Plymouth Argyle: Simon Hallett’s Derby, Birmingham claims should ease Wayne Rooney fears

With Wayne Rooney taking over as head coach, Plymouth Argyle has entered a new chapter in its history.

Following Ian Foster’s dismissal in April, the Pilgrims were without a manager. Neil Dewsnip, the director of football, took over in an interim capacity and managed to keep the team in the Championship.

Prior to Argyle choosing to select Rooney, former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior turned down the position earlier this month, while former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom also had an interview.

Rooney had not had a job since Birmingham City fired him in January following his terrible three-month tenure at St Andrew’s.

When the Blues controversially opted to replace John Eustace with Rooney in October, they were sixth in the standings. However, after just two victories in his 15 games in charge, he left the team in 20th place, and they were demoted to League One.

Rooney was somewhat of a surprise pick for the Pilgrims given his lackluster tenure at Birmingham and his unimpressive track record in his two prior management positions at Derby County and DC United.

Simon Hallett explains Wayne Rooney appointment

The club’s decision to appoint Rooney was influenced, according to Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett, in large part by the underlying data from his time at DC United and Derby. The 38-year-old was not in charge of Birmingham for long enough for his tenure at St Andrew’s to be taken into account.

Hallett stated in an interview on the team’s official website, “Well, first of all, you can use data to assess style of play, and Wayne’s style of play is congruent with what we want to see in an Argyle side.”

“We are aware that his win/loss ratio is not very appealing, but the actual results are not a very good indicator of the manager’s influence on the team. The results have been dismal.

“The underlying statistics shows that DC United improved their offensive and defense, and they were nearly at the top of the league in terms of creating opportunities.”

“He strengthened the defense at Derby, but things are a little murky at Birmingham.

“He played in 15 games during a period when they were sixth in the Championship, but only a few points below 13th and 14th. The results were obviously really bad, and it’s difficult to discern much from the underlying facts.

“However, we aren’t really looking too closely at the data at Birmingham, rather at Derby and DC United, where he improved both teams fairly dramatically. What we do know is that Wayne was asked to play a style of game that he believed was incongruous with the personnel that he had there.”

Simon Hallett comments should reassure Plymouth Argyle supporters

It is uncommon to hear a chairman express himself so candidly, and Hallett deserves praise for outlining the rationale for Rooney’s selection.

spell it’s important to take Rooney’s tenure at Birmingham into consideration, Hallett is correct to highlight that the player was only in charge for a little spell.

The Blues board put Rooney under pressure right away, telling him to play fearless football and inculcate a winning mindset. It was an odd scenario to take over a squad that was sitting pretty in the standings.

With the players he had at his disposal, Rooney was never going to be able to play that kind of game, and Birmingham’s relegation followed his departure without much improvement, indicating that there were problems in the team.

Rooney will have a far better chance of succeeding at Home Park than in his previous position since Plymouth is an exceptionally well-run team with a superb structure in place, and Hallett and the board would have undoubtedly done their research before making the decision.