Garry Monk was sacked by Birmingham City over his attempt to use a single agent in transfer deals and his refusal to adapt the team’s style of play, according to the club’s chief executive.
The former Swansea City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough manager was dismissed suddenly after 16 months at Birmingham yesterday despite his success in keeping the club in the Championship in the face of a transfer embargo and the deduction of nine points by the EFL for breaching FFP regulations.
In an explosive interview with The Times the Birmingham chief executive Xuandong Ren details a series of rows behind the scenes at St Andrew’s, which culminated in Monk’s sacking. Ren claims that the club’s relationship with the manager changed after their transfer embargo was lifted by the EFL in March, after which it is alleged that Monk increasingly attempted to use the same agent — James Featherstone of Omnisports — in potential deals. Acting on instructions from the club’s owners, Hong Kong-based company Trillion Trophy Asia, Ren says he objected to this leading to numerous disagreements with Monk, which he claims led to the collapse of their working relationship.
“We gave Garry everything he wanted,” Ren said. “There was only one thing that triggered this. I made it clear that we did not want his agent involved in every single deal. I’m not 100 per cent sure he was trying to get fired, but I know he didn’t really care about this job.
“Everything changed when the transfer embargo was lifted. Garry wanted his agent involved in every single deal, which is not something we were comfortable with. We’re not naive, we know the way football works, but it’s not the way we wanted to operate. I actually get on very well with his agent, James Featherstone, who is a very professional and mature guy, but the club didn’t want him involved in every deal.”
A source close to Monk dismissed the allegations, and pointed out that Featherstone was already being used in transfer negotiations by Birmingham under previous manager Gary Rowett. They also suggested that Ren’s comments were designed to explain the surprise sacking of Monk that has been badly received by many Birmingham fans.
Ren also cast doubt on Monk’s commitment to Birmingham. As part of his severance package Birmingham have agreed to pay the final 12 months of his contract. This is the second time in 18 months that Monk has left a Championship club amid acrimony, with Middlesbrough launching legal action against his coaching staff at Birmingham last year after they all joined him at St Andrew’s just months after being dismissed in the North East.
After the agent rows Ren claims that matters were brought to a head at the end of last season when he passed on a request from the owners for a change in the team’s playing style, to which Monk objected. In an indication of the broken relationship Ren claims that Monk held only one meeting with Birmingham after the end of last season despite it being apparent that they had a number of important issues to resolve.
“Garry was told the owner wanted a change of style, to see Birmingham play more possession football,” Ren said. “Garry said, ‘No chance, I cannot do it. If you want that get someone else.’
“When I heard that I was very angry. I was not giving him an order. Is the owner not allowed an opinion. I was thinking, ‘is this because I stopped him getting his agent involved? ’
“We wanted to sit down and talk to him about the season, but he went on holiday straight away. We last met on May 18, when he spent three or four days in Birmingham after coming back from Ibiza, and then went on another holiday.
“We only met once after the season finished. Last week there were stories [in the media] that Garry would be leaving, but he did not even call. He didn’t care.
“Maybe the problem is Garry? He has never managed a football club longer than two seasons. Every time he gets sacked he gets richer. He was sacked by Middlesbrough, won his case and got compensation. Football management is crazy. Every time you get sacked you get richer.”
Ren also responded to criticisms over the club’s decision to suspend under-23 coach Richard Beale after he opted to honour an existing commitment to attend a charity game rather than his side’s Premier League Two play-off final against Leeds last month. Birmingham lost the play-off on penalties after a goalless draw at Elland Road, with Ren furious that Beale did not attend and that Monk or other senior colleagues did not offer to take his place.
“It was a good cause, but the players had worked their socks off to reach the final,” Ren said. “You have to make a choice. The players went to Leeds without a coach. They lost. Only Paul Robinson was there. The players and parents were so let down.
“Garry could have gone to the game to help out. If he felt so strongly about it he could have taken the team. They all went to the charity to play five-a-side- football for their own image. It was unbelievable. Imagine if we reached the play-off final and I told my boss I couldn’t go. I would be fired immediately.”
A spokesman for Monk declined to comment.
