Birmingham City find themselves in League One next season and many will be wondering how it possibly happened.
In October, Blues were in sixth position under John Eustace. He spent the final day of the season in another dugout and cemented Blackburn's survival, as the Lancashire side won away at Leicester to finish three points ahead of Birmingham.
Eustace led the Midlands side to safety 12 months ago and enjoyed a solid start to the current season before being sacked. New stakeholders Shelby Companies Limited - owned by Tom Wagner who founded Knighthead Capital Management, which oversees around $9 billion (£7.25bn) of investments - agreed to take control of 45.64 per cent of the club and all of St Andrew's Stadium at the end of last season and ultimately chose to move in another direction.
The club indicated that the board and management were not 'fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition'. Instead they wanted to appoint a new boss 'responsible for creating an identity and clear "no fear" playing style'.
That saw Wayne Rooney placed in the post and things unravelled quickly. The former Derby and DC United coach lasted just 15 games before being given his marching orders.
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Rooney oversaw nine defeats during that time and was not provided the opportunity to make use of the transfer market in his short stint at the club. The club were 20th upon his departure in January.
Tony Mowbray was appointed shortly afterwards but was required to step back from his duties to undergo medical treatment in February. The former Sunderland boss first saw assistant Mark Venus step up before Gary Rowett was eventually appointed as interim boss.
Birmingham City have been relegated to League OneBirmingham's descent could not be stopped however and they saw relegation confirmed on the final day of the season despite beating Norwich City. Read the statement released concerning Eustace's departure in full below:
"It is essential that the Board of Directors and the football management are fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition across the entire Football Club.
"With this in mind, Birmingham City has today parted company with Head Coach, John Eustace. Eustace departs after 15 months in charge, having helped to stabilise and strengthen the Club on the pitch following his appointment in July 2022.
"In his first season at the helm, he guided the team to a 17th-place finish, securing Sky Bet Championship status with three games remaining. During his time at St. Andrew’s, he galvanised the squad to deliver a number of memorable moments in testing circumstances.
"The Club would like to thank John for his contribution. His dedication and work ethic was evident throughout his time in B9 and he will always be welcomed back to St. Andrew’s.
"A new First Team Manager will be announced in the coming days who will be responsible for creating an identity and clear ‘no fear’ playing style that all Birmingham City teams will adopt and embrace.
"The Club will be issuing no further comment at this time."
They will now be looking to implement that winning culture and 'no fear playing style' in the third tier of English football.
Man Utd icon Rooney seen at Wigan vs Hull supporting ex-Derby assistant Rosenior
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