Brady Queries Rooney's 'work Ethic' At Birmingham

NFL fable Tom Brady has questioned Wayne Rooney's cognition during nan ex-England captain's tenure arsenic head of Birmingham City, wherever Brady is simply a number owner.

In a caller Amazon Prime documentary series, owed to aerial connected Friday, seven-time Super Bowl victor Brady tells colleagues: "I'm a small worried astir our caput coach's activity ethic," earlier adding: "I mean, I don't know, I don't person awesome instincts connected that."

Brady, who besides calls Blues players "lazy and entitled" successful nan series, made his comments astir Rooney pursuing a sojourn to nan club's training crushed successful November 2023.

Filmed conversations betwixt nan erstwhile backmost and past head Rooney look awkward.

In 1 exchange, nan ex-Everton and Manchester United striker tells his employer astir immoderate of nan taste problems he perceives astatine nan club.

"Why they're playing successful nan Championship and not nan Premier League," Rooney says, "is because... we've each passed a ball, kicked nan shot and run, but it's a focus, concentrated for 90 minutes."

In scenes that follow, Brady is filmed watching a training session, saying: "We've sewage a agelong roadworthy ahead."

The retired backmost - wide considered nan champion subordinate successful NFL history - became a number owner successful nan nine successful August 2023, pursuing a takeover nan erstwhile period by Knighthead Capital Management LLC, co-founded by financier Tom Wagner.

The nine were relegated to League One successful nan first twelvemonth nether their caller ownership aft going done seven managers successful 10 months.

Two months aft Brady arrived successful 2023, head John Eustace was controversially replaced by Rooney, pinch nan Blues sitting sixth successful nan Championship.

However, pinch nan nine past plummeting to 20th successful nan table, Rooney only lasted 83 days successful complaint astatine St Andrew's.

At nan time, Rooney said that he did not consciousness 13 weeks was "sufficient to oversee nan changes that were needed".

During nan series, Blues instrumentality Paul Collins speculates that nan assignment had been based connected a desire by nan ownership to prosecute "one of nan astir recognisable English footballers of nan past generation" successful bid to "put a load of eyes connected Birmingham City".

Collins asks: "What qualifies Wayne to negociate Birmingham City? Nothing."

Brady besides reflects connected nan owners' disastrous first play successful charge.

"There was immoderate bully proposal that I sewage that was like, 'listen, don't spell successful location and make these big, sweeping changes - you guys person time'," he said.

"And of people we make sweeping changes."

Relegation from nan Championship astatine nan extremity of 2023-24 meant Birmingham dropped retired of English football's apical 2 tiers for only nan 3rd clip successful their history.

During nan series, Brady reflects connected wherever things went wrong, blaming nan players.

"Well we've already changed nan coach, truthful it's really nan players because nan coach doesn't spell retired location and put nan shot successful nan goal," he says.

"They were lazy, they were entitled and erstwhile you're lazy and entitled, you don't person overmuch of a chance to succeed.

"We've sewage to alteration each nan group that are associated pinch losing, truthful I deliberation this summertime there's going to beryllium a batch of group gone."

That summer, nan nine invested £30m successful transfers, an unprecedented fig for League One.

The pursuing year, Birmingham broke nan Football League record for astir points successful a season, finishing apical of League One pinch a tally of 111.

During 1 scene, connected his measurement to sojourn Birmingham's training ground, Brady's head Ben Rawitz jokes astir nan NFL fable struggling to find nan club's Elite Performance and Innovation Centre connected a map.

"That's nan proprietor correct there, he doesn't cognize wherever his training installation is," Rawitz says, later comparing nan accommodation to a "high school".

In different scene, during a abstracted sojourn to nan city, Brady asks a workfellow "What's nan different squad here?", pursuing up by asking "is Aston Villa successful nan Premier League?".

There are comparisons passim nan bid to chap Championship nine Wrexham, who person enjoyed three consecutive promotions since nan Welsh club's £2m takeover successful February 2021 by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Wagner dismisses nan thought that nan 2 clubs should beryllium considered successful nan aforesaid bracket.

"They've done a spectacular occupation astatine bringing attraction to a mini club," he says.

"I deliberation what we person present is simply a nine that's already a very large nine and so, from our perspective, it's a spot different. The ambitions for america successful nan discourse of what we'll build is bigger than what they'll do astatine Wrexham."

In a abstracted scene, he says: "Our target's not Wrexham. Our target is to play Premier League shot against Villa."