SHARE
Wayne Rooney’s recent comments, about how Man United’s signings over the last couple of years have allowed the standards set during the Ferguson era to slip, have caused a huge amount of controversy. Many United fans have vented their frustrations regarding his comments on social media, pointing out that nobody at Old Trafford allowed their standards to dropped more in recent years than Rooney himself.
Regardless of where you stand in this debate, one thing is very clear; we really shouldn’t be surprised. If you look back over Rooney’s career, you will clearly see that according to Wayne, nothing is ever actually his fault.
When Rooney left Everton to chase trophies at Man United, it was David Moyes fault for being overbearing and controlling. He even blamed Moyes in his autobiography for leaking stories of his visits to ageing prostitutes to the press.
When Rooney was sent off in the quarter final of World Cup 2006, which cost England any realistic chance of progression, it wasn’t Wazza’s fault you see, it was Ronaldo’s for highlighting his offence to the referee.
In 2010 when he flirted with a move to Man City, before performing a U-turn and signing a new improved contract at United, it was the club’s fault for not signing good enough players to remain competitive.
His poor showing at the 2010 World Cup, well that was the fault of England’s booing fans and Fabio Capello’s rigid methods.
Then in the summer of 2016 when he captained England to their most humiliating major tournament exit ever, he blamed Roy Hodgson for making wholesale changes for the last group game against Slovakia.
I’m sure your seeing a picture emerging at this stage, but lastly let’s look at his problems at United over the last 5 or so years.
When Fergie originally tried Rooney as a midfielder away to Stoke, Rooney took to twitter straight away to pronounce how much he loved his new midfield role. Then of course came his falling out with the manager and when David Moyes arrived, Rooney announced that he wanted to move to Chelsea as he was really a striker and didn’t want to play in midfield anymore.
After another new and improved contract with United and Moyes’ departure, he began playing in midfield again and talked of that being a natural progression for him with club and country, as he moved into the latter part of his career.
Of course it wasn’t long until he announced, at the start of the 2015/2016 season, that he saw himself as a striker again, and he proclaimed that he would get United 20 goals. He scored 8 goals that season with his performances up top being of such a stinking standard that Louis Van Gaal dropped him back into midfield again.
Basically whenever Rooney has been poor over the last few years he starts to complain to his friends in the media, making clear that it’s because he’s being played out of position. But once he moves to whatever position he has been angling to play in, he’s woeful and then wants to move back to the previous position. Trying to keep up with the whole charade is enough to make you dizzy.
With all the negative press over the last couple of years it’s important to remind ourselves that when Rooney broke on to the scene as a teenager, he was probably one of the most exciting young talents the game has ever seen. There is absolutely no denying Rooney’s record breaking achievements with United, nor his commitment and will to win on the pitch.
However, I think it’s more than fair to ask if Rooney actually made enough sacrifices in terms of lifestyle off the pitch in order to prolong his ability on it.
He looked physically incapable of playing at the highest level last season. There’s an argument that he only looks so washed up at 31 because he began playing at 16 but that just doesn’t really wash when you consider his ex-team mate, Ryan Giggs, began at a similar age and he played until he was 40.
Ok, so maybe Giggs was a freak, but it’s also worth remembering that Rooney is actually older than Ronaldo and just look at what his dedication to his craft has resulted in, in terms of current form and fitness. It’s also worth considering that 4 of the 5 members of Juventus’ 2017 Champions League Final defence were older than Rooney and the only one that is younger, Leonardo Bonucci, is only a few months his junior.
With this in mind coupled with the memories of the lethargic performances that Rooney served up last season, where he looked like a player closer to 40 rather than 30 years of age, it’s easy to argue that perhaps Wayne hasn’t done everything he could to maintain peak physical condition.
No matter what side of the fence you sit on, with regard to whether or not Rooney is a good signing for Everton, one thing that is crystal clear, if his much publicised return to Goodison Park doesn’t work out, it won’t be Wayne’s fault.
Anything to add? Feel free to leave a comment below.
You can like/follow us on social media using the links below.
Facebook , psfootball
Twitter @_ps_football
Instagram @psfutball
LIKE/FOLLOW
Leave a Reply