Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick ribbed his six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady on Sunday over Birmingham City’s relegation from the Championship into English football’s third tier.
Brady became a minority owner of Birmingham in August 2023 after entering into a partnership with the club’s owners, Knighthead Capital Management LLC, and become chairman of the advisory board at the club.
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Birmingham were relegated from the Championship on the final day of the season on Saturday after enduring a difficult campaign which saw the team employ three different managers, including former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.
Belichick wasted no time bringing this up at Sunday’s roast of Brady, a made-for-streaming live comedy event on Netflix.
“I see your soccer team, Birmingham City, got knocked down another tier in the English Football League,” Belichick said.
“For those not familiar with English football and the intricacies of their obscure relegation system, I’ll put it in English for you: they suck.
“Not so easy running a team, is it Tom?”
Birmingham enjoyed a promising start under John Eustace with five wins from their opening 11 games. However, the club opted to replace Eustace with Rooney, a decision that would prove disastrous and resulted in nine defeats in their next 15 games.
The club sacked Rooney in January with the club on the brink of the relegation zone, although his replacement, Tony Mowbray, was unable to keep the club up.
Birmingham will play in England’s third tier for the first time since 1995 next season. They were relegated alongside Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town.
