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31st July 2025
10:49am BST

NFL legend and Birmingham City part-owner Tom Brady accused Wayne Rooney of having a poor work ethic during his short spell in charge of the Blues.
Brady’s comments were recorded as part of a new-five part fly-on-the-wall Amazon Prime documentary series which releases tomorrow (1st August).
Rooney was appointed Birmingham manager just two months after Brady and Knighthead Capital Management LLC took over control of the Blues in August 2023.
Despite the club sitting in 6th place — within the play-off spots — the Blues' then manager, John Eustace was sacked and replaced with Rooney.
It is believed by Birmingham fans that the new owners wanted Rooney in charge because of his profile in the sport, which they hoped would bring greater attention to the club.
During the series, a Birmingham fan speculates this exact point, saying the ownership wanted "one of the most recognisable English footballers of the last generation … to put a load of eyes on Birmingham City".
What followed was a woeful 83 days for Man United legend Rooney and the iconic English club.
The Blues won just 10 points from a possible 45, as they lost nine games and plummeted down the table into the relegation zone.
It was during this terrible spell that the seven-time Super Bowl champion visited Birmingham’s training ground.
In a documentary clip Brady can be heard saying: “I’m a little worried about our head coach's work ethic.”
He then goes on to say: "We've got a long road ahead."
Rooney would eventually be sacked in January 2024, but this was not enough to prevent the club from relegation.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Birmingham City dropped into the third-division for only the third time in their history.
Later in the documentary, Brady does hint that Rooney’s appointment may have been mistake, saying: "There was some good advice that I got that was like, 'listen, don't go in there and make these big, sweeping changes - you guys have time',"
"And of course we make sweeping changes."
Brady also blames the players for the club’s relegation at the end of that season, adding: "Well we've already changed the coach, so it's really the players because the coach doesn't go out there and put the ball in the goal.
"They were lazy, they were entitled and when you're lazy and entitled, you don't have much of a chance to succeed.
"We've got to change all the people that are associated with losing, so I think this summer there's going to be a lot of people gone."
The next year Birmingham spent £30 million on new players and were immediately promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, under manager Chris Davies.
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