Birmingham City: Tom Wagner claim made in spite of "disappointing" 2023 Wayne Rooney decision | OneFootball

Knighthead have brought life back to St. Andrew's in the last 12 months, and supporters have bought into their style.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Birmingham City have taken League One by storm this season, and after an incredibly disappointing 2023/24 campaign that saw them relegated from the Championship, the club has rebuilt and look set to return to the second tier.

Chris Davies has done a remarkable job in his first managerial role to take the team into a commanding position with just a couple of months to go, and although he has had by far the largest transfer budget in the division at his disposal, he has had to use it well.

There has been a huge amount of pressure on the former Tottenham Hotspur coach to get a tune out of his players, and from the first week of pre-season training they have bought into his philosophy with promotion almost guaranteed at this stage.

Tom Wagner, Birmingham's owner, has been incredible, especially in the months since relegation, and what could have once been seen as a difficult challenge, has quickly turned into a year that nobody will forget at St. Andrew's.

Tom Wagner praised for ownership of Birmingham City

The American purchased the West Midlands outfit in July 2023 while the team were still playing their football in the Championship. They started the season strongly with John Eustace in charge, but he was sacked and replaced with Wayne Rooney, who struggled and Blues eventually tasted relegation.

However, there was plenty of change in the summer, and lessons have seemingly been learned and it is clear to see that Davies has the trust of the board.

This has been much-needed for a club that has found it difficult in the past to keep hold of managers for a long period of time, and supporters are extremely happy with the way their team are currently operating.

Football League World has asked their Birmingham Fan Pundit, Mike Gibbs, if he is happy with how transparent the owners are with fans.

Mike told FLW: "I think the owners are really transparent. They've introduced this open house forum that is held every so often and it's a chance for people to ask questions, but a chance for them to present their vision for the club as well.

"I think the only thing that they've probably not been massively transparent about was the handling of the John Eustace sacking and Wayne Rooney hiring. I think the most disappointing thing was not really putting their hands up and owning that it was an error and the wrong move."

Mike continued: "I’m relatively clutching at straws with that one. I think everything else they've been really transparent and really open about it and that's all we can really ask for from our owners."

It is clear that Tom Wagner has learned from his mistake with John Eustace

The sacking of Eustace shocked many at the time, and it did not pay off for Birmingham as they fell down the league table in the months following the decision.

Rooney was not able to find a way to get his team to win regularly, and he paid the price with his job as well leaving Blues in an incredibly uncertain position with Tony Mowbray and Gary Rowett unable to halt relegation.

Wagner later admitted that the way they went about sacking Eustace was a "mistake" but it is clear to see that he has learned from it and Davies has earned the trust of the American after his side's performances this season.