Wayne Rooney should have concerns over Birmingham City individual after recent performances | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney has had a very tough start to his tenure in charge of Birmingham City after joining the club from MLS side DC United, and now it appears like he has another problem to deal with.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the hiring of Rooney as The Blues had won back-to-back games under John Eustace when he was sacked.

The Manchester United all-time leading goalscorer hasn't done much to ease the immediate pressure he was under as he lost his first three games and has only won one in eight, which was against bottom-of-the-league, Sheffield Wednesday.

In their last couple of games, they have only picked up a point as they ended a goalless draw against Rotherham United and were beaten by Blackburn Rovers 4-2.

Looking back at those two games, there is seemingly another issue to add to Rooney's woes and that is John Ruddy, as the goalkeeper has looked shaky in between the sticks.

How did John Ruddy play in his recent appearances?

Rooney would have been pleased with his side's performance in the first half against Blackburn, as he had a solid base to go and attack the second half from 0-0.

It all went wrong in astronomical fashion though, as in just 14 minutes they were three goals down and, more or less, had no way back into the game.

For the first two goals Ruddy is chipped by Sammie Szmodics. It's never a good look for the goalkeeper, and there's no need for it to happen for the first goal.

He finds himself in no man's land coming out to the edge of the box when his defenders were still able to deal with Szmodics and he more or less makes the decision for the Blackburn midfielder with his poor positioning.

The second is a little more excusable, but he could make himself more imposing, and then he had a howler for the third goal as he let James Hill's shot from a distance go through him.

Rooney kept him in the line-up for the game against Rotherham and even though he did keep a clean sheet, he still wasn't too assured as he gave away possession 14 times from 17 long pass attempts, according to SofaScore. This isn't fantastic for Birmingham, as giving away cheap possession when they are at home and dominating the ball loses all their momentum.

As well as this, he also only made one high claim when Rotheram had five successful crosses, showing that he isn't taking the pressure off his defence when they need it most. Due to this, Birmingham almost conceded a catastrophic goal as Ruddy came out and didn't get anywhere near the ball as Sam Nombe's header luckily hit the top of the crossbar. He also nearly made a calamitous error in the second half attempting to play out from the back from a goal kick, as he attempted to clear the ball but presented Rotheram with a golden chance which was blocked on the line.

On another day, he could have had two errors leading to goals, which would have added to Rooney's and Birmingham's woes.

Should Rooney be looking at his other goalkeepers?

Eustace didn't bring in any new goalkeepers in the summer and, given Ruddy was their number one last season, it seemed pretty straightforward for Rooney in that department.

However, that may have to change now after the below-par display against Blackburn, as Rooney needs points on the board.

He will need to think long-term and, with Ruddy just one year younger than the manager himself, it would make sense to look for a replacement.

In the meantime, it seems logical for Rooney to look at 33-year-old Neil Etheridge moving forward before potentially dipping into the January transfer window.

Etheridge, like Ruddy, has monumental Championship experience as he has played 133 games, and he was so vital to Cardiff City winning promotion in the 2017/18 season, keeping 19 clean sheets.

He has been at the club for three years, and he has been their first choice before. He managed to keep 13 clean sheets in the 2020/21 campaign, so it may be worth it for Rooney to give him another chance before the window opens.