Birmingham City Tactics 2023/2024: What To Expect From Wayne Rooney’s Tactics With The Blues – Tactical Analysis

Controversy seems to be ever-present in football, and many managerial changes follow that trend – the current situation regarding Birmingham City does, too.

In July of 2022, vastly experienced in the EFL Championship as a player, was named as manager of Birmingham City, with the club stuck in a rut amid ongoing off-field issues.

To put their situation into perspective, 17^th is the highest finish the former Premier League side has finished since 2015-16 when they finished 10^th.

Last season, Eustace matched that best finish of 17^th position and used that as a platform for this season, where the Blues got off to a flying start in Englands second tier, with the club sitting sixth after 11 games.

On October 9^th, Birmingham City announced the departure of Eustace – a decision that shocked neutrals, although many Birmingham fans seemed to be less shocked – not because of their lack of faith in Eustace, but their lack of faith in the clubs board.

Just two days prior to this sacking, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney announced that he had resigned from his post as D.C.

United head coach, with the former forward leaving the MLS after 15 months in charge.

Naturally, the rumour mill began, and it was only a matter of time before the inevitable announcement of Rooneys next managerial job at Birmingham City.

We will dive deeper into Rooneys impact at D.C United shortly, but in his relatively short time in the States, he left his mark, bringing a fierce attacking brand of football, and maybe that is something the higher-ups at Birmingham are a fan of – aside from the big-name status & reputation Rooney brings with him.

This report will provide a tactical analysis of Rooneys tactics at D.C United as we look to uncover what we should expect his Birmingham team to look like.

Whether or not he is able to build on Eustaces strong start to the season will unfold in the coming months, and this analysis will not only look at how D.C played under Rooney but which strengths and existing key tactical elements already lie within the Blues ranks.

Wayne Rooney at D.C. United – an overview

Of course, D.C United was not Rooneys first taste of football management – you may remember his stint at Derby County, where he oversaw 85 games as boss, with a win rate of 28.2%.

Again, this doesnt look particularly impressive at face value, but under the circumstances, Rooney received plaudits from fans around the country for his efforts and some of the big results he claimed in his time there.

Of course, County were relegated in his reign, but the points 21 points deduction combined with the ongoing situations on and off the field at the club, Rooney was faced with an impossible task.

We reference his time with the Rams as it holds significant relevance – from formation versatility to good pressing execution, he has clearly taken some elements of his early coaching days into the MLS.

As mentioned, Rooney was in charge of D.C United for a total of 15 months, spanning two MLS Eastern Conference campaigns.

In that time, he managed 53 games, winning 26.4% of them – this may seem like an underwhelming win rate, and while Rooney did not elevate D.C to new heights entirely, he did see a drastic improvement in the 2023 campaign.

Further context to his improvement lies in the fact that they finished rock bottom in the Eastern Conference in his first campaign in charge, but finished in the play-off places in his second season (this year).

Like his time at Derby, Rooney liked to jump between various formations at D.C United, using shapes like 4-3-1-2, 5-4-1, and 3-5-2, frequently.

His most used formation this year was 4-4-2.

D.C Uniteds attacking output was one of the fiercest in the entire MLS, as we will see more of in the following analysis segments.

Rooneys D.C also had their strengths this season in defence, but some glaring weak spots shared that presence.

For example, while United boasted the seventh-best record in terms of xG against (41.49), they shipped 49 goals in 34 games, leaving them with the 14th-best defensive record, so this was not their strongest area, and something Rooney will want and need to improve on in the Championship.

This shots against map allows a breakdown of D.C.s defensive output this year.

Like any side, they conceded most goals from central areas in the box, but when we look deeper, they allowed a lot of dangerous shots from range and even conceded six goals from outside the box.

While certain aspects of their out-of-possession play held merit, Un