Next Birmingham City Manager Odds

Birmingham City are on the lookout for a third permanent manager this season following the sacking of Wayne Rooney after just 15 matches in charge.

Rooney was controversially appointed as Birmingham's manager on 11th October following the shock sacking of overachieving head coach John Eustace, with the ex-Manchester United forward proceeding to win just two and draw four of his 15 games, equating to a 13.3% win percentage.

When Eustace was sacked, the St Andrew’s club were sixth in the table, since then, they have since slid down to 20th place, just six points above the relegation zone following their 3-0 loss against Leeds United a Elland Road. It will certainly be interesting to see who the Blues looking to appoint as the 38-year-old’s successor.

Tony Mowbray has emerged as the firm favourite for the Birmingham City job.

The 60-year-old led Sunderland to a shock play-off place finish in their first season back in the Championship with an inexperienced squad last season, but, was sacked in early December with the club loitering in 9th position, just outside of the play-off places.

Prior to this, Mowbray had consolidated Blackburn Rovers place in the Championship after earning promotion with the Ewood Park club from League One back in 2017/18, while the Saltburn-born manager has also managed to be promoted from the Championship once in his career, doing so with West Bromwich Albion during the 2007/08 season.

Ex-Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper initially started out as favourite to become Birmingham City’s next manager before slipping to odds of 4/1.

The 44-year-old would be a terrific coup for the Blues as the Welshman has shown his capabilities as a Premier League manager, having kept Forest in the top flight last season after earning a shock promotion.

When Cooper arrived at Forest in September 2021, he revived the City Ground club’s 2021/22 campaign, leading them from the bottom of the Championship to fourth place while being promoted via the play-offs, having seen off both Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town in the play-offs.

On top of this, Cooper did a good job while in charge of Swansea City between June 2019 and July 2021, leading the Swans to back-to-back play-off place finishes against all of the odds.

Ex-Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch is also in the running for the job at St Andrew’s, having previously shown his managerial capabilities with the likes of Red Bull Salzburg.

Marsch managed to win both the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup in 2019/20 and 2020/21 when he was at Salzburg, after previously winning the Supporters Shield in two of his three seasons with New York Red Bulls between 2015 and 2018.

Since his time in Austria, Marsch has struggled to make his mark though, having lost his job at both Red Bull Leipzig and Leeds United, although he is often credited with helping the Elland Road club survive relegation from the Premier League in the 2021/22 season.

Former Birmingham City midfielder Lee Carsley is firmly in the frame to become the Blues' next manager following an impressive spell as England Under 21s manager.

The 49-year-old who made 48 league appearances for City between 2008 and 2010 has managed the likes of Coventry on a caretaker basis, as well as Brentford for 10 matches, where he won five and drew two of his games in charge, before joining Manchester City as a development coach and manager for the Under 18s and Under 23s.

Carsley has been in the England setup since September 2020, when he joined as an Under 20s Manager, winning one and losing the other of his two matches in charge, before taking over as Under 21s manager where he has been nothing short of sensational, managing the Young Lions 26 times, winning 21 and drawing once, equating to an 80.8% win percentage, while memorably leading his side to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2023.

Ex-Blues manager Gary Rowett has been linked with a surprise return to the club, having been without a job since being sacked by Millwall in October 2023.

In the 2022/23 season, Rowett led Millwall to a 7th-place finish in the Championship, only missing out on the play-offs on the final day of the campaign following a dramatic 4-3 loss to Blackburn Rovers.

During Rowett’s time as Birmingham manager between October 2014 and December 2016, he led the club to 10th and 7th-placed finishes and was actually sacked in similar circumstances to that of Eustace, with Gianfranco Zola coming in and winning just two times in 24 matches.

Could Rowett prove to be a capable manager once again with the Blues?

The final manager on this shortlist is John Eustace, with the ex-City manager being liked with a shock return to the club.

The 43-year-old had his contract at St Andrew's terminated due to their new owners Shelby Companies Limited wanting a marquee name in charge of the club, hence why Wayne Rooney was appointed as the Blues' new manager.

Eustace managed to defy the odds at Birmingham in the 2022/23 season, having led them to a 17th-placed finish in the Championship despite them being predicted to finish bottom of the table, while this season, Eustace left the Blues in sixth-place with 18 points from 11 matches before being dismissed.

Frank Lampard's Odds: 16/1

Paul Heckingbottom's Odds: 18/1

Anthony Barry's Odds: 25/1

Graham Potter's Odds: 25/1

John Terry's Odds: 25/1

Nathan Jones' Odds: 25/1

Neil Warnock's Odds: 25/1

Rafa Benitez's Odds: 25/1

Ralph Hasenhuttl's Odds: 25/1

Scott Parker's Odds: 25/1

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