Michael Carrick showed Wayne Rooney his blueprint for Birmingham on false start
It'll always be a day remembered for the death of Sir Bobby Charlton.
As Wayne Rooney and his former Manchester United teammate Michael Carrick emerged from the Riverside Stadium tunnel just after 4pm on Saturday, they looked to the screen on their right and stood in shock hearing the sad news. For a moment, the Championship match which they were battling to win meant nothing, as the world fondly remembered the United and England icon.
But once the long applause and poignant chanting in remembrance of Charlton's immense career and contribution to the sport had tapered off, the referee's whistle sounded and the focus of nearly 30,000 people at the Riverside returned to the football. Rooney had just endured a difficult first half watching his new Birmingham City side struggle to contain Carrick's in-form Middlesbrough.
The second period brought more of the same frustration for Rooney and while the Blues boss can be proud of his players' dogged determination to defend up until the 89th minute, he couldn't argue that a last-gasp winner from Boro substitute Morgan Rogers gave the game a deserved outcome.
Carrick's slick set of starlets had enjoyed full control of the contest, showing the kind of bravery in possession which Rooney is eventually expecting from his men. "We have to be better," he affirmed post-match.
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"I thought there were some positives in the game, but the main thing is we need to be better with the ball. It is something we have been working on and trying to get the players to take the ball.
"Midfielders, centre-backs and the goalkeeper need to be a lot more comfortable with the ball at their feet. I thought we were a bit careless in the final third, I think we can play with the ball more but, of course, it is going to take time."
Former teammates Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney met as managers on Saturday (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)He's right, it'll take time if Rooney is to turn the Premier League-chasing side from St Andrew's into the kind of total-footballing team Carrick boasts. Yes, Birmingham are currently six places better off than Middlesbrough - albeit by a single point - but Boro have now won games six on the bounce in all competitions and are eyeing at least another play-off finish.
Rooney's comments hint at envy towards his "great friend," Carrick, whose side confidently plays out from the back and often reap the rewards. But Rooney can take solace in the fact he's got an easier task than the one his ex-teammate was handed when you look at the league table.
At the same stage of the campaign last season, Carrick took over a dwindling Boro who'd been in turmoil under Chris Wilder, sat 22nd in the division and with the prospect of relegation looming. Thanks to their rapid resurgence, Middlesbrough ended up as play-off semi-finalists after agonisingly missing out on automatic promotion.
Have your say! Will Birmingham City be promoted this season? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
Wayne Rooney has grand plans for Birmingham City but tasted defeat at Middlesbrough (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)On the other hand, Rooney can thank his predecessor John Eustace for leaving Birmingham in sixth place before being sacked in a hotly-debated decision made by the club's new American owners. Eustace's work on the pitch offers a solid foundation for the former United striker to benefit from this season - much more fertile land than what Wilder handed over to Carrick in his first managerial post.
The Middlesbrough boss assisted Rooney many-a-time during their days together at Old Trafford and he's given him another helping hand by offering him a blueprint for Birmingham's ambitious new era.
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