Wayne Rooney Appointed Birmingham City Manager

Birmingham City confirmed Wayne Rooney as their new manager on October 11, just a few days after sacking John Eutace despite the team sitting sixth in the EFL Championship. 

The cited reason for Eustace’s departure was the conservative playing style, so in addition to results, Rooney will also be responsible for setting up a new, attacking brand of football at St Andrew’s. 

The former England striker is only starting his coaching career and is difficult to point at a significant achievement in this regard. In Rooney’s only full season with Derby County in the EFL Championship, the Rams suffered relegation (although there were off-the-pitch reasons for it too) and he was recently dismissed by D.C. United in the MLS for poor results. So, it remains to be seen how he will fare with the Blues.

Best Wayne Rooney at Birmingham City Bets

Since he is such an iconic figure in English football, Wayne Rooney’s appointment at Birmingham City is a topic of interest not only for the Blues’ fans, but also for the general public. As such, SkyBet offers several betting lines on Rooney. We have collected the five most interesting options in our opinion. Remember that these bets need to be placed before October 21.

Birmingham to be in the Championship Top 6 on December 25, 2023

As you will notice reading through the Wayne Rooney betting lines at Birmingham, they are generally divided into two – either the 37-year-old will succeed at St Andrew’s or fail catastrophically. For example, this line supposes that the Blues will continue in the top six by Christmas this year, with SkyBet offering 5.00 odds on it.

Birmingham have 12 matches left before December 25, having so far played 11. Those matches will include first-placed Leicester City and second-placed Ipswich Town among others. 

With just a three-point difference currently between the third place and 10th place, every result will count – whether Rooney will manage to instil his playing style within a couple of weeks remains a big doubt since he couldn’t achieve that during his 15 months in the MLS.

To win first three Championship fixtures

Due to the international break still ongoing, Rooney will have some time to settle in at St Andrew’s and meet the squad. The Blues’ next match will only be on October 21 when they pay a visit to Middlesbrough, who are currently on a four-match winning streak.

In general, Birmingham’s immediate fixtures do not favour the newly-appointed manager. Besides the trip to Riverside Stadium, Rooney’s men are scheduled to host Hull City on October 26 and then take on Southampton away on October 28 – two teams that are just one point away from the Blues in the standings.

However, if you are confident in Rooney’s coaching skills, you may consider betting on him winning the first three matches in charge. SkyBet’s 41.00 odds on it happening, though, do not read good for the gaffer.

To still be Birmingham manager on final game of Championship season 2023/24

If you want to bet on something in the distant future, then you may consider the line on Wayne Rooney still being the Birmingham manager at the end of the 2023/24 EFL Championship campaign on May 4, 2024. The SkyBet odds on it are 1.20.

So far in his coaching career, Rooney was never fired mid-season. Even his current sacking from D.C. United came only after the end of the regular season. The same happened during his spell with Derby County when he left the club once the season was over.

It’s difficult to predict what exactly Rooney has to do in order to feel safe about his job. Birmingham finished 17th last term and there was no buying spree over the summer, so it’s not fair to expect anything more than a finish in the upper half of the table. However, he still cannot afford to lose too many games while implementing a new playing approach at the Blues.

To NOT win any of first three Championship fixtures

If you are sceptical about Rooney’s start with Birmingham City, then you may consider betting on his team not winning any of the three Championship matches. Draw or loss doesn’t matter, as long as Birmingham City doesn’t win – and SkyBet gives 2.00 odds on it happening.

We have already named the Blues’ next opponents, now let’s make a quick case for why any of them can steal away points from Rooney’s team.

Middlesbrough are on a great run of form with four consecutive wins. Hull City have a decent attack and have scored more goals than Birmingham so far. Southampton have only been relegated from the Premier League and have a better squad than many clubs in the EFL Championship.

If you want to go as far as to predict that Birmingham City will lose all three matches, you have this possibility too. The odds stand at 7.50.

To NOT be Birmingham manager final game of Championship season 2023/24

Finally, if you think that Rooney will fail not only his start at St Andrew’s but his spell in general, there is a line that he will not be in charge of the Blues on the final day of the 2023/24 EFL Championship term. The odds on it are 4.33 on SkyBet.

The job at Birmingham might not be the biggest challenge in the 37-year-old’s career so far. As a reminder, his first experience was with a relegation-threatened Derby County and he managed to keep them afloat in the second tier despite taking charge mid-season. 

However, the pressure at the Blues may be higher than that. Many fans didn’t understand why Eustace was fired when the team was sitting this high in the league table. And, besides the expectations of similar results, Rooney is also tasked with the development of a new playing style at St Andrew’s. There are a lot of things that may go wrong for him.