{"id":249824,"date":"2025-07-31T05:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249824\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T05:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:10:14","slug":"what-tom-brady-has-taught-birmingham-city-and-what-he-thought-of-wayne-rooney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249824\/","title":{"rendered":"What Tom Brady has taught Birmingham City\u2026 and what he thought of Wayne Rooney"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Brady is a winner. Any of his former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers team-mates, or the fans of teams he dismantled on the way to seven Super Bowl rings during a 22-year NFL career, could tell you that.<\/p>\n

To rise from the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft to be considered by many (including The Athletic\u2019s team of NFL writers<\/a>) as the greatest quarterback in the sport\u2019s history indicates he\u2019s not afraid of a challenge, either. But how much of that journey to the pinnacle of American football could prepare Brady for a non-playing role in the lower divisions of the English soccer?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s different between soccer and football?\u201d Brady asks. \u201cNothing. Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazon Prime\u2019s Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues, which launches globally on August 1, is executive-produced by Brady himself. It chronicles his first two seasons involved with the ownership of Birmingham City, a club formed back in 1875. Birmingham had been playing in the Championship, English football\u2019s second tier, since suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2011.<\/p>\n

As much as the show\u2019s main narrative arc is Birmingham\u2019s prospective return to elite football, with Brady\u2019s co-owner and club chairman Tom Wagner admitting their target is \u201cto play Premier League football against Villa\u201d and \u201cmake some money\u201d, it\u2019s really about Brady and how he is working to transmit the winning values and practices he developed during his playing career<\/a> onto a club failing to maximise its potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not in there on an operational role,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m here in a visionary role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brady with co-owner and club chairman Tom Wagner (Amazon)<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s the case, Knighthead Capital\u2019s first season as the club\u2019s controlling shareholders suggests his crystal ball may need polishing. Birmingham started strongly, with three wins and two draws from the opening five matches of 2023-24. They then suffered a wobble, failing to win in their next four. Despite back-to-back victories against Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion that left Birmingham sitting sixth in the table, the final play-off spot, the board sacked head coach John Eustace after 11 games of a 46-game season.<\/p>\n

Given that in recent seasons Birmingham had been more accustomed to fighting relegation than competing for promotion, the decision caused a stir. One fan on the documentary suggested Eustace\u2019s replacement, England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, was appointed \u201cto put a load of eyes on Birmingham City\u201d. It\u2019s not clear how involved Brady was in the decision to fire Eustace, but his first trip to the training ground to watch Rooney in action provides an insight into the mind of this seven-time champion.<\/p>\n

When asked what he could offer Birmingham that nobody else could, Brady replied, \u201cI think there\u2019s a feel I have with what I see, what I watch, what I hear, how we\u2019re training and preparing and evaluations of our own team,\u201d setting up his day at the club\u2019s practice facility, which is clearly in need of repair.<\/p>\n

Brady has a tour of the facility before sitting down with Rooney, who tells the American how he would show up to training at 9am during the summer\u2019s pre-season preparations. Brady subtly responds by telling Rooney he would get to the team\u2019s facility at 6 am. Whether intentional or not, it demonstrates Brady\u2019s competitive edge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rooney was sacked by Birmingham after just 83 days in charge (Catherine Ivill\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI treated practice like it was the Super Bowl,\u201d he said to Rooney. \u201cEvery day. We would do a two-minute drill at the end of the game, and I would throw a touchdown at practice \u2014 I\u2019d be standing there like, \u2018F***, we\u2019ve won the game\u2019. Even though it was practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then my team-mates would be like, \u2018F***, OK. That\u2019s how we\u2019re gonna do it\u2019. So then when I got to the pros, everybody would be walking around like \u2018Hey, you know, it\u2019s just practice\u2019, and I walked in there and said \u2018No. F*** this. This is real\u2019. Put the pressure on them. Make \u2019em learn everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He talks about the ownership\u2019s priorities for the club, mentioning \u201cresilience\u201d, \u201chard work,\u201d and \u201cdiscipline\u201d. As he\u2019s leaving the training ground, the camera picks up Brady saying that he is \u201ca little worried about our head coach\u2019s work ethic\u201d. Questioning Rooney\u2019s dedication, a global sporting superstar as a player in his own right, and ultimately allowing that to be publicised in the documentary\u2019s final edit, is a telling decision. It undoubtedly reflects strongly on his emotional investment in the Birmingham project, but his indifference towards Rooney\u2019s prior achievements in assessing his character is unusual from a former athlete, particularly concerning someone as successful in their respective discipline. Rooney\u2019s representatives declined to comment when approached by The Athletic for this piece.<\/p>\n

Rooney was fired<\/a> after two wins from 15 matches, and Birmingham were relegated to League One, England\u2019s third tier, for the first time since 1994-95. Brady assumed responsibility as part of the ownership team regarding the \u201csweeping changes\u201d made early in their first season in charge, but suggested the bulk of the responsibility lies on the players, whom he described as lazy and entitled.<\/p>\n

He promised a \u201cwhole different environment when they step in the door for the competition next year\u201d, and episodes two, three, four and five detail their dominant run in League One, achieving promotion back to the Championship<\/a> with a record 111 points at the first time of asking.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Birmingham celebrate their promotion from League One (Nigel French\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The coach who led them there, Chris Davies, is much more to Brady\u2019s taste. Like Brady<\/a>, Davies has had to work hard for his opportunity in management. After being forced to retire as a player at 19 due to an arthritic condition in his foot, he spent 20 years learning and developing as a coach. He was an assistant to Brendan Rodgers and then Ange Postecoglou at Celtic and followed Postecoglou to Tottenham Hotspur in 2023 before earning the head coach\u2019s job at Birmingham ahead of the 2024-25 season, with Brady involved in the hiring process.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just everything I imagined he would be,\u201d Davies tells The Athletic of Brady. \u201cBut there were a lot more layers to him beyond the surface. He\u2019s got real insight and depth. He cares a lot and listens and tries to give helpful advice. I\u2019ve really enjoyed getting to know him and he\u2019s someone I\u2019ve listened to and spoke a lot to throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have him. Most people don\u2019t get the chance to speak to someone who has been that successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s apparent Brady and Davies see themselves in each other. When asked to describe Davies in one word, Birmingham\u2019s kitman (equipment manager) opted for \u2018intense\u2019. Davies used \u2018unrelenting\u2019 for Brady. They have a strong bond, and Brady keeps in regular phone contact with the head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have a great kindred spirit, in a way, with Chris,\u201d Brady said. \u201cHe was overlooked for a long time, and he had his own chip on his shoulder. He really was looking for the right opportunity to prove himself \u2014 and then he earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brady is \u2018unrelenting\u2019 according to Davies (Amazon)<\/p>\n

Brady\u2019s involvement appeared to escalate last season, with Davies describing him as \u201ca world-class consultant \u2014 one of the greatest athletes of all time \u2014 to speak to about situations that we\u2019re in\u201d. In one instance, Brady remarks on the junk food players are consuming after the game, suggesting it was like going back 25 years to when he was in high school. Alongside Alex Guerrero, Brady\u2019s \u201cbody coach\u201d who is also a shareholder and advisor on performance, nutrition and recovery at Birmingham, the pair are re-shaping the club\u2019s approach to conditioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cElectrolytes is a big thing. Drinking water is a big thing,\u201d Birmingham player Ethan Laird tells The Athletic. \u201cI like to annoy Alex, asking him lots of questions. He says water is 70 per cent of your muscles, so if you\u2019re not feeding them, they\u2019re going to be brittle and tear. I\u2019m a salt sweater, something that was identified in me, so I need to have a lot more electrolytes. The nutritionist gives me things full of salt and I even have salt tablets now. That has stepped up a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady won a Super Bowl aged 43, so few can question his knowledge concerning conditioning. However, England Women, who won the 2022 European Championship powered by post-match pizzas, might point out that soccer players typically cover around 10km in matches (according to the CIES Football Observatory), while NFL players usually clock around 2km. Therefore, their need to refuel on high-calorie, energy-dense foods for recovery is greater.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Brady\u2019s knowledge and expertise helped provide vital boosts throughout the season. During Davies\u2019 first poor stretch of results before Christmas 2024, Brady sent him a video of former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban reflecting on how he developed from being a \u201ctransformational\u201d leader rather than a \u201ctransactional\u201d one. Davies used it as inspiration for a team meeting ahead of a game, helping Birmingham emerge from that period as a stronger team unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was interesting to pick up on these things,\u201d says Davies. \u201c(Saban) is obviously not an ex-football player, as in our football, where we might know the same things and the same people. He\u2019s from the U.S. and a different sport. There are new things there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Davies gives his players a team-talk as they chase promotion (Amazon)<\/p>\n

If anything is apparent from the documentary, it\u2019s that Brady and Wagner\u2019s relentless attitude is pushing Birmingham forward from stasis.<\/p>\n

\u201cTommy Wagner has given us something that no person has ever given Birmingham City,\u201d says Paul Collins, a lifelong Birmingham fan. \u201cAnd that\u2019s belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

They spent heavily to bring Jay Stansfield back to St. Andrew\u2019s permanently after the forward had an impressive loan spell during their first season in charge. After scoring 19 goals in 37 league matches, he was selected as part of England\u2019s Under-21 European Championship-winning team this summer, where he played six times and started in the final. Having lost his father, Adam, to colon cancer when Stansfield was seven, the 22-year-old has had to overcome challenges of his own. He, as well as Laird, who came through the Manchester United academy, are the kind of young, hungry and ambitious players Birmingham are targeting and developing under Knighthead\u2019s and Brady\u2019s ownership and tutelage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Laird says on Brady\u2019s involvement. \u201cHe\u2019s the GOAT of NFL. When you have the best around, there\u2019s always something to learn. The way they walk. The way they talk. If you want to be the best, they are the things you observe and try to take in. He was a leader\u2014 the role of a quarterback is to be a leader and get the troops going. I see the way he speaks to people, and he chooses his words on purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not as if he thinks about it, it\u2019s just experience. He knows why he\u2019s saying certain words. I get a feeling like, \u2018No, he\u2019s invoked (a feeling) because of the words he\u2019s chosen\u2019. He knows how to get people going.\u201d<\/p>\n

British football supporters are cynical, and given Birmingham\u2019s decade-long stretch in the doldrums, few would excuse them for being tough to win over. But there\u2019s a buzz around St Andrews that has not been there in a long time, and having watched Brady, Wagner and Davies\u2019 relentless drive to bring success to the club, it\u2019s not hard to see why.<\/p>\n

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