With so much negativity surrounding new Birmingham City boss Gianfranco Zola, it’s time to look at the Italian’s credentials for the club.
Nobody quite knew what to think when Zola replaced popular manager Gary Rowett at St Andrew’s, with many fans being left baffled by the decision. However, as the days have gone on more and more people are deciding to give Zola the benefit of the doubt ahead of what is sure to be a tough second half of the season.
Birmingham City were not necessarily considered promotion contenders at the start of the campaign, but with the guiding hand of Rowett they forced their way into contention. Unfortunately, the early signs under Zola are that they will not maintain that challenge but for now we can only speculate.
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett
Following on from a tenure at West Ham that went south following a positive start, Zola actually took Watford to the Championship play-off final.
Unfortunately, the day at Wembley would end in defeat and the season following the loss saw the now 50-year-old sacked after the Hornets found themselves down in 13th. Despite this the Vicarage Road outfit looked as good as they had in years, with Zola bringing in a number of top level talent that likely chose to make the move in order to work with the charismatic Italian.
Zola still has some pretty solid links with Chelsea too, which makes the potential for some loan signings an interesting one. After all, Conte’s side are known for shipping out youngsters in order to further their progress so why should this be any different?
He also seems to possess the art of establishing a connection with both fans and players, which will be crucial as we enter the business end of the campaign.
Birmingham City manager Gianfranco Zola during the press conference
However, two underwhelming reigns at Cagliari and Al-Arabi haven’t helped matters when it comes to creating positivity among Blues fans. In truth, it’s as bizarre as it seemed to be on the face of it and whilst Zola has got experience in the division, whether or not he can utilise that to create a successful atmosphere at the club remains to be seen.
Obviously things were not in his favour from the get go due to the hostile nature in which supporters took the Rowett news, but his resume doesn’t exactly scream promotion candidates. Then again who knows, perhaps he can draw from the positives of his managerial career and spin that into an unlikely push for the top six.
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