Nottingham Forest fans reacted with relief at Gianfranco Zola being appointed by Birmingham City.
Birmingham City’s owners certainly did not take their 4-0 defeat to Newcastle at the weekend well.
Forgetting all sense of perspective after a hammering by the league leaders, manager Gary Rowett was fired, with the Blues sitting in seventh place at the time of his sacking, level on points with Sheffield Wednesday, who were within the play-off places.
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett
His sacking is made even more peculiar by Birmingham’s choice of replacement, with the club confirming on their official website that Gianfranco Zola has been appointed.
Zola was a truly great player, but as a manager, his record has been left wanting.
He had a spell with West Ham which ended poorly, while a later spell with Watford lasted less than one season.
He followed this up with spells in Italy with Cagliari and Qatar with Al-Arabi, neither of which lasted long.
Former Watford manager Gianfranco Zola
In recent weeks, Zola has been linked with a return to English football, with Nottingham Forest the frontrunners.
Phillippe Montanier has had a mixed start as boss at the City Ground with Forest stuck in the bottom half of the table, and with a takeover of the club close, it had been speculated he could be moved on.
Just last month, Zola was lined with the Forest role, with The Sun reporting he was being lined up to replace Montanier once the takeover goes through.
Well Birmingham have now beaten Forest to their man, but judging from the reaction from supporters, fans of the Nottingham club are not too disheartened…
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
