Wayne Rooney is currently making one costly error for Birmingham City

admin | November 17, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Nobody can deny that Wayne Rooney’s start to life at Birmingham City has been dreadful, and the 38-year-old is under additional strain given his international stature.

The decision to fire John Eustace as head coach in October caught everyone off guard because the 43-year-old was well-liked and the Blues were sixth in the Championship at the time.

Rooney is therefore under immediate criticism from the St. Andrew’s supporters due to his awful start to life in the Midlands in terms of the team’s performance.

With several new players and permanent loanees from the previous season signed by the new American ownership, Rooney inherits a talented team. However, in his first five games in charge, the former England international has only managed to earn one point as City has fallen behind the competition.

Siriki Dembele is one player who hasn’t started in Birmingham’s last two games—a 3-1 loss at Sunderland and a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town—which may surprise some given his skill.

Siriki Dembele’s performances for Birmingham City in 2023-24

Dembele, an Ivory Coast-born winger, didn’t get many opportunities in the Premier League after joining Bournemouth in January 2022. Instead, he spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan at Auxerre in France.

Before Dembele joined with Bournemouth, Birmingham really made an offer, which he turned down; but, when the team returned this past summer, that wasn’t going to happen again.

When Dembele scored the first goal of the season against Swansea, he immediately made an impression. However, a few weeks later, he sustained a hamstring injury that kept him out for several weeks.

Dembele started as a striker in the opening match of October against Huddersfield and scored twice in a 4-1 thumping of the Terriers after two return substitute appearances. However, four scoreless starts later from the wing, Rooney elected to use the 27-year-old as a substitute in the preceding two games.

*Siriki Dembele’s Championship Stats 2023-24*
Appearances	12
Goals	3
Expected Goals (xG)	0.81
Assists	0
Expected Assists (xA)	0.95
Shots Per Game	1.2
Big Chances Missed	0
Dribbles Per Game	2.3
Touches Per Game	31.3
Key Passes Per Game	1.3
Fouled Per Game	1.4
*Stats Correct As Of November 15, 2023)*

Dembele is among the top 10 in the League Championship for completed dribbles (2.3 per game) this season, and that figure alone may be the most crucial component of his skill set.

Does Siriki Dembele deserve to be starting for Birmingham?

Given what Dembele contributes to a club, it was probably a little surprising that Rooney decided to bench him. Additionally, neither Oliver Burke nor Juninho Bacuna, who have both played on the left flank against Ipswich and Sunderland, have performed as well.

Even though Dembele hasn’t tallied an assist this season, it is difficult to dispute that he poses a considerably greater danger to goals and assists than those two players.

Although Dembele’s predicted assist percentage is higher than his expected goal total, it is more likely that he will take shots rather than crosses because he mostly cuts with his right foot.

Dembele’s speed, inventiveness, and direct full-back attacking are attributes that Rooney may have overlooked in the closing third of the game. Nevertheless, he will have his justifications for not starting him in the first two games.

Similar qualities are also provided by Koji Miyoshi, however he is more frequently spotted off to the right or in position 10, and the two players have only made five starts in the same match.

And Rooney needs to get Dembele back into the starting lineup for Birmingham’s next match, which is against struggling Sheffield Wednesday at St. Andrew’s. The defense will be under pressure after losing to Millwall lately, so this may be the Ivorian’s field.