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The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
Tom Brady blasts Wayne Rooney's ‘work ethic' in damning fly-on-the-wall doc from Man Utd legend's Birmingham nightmare
TOM BRADY has slammed Wayne Rooney's work ethic during his time as Birmingham boss. The England and Manchester United legend is also branded 'lackadaisical' in a hard-hitting fly-on-the-wall documentary about the club being released on Friday. 7 7 7 7 7 Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues is a five-part series being dropped on Amazon Prime that charts the NFL legend's part-ownership of the club during the last two seasons. Brady — who won a record seven Super Bowls — visited their training ground in the first episode to observe Rooney's team meeting and training session. And while being driven away, he tells his business manager Ben Rawitz: 'I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic.' Rawitz replies: 'Comes across as lackadaisical.' Rooney proved a disaster in his time at Birmingham between October 2023 and January 2024. He was sacked after winning just two of his 15 Championship games in charge which saw the club plummet from sixth to 20th and they never recovered, crashing into League One. And the 120-cap England hero appears awkward during his exchanges with Brady. Rooney, at one point, offers to school the NFL powerhouse in the small details of football. He explains that the reason Birmingham's players are at Championship level rather than Premier League is not their skill level but lack of focus for 90 minutes. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 7 7 Brady tells Rooney: 'What's the difference between football (American) and soccer? Nothing. I treated practice like it was the Super Bowl. Put pressure on them, make them run for everything.' The series goes on to chart their incredible season last time around which saw them win League One with an EFL-record 111 points under new boss Chris Davies. Birmingham fans in meltdown over Tom Brady's 'no messing about moment' as trailer for Amazon Prime doc released But Brady conceded it was a mistake to replace previous boss John Eustace with Rooney within weeks of taking over in August 2023. The NFL star, who had a 22-year career with New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said: 'I had good advice, 'Don't go in there and make sweeping changes. You guys have time.' 'But we made sweeping changes that put us in decline. That was our doing.' Brady also blasted the players — laying the blame at their feet. He rapped: 'We were trying to make Birmingham a world-class team - but it's been a s**t year. They were lazy and entitled, which doesn't give you much chance to succeed.' Rooney went on to manage Plymouth after his Brum axe but lasted just seven months. He is now set to focus on his punditry work, including a lucrative gig on Match of the Day. Wayne Rooney's record-breaking career WAYNE Rooney took the football world by storm when he made his debut for 2002 with Everton. He quickly became the club's youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 342 days and was named the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year. The striker joined Manchester United in 2004 and spent 13 years at Old Trafford. He went on to make 559 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 253 goals. To this day he is still the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Following his spell with United, Rooney returned to Everton for a season. He also spent one-season stints with D.C. United and Derby County at the end of his career. As well as his impressive club career, Rooney is also England's second-highest goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, behind only Harry Kane. After hanging up his boots, the England icon turned to a career in management. He took charge of Derby County in 2020 and managed to just about save the club from relegation from the Championship at the end of his first season. However, with Derby handed a 21-point deduction the following campaign, he was unable to keep them up again and subsequently left. Then came a 15-month spell in charge of MLS side D.C. United. He failed to impress during his time in Washington and parted ways with the club at the end of the 2023 regular season. Rooney was controversially handed the Birmingham job in October 2023, replacing John Eustace with the club doing well and sixth in the Championship table. However, in 15 games he suffered nine defeats and managed just two wins. He was sacked in January 2024 with Birmingham down in 20th. The club were relegated to League One at the end of the campaign. He returned to management in May with Plymouth Argyle but managed just five wins in 25 games. The United legend now finds himself out of work once again.
Scottish Sun
30 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Viktor Gyokeres' Arsenal transfer proves that more Premier League clubs should look to the Championship for new stars
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TWO YEARS ago, after two outstanding Championship seasons with Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres was on the market for £20million. Now Arsenal could end up splashing out a whopping £63.5m on the Swedish hitman, who will make his Gunners debut in a North London derby in Hong Kong. 3 Viktor Gyokeres scored 38 goals in two seasons for Coventry Credit: PA 3 The striker cost Arsenal £63.5million from Sporting Credit: Getty Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! So why did no Premier League club take the plunge on Gyokeres back in 2023, when Ruben Amorim's Sporting ended up doing so? And indeed why do so few English top-flight clubs ever buy from the second tier any more? It is a bugbear among many Premier League scouts that the Championship is so frequently overlooked as a mine of talented players, proven in the English game. The argument is that elite clubs are far more likely to take a punt on players from the Portuguese, Dutch or other middle-ranking European leagues than on those from the Championship — which has far more in common with the Premier League in terms of tempo and physicality. READ MORE IN ARSENAL ALL SYSTEMS KO Man Utd launch all-out transfer offer for Sesko in bid to beat Newcastle Gyokeres netted 38 goals in two full Championship campaigns at Coventry. By 2023, he was a 25-year-old coming into his prime, already renowned for his pace, strength, finishing and hold-up play — and regarded as a rare oversight from Brighton. Yet despite Gyokeres being tracked by many Premier League clubs at the time, none made a significant offer — and Sporting swooped in. The only player to outscore Gyokeres in the 2022-23 Championship campaign was 28-goal Chuba Akpom, who then moved to Ajax, rather than an English club. While Arsenal and other elite clubs might be excused for believing the step up from Championship to Champions League was too steep for Gyokeres, what about the rest of the top flight? BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS 3 So many are infected with an ongoing snobbishness over England's second tier, failing to see the division as the excellent pathway it undoubtedly is. There are exceptions, notably Crystal Palace — whose former sporting director Dougie Freedman has successfully raided the Championship. Eberechi Eze was snapped up from QPR for an initial £15m five years ago and has seen his price tag quadruple, as an England star who scored the winner in this year's FA Cup final. Michael Olise, signed by Palace from Reading for £8m, was flogged to Bayern Munich for £50m. Midfielder Adam Wharton, an £18m recruit from Blackburn, has been outstanding at Selhurst Park, with Romain Esse, signed from Millwall in January, is expected to be the next to make a big impact for the Eagles. Fellow Scot David Moyes brought Jarrod Bowen to West Ham from Hull, as well as Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka from Championship clubs during his first Everton stint. Aston Villa's Unai Emery spent around £1billion on 164 players during his coaching career before he ever signed an Englishman. When he dipped into the Championship for Middlesbrough's Morgan Rogers he plucked out a gem. But others refuse to make such moves, meaning an absence of money flowing down from the filthy-rich Premier League to the lower reaches of the English game. There has been a steep downward trend in Championship to Premier League transfers — save for the regular vulturing of clubs who have just been relegated from the top flight. Brighton's £10m move for Tom Watson, 18, from Sunderland, is this summer's only example of an established Premier League club signing anyone who played in the Championship last term. The Middlesbrough duo of Hayden Hackney and Finn Azaz are highly regarded, as are West Brom's Tom Fellows, Norwich striker Josh Sargent and many more. But will anyone take a calculated risk on any of them? It is doubtful.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Panathinaikos 1 Rangers 1 (Rangers win 3-1 on aggregate): New boss Martin survives baptism of fire
As the clock confirmed the 90 minutes had come and gone and darkness closed in, a hush finally descended on Panathinaikos' exuberant supporters. Russell Martin took one last look at his watch, exhaled deeply and drank in the moment. It had been far from pretty, but the fact his side did just enough in the heat of Athens will be remembered long after the minor details of this affair are long forgotten. Handed the most arduous opening assignment as manager of the Ibrox club, he's entitled to take no little satisfaction from this triumph. While he was correct to point out that its outcome would not define his side's season, it was always going to set the tone. Amid a summer of substantial change on and off the park, a two-legged victory against a seasoned European side will further engender an air of positivity around the club. It feels like a steady first step on a journey. Martin and his players may still have to clear two further hurdles to make it to the Champions League proper, but they now have the comfort of knowing they have secured group stage football of some description. The manager will need no one to tell him how differently all of this might have played out, however. With his side struggling for composure throughout the match, Panathinaikos — again — fashioned enough chances to get the job done. While Jack Butland again earned his corn, the fact is that the Greeks were toothless in the final third. A better side would have turned a hatful of chances into more goals and prevailed. There is still much work for Martin and his players to do. That, though, is for another day. For now, all that truly counts is that a work in progress has cleared an awkward first hurdle. Djeidi Gassama is emerging as quite the summer signing. A £2.2million capture from Sheffield Wednesday, the Frenchman made an immediate impact with the second goal in the first leg and made another telling contribution here. Deservedly behind on the night through Filip Djuricic's header early in the second half, Gassama soon quietened the home supporters with a superb flashing strike, his first touch of the night after coming off the bench. From that point on, Rangers looked good to get the result they came for. For all the supporters of Panathinaikos descended on the Olympic Stadium in their numbers, there was never any possibility of its 75,000 capacity being troubled. A temporary home for European matches, this stadium still echoed to the noise of their chants. But the running track around the perimeter of the pitch meant it lacked the hostility and intensity of their more compact home, the Apostolos Nikolaidis. Despite confirming that Gassama was ready to start, Martin kept the Frenchman in reserve, keeping faith the same XI who'd started the first leg. As predicted, Rui Vitoria's side came out swinging, forcing four corners inside the first 10 minutes. With the visitors struggling to get up to the pace of the game, Nico Raskin's clearing header only made it as far as Tasos Bakasetas. Butland was relieved to see the midfielder's strike from 18 yards creep a foot wide of the target. Rangers were certainly looking to get up the park, as Martin had directed them too. In the early exchanges, that proved to be wishful thinking. Fotis Ioannidis worked a one-two with Djuricic. Butland had to be smartly off his line to shut down the angle and make a telling block. Indecision by John Souttar then put Max Aarons in trouble. With the full-back beaten to the ball by Facundo Pellistri, Butland again advanced to save the day. Rangers were already riding their luck. Another green surge up the park brought a further moment of alarm for the visiting bench. Pellistri strode away from the struggling Aarons down the right and dragged Nasser Djiga out of position. His cross was met flush by the head of the flying Ioannidis. Butland didn't know much about it but was again in the right place at the right time. With his side detailed to build from the back, Djiga undercooked a pass to James Tavernier. Duricic pounced and squared the ball to Pellistri. The Uruguayan's failure to hit the target from 15 yards left his manager flapping his arms and looking up to the heavens. With men in white jerseys taking it in turns to give the ball away, there was little respite from the pressure. The half-time whistle was nigh by the time the visitors held the ball for more than a minute. While Raskin headed Joe Rothwell's corner just over the top, Martin's side didn't create a single chance of note from open play in the first period. The manager raced back up the tunnel the instant the half-time whistle sounded, doubtless with some choice words to impart. They didn't have the desired effect. Within nine minutes of the restart, Panathinaikos had the goal they richly deserved. Bakasetas's in-swinging cross from the right caught those in front of Butland on their heels. Djuricic's header back across goal was well-placed. Butland scrambled but could not prevent it from sneaking in. A raised offside flag offered Rangers false hope. As VAR eventually identified, Aarons had played Duricic onside. With Rangers rattled, Ioannidis was a hair's breadth from connecting with Djuricic's cross and squaring the tie. The introduction of Gassama arrived when his side most needed him. Starved of service to that point, Danilo had a pair of strikes repelled by a defender then the keeper. The ball sat up perfectly for the winger. His right-foot strike caught the inside of the far post and went in. The Greeks' lead had lasted just six minutes. Having laboured for so long, Rangers could now see the winning post in sight. Panathinaikos began to force the play. Substitute Adam Gnezda Cerin almost caught Butland out with a speculative cross. Ahmed Touba marched forward and drilled one wide from 30 yards. The introduction of Jefte for Kieran Dowell suggested Martin was now content for his side to sit in and see the game out. Panathinaikos rang the changes, but their body language was becoming that of a beaten side. By hook or by crook, Rangers got the job done. Yet there remains considerable scope for improvement.
