Steve Bruce reveals Tom Brady expectations as Wayne Rooney hints at Birmingham City call

Welcome to BirminghamLive’s coverage of Birmingham City on Thursday 23rd November.

Shape

Birmingham City face bottom of the table Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.

The Blues host the Owls at St Andrew’s, hoping to curb a poor run of form under new head coach Wayne Rooney. Rooney has picked up just one point in five games since replacing John Eustace in October.

Wednesday is an easy choice this season, with Danny Rohr’s side beaten 4-0 by Millwall last time out. The Owls have failed to score in eight of their past nine championship games and have not won on the road all season.

Our Blues writers have chosen this weekend’s starting XI and explained their training. Check out their selection below…

blues vs brady

Steve Bruce says Birmingham City’s promotion push is “premature” after a recent dip in form.

The Blues were one of the early front-runners in the Championship before Wayne Rooney replaced John Eustace. During Rooney’s tenure, the Blues were winless in five games and fell from sixth to 18th in the standings.

While not impossible, promoting the season now is a big ask on paper. “I think it’s too early in the season for Birmingham but you never know what’s going to happen,” Bruce said. “They were there weeks ago.”

Speaking to Gambling Zone, Bruce added: “The club has been in darkness since David Sullivan left. I think David left about ten years ago and there’s no real stability at the top.

“I assume and hope that Tom Brady and the American investors can bring a little stability. They want to bring in a new head coach and they’ve done that with Wayne Rooney. There’s no higher-grossing name than him. Got it!

“He hasn’t had the best start, though. I’m sure they’ll be prepared. They’ve got to fix St Andrews and I’m sure the training ground will be expanded. You’d expect that with Wayne and Tom Brady involved at Birmingham Do good things.”

maximum coefficient

Birmingham City will have to spend some money to build a team in the image of Wayne Rooney.

The new manager is currently dealing with the signing of John Eustace, which inevitably means that the upcoming transfer window will be used to change the makeup of the squad. The clearing may have to wait until next summer, when 12 players are out of contract, but there may be room for a deal or two in January – provided the Blues stay within Financial Fair Play territory.

Just two weeks ago, Rooney admitted he wanted to sign a number of players. While the manager can’t be expected to reveal the names publicly, we can all take a wild guess as to where the Blues need to prioritize.

The Blues will be without one next summer if out-of-contract Scott Hogan and Lukasz Jutkiewicz are not retained and Jay Stansfield returns to parent club Fulham. Senior forward. Lesser-known Tyler Roberts will be the closest option to center.

It would make sense to sign a new striker before the Blues are completely out of forwards. Players capable of scoring goals in the tournament don’t come cheap, though, nor are they easy to find.

The Blues are well-stocked in most other positions, but for Rooney’s system to work, a new midfielder can’t go wrong. While the Blues have plenty of defensive players, Rooney lacks a holding midfielder who can initiate an attack.

In Max Bird, Rooney played his part in Derby County’s development. Bird made his breakthrough at Pride Park when Rooney was still a player and picked up some tricks from one of England’s all-time greats.

keep the ball

Gary Rowett believes the strength of the Championship this season makes it difficult for Birmingham City to become the possession-based victors Wayne Rooney wants.

England and Manchester United legend Rooney replaced the more pragmatic John Eustace as the St Andrews favorite last month, but the results soured. The Blues have failed to win in Rooney’s first five games and face bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The new manager is overseeing a change in playing style, making the Blues possession-based, in contrast to the counter-attacking philosophy instilled by Eustace. Former Blues boss Rowett, who has eight top-10 finishes in the Champions League, believes the quality of the league makes the transition difficult.

In an exclusive interview with the Keep Right On podcast, Rowett also highlighted the importance of midfield duo Ivan Sundjic and Christian Bielik to the Blues’ early season form. Millwall drew 1-1 with the Blues at St Andrew’s Stadium in early September when Rowett was manager.