Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who was executive producer on Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues, says fans should not worry the Super Bowl winning quarterback laid into Wayne Rooney
Brady, 47, was filmed trying to school Rooney(Image: Getty Images)
The maker of Birmingham City’s new shock doc said ‘phenomenal’ NFL legend Tom Brady would question ‘anybody’s work ethic’ – let alone Wayne Rooney’s.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who was an executive producer on Prime Video’s Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues, said fans should not fret the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback had laid into one of England’s football heroes.
He said Brady was so driven that anyone who was not doing ‘absolutely everything they can’ 24/7 would have come into his firing line.
We told yesterday how the US star – known as the G.O.A.T or Greatest Of All Time – seemed unimpressed after watching one of Rooney’s team meetings and training sessions during his ill-fated 83-day stint as Birmingham City’s manager.
He seemed unimpressed after watching one of Rooney’s team meetings(Image: Getty Images)
Brady, 47, was filmed trying to school Rooney, telling him: “I treated practice like it was the Super Bowl. Every practice we’d do a two minute drill at the end of the game.
“I would throw a touchdown, at practice, and stand there being like,’f***, we won the game’ even though it was practice, you know?
“And then my team mates were like, ‘f***, that’s how we’re going to do it, this is real, make them earn everything’.”
After a pause Rooney replied: “But no, they’re a good group of lads to be fair.”
Shortly afterwards Brady told his business manager Ben Rawitz: “I’m a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic.”
Rawitz replied: “Comes across as lackadaisical.”
Angry fans sprang to Manchester United and England legend Rooney’s defence branding the quarterback ‘anti-Ted Lasso’ and suggesting he should ‘stay in his lane’ as he knew nothing about ‘soccer’.
But Steven suggested Wayne, who has not commented on Brady’s remarks, should not take it too personally.
He said: “I think Tom Brady would question anybody’s work ethic.
“It is so phenomenal. He just cannot bear to lose. It’s just not an option.
“And so anyone who isn’t doing absolutely everything they can every hour of the day to make success happen is not pulling their weight.
“So I did feel a bit for Wayne.”
Brady loves to win(Image: Getty Images)
Rooney, 39, was sacked after City managed just two wins in his 15 matches in charge.
The club was relegated to League One at the end of the season.
Rooney, who remains United’s record top goalscorer and England’s second highest, has bounced back by recently signing an £800,000 deal to be a BBC Match Of The Day pundit.
Steven said the five-part documentary told the story of Brady, who would ‘win and win and win’, taking over a team that ‘loses and draws’ and has ‘just a completely different culture and ethic.
It produced ‘fantastic moments in terms of entertainment’, he said, and would reassure fans of all clubs that ‘we’re all the same’.
“We all want the same thing for our club,” he said.
“We’re all unreasonable about our club.
“We all want us to win the Champions League. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Screenwriter Steven, 65, said the new Peaky Blinders film – which will be released ‘soon’ on Netflix – would also be ‘fantastic’.
“That’s not just my opinion but that’s also the Netflix opinion,” he said.
“It’s really good. I mean, it’s brilliant, and we’re really proud of it, and it’s tested really, really well, and we can’t wait for people to see it.”