Championship relegation candidate Birmingham City FC named Tony Mowbray as its manager to replace Wayne Rooney. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/birmingham-city-sacks-wayne-rooney-after-just-league-15-games-20240102-WST-480891.html">The Blues sacked Rooney after just 15 games</a> in charge of the club. When <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/wayne-rooney-in-line-to-take-over-as-birmingham-city-manager-20231009-WST-461123.html">Rooney took over at Birmingham City</a>, the side was sixth in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/championship-tv-schedule/">Championship</a> table. At the time of his dismissal, BCFC sank to 20th in the league table. Over those 15 games, Birmingham City picked up just 10 points.



It was the antithesis of the ambitious signing Birmingham City wanted to make when it relieved John Eustace of his duties. Wayne Rooney said he would have wanted more time in charge of Birmingham City to implement his changes. To be fair to the Manchester United icon, he was only in charge of Birmingham City for 83 days. 



“Time is the most precious commodity a manager requires and I do not believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed.”



However, Rooney went on to add that soccer, especially the Championship, is a results-driven business. Birmingham City slumped 14 spots in the table to now be in the relegation fight. BCFC is six points above the drop, and that forced the club to make a change. 



Tony Mowbray is now next in line at St. Andrew’s to reverse the club’s fortunes. That starts with a game against Swansea City. Swansea is just four points above Birmingham City. Therefore, this game has major ramifications for the league table and Birmingham City’s future.



<h2>Tony Mowbray brings ample experience to Birmingham City</h2>



After an 18-year playing career with Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town, Tony Mowbray has had seven different stints as a manager. Most of those have been at clubs in the Championship. He helped West Bromwich Albion earn promotion to the Premier League in his time at the Hawthorns. However, he has not found that level of success since leaving West Brom.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240108_WST_481975_Mowbray-BCFC-1200x675_abf162e8.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-481995" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/Mowbray-BCFC-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/Mowbray-BCFC-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/Mowbray-BCFC-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/Mowbray-BCFC.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



Most recently, Mowbray was the manager of Sunderland until one month ago. In 2022/23 Mowbray guided the side to sixth in the Championship table. Sunderland fell in the playoff semifinals to Luton Town after winning the first leg, 2-1. Luton went on to advance to the Premier League. This season, Sunderland sacked Mowbray when the club was ninth in the league table. That made him available for Birmingham City.



<h2>Mowbray readies for new position</h2>



The new manager spoke about his excitement for the opportunity in <a href="https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/tony-mowbray-appointed-blues-manager" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the club’s release</a>.



“I am excited to be joining Birmingham City at this time,” Mowbray said. “I can’t wait to get back on the training pitch and start working with this talented group of players. My focus is on building their confidence, delivering results, and giving Blues’ fans a team they can be excited by and proud of. I know from personal experience how passionate Bluenoses are, home and away, and I’m looking forward to having their full support for the team starting on Saturday at home to Swansea City.”



Immediately following the Swansea game, Birmingham City has an FA Cup replay against Hull City before hosting Stoke City. Then, Mowbray will manage against two former sides he managed, Middlesbrough and West Brom.



PHOTOS: IMAGO.

Birmingham City replaces Wayne Rooney with Tony Mowbray

Championship relegation candidate Birmingham City FC named Tony Mowbray as its manager to replace Wayne Rooney.

<div style="width: 460px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Who will feel the effect most if they relegated to the Championship?</div>
With West Bromwich Albion’s fate sealed last week we can&nbsp;now prepare ourselves for a dramatic conclusion to the Premier League season on Sunday.&nbsp;The neutral (including yours truly)&nbsp;will relish it and will want to see as many twists and turns as possible. Anyone supporters&nbsp;involved will have struggled to sleep for a week.
We all have our own predictions as to who will go down and what the&nbsp;sequence of results to will be. What I wondered is what effect will relegation have on the clubs involved.
West Bromwich Albion – 31 points (already relegated)
Even the most&nbsp;biased of Baggies supporters could not have been surprised about the clubs fate this season. However there seems relatively little for the Hawthorns club to worry about. Brom perenially spend within their limits upon promotion and Tony Mowbray has followed similiar traits. Signings that broke the&nbsp;£1 Million mark included:&nbsp;Scott Carson (£3.5 million), Marek Cech (£1.4 million) ,Luke moore (£3 million), Zuiverloon (3.2 million) , Valero (4.7 million), Aboulaye&nbsp;Meitie (£2 million) and Roman bednar at &nbsp;£2.3 million.
Not taking into account players that left that Hawthorns, the Throstles have forked out around £20 million. No doubt&nbsp;a&nbsp; few of the above will leave to recoup some of this. It is also&nbsp;likely that some contracts will include a drop&nbsp;in wages upon relegation ,West Brom should be relatively comfortble providing they spend their parachute monies wisely next season and offload a few big-earners.
Middlesbrough – 32 points 
Although ‘Boro are technically £85 million in debt,&nbsp;the&nbsp;vast majority is&nbsp;owed to chairman Steve Gibson – which is the equivalent of owing your Dad 200 quid. Conisdering Gibson’s patience with Gareth Southgate it seems highly unlikey he will let the club suffer. However should ‘Boro&nbsp;suffer the drop (and it seems likely they will) they will have to get wheeling and dealing quickly. One of the first names out of the door will be Alfonso&nbsp;Alves, who&nbsp;was signed for a fee rumoured to be&nbsp;£12.7 million and one shudders to think what kind of wages the Brazillian is on at the Riverside. After breaking his foot against in the relegation six-pointer against Newcastle and a poor goals return for the club, ‘Boro may have to brace themselves for a big financial loss. The other big name out of the door, and the one Middlesbrough will miss most from an on-field perspective is Stewart Downing. A host of clubs will have relished the prospect of Boro’s demise in order to&nbsp;sign Downing&nbsp;and it is thought that Spurs will lead the chase after keeping tabs on the winger for considerable time. Boro will be hoping for auction fever&nbsp;from rival clubs&nbsp;in order to raise as much cash as possible. It will come as no surprise that Tuncay and&nbsp;David Wheater will also raise the&nbsp;eyebrow for a host of&nbsp;clubs, with Robert Huth also likely to be the subject of some interest.
Should Middlesborough fail to survive,&nbsp;the winds of change are likely to blow through this cold part of the country including&nbsp;the possibility of a&nbsp;new&nbsp;manager.&nbsp; With numerous players likely to leave&nbsp;and taking into account the squads lack of experience,&nbsp;‘Boro&nbsp;may well have to be happy with a season of stability next season rather than a promotion charge.
Newcastle – 34 Points
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. There may have been talks of a conspiracy theory in regard to the strength of Manchester United’s team selection at Hull. But based on perfomances alone, Newcastle are where they deserve to be. If Newcastle are relegated we will witness a real exodus from St James Park, which in turn demonstrates the extent of the problems the Magpies will face. The list of players likely to leave include: Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Obamfemi Martins, Damien Duff, Alan Smith, Nicky Butt, Jose Enrique, Geremi,&nbsp;Gutierrez and possibly Steven Taylor. If things continue in the trational ways of the Tyneside soap-opera then you wouldn’t rule out yet further changes at either boardroom or management level. Chairman&nbsp;Mike Ashley has been ostracised from the club before and if he cannot either&nbsp;persuade Shearer to take the job permanently and/or the Toon don’t get off to a flyer in the championship he knows showing his face in the Sir John Hall stand would be a tad unwise.
Newcastle will have to do their best to wheel and deal as early as possible in order to get the new&nbsp;players to gel as a unit early in the forthcoming season. The first thing they need to do is oust Joe Kinnear from his role, he isn’t physically fit to do job, and if the club are indeed relegated the job starts the minute the final whistle is sounded on Sunday. Although sacking managers isn’t a sign of stability, do any of us genuinely think that Kinnear would stay in the job until the end of next season – fit or not? With expectations and pressure form the fans likley to be huge and the club not in the best of health financially, relegation would hit United very, very hard.
Hull City –&nbsp;35 Points
And to think the start Hull City had. The Tigers are clawing on&nbsp;for dear life in the Premier League and require one last roar this Sunday to ensure survival. Hull are likely to face a considerably weakened Manchester United team on Sunday which may give them half a chance of stealing a point. Whether any of that will come to fruition is another matter. Should Hull find themselves with an instant return to the Championship you would feel that financially the club will not suffer to the degree some of their rivals will. City were desperately unlucky to lose Jimmy Bullard so quickly after his £5 million move from Fulham and could find him leaving the club sooner rather than later at a cut-price fee.&nbsp; Bernard Mendy and Andy Dawson&nbsp;will also&nbsp;have attracted some attention, Giovvani’s early season exploits may tempt a rival club into a gamble. Hull however – are sound financially, have a good boardroom and a good manager in Phil Brown. Providing they can keep the nucleus of the squad together City should be&nbsp;stable and will look to try and bounce back at the first attempt.
Sunderland – 36&nbsp; Points
The fans and players alike pleaded for the board to give Ricky Sbragia the managers job on a permanent basis, the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ now springs to mind. Should Sunderland fail to beat Chelsea in Guus Hiddink’s last league game in charge, the Mackems may need another black cat in the dressing room for luck. The club would appear financially sound given the money they have spent in the last few seasons however I would still expect a few to leave. Sunderland shouldn’t really be in this trouble given what they have spent over the last couple of seasons. If the club are confined to the Championship, it is likely they will look to offload the wages of Steed Malbranque and Craig Gordon. I cannot see Kenwyne Jones staying at the Stadium of Light, particularly with Tottenham knocking on Niall Quinn’s door. Kieran Richardson and Anton Ferdinand will attract offers and no doubt the pair pick up a fair size wage packet each too. This being said, Ellis short is now linked to a buy out of the club followed by a change of manager and a £200 million transfer kitty – if Sunderland stay up and we are to beleive the tabloids.

Who Will Relegation Hit The Hardest? - World Soccer Talk

Who Will Relegation Hit The Hardest?

<div id="attachment_7501" style="width: 228px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Will the Baggies bounce back?</div>
The predicted great escape was sadly not to be for West Bromwich Albion, a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool condemned Tony Mowbray’s side to life in the Championship. It seemed a late run of form was going to provide the springboard for the Baggies to perform another miraculous feat, ala 2007, but it was too little too late for them as relegation was confirmed on Sunday.
This season West Brom have spent most of their time languishing in or around the relegation zone and the inevitable was surely just a matter of time. In the summer Mowbray did not strengthen the squad adequately enough, the most significant being Gianni Zuiverloon, Scott Carson, Abdoulaye Meite and Borja Valero. 
Scott Carson has looked a shadow of the player once tipped as the future England number one. His clear lack of concentration has cost the Baggies a fair number of points and it seems he consistently makes thoughtless decisions.Zuiverloon on the other hand has been impressive in the right back slot, attracting interest from Paris Saint German. Playing in a defence, which has shipped goals for fun, it is a credit to the young Dutchman that he is attracting such interest. 
Credit must also go to two stalwarts of the Hawthorns, Jonathan Greening and Chris Brunt. Greening, the club captain has put in some marvellous performances this season, controlling the centre of midfield and driving his team forward. Chris Brunt has show he has some ability when striking a ball from a set piece, coupled with his rampaging runs down the right flank, he has shown his value to the team.
Borja Valero has also been a solid buy, signed for £4.8 million, a significant amount for the club. Valero can pass with artfulness similar to countryman Cesc Fabregas while reading the game like a seasoned pro. January signing Juan Carlos Menseguez has also caught the eye in recent weeks, and although only on loan, he may well return for next season.
Tony Mowbray has a young and extremely talented squad with bags of potential. He has a footballing philosophy that must be commended, not giving way to calls from the masses to drop his way of playing. The style shown by his team have earned them many admirers and respect from many, but the downside is the lack of defensive cohesion. This twinned with Scott Carson’s shaky performances have led to 60 goals conceded in the Premier League, a number that is not good enough.
One saving grace is the financial situation at the Hawthorns, with 16,000 supporters having already renewed their season tickets for next season. The club will find itself on a sure footing during their time out of the lucrative Premier League. It also seems most of the squad can be kept together, “We don’t have to sell players because we don’t have any debt at club,” said Mowbray. A statement backed up by chairman Jeremy Peace, “We can keep players we want. Their salaries are affected by what league they’re in.”
Most would agree, although West Brom are destined for the Championship, they play a brand of football that is most welcome in the Premier League and will be welcomed back with open arms come next May.

Welcome back West Brom - World Soccer Talk

Welcome back West Brom

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You would think Rafa Benitez would have already learned his lesson. Instead Rafa is left to choke on more words, and a title dream lost.
Before Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, Rafa <a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4954743,00.html" target="_blank">reacted</a> to Arsene Wenger’s comments that Manchester United were untouchable. “I can only talk of my team but I don’t think they are untouchable. In football now every game is tough so anything can happen. We have reduced the gap very well and want to reduce it more. It will be difficult but if we’re in the same position going to Old Trafford maybe that could be important”, came the words of Rafa Benitez. Now the gap is seven and even winning at Old Trafford guarantees nothing for Rafa.
Why Rafa took the bait on what was such an innocent comment from Wenger defies belief. Instead of focusing on what Rafa was going to do without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in the lineup to get three points at home against a Manchester City side that had not done much away from Eastlands this year, or even worrying about signing a new contract, Rafa decides that his vendetta against Sir Alex Ferguson is just that more important.
With Real Madrid hitting a bit of form, Liverpool have a bigger fight on their hands in the round of sixteen of the Champions League than even I expected a month ago. Should Liverpool not advance out of the Champions League, will their season truly be over with before March tenth?
Rafa may have finally admitted that the title race <a href="http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article5786937.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&amp;attr=796995" target="_blank">has slipped away</a> from Liverpool, but it’s too late for that. He may have seen these tricks work when he managed at Valencia, but Rafa can’t fool the man who let’s the football do the talking first…then the man.
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One person I never expected to come out with an almighty rant would be Tony Mowbray. The manager who’s side has been rooted at the bottom for a good portion of this season decides that before West Brom’s visit to Fulham to take a swipe at, of all things, <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1151887/BBC-pundits-Hansen-Lawrenson-slammed-Baggies-boss-Mowbray.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Match of the Day</a>. Not the show itself, just those ‘sofa pundits’ on it.
<blockquote>“I’ve got the world telling me I’m doing this wrong and that wrong, and playing the wrong formation. But I will stay single-minded and focused on what I believe in.
‘If the experts sitting on the sofas were good enough, they would all be doing this job themselves. Even when you get teams winning 10 games on the bounce, there are still people telling you that you are not doing something right.”</blockquote>
Mowbray’s West Brom then proceeded to see Fulham tear them apart in a match where 2-0 was too kind a scoreline. When that happens, those sofa pundits look like absolute geniuses. In the Championship, you can get away with single-minded tactics and thinking. In the Premier League, single-minded tactics and thinking see you relegated and begging for your job.
While I’m on the subject Mowbray, shouldn’t you be taking a little responsibility for how pathetic your teams have played? Shouldn’t you be putting the pressure on the players in private to up their standard instead of lashing out on pundits who are paid to do so (and seemingly doing a better job at pointing fingers than you are)?
There are winnable games in West Brom’s future, and now it’s the time for Tony Mowbray to show that he can adapt and be flexible. Single-minded football has been a losing proposition for West Brom so far, and sitting at the bottom of the table is not the time to be stubborn with what brought you up in the first place.
Other Stories 
While not a Premier League story, credit has to go <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1152535/Thumped-9-0--young-keeper-Prodomo-Weymouth-hero.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Joe Prodomo</a> for keeping Weymouth from losing by 10 or more goals.
So Bolton Wanderers are <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1152104/Its-rubbish-Megson-axed-replaced-Coyle-Bolton-fume.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">denying rumors</a> that Gary Megson will be sacked at the end of the season and replaced by Owen Coyle, Burnley manager. Okay I was alright up until the name Owen Coyle appeared. So Bolton want to replace a guy who currently is guiding Bolton into a mid-table finish with a guy who, while has Burnley in the playoff fight, has been proven nothing more than a cup specialist. Good going there Bolton management.
The last thing Everton needed was to see <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/7904813.stm" target="_blank">Mikel Arteta</a> injured on Sunday.
<a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1152436/Sleepy-Claudio-jovial-mood-ahead-Stamford-Bridge-return.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Claudio Ranieri</a> admitted that he fell asleep while watching Chelsea play Aston Villa ahead of Juve’s Champions League clash.
And Richard Scudamore has <a href="http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/feb/23/premier-league-wage-cap-scudamore" target="_blank">rejected the idea</a> of a salary cap in the Premier League. All together now…WHAT A SHOCK!

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Birmingham City

Birmingham City replaces Wayne Rooney with Tony Mowbray

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Who Will Relegation Hit The Hardest?

General

Welcome back West Brom

General

Benitez and Mowbray's Words Fail to Show Up on the Pitch