Mark Langdon: The temptation of something new is difficult to resist

My first thought when Wayne Rooney was announced as Birmingham's new manager this week was to head straight to the fixture list to see when Blues would be facing Jamie Vardy's Leicester - December 16 in case you were also wondering when we will get the latest episode from the Wagatha Christie soap opera.

The next thought was for the sacked John Eustace, who had done a thoroughly decent job. Blues are up in sixth spot in the Championship and their fans seemed genuinely happy with how the season had started following years of off-field issues with their new owners bringing only positive vibes, as well as NFL legend Tom Brady, to St Andrew's. 

"It is essential that the board of directors and the football management are fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition across the entire football club," read a Birmingham statement and Sky Sports reported director of football Craig Gardner played a role in the decision as Birmingham seek a more "attacking brand of football".

It sounds much like a friend of mine who is single and blames many of his dating woes on Tinder, where the temptation to look for something even slightly better always trumps current relationships. The adage about being careful what you wish for is quickly forgotten and a frantic session of swiping right is the lifestyle equivalent of the classic football manager cliche of Charlton getting rid of Alan Curbishley.

The opposite of sacking Curbs is Southampton rolling the Nigel Adkins dice and coming up with Mauricio Pochettino, and it's impossible to know which end of the scale Birmingham and Rooney will end up. 

However, the danger of hiring a big-name manager for a club like City is that if the gamble goes badly they will have gone backwards significantly, whereas the former England and Manchester United star might only need do a half-decent job - a la Frank Lampard at Derby - before better opportunities arise.

Birmingham's desire for a more attractive style of play also sent me down the path of looking at David Moyes, the man who gave 16-year-old Rooney his debut when he was Everton manager and who, on the face of it, is doing a fine job at West Ham. 

The Hammers, unbeaten in 17 European matches, are still basking in the Europa Conference success of last season and they sit seventh in the Premier League this term despite a difficult set of early fixtures. Their only losses this season have come against Manchester City and Liverpool.

What more could West Ham fans possibly want, particularly after losing Declan Rice in the summer?

The ones I know want to see more of their players on the ball. Only Luton have had less possession than West Ham in the Premier League this season and they had a total of five shots in last week's 2-2 home draw against Newcastle, when they secured a point thanks to a late strike from substitute Mohammed Kudus.

According to website FBref.com only Sheffield United and Luton have had fewer touches than West Ham and only those two promoted clubs plus struggling Bournemouth have attempted more short passes of between five to 15 yards, while the Hammers are also in the bottom three for passes (attempted and completed) in the middle category of 15 to 30 yards.

Could a team with Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and the superb Lucas Paqueta be capable of similar, or even better results but with more of the ball? 

The owners seem happy enough so don't expect West Ham to swipe right any time soon - unless it's a long diagonal out to Bowen on a counter-attack - but the lure of something new will always feel as exciting as a James Ward-Prowse set-piece to some fans. 

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