Gary Rowett

The story so far

It's fair to say Gary Rowett’s appointment 12 months ago as Birmingham City manager was a popular one.

Most Blues fans knew of the success he’d had guiding Burton and their conservative budget into the League Two play-off picture.

And those of a certain vintage remembered him as an outstanding part of the Trevor Francis teams, which came so near to promotion. Before he walked through the door he had goodwill in abundance.

But it’s probably also fair to say even his most ardent supporters could not have suspected things would go as well as they have.

The honeymoon started on October 27, 2014 and apart from the odd minor bump in the road it’s yet to end.

The bare statistics tell only part of the story. Under Rowett Blues have risen from 23rd to fourth, at the time of writing.

Where they once feared leaving the Championship by the tradesman’s entrance, they are now hopeful of striding boldly out of the front door and into a taxi marked 'Premier League’.

Their home form has been revolutionised, their points and goals-per-game ratios have gone through the roof. Rowett has presided over a statistical make-over.

But there’s more to it than that. Football might be a business these days but so much of what Rowett - and his coaches, have brought back to Birmingham City doesn’t show up on a balance sheet.

Football clubs are living, breathing, sentient beings and Rowett has restored his with hope, confidence and enjoyment.

St Andrew’s is a happier place where the hosts now enjoy coming more than the guests. Where everyone can look forward to a positive outcome and even if it doesn’t happen that day, there is still the belief the next victory is only a matter of weeks rather than months away.

Indeed if Rowett had set himself a ‘To do’ list when he first walked through the door, ‘sort out the defence’ and ‘improve the home form’ would probably have been near the top.

In his first match he sorted out the defence - a hugely credible 0-0 draw at Wolves with Michael Morrison seamlessly integrated into the back four.

And in his next he brought just a second St Andrew’s win in 26 attempts, a memorable 2-1 triumph over Watford.

It was almost scripted as Clayton Donaldson scored after 80 seconds to give instant credence to the new regime - and then grabbed an 85th minute winner to turn the positives into points.

The honeymoon had started.

The supporters believed it and thousands have flocked back to St Andrew’s, so too did the players, the same men who looked so cowed in previous months were now emboldened.

Donaldson, David Cotterill and young starlet Demarai Gray became essential cogs in a functional machine with Andy Shinnie, for so long neglected, providing the oil with his intelligent use of space.

Blues settled into a pattern, tight at one end of the pitch, opportunistic at the other and the results started to trickle.

Last December Gray provided proof that he is as promising as any 18-year-old in the country with a half-hour hat-trick that destroyed Reading 6-1.

Huddersfield, Forest and Wigan were all nudged aside as Blues climbed the table and by the middle of January they were 11th, nearly half a division better off. Talk turned to the most unlikely of play-off tilts.

That was revealed to be fanciful as Birmingham went on a nine-game winless run through February and into March and struggled for goals. The flirtation with 4-4-2 was quickly ended as Blues shipped eight goals at Brighton and Ipswich.

The honeymoon wasn’t quite over but there were definitely thoughts of returning home to find a way of just how fine a silk purse Blues could make with their budgetary sow’s ear.

Rowett looked for the answer in the loan market and found Robert Tesche and Diego Fabbrini, the German in particular changed the tactical emphasis.

With Tesche alongside Stephen Gleeson Birmingham had a new-found technical ability and vision to play a more possession-based game and prise open defensive clams.

The mask-wearing, quick-footed Italian Fabbrini brought a little bit of exotica to lighten the mood.

Blues were back up and running and produced seven wins from the final 13 games to finish tenth.

What was more admirable than the quality of football they were playing, was the fact Rowett managed to keep them going when their motivation could have waned.

And so to his first off-season in charge, when he would swing the axe at his bloated squad. Relatively established names like Callum Reilly, Colin Doyle, Will Packwood and Matt Green all went, Darren Randolph chose to.

For various reasons Gray and Donaldson were convinced to stay, despite interest from elsewhere, and Rowett tied down the spine of his team with new contracts.

Blues targeted replacements with better pedigree and though the pursuits of Tesche and Fabbrini turned out to be fruitless - and the Rob Kiernan deal broke down a matter of minutes from completion, no-one can say there aren’t more good players at Wast Hills now than there were six months ago.

Tomasz Kuszczak, Maikel Kieftenbeld and Jacques Maghoma have all been increasingly influential in a season that has started very much as the previous one ended.

With a smaller but more competitive squad, Blues are maintaining their play-off form and have discovered another more nuanced way of playing, without their No. 10. Jon Toral and Shinnie remain valuable options.

Regrets? A few to mention. One can only wonder if the FA Cup loss to West Brom - when St Andrew’s was sold-out, might have been different had Rowett chosen to start Gray and Donaldson.

And the League Cup loss at Villa, if only Maghoma had put that chance away or David Cotterill had been available.

But let’s not carp. We’d have all taken this position 12 months ago and let’s not forget it’s a far better position off the field as well as on.

Other people deserve credit for that, for creating an environment where Rowett has been able to get on with what he does so well. And also for bringing him back to the club in the first place.

What a first year it’s been, what a second year it could be.

When Gary Rowett was introduced to the media on his first day in charge at St Andrew's, he spoke of his pride and determination to do the job well.

"I am attracted to the challenge of this job. I like challenges and prefer it to the easy life. There is a lot of potential in the squad. It is a big club. I have been here for some very big games and sampled the atmosphere.

"Blues are a very big club and a special club.

"It is a special place and I had two of the best seasons of my career here. Most of that was down to Trevor Francis and the freedom he allowed me. 

"Those times have stayed with me. I wondered if I would have a chance and I am delighted I have got one here.

"Things can only improve here and they will. We need to get our philosophy over to the players and the staff. It doesn't phase me. I am looking forward to working with the staff and players. I want hard work and will try and improve them where I can.

"My target is to climb the table but firstly to get out away from the bottom three. We need to go out on a Saturday or Tuesday evening and make the fans proud of their team with players proud to fight for the shirt."

Blues legend Joe Gallagher believes Rowett has waved a magic wand at the club.

He said: "We were pretty poor before Gary Rowett's appointment. I don’t think a team can go any lower than being beaten 8-0 at home. That showed something really needed to be done.

“Since then the results have been absolutely astounding.

“It was as if a magic wand had touched them all on the shoulder, I have never seen a team change and play so differently."

Saturday Sky Sports favourite Jeff Stelling is also gushing in his praise of Rowett.

He stated: "I bang on about him every week.

“It’s just staggering when you consider the position City were in when he came in.

“It seemed like it was almost an impossible job.“But he’s done absolutely brilliantly.

"I’ve heard a couple of interviews he’s done on local radio - I’ve never met him, but I really like the sound of him. He speaks very well."

He added: "He's brought a bit of excitement back to St. Andrew’s.

They couldn’t win there for love nor money, so I think he’s done brilliantly."

So what does his old boss Trevor Francis think?

He told the Mail: "What was achieved last year has put enormous pressure on Gary to try and better that because as a manager you want to do that yourself.

“Wherever you finish you want to try and improve.

“But Gary, as ambitious as he is, he's got to be realistic as well.

“If he can finish tenth it would be a fantastic season.”

1. Set the turnstiles ticking

Tempted back by the progress on the field and off it, more and more supporters have come back to St Andrew's and the downward trend has been reversed.

The average crowd at St Andrew’s in 2011-12 was 19,125 but this fell to 16,702 the following season and 15,457 in 2013-14.

Before Rowett took over in 2014-15 the average league attendance was 14,492.

But by the end of last season it had increased back up to 16,111 and so far this season is standing at 18,182. That’s nearly 3,700 more fans coming to games.

2. Home is where the heart is

Clearly the main driver behind the attendance spike has been results - and at St Andrew’s it’s almost as if a different team moved in.

In reality many of the same players have produced starkly improved results. Blues’ return from home matches in the league under Rowett is P22 W12 D6 L4. That’s 42 points.

By contrast in the 12 months prior to Rowett’s arrival, St Andrew’s had seen just two victories - and one of those was in the FA Cup against Bristol Rovers.

Rowett benefitted massively from breaking the hoodoo in his first home match, which produced a sensational 2-1 win over Watford.

3. Improved the squad

Blues have fewer players to choose from but they are undoubtedly better, with last season’s stalwarts like Andy Shinnie, Paul Robinson and David Davis forced to wait for opportunities.

In the early months of Rowett’s regime it was impossible to imagine the side without one of them, never mind all three as was the case at the start of the season.

Unproven youngsters like Callum Reilly, Will Packwood and Olly Lee, who had played before Rowett arrived, have been replaced.

The likes of Maikel Kieftenbeld and Michael Morrison have shown themselves to be vital components in Rowett’s machine.

Out wide where Blues had to rely on Demarai Gray and David Cotterill and the fleeting contribution from loan man Lloyd Dyer, they now have Jacques Maghoma and Viv Solomon-Otabor to provide competition for places.

Adam Legzdins looks an excellent back-up goalkeeper - and we are told there is money to improve the squad further.

4. Kept best players

Part and parcel with the improved squad is the fact Blues have kept their best players.

This is indicative of the improvement off the field where there appears no pressure for a fire-sale. It is difficult to imagine another Tom Adeyemi situation happening.

Blues have rebuffed multi-million pound bids for Demarai Gray and offers for Clayton Donaldson - and even convinced them to agree to new contracts.

Part of that is the improved financial position at the club - to which Rowett has also contributed by increasing attendances, but part of it is the fact those players can see Blues are building something that’s worth staying for.

5. Inverted the league table.

All of the above factors add up to a net increase of 19 league positions since Rowett was appointed.

Blues were 23rd when he took them to Molineux for his first game, at the time of writing they are now fourth.

Where they once feared leaving the Championship and going into League One, they are now hopeful of leaving the Championship for the Premier League.

That would be an almost unbelievable achievement - and would still be a major surprise, but the fact it’s even a possibility is something of an achievement in itself.

6. Fun factor.

In his early days Rowett frequently spoke of having fun and restoring smiles. He was instantly able to press the reset button and early results made that possible.

The atmosphere around the club has lifted, optimism has been restored - as much off the field as on it.

Clearly the mood around the club has been helped by the improved situation in Hong Kong but in training the message to the players is 'Don’t worry if you make a mistake’.

There seems less pressure and more pleasure.

November 4, 2014. Watford (H) won 2-1 

Gary Rowett's first home match at the helm - and an occasion when he realised he’d made the right decision in coming to Blues. 

Rowett’s players gave their all to the manager and the supporters - and St Andrew’s returned it with interest. Just 80 seconds in Clayton Donaldson gave Blues the perfect start by turning home Stephen Gleeson’s pass, Watford equalised soon after. 

But a far-brighter performance got what it deserved with five minutes to go when Donaldson flicked David Cotterill’s cross into the net. St Andrew’s erupted and a special friendship had started. 

December 13, 2014 Reading (H) won 6-1 

This was the zenith of Blues’ early counter-attacking play. They only had seven shots on target in the entire match but put six of them past a shellshocked Adam Federici. Three were dispatched by Demarai Gray as the wider world woke up to the bundle of potential Blues have brought through. He’s rarely been out of the transfer rumour pages since. Paul Caddis set the hosts on their way, Glenn Murray equalised and the remainder of the first half was spent with Gray tearing Reading to pieces with a 34-minute hat-trick. Andy Shinnie and David Cotterill iced the cake. 

March 7, 2015 Derby (A) drew 2-2 

Ninety minutes of as low-quality football as Blues had produced under Rowett, was quickly forgotten as two stoppage time goals produced a thrilling come back. 

On his return to his former club Rowett had opted to rest Demarai Gray and Clayton Donaldson and watched on as his side were overwhelmed by the rampant Rams. Jamie Ward made it 1-0 and just before half time Rowett exploded at Johnny Russell’s lack of sportsmanship. Tom Ince’s goal wouldn’t have improved his mood straight after the resumption. 

But as soon as Paul Caddis pulled one back with a 90th minute penalty and you could see Derby wilt. Blues threw everything at them and six minutes into injury time they bundled in an equaliser as Rob Kiernan’s touch rolled down Donaldson and into the back of the Derby net. Euphoria ensued. 

April 11, 2015 Wolves (H) won 2-1 

Local rivals Wolves arrived at St Andrew’s chasing a play-off place and intent on lording it over the home side. 

It looked as though bragging rights would be theirs when Benik Afobe put the visitors ahead after 21 minutes after some poor defending. 

Four minutes later though, Rob Kiernan bundled in as scrappy an equaliser as you could wish for. 

Then just after the hour local lad Demarai Gray settled the local issue with an enterprising run and cool finish. That was the first nail in what was to become Wolves’ play-off coffin. 

September 12, 2015 Bristol City (H) won 4-2 

Concern was starting to mount that last season’s leading scorer Clayton Donaldson hadn’t yet found the net. Four assists barely off-set no goals.

 However, in an open and attacking encounter Bristol City gave as good as they got - almost. Blues went 2-0 up inside 20 minutes as Donaldson tucked in David Cotterill’s pull back and then converted Jon Toral’s sublime pass. 

The Robins came back as Jonathan Kodjia slid in from close range. Toral was then awarded a penalty, Blues players had a quick straw poll and regular taker Paul Caddis deferred to Donaldson.

 The striker completed his hat-trick with the coolest of spot-kicks to defuse what would have been a Rowett rollicking. Kodjia made it 3-2 in the 66th minute before Jonathan Grounds settled the nerves with a dominant header 13 minutes from time. It was the last time Blues played quite so fast and loose.

A year to the day since he returned to Birmingham City, Gary Rowett marvels at how far the whole club has come in just 12 incredible months.

On one hand exactly how far can be measured in pure numbers, from 23rd to sixth in the Championship, 24 wins from 50 games.

On the other, the progress is less tangible, after all, how do you measure feelings? By what yardstick can you assess confidence and optimism? 

How do you quantify belief?

Well, wouldn't you know it Rowett has an answer for that one too.

Just as he identified Michael Morrison as the man to shore up the porous rearguard and Robert Tesche as the creative force to transform Blues’ attack, he claims the thing that makes him most proud about his first year at St Andrew’s is the expression on people’s faces.

"You go to the club now for the home games and people say to me 'The atmosphere has changed’.

“There’s nearly one thousand people working there, you look at the fans and they are coming back in their numbers so they must be pretty happy with what they see.

“That’s what football is about, coming to a club like Birmingham City, whether you are a player, a fan or staff, you should look forward to coming in because it’s a fantastic club and it’s a real privilege to work in this type of environment.

“People have enjoyed being part of Birmingham again. I am not suggesting they didn’t enjoy it before but that bit of a feelgood factor is a nice reward for everybody at the club.

“When you walk in and see Rita smiling in the morning and that it affects everybody who have worked incredibly hard over the years. That’s probably my biggest achievement.

"The trajectory of that achievement has been so steep it almost feels as though all he needed to do was flick a switch, hook up his iPod with the PA system and come over all Bobby McFerrin - Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

But of course the restoration of pride and hope has been a step by step process, as the games and weeks ticked by, so too the club’s heart began to pump positivity to it’s extremities.

“I remember walking off after the first session and as staff we sat in the office and said ‘Wow, we will do well to keep this lot up’.

“They looked a little bit shellshocked and very short of confidence. The tempo in training was really slow and to me they looked a little bit fearful.

“But bit by bit we saw that come back and you get some results early on, that always helps.

“Once you win a few games it’s almost in their mind ‘Let’s not go back to a result like an 8-0’. There was a real motivation in the group to make sure we improved as well.

“My first impression was ‘It’s going to be a tough job’, then after three or four weeks I thought ‘You know what, we might have a chance of doing something here and climbing up this table’.”

The upturn in results was instant. His first match - a 0-0 draw at Wolves, and his first home match, will live with him forever.

“I remember walking out at the Wolves game, a first game being a local derby on TV was a bit of a baptism of fire, but you walk out of the tunnel excited and I remember seeing nearly 4,000 Blues fans on the far side and thinking ‘Wow, this is unbelievable’.

“To be part of that level of football again after seeing it as a player was a nice feeling.

“Then walking out at the first home game, with the home record as it was and the feeling amongst the fans, it was such a big evening.

“For us to win the game and feel the elation of winning the way we did, fairly late on, was just a great feeling.

“I remember coming off that game thinking ‘You know what? If I got sacked tomorrow morning it will have been worth it just for this evening’.”

That was always unlikely, there were bumps in the road like the 4-0 Boxing Day stuffing by Derby, and the missed opportunity against West Brom, but wins over Rotherham, Huddersfield Reading, Nottingham Forest and Wigan enhanced the feelgood factor.

By the end of the season, which they finished with three straight wins, Birmingham were a barely believable tenth.And so the momentum continued as senior players committed themselves over the summer and the new campaign started with an unbeaten run.

Four straight victories between the international breaks lifted them to second place and started talk of automatic promotion.

Blues currently stand sixth and if the loss at Hull on Saturday brought a dose of reality, it can not obscure the fact Rowett’s first year has exceeded every expectation even the most optimistic Bluenose could have had.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if the second 12 months was anything like as good.

“I’d like to be still sat here with a smile on my face. That way we know we’d achieved something, whether that’s just still enjoying coming into work, being second, being tenth but enjoying what we are doing.

“I will never set boundaries on that.

“Of course it’s easy for me to say I want to be sat here as the England manager or in the Premier League with Birmingham or top of the Premier League. I think those things are always too obvious.

“For me it’s still enjoying what we are doing. That’s the big part for me and the staff we have got.”

And that’s the most marvellous achievement of all.

* Video footage courtesy of BCFC You Tube channel