Wayne Rooney and His Hold Over English Football

[GOONER1991]

This is a subject that has been bothering me ever since the World Cup and is something that was widely discussed at the time. In light of him being announced as both Manchester United and England captain, I feel the need to ask the question - what the f**k is this hold that Wayne Rooney has over the game in England.

I feel that Sir Alex Ferguson started to see Wayne Rooney's decline in his final year, hence leaving him on the bench for much of that season, and allowing van Persie to become the main man, however Moyes in almost desperation handed him a massive new contract which means that now he holds the club to ransom. I believe that Rooney's £300k p/w deal is the most damaging feature of Moyes' legacy. He's now been priced out of a move anywhere else, and you simply cannot drop a player who earns that much money.

Hodgson simply has no bollocks. There is no way Rooney should have even been in the England team during the World Cup, let alone been handed the captaincy. It was the subject of much debate during the World Cup, and it seemed that the vast majority agreed that he should be benched, rather than shoe-horned into a team where there were simply better options in the positions that he wants to play in.

Now van Gaal has given the captaincy to Wayne Rooney now, and has given himself a problem. He's tried this 3-5-2 and it simply hasn't worked, and in buying Di Maria, he wants to make the transition to 4-3-3, but that would mean either dropping van Persie for Rooney as CF or playing Rooney permanently on the left, where he doesn't want to play. That or try and mould him into a midfielder, or drop their £37m January signing Juan Mata.

There's no doubt that on his day, and in the past, Rooney is/was a top class player. World class even. However, he doesn't show that on a consistent basis now. I can't help but think he's a cancer to both the England team and his Manchester United team, and simply cannot understand why he is allowed to continue to be given the biggest wages, and all the responsibility, when time and time again he fails to deliver - especially for England.

Am I being harsh on Rooney? Personally I think Cahill should have been given the captaincy. What do you guys think?

 

[Hunta]

Sturridge is a better ST and Barkley is a better AM, Rooney shouldn't start for England I agree.

 

[musicmonkey]

The captaincy has really just confounded how un-droppable he his because of his reputation.

I liked Hodgson when he initially came in as he pushed some more youngsters in and didn't feel forced to force in players like Lampard but he's become more and more conservative and safe in his decisions.

 

[McIntyre]

Makes me sick too.

Hodgson has now made him even more undroppable than he was before and his form and effectiveness are now even less relevant to whether he plays or not. :roll:

This is especially galling after the World Cup where, when Hodgson had the audacity to move Rooney out of position and England played better for it, all Rooney's champions especially in the media still weren't happy. They saw what they wanted to see, and it all revolved around how effective Rooney was, not how effective other players, or the team, were.

England actually played well in that match against Italy, going forward at least; and Sterling and Sturridge were obviously benefitting from being given a bit more freedom.

But, of course, golden boy Rooney wasn't happy and neither were the media. The fact that Rooney had the chance to salvage a draw for England against Italy, but missed an opportunity that a supposedly "world class" striker would have put away (as Balotelli and Suarez did), was gladly glossed over.

So for the game against Uruguay he was shoehorned back into the middle, up top, and England looked worse off for it. Sterling and Sturridge instantly became anonymous.

But at least golden boy managed to score a tap-in, his first goal in 3 World Cup campaigns.

A tap-in. Congratulations. That is the height of England's "star" player's contribution in 3 World Cups.

Yet, the bizarre decision is to then make him Captain. What a f**king joke!!! :x

Until England managers and the media get past this idea that England have "star" players, or "golden generations", who are undroppable then we will never see an effective England team again. :cry:

 

[a_fourteen]

Two words Paul Stretford

 

[Flow]

England is ****ed as long as you incompetent losers as Hodsgon and guys like Rooney as the captain.

Sturridge should be the striker, and Sterling and Walcott the wingers. Put promising youngsters at CM, **** the dissapointing oldies. The team should basically be just Liverpool + Arsenal.

 

[Rex Stone]

Wait till he gets that swagger back.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

£300K p/w.

 

[scytheavatar]

Sturridge is a better ST and Barkley is a better AM, Rooney shouldn't start for England I agree.

Sturridge being the better ST than Rooney is understandable (but debatable as Sturridge hasn't been that good for England), but you are crazy to think Barkley is the better AM. As for Utd I am not seeing how Rooney is worse than Van Persie, who are absolutely dog **** yesterday save that shot which drew a save. Rooney hasn't been great for both club and country for a while already, but blaming him for everything is like blaming Wilshere for why we aren't doing well so far this season. When it's not like he's anywhere close to the worst player in the team.

 

[Hunta]

Barkley is a better AM, has been for over a year now.

 

[Shakaking06]

Sturridge is a better ST and Barkley is a better AM, Rooney shouldn't start for England I agree.

Based on what, Chamberlain and Sterling look better than Walcott, but we know who puts the ball in the back of the net. I like Barkley and not really a fan of Rooney but this is such a baseless comment.

As to sturridge, I don't know how well he can work as a lone striker, he has pace, hunger, desire and quick feet as well as a nose for goal...But I want to say there is a reason Liverpool bought Balotelli instead of handing over the Reins to Sturridge(like Wenger with RVP when Adebayor left).

 

[Dokaka]

Sturridge is a better ST and Barkley is a better AM, Rooney shouldn't start for England I agree.

Based on what, Chamberlain and Sterling look better than Walcott, but we know who puts the ball in the back of the net. I like Barkley and not really a fan of Rooney but this is such a baseless comment.

As to sturridge, I don't know how well he can work as a lone striker, he has pace, hunger, desire and quick feet as well as a nose for goal...But I want to say there is a reason Liverpool bought Balotelli instead of handing over the Reins to Sturridge(like Wenger with RVP when Adebayor left).

They jumped on a bargain because their best goal scorer can do the job from the wing as well, says absolutely nothing about Sturridge's ability to lead the line. In fact, he lead the line quite often while Suarez was at the club.

They bought Balo because their backup to Sturridge was Lambert and Borini. It just so happens that Sturridge can play on the wing as well.

 

[The_Playmaker]

This is a subject that has been bothering me ever since the World Cup and is something that was widely discussed at the time. In light of him being announced as both Manchester United and England captain, I feel the need to ask the question - what the f**k is this hold that Wayne Rooney has over the game in England.

I feel that Sir Alex Ferguson started to see Wayne Rooney's decline in his final year, hence leaving him on the bench for much of that season, and allowing van Persie to become the main man, however Moyes in almost desperation handed him a massive new contract which means that now he holds the club to ransom. I believe that Rooney's £300k p/w deal is the most damaging feature of Moyes' legacy. He's now been priced out of a move anywhere else, and you simply cannot drop a player who earns that much money.

Hodgson simply has no bollocks. There is no way Rooney should have even been in the England team during the World Cup, let alone been handed the captaincy. It was the subject of much debate during the World Cup, and it seemed that the vast majority agreed that he should be benched, rather than shoe-horned into a team where there were simply better options in the positions that he wants to play in.

Now van Gaal has given the captaincy to Wayne Rooney now, and has given himself a problem. He's tried this 3-5-2 and it simply hasn't worked, and in buying Di Maria, he wants to make the transition to 4-3-3, but that would mean either dropping van Persie for Rooney as CF or playing Rooney permanently on the left, where he doesn't want to play. That or try and mould him into a midfielder, or drop their £37m January signing Juan Mata.

There's no doubt that on his day, and in the past, Rooney is/was a top class player. World class even. However, he doesn't show that on a consistent basis now. I can't help but think he's a cancer to both the England team and his Manchester United team, and simply cannot understand why he is allowed to continue to be given the biggest wages, and all the responsibility, when time and time again he fails to deliver - especially for England.

Am I being harsh on Rooney? Personally I think Cahill should have been given the captaincy. What do you guys think?

Great post. It isn't Rooney's fault though. It is the powers that be and clearly this has been a problem for years. Lineker got picked over Ian Wright when Wright had an amazing goal scoring season. Cole was barely given a chance as Shearer was the golden boy. Owen was played until he could no longer play. Gerrard and Lampard were at the heart of the midfield for years when it was clear that Gerrard was the far better player.

It is the reason Scholes retired years earlier than he should have. It is why now with a promising group of English players the same will happen all over again. Players should be picked on performance, but also on their potential contribution.

A prime example of this is the left back position. England before the world cup had Cole, Baines, Shaw, Rose and Gibbs available. The selection process should have been as follows:

Cole is the most experienced player, but he hasn't played much during the season. However, when called upon in major Champions League matches he didn't put a foot wrong. Therefore he should be on the plane to Brazil. You then have a choice between Shaw, Baines and Gibbs. First you take into account the league they play in. They are all based in England. Is the Premiership in anyway similar to international football. The answer is no. While playing at full back are you playing vs a top class winger week in week out or vs a top class opposing full back week in week out. The answer is no. So can your performances in the premiership give a false representation to how you would perform on the international world stage, ofcourse it can!

So how can you pick Baines and Shaw. Two players who haven't played Champions League football and have no played in matches where they are under any considerable pressure to perform. Yet at the same time, overlook Gibbs. A player who plays in a highly technical team. Has consistantly played in the Champions League and who also trains with Ox, Wilshere and Walcott everyday.

I don't believe Hodgson picks his squad. I think he is given a list of players who have to be in the squad and then he has a choice of the remains. Rooney will be on that list until he retires and it will be to the detriment of the nation.

 

[say yes]

Bit of a tangent but Rooney's 'decline' makes me sad.

A huge case of unfulfilled potential for me, particularly when you look at his performances in 2009/10 and 2011/12.

Rooney should have been one of the greatest strikers of all time, and at the very least the best in the world. Still a fantastic player, but when you think about what he could have been..

 

[ScotVieira]

I think there is a problem with English sports, especially football. That problem is mainly created by the media making the stars look and feel better than they really are. Rooney had enough in his locker to be a world leading striker but the hype and the stardom which greeted him too soon was always going to cripple him as he started believing himself to be better than he actually was.

I remember many of the sky sports pundits comparing Rooney with Cristiano Ronaldo. My friends and I could not stop laughing that Saturday afternoon. My only hope is that the same does not happen to Welbeck if they suddenly realize that he is very good. Rooney should not be the starting striker for England. Perhaps he should be playing in the hole behind the striker because he is a hard worker.

The Playmaker is right about the left back position for England. It was astonishing that Cole was not picked as Baines is defensively suspect but the manager was probably dancing to the media tune. The media/pundits basically pick the England team and they will continue to flop as long as that is the case.

 

[spartandre217]

Ive never quite understood the fascination with Baines at all

 

[mo50]

Baines was exposed for being a bang average player this WC. eEver have I seen a highly regarded player look so out of depth at that level.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

Baines was exposed for being a bang average player this WC. eEver have I seen a highly regarded player look so out of depth at that level.

He was horrible at the World Cup. There was a time where it looked like Gibbo was miles away from England's first team, but with Cole retiring and Baines looking shocking, it could well be him and Shaw battling it out for England's LB position.

 

[spartandre217]

That's because he's not actually that good. Never has been. Not because of a lack of ability but lack of development due to lack of exposure.

As for Rooney, I don't genuinely think he ever had the body type/genetics required to keep fit and firing for the majority of his career and didn't quite have the maniacal drive to get there. He'll kill himself on the pitch, and he'll work hard in training but the stuff outside of training, diet, rest, extra physical training? Don't get the impression that was his thing.

He's never been as good as the hype either. I know United fans and English players rated him incredibly highly but I always thought his production was more a result of the system he was in than his ability. Especially that big season a number of years ago.

 

[SiMamu]

Gibbs is England's best left back, it's just the media haven't picked up on it, so he doesn't have the hype surrounding him to get into the squad. Baines only has a better delivery than Gibbs. Shaw is just bigger than Gibbs and less injury prone.