considered by the Championship club, should Birmingham need to find someone to replace the 43-year-old in the near future.

What has Simon Jordan made of the John Eustace speculation?

Jordan highlights Rooney’s current win percentage with DC United as a potential warning sign that he may not be up to the standard needed to bring Birmingham to the Premier League.

The former Crystal Palace chairman believes that a comparison between Eustace and Rooney is unkind to the Birmingham manager at this point in their careers.

“Well I’m sure John Eustace is thrilled with this sort of indexing,” said Jordan, via talkSPORT on YouTube.

“Wayne Rooney played at the highest level, came back to England after being in America for a period of time, didn’t do very much for Derby as a footballer because he’d run his course.

“Got a job in the dugout because everything was falling apart, held it together by the skin of his teeth in his first season.

“The latitude that he was given at Derby, to be given an opportunity I think served him in good stead.

“Let's say, for the purposes of this conversation, he did alright.

“But now we are in a situation where, judging by him in America, what about a 27 per cent win record tells you that that translates, besides it’s Wayne Rooney.”

Eustace has overseen a very positive start to the new Championship campaign, with Birmingham sitting fourth in the table after the opening five fixtures.

The team has earned three wins and two draws to remain unbeaten going into the September international break.

There are just two points separating the Blues from league leaders Preston North End, with Birmingham now aiming to compete for promotion to the Premier League after finishing 17th in the previous campaign.

Next up for Eustace’s side is a trip away to Vicarage Road for a clash against Watford on 16 September.

Would Wayne Rooney be a good appointment as Birmingham City manager?

Rooney’s experience at Derby showcased that he could become a good manager for a side with Birmingham’s ambition.

The Rams were struggling with various issues off the pitch that saw the former forward have to work with a very limited squad, but he was able to keep them in the division in his first campaign in charge.

Relegation arrived a year later, with a massive points deduction penalty sealing their fate.

The 37-year-old has not had a great time of it since leaving Derby, with his record at DC United not standing out as particularly impressive.

So it remains to be seen whether he would be a good replacement at Birmingham should Eustace leave. There would be an element of risk there, for sure.