WAYNE Rooney has frustrated many a football fan in recent years, particularly those supporting the team he is playing against. However, this week provoked debate amongst even his own Manchester United fans as to whether he is doing all he can to lift himself out of the barren spell he finds himself in.
The Old Trafford faithful have adopted ‘The White Pele’ as one of their own, a far cry from one of their first glimpses of Rooney as a cocky Merseyside scally playing for Everton. Indeed, the Stretford End’s chants of “Have you ever had a salad? Have you f*ck!” provoked a then-tubby Rooney into hacking down young emerging talent Cristiano Ronaldo with such force you would think Ronaldo had hidden Rooney's Mars Bar. However, two years later, a chocolate-free Rooney was lining up with Ronaldo as the two looked to bring back glory to a Manchester United side in transition.
Seven years down the line, and recent comments to the media have surprised many, concerning his recent form and fitness. Rooney seemed to cast aside any arguments about his fitness of late, by stating his ‘troublesome’ ankle has been fine all season. This, despite the fact that both Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Mike Phelan (who must rival Ralph Milne as one of Ferguson’s worst signings) have openly indicated that Rooney has had a problem with it. Speaking after England’s qualifier against Montenegro, Rooney said: “I’ve had no ankle problem all season.” Of course, Rooney may well believe he is fit enough, and is simply taking some of the blame himself. Ferguson on the other hand, as the superb man-manager he always has been, is protecting his own player. Phelan on the other hand is simply doing a "Yes-Boss" job that would make Phil Neal proud, and Graham Taylor orange with rage.
With Ferguson claiming Rooney’s on-the-pitch problems have been physical, it’s more likely that Rooney is suffering from the same mental problems that have blighted his short career to date. Despite Rooney’s intimidating presence on the pitch, his high-tempered aggression, and his tremendous will to win, Rooney has had more than couple of notable bleak periods in his career, where goals have dried up and his usually-assured touch has eluded him.
Of course, much has been said about Rooney needing to mature, about his need to learn how to control both his aggression and also his instincts to track back. As a teenager, Rooney was arguably a more explosive player than he is now, being more prone to run at defenders, rather than his modern game which sees him looking more likely to create something from an exchange of passes or to deliver a deadly through ball. Even his aptitude for long-range shooting seems to have dwindled somewhat, much to the relief of goalkeepers.
However, as he approaches his 25th birthday this month, Rooney needs to focus on his game more than ever. He needs to cut out the media-work for a start, although rumours have it that sponsors have been less than impressed with his recent misdemeanours with women other than his wife, thus some of these decisions may be taken out of his 'busy' hands.
The awful Street Striker TV programme on Sky One, which Rooney attaches his less than glitzy name to, should be the next to go. With today’s modern innovative coaching techniques, it seems unlikely that monitoring a bunch of teenagers run around an industrial estate avoiding a bunch of dead cats, whilst attempting to chip the ball into a disused skip is not going to mould them into the new Lionel Messi.
If it’s not the off-the-field distractions, we must look on the pitch. Confidence can affect everyone, but Rooney seems to suffer most. Though for a player with his reputation, being a ‘confidence’ player is not acceptable. Indeed, an argument can be made that the best players have supreme confidence at all times – their confidence in their own ability overshadowing any distraction or factors that may try and lessen their performance.
His ex-team-mate Ronaldo for example, is as popular as George Best was for his celebrity status as much as his footballing competence. However, Ronaldo, despite his tendency to flop around the pitch with his arms flailing and deploying THAT facial expression, has a steely, unflappable confidence, which has helped him reach the highest levels of his capabilities. However, Rooney’s goal-droughts and losses of form are becoming much too common and are often unexplainable. Such inconsistency is threatening to affect Rooney’s status as one of the country’s finest ever players.
In Rooney’s defence, Ronaldo rarely suffered from injuries during his time at United, whereas Rooney unfortunately picked up impact knocks such as metatarsal injuries, which were beyond his control. However, it is the less obvious injuries that many have speculated that Rooney has been suffering from, which is the cause for debate. His manager Ferguson has tried to put a positive spin on the issue, claiming it is Rooney’s eagerness to play with injuries that can be his downfall. If this is the case, is it not up to Sir Alex to and his medical team to decide what is best for the team, the player, and the club in the long run? Ferguson it seems, may be giving Rooney more liberty than he has ever given one of his players since the Scot took the reins at Old Trafford.
Despite appearing to be a family man, who is perfectly happy living the rest of his life out in the North-West, Rooney has developed an ego in other areas, and somewhat of a superiority complex. His obvious frustrations with England’s performance in the World Cup led to an outburst on camera abusing England fans for booing the players. Sorry Wayne, but whether booing or not is particularly constructive, fans who travelled to South Africa had every right to express their own opinions on the England team after such an abject display. His outburst was almost definitely pre-meditated, meaning Rooney, in his own mind, believes he is justified in such actions, and that he can ‘do no wrong and basically ‘do as he wants’. It wouldn't have been too surprising if he'd blamed Steve McClaren. When his head goes in a match, he simply cannot mentally pick himself up again. It’s this maturity issue that is harming his game.
Rooney, like Fernando Torres in some aspects, is running out of excuses when it comes to explaining his own personal performances. Torres, in his defence, has had injury problems, though his attitude, particularly in body language, has been nothing short of childish over the last 18 months. Within just a few months of his arrival in the summer of 2007, neutrals marvelled at the skills and goal-scoring talents of the Spaniard – a foreign player taking wonderfully to the Premiership in a similar vein to Gianfranco Zola and Jurgen Klinsmann when they moved to Premiership football in the mid 1990’s. Now Torres has become a victim, or a parody if you will, of the egotistic ways of the Premiership, where money and big club aura’s rule, and lesser clubs and players are looked on in disdain by expensive big-club imports. However, this issue is for another day…
Rooney is at home to West Brom this weekend, and although now playing in a deeper role to last season, mainly due to the excellent form of Dimitar Berbatov this term, Rooney is still capable of a world-class display. As he proved last season when he hit a season’s best goal tally, and produced terrific form both in domestic and European competitions, Rooney is a world-beater on his day, and is arguably the striker most defenders in the Champions League fear most, such is the variety of his game combined with a fantastic work-ethic. However, he must achieve consistency quickly for his stock to rise again.
