Wayne Rooney won his first game as Birmingham City boss at the sixth attempt in a 2-1 comeback win over lowly Sheffield Wednesday.
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Birmingham beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1Bacuna and James cancel out Byers openerFirst win under manager RooneyGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
The former D.C. United manager has had a tough start to life in Birmingham as results and the fans went against him. The Blues were sixth in the Championship but sacked then-manager John Eustace due to a "misalignment with the leadership of the club" in early October. As Birmingham's winless run under Rooney continued, some fans told the former Manchester United star to to 'f*** off back to America'. It looked like the West Midlands outfit could lose to bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday after George Byers gave them the lead, only for Juninho Bacuna to level in first-half stoppage time. And the much-needed three points were finally delivered when substitute Jordan James scored the winner nine minutes from time at St Andrew's.
AdvertisementWHAT TOM BRADY SAID
NFL icon Tom Brady, who is a minority owner at Birmingham, was thrilled to see Bacuna equalise against Wednesday. The 46-year-old, who is chairman of the club's advisory board, tweeted: "All about the Blues today. Banger."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Rooney era at Birmingham has been a tense and underwhelming tenure so far. Many viewed the fact that he got this role because the club wanted a big name at the helm. Now that he has got his first win as manager, the task will be to fire them up the Championship and to prove he has got the chops to succeed in the dugout.
GettyDID YOU KNOW?
In Rooney's time in management, he has a win percentage of just 26.6% after being in charge at Derby County, D.C. United and Birmingham.