The Blues sacked Rowett and replaced him with Zola in the space of a few hours on Wednesday.
Birmingham City shocked their own supporters and the majority of neutral onlookers on Wednesday afternoon when they sacked popular manager Gary Rowett and replaced him with Gianfranco Zola less than six hours later.
Former Blues defender Rowett had been in charge at St. Andrew’s since October 2014 and had enjoyed the backing of supporters and club board for the majority of his reign.
He led the club away from relegation danger after his appointment, lifting them from 21st to finish 10th in the Championship, replicating that position in his first full season last term.
This year, he had also enjoyed success, losing just five of his first 21 league games of the campaign, and securing a good 2-1 home victory over Ipswich Town just last night.
That win saw Blues sitting in seventh ahead of Wednesday night’s games, and the decision to sack him is simply baffling.
Tellingly, the club appointed for West Ham United and Watford boss Zola less than six hours after announcing Rowett’s departure, a quick turnaround that surely indicates Zola had already been linked up whilst Rowett was still in his job.
St. Andrew’s is a place where the chasm between fans and board has often been wider than at most clubs, and this bizarre decision is likely to do little to change that.
Zola has had an unremarkable managerial career thus far, neither impressing nor failing catastrophically at either West Ham or Watford, and to sack one of England’s most promising young managers in favour of him seems remarkable, given Blues’ impressive league position.
Reacting to the news on Twitter after Zola’s appointment was confirmed, many supporters seemed shellshocked by the move, and certainly questioned the motives behind it.
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