ON THE WAYNE
Sacked by Birmingham City on 2 January last year after steering the club from sixth place to 20th in the Championship inside 15 games, then mutually relieved of his duties by Plymouth Argyle with the club rock-bottom of the table 363 days later, it has not gone unnoticed that 2024 was something of a managerial annus horribilis for Wayne Rooney. He suffered the ignominy of being both the first and last of the – we make it – 21 different managers from England’s second tier to take an unceremonious step through assorted doors marked “Do One!” in the calendar year that’s just drawn to a close.
