SHAREWayne Rooney is finding less and less opportunities to play first team football for Manchester United but now that he has achieved his goal of becoming the club’s all time leading scorer, Craig Hoyland asks is it the perfect time for a return to Everton, the place where it all began?
Love him or not, theres no denying Wayne Rooney has had a glittering career. Five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, at club level, he’s won the lot and despite never winning an international tournament Rooney has still managed to achieve the accolade of being England’s top marksman netting 53 goals in 119 appearances. At 31, he probably has two or three seasons in him at the top level, so why are so many Evertonians not warming to the idea of a return to Goodison Park?
Once a blue, always a blue is maybe a good place to start. As a 16yr old Everton player, most fans of the club will vividly remember, Rooney famously lifting his shirt after scoring, to reveal the once a blue, always a blue message, then shortly afterwards making his big money move to Manchester. It was hardly a sideways step for him. Alex Ferguson & United offered the potential of winning trophies, playing in Europe’s most elite competitions & riches that Everton, as a club, could only dream of being able to deliver on.
It left a bitter taste in the mouths of most blues and for many, Rooney’s perceived lack of loyalty is still anything but water under the bridge, but does any of that really matter? Is it really that important? Surely all that matters is this question ; Would Rooney make Everton better and would he significantly improve their chances of winning? Forget what happened 15 years ago, forget that he left to win trophies, take away all the sentiment and ask yourself the question. The answer has to be yes. Even if you take away all the fluffy ideas about him being a shining example for the young players etc etc blah blah blah, just what he offers on the pitch alone is a good enough reason to bring Rooney back. Can anybody tell me that the thought of Rooney & Lukaku up top or Rooney playing off Lukaku doesn’t sound appealing? I understand people feeling betrayed after the shirt thing, I was one of them, I get it, but surely after 250 goals for United enough time has elapsed for us to put that one to bed, there’s very little loyalty in the game, players want trophies and money.
Rooney back in Blue for Duncan Ferguson’s testimonial.
I’ve heard it said that Rooney isn’t the player he once was and I agree, there is an element of truth in that statement but he’s still got it, he’s still scoring goals and he could be doing that for us. IF he wanted to come to us and IF Koeman wanted to bring him back, I feel the experience he brings with him, the ability that he still has and the goals he would score would be too good an opportunity to turn down. Would he come to us for a cut in his salary? Why not? Wherever he goes to, and it won’t be China, he’ll be earning less money than he currently earns so why not come back to the club he supports, the club where his career started, the club that he loves and spend his final two or three seasons helping us return to where we want to be, at the top of the league and winning trophies!
Written by Craig Holland, follow him on twitter @CraigHoyland1
Craig is also the founder of the superb Everton blog craighoyland1.wordpress.com
Anything to add? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Why not like our Facebook page?
While you’re at it, give us a follow on twitter @_ps_football
Follow us on instagram @ps_football
LIKE/FOLLOW
Leave a Reply