By Tim Parsons
Birmingham City have sacked manager Gary Rowett after more than two years in charge of the Championship club.
The club have not given a reason for the sacking. Watford Gianfranco Zola will replace him.
Zola has managed both West Ham and Watford and has high aspirations on the national front when it comes to coaching.
Rowett’s sacking comes in the wake of owners Trillion Trophy Asia Limited making three new boardroom appointments on Monday. Existing directors of the Hong Kong based Birmingham international holdings Wenqing Zhao, Chun Kong Yiu and Zhu Kai, a have formed a new five-man board at St Andrew’s. This new formation was also done in partnership with other existing directors Pan likes Pavlakis and Victor Ma, promoted the move,
In an official statement, the club said “an immediate replacement” will be found to give the new manager time to prepare for the upcoming January transfer window and that funds will be available.
Former Italy and Chelsea forward Zola’s last managerial job was with Qatari side Al-Arabi, but the 50-year-old was sacked in June after just one season.
Gary Rowett’s sudden has angered some Birmingham fans, but the club said it was a genuinely sad decision they had to make. They acknowledged his contribution to the club, saying he had achieved a lot for the club but they needed to make changes to move the club forward The eye of media.com heard the move is part of a shake up, but no official misdemeanour is said to have occured to cause the sacking as a displinary measure of any kind.
In just over two years, Rowett took the squad to two top-half finishes in the Championship, and had them on the verge of the play-offs with the potential of money to spend in January.
Blues’ new Chinese owners, Trillion Trophy Asia, had previously appeared to be targeting stability and continuity. This decision suggests a greater degree of urgency, and, with it, a greater degree of risk.