Birmingham City: "Poor coach" Wayne Rooney slammed for Tom Brady claim amid "jealousy" factor | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has reacted to Wayne Rooney's comments on Tom Brady.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Former Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney has hit back at Tom Brady over comments made on the Blues docuseries on Amazon Prime.

Rooney replaced John Eustace as manager at St. Andrew's in October 2023 in what was a surprise move, with the Blues sixth in the table at the time, but after just 83 days in charge of the Midlands outfit, Rooney was sacked following nine defeats in 15 games at the helm.

Birmingham were ultimately relegated to League One at the end of the season, with neither Tony Mowbray nor Gary Rowett able to turn the club's fortunes around, but the rot had truly set in when Rooney was in the dugout.

Blues have since earned an immediate promotion back to the Championship after just one season in the third tier, emphatically winning the title and breaking the EFL points record in the process with 111 points.

Brady, who became a minority owner at the club in 2023, following Knighthead's takeover, questioned Rooney's work ethic as a manager in the documentary.

In response to the comments, Rooney said on BBC Sounds: "I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don't think he really understood football that well.

"But what he does understand is, he's a hard worker, we know that."

Rooney added: "Football is not NFL – NFL works for three months a year. Players do need rest as well, so I think he's very unfair, the way he's come out and portrayed that.

Speaking to Football League World's Birmingham City pundit, Jason Moore, he has defended Brady's comments on Rooney and has labelled the former Man United and England attacker as jealous.

"To be honest, I just think Wayne Rooney as a whole, and the whole stuff around Brady, he's never once took any accountability, so I just think it's all a bit silly," Jason told FLW

"The thing is, the media never once turn around and go 'Wayne, maybe that was your fault'.

"He was poor at Derby and he did a terrible job at Plymouth. He's just not a very good football manager, it's as simple as that. Great player, poor coach.

"All this nonsense around Tom Brady, whether people like it or not, he's an elite level athlete with and elite level mind, and if he want to put that into Blues and make us better, I'm all for it.

"I honestly think some of it just stems from some jealousy and the fact that we've got people that care and want to take us to the top."

Wayne Rooney has yet to prove himself as a manager - Tom Brady comments may have been deserved

Rooney began his managerial career with Derby County and would spend 17 months in charge of the Rams after taking over in January 2021, although his time at Pride Park would end in relegation to League One after multiple points deductions due to off-field issues.

He'd then spend 15 months in the MLS with DC United before departing to join Birmingham, where, as previously mentioned, it didn't go to plan.

His most recent managerial gig came with Plymouth Argyle in the Championship, being appointed in May 2024, but after seven months and 25 games in charge at Home Park he was again sacked.

Whether Rooney will return to management remains to be seen, though if his record is anything to go by, finding a team that will take a chance on him may be few and far between, and Brady's words where he questioned Rooney's work ethic may have been somewhat deserved.