Wayne Rooney has had a difficult start to life at St Andrew’s, but the performances of one man in particular will give the ex-Manchester United man hope that better results are on the way.
Jay Stansfield is on a scoring spree for Birmingham City, notching goals in their recent matches against Southampton and Ipswich Town. He has reached a total of five goals for the season, two of which came under the management of Wayne Rooney.
The Tiverton-born forward featured in Rooney’s initial two matches in charge, facing Middlesbrough and Hull City, but was then relegated to the bench for the Southampton game. However, his impact was immediate, scoring just one minute after being subbed on during the 3-1 defeat.
Rooney, the former England captain, was convinced by this performance and promptly reinstated Stansfield. The young player rewarded his manager with a 13th-minute goal in their most recent 2-2 draw against Ipswich, making it two goals in two games.
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Despite Birmingham City having not secured a victory under Rooney’s leadership, they are banking on Stansfield’s goal-scoring prowess to propel them up the league standings.
Since his loan move from Fulham in August, the former Exeter City player has been in fine form for Birmingham City. He made a dream start to his Midlands adventure by scoring a last-minute goal on his debut, securing a win against Plymouth Argyle, a moment undoubtedly cherished due to his Exeter ties.
His fortunes continued to shine as he netted his second goal in as many games in a 1-1 draw with Millwall the following week. Stansfield then made it three goals in four league games, finding the back of the net in Birmingham’s 2-1 loss to Preston North End, marking a sensational beginning to his loan spell with Fulham.
Despite enduring a goalless streak over the subsequent six league matches, Stansfield has surpassed his expected goal statistics, scoring five goals this season compared to an expected goal count of 2.15. He maintains an average of 2.3 shots per game, with 0.8 of those on target, and has a scoring frequency of once every 175 minutes. All five of his goals this season were scored from inside the box, with only one significant scoring chance missed.
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