You’ve got to feel sorry for Birmingham City fans. A few months ago they could have reasonably expected that come the end of the season they would be there of thereabouts in the push for promotion. They had a highly rated young manager in Gary Rowett and after a few years in the doldrums things were finally looking up.
And then their Board decided to sack Rowett. At the time it seemed inexplicable, and a few months on it still does.
Within a few hours they had appointed Gianfranco Zola.
I yield to no one in my admiration for Zola. A prince among men. A king among players. Yet right from the off, the appointment left most of us scratching our heads. Zola to Birmingham? Really?
Having said that, I never thought Gold and Sullivan gave him enough of a chance at West Ham. They dispensed with his services far too speedily. I loved the way he managed our players and they clearly thought the world of him. He even managed to transform Carlton Cole into an England player. However, many people at the club thought that while he was a good coach, it was Steve Clarke who was the defacto manager. And you have to say that since then, Zola’s record as a manager is hardly stellar. He took Watford to the Playoffs in 2013, but resigned six months later. At Cagliari he was sacked after three months, and at Al-Arabi he lasted only 26 games.
At Birmingham, he has amassed a miserly total of 6 points out of a possible 36 since his appointment in December. The club have slipped to 14th place, 18 points below the playoffs. Zola is now seeking talks with the club’s Chinese owners.
Yesterday, after the 4-1 home defeat to QPR Zola said this:
“At the moment, I am feeling very low, but I take full responsibility. I am probably not giving enough and it is making me upset. I have committed myself to the club and I am doing it with a lot of passion. We do not like where we are at the present time, but I really care about this club and I want to help them.”
Even now I still hope it works out for Zola. If it doesn’t I doubt he’ll be given another chance in English football, which would be a great shame.