Late on Tuesday evening Birmingham City confirmed that Gary Rowett has been appointed as interim manager for the remainder of the 2023/24 season. The decision was taken by Blues after it was confirmed that Tony Mowbray was to take a formal medical leave of absence until the start of pre-season 2024/25.

Rowett Gary
If you haven’t seen the official statement on the club website, click this link to view it.

The news was reported on Tuesday morning by both Neil Moxley and John Percy, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But the statement also stated that Mark Venus will be returning to the club at the same time as Mowbray, taking a leave of absence. In his six games as the team’s manager, Venus has guided Blues to a return of one point.

Rowett now has Maik Taylor coaching the goalie and Ashley Cole and Pete Shuttleworth coaching the first team.

To be clear from the outset, I do not personally approve of Rowett’s nomination as temporary manager, even though I acknowledge that it is necessary.

But putting my prejudice aside, Rowett is a wise decision.

He has not only managed and played for the team in the past, but he also has experience walking into challenging circumstances and making an effect right away.

The Blues were having trouble when Rowett took over in October 2014. The team just endured the humiliation of an 8-0 loss to Bournemouth at St Andrew’s, having barely survived the previous season’s “Miracle at the Macron.”

However, under Rowett, five games later.

Rowett Gary
If you haven’t seen the official statement on the club website, click this link to view it.

The news was reported on Tuesday morning by both Neil Moxley and John Percy, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But the statement also stated that Mark Venus will be returning to the club at the same time as Mowbray, taking a leave of absence. In his six games as the team’s manager, Venus has guided Blues to a return of one point.

Rowett now has Maik Taylor coaching the goalie and Ashley Cole and Pete Shuttleworth coaching the first team.

To be clear from the outset, I acknowledge that Rowett’s appointment is necessary.

Given the references to Rowett’s leadership acumen and expertise made by both Wagner and Cook in the club’s statement, it is evident that the board had become aware of this lack of leadership.

I’m not sure if Rowett will be able to bring in anyone else to help him for the next few months because his appointment does add another income to the equation at the club, which is still, in my opinion, very near to P&S boundaries.

Gary Rowett
Click this link to view the official statement that the club has made, if you haven’t already.

 

It’s not shocking news; Neil Moxley and John Percy both broke the story on Tuesday morning.

However, the announcement also mentioned that Mark Venus will be taking a leave of absence and returning to the club at the same time as Mowbray. Venus has led Blues to a one-point return in his six games as the team’s manager.

Maik Taylor is currently the goalie coach under Rowett, while Ashley Cole and Pete Shuttleworth are in charge of the first team.

I want to be clear that I accept the necessity of Rowett’s appointment right away.

Every time I’ve done it, it’s been out of a sense of obligation to make sure the work gets done and my coworkers are taken care of.

However, I’ve often discovered that it’s been challenging to make sure things have been completed correctly in those circumstances, and ultimately I’ve just extended the period of time I need to relax and regain my full health.

Because of this, I’m much glad that Mowbray can now focus just on improving himself and not worry about carrying the weight of the club.

As the club’s situation worsened, I can only image how much more stress it caused Mowbray, and I worry that he would have felt obligated.

Come summertime, I think it will be intriguing, assuming Rowett fulfils his obligations and maintains Blues in the Championship.

I’m sure that if Rowett is successful in any way, some supporters will feel he ought to be appointed to the position on a full-time basis, even if Mowbray is able to rejoin the team.

It’s been shocking to see how many admirers have taken to Rowett’s cause on the internet.

It’s evident that a lot of fans have been loyal to Rowett since that awful day in December 2016, and in some respects, this was the board’s main justification for choosing him—knowing that he would be welcomed by the majority of Blues supporters right away.

But I worry that temporary success shouldn’t be considered.