Tom Brady learned the hard way about the dangers of relegation across the pond as Birmingham City plunged into League One.
The NFL great invested in the then second-tier soccer outfit in 2023.
Brady watches Birmingham take on Wrexham
Brady and the club’s owners envisaged a Hollywood story like Wrexham‘s rise from the fifth tier of British football into League One.
But they found themselves in the same division as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney‘s outfit after their blockbuster head coach appointment Wayne Rooney flopped at the box office.
Keith Wyness – formerly the CEO of Premier League club Everton – highlighted where he thinks Brady and Co went wrong.
“Birmingham is a great example of owners who thought they knew everything about football, hired Wayne Rooney, and ended up in League One,” he told Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast
“That’s a serious example of what can go wrong when you act too quickly. They made some big mistakes.
“American owners can do that, but any nationality can do that – there have been terrible British owners as well.
“It’s a desire for success, but the way to that in football isn’t always so quick.”
Birmingham were sixth in the Championship when they decided to sack manager John Eustace in favor of Rooney.
The Manchester United great lasted just 15 games before he was turfed out in January after losing nine matches and seeing his team drop to 20th.
But Birmingham bosses do not seem to have heeded Wyness’ plea for patience as they splashed out over the summer to give new coach Chris Davies an expensively assembled squad for their promotion bid.
Rooney flopped as Blues manager
Birmingham smashed the League One transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield
The Blues smashed the League One transfer record to sign striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham in a deal that could hit $27.7million, including add-ons.
The previous high was Will Grigg‘s $4.45million move to Sunderland – highlighting the lavish spending on display in Birmingham.
So far, the gamble has paid off with the Blues and Wrexham occupying the two automatic promotion places.
Birmingham beat Wrexham 3-1 in a high-profile clash between the American-owned rivals, with Stansfield scoring twice.
But James McClean has vowed to ‘get Birmingham back’ after his side’s loss at St. Andrew’s.
That was just the warm up,” he said on Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster’s Fozcast.
“We owe them one, and we’ll get them back at our place.”
Birmingham play promotion rivals Charlton and Huddersfield in two of their next three games.
Their investors have spent big in pursuit of a quick return to the Championship, and failure could have long-term consequences.
