Wayne Rooney Fired as Plymouth Coach with Team Last in Championship

Then DC United head coach Wayne Rooney walks off the field after the team's MLS soccer match against Inter Miami, July 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
Then DC United head coach Wayne Rooney walks off the field after the team's MLS soccer match against Inter Miami, July 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
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Wayne Rooney Fired as Plymouth Coach with Team Last in Championship

Then DC United head coach Wayne Rooney walks off the field after the team's MLS soccer match against Inter Miami, July 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
Then DC United head coach Wayne Rooney walks off the field after the team's MLS soccer match against Inter Miami, July 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP)

Wayne Rooney was fired as Plymouth Argyle coach on Tuesday after just seven months in charge of the struggling Championship team.

The 39-year-old former England and Manchester United striker was hired in May and departs with Plymouth last in the English second tier with four wins in 23 games this season.

His final game was a 2-0 loss to Oxford United on Sunday which extended Argyle's winless run to nine games.

“Plymouth Argyle can confirm that the club and head coach Wayne Rooney have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement. “We would like to thank Wayne and his team for all their efforts and wish them well for the future.”

Rooney took charge at Plymouth following an 83-day tenure at Birmingham, which was relegated from the Championship after last season. He’s also been the coach at MLS team DC United and Derby County.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of Plymouth,” Rooney said in the club statement. “Thanks also to all the staff who made me feel welcome and who make the club such a special place, the players and fans for their efforts and support during my time as head coach and I wish them all the best for the future.”

The 38-year-old Rooney enjoyed a decorated career, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League. He is England’s most capped outfield player of all time after making 120 appearances.

Assistant Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards will lead Plymouth for Wednesday’s Championship match against Bristol City, the club said.



PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

January could be a crucial month in determining Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique's future at the club.
While runaway league leader PSG is unbeaten in domestic competition heading into Sunday's Trophée des Champions (the French super cup) against Monaco, it is a far different story in the Champions League.
Three defeats in the new-look group format have left PSG in a perilous position, and the ambitious Qatari-backed club faces the threat of elimination.
With only two games remaining PSG is in a dismal 25th place out of 36 teams, with the bottom 12 all going out.
PSG next faces 2023 champion Manchester City at home on Jan. 22 before traveling to play German club Stuttgart the following week.
Those would already be tough games, but they are made even more difficult given the fact that City and Stuttgart are similarly in danger and need victories. City is one point ahead of PSG with eight points and Stuttgart is level on seven.
Stuttgart's penultimate game is against Slovan Bratislava — which has lost all six matches so far and conceded 21 goals — and so victory there would put it ahead of PSG going into the final round, if Enrique's side fails to beat City.
City is struggling to defend its Premier League title and European success could prove coach Pep Guardiola's salvation, so the PSG game is massive for the club.
Defeat may prove costly for Enrique, who is PSG's eighth manager since Qatari investors QSI bought the club in 2011. In that time, Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach not to be sacked, leaving for Real Madrid in 2013.
The hire-and-fire approach is unlikely to spare Enrique if he suffers the crushing humiliation of being knocked out of the new giant group-stage format of the Champions League — where eight sides qualify directly and 16 reach the knockout phase playoffs.
Modest Lille and tournament newcomers Brest are both in the top eight while 2004 runner-up Monaco is 16th, leaving PSG last among the French clubs.
Whatever PSG achieves in France — with the Ligue 1 and French Cup double a possibility — Enrique will be judged on what happens in Europe's elite competition.