(“Never mind Wazza, those yanks will soon pick up the scouse lingo!”)
I have not written a piece about Wayne Rooney for a while. This is not because there has been nothing to write about, there always is with him. Whether he is holding the club to ransom, condescendingly telling the fans he has nothing to prove or just plain playing badly, there is always something.
The problem is that it becomes boring after a while and loyal readers get fed up with articles about the same person.
However, it is about time to remind the world of his existence which, unfortunately, still lies with Manchester United.
If we go back to Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge, the very strong impression is that, had Fergie not retired, Wayne Rooney would be playing his football somewhere else by now. It appeared that the relationship between the two had broken down and this seemed to be confirmed when Ferguson told the watching world that Rooney had asked for a transfer, although this was later denied by Rooney himself.
He didn’t go as far as to say he wouldn’t move if he could, he just denied making the request. This was likely because of the fan’s reaction the last time he had agitated for a transfer, when they surrounded his house late at night in a foolish, but ultimately successful, attempt to scare him into staying.
Since those days Rooney has been rewarded for his treachery with a new contract and the captaincy! He has repaid Manchester United and the fans by being, consistently, the worst player over the last three seasons.
What is it with new managers thinking that players who have been at the club any length of time need to be shown loyalty and sympathy? Where is the “new broom” philosophy in football?
David Moyes instigated the new contract which saw Rooney pocketing far more than he was ever worth or will ever be worth.
Then along came Louis van Gaal who not only promoted him to captain but gave him special privileges as well! I don’t know exactly what special privileges you give to someone who is already the highest paid player at the club, gets a brand new, top of the range Chevrolet, probably every year and is also, for absolutely no reason that I can see, the captain of his country.
Now, however, it could be that the winds of change are about to blow their way down the corridors of Old Trafford. It looks likely that Jose Mourinho has seen through Wayne Rooney and his pretence at being good at football.
Although he is still the captain, he has been taken off penalty duty, probably because he misses more than he scores. He has been told he will not be played in different positions and the one which Jose reckons he’s best at has no vacancies. He is no longer as good a striker as some others at the club and he is certainly nowhere near as good a midfielder as others.
So Mourinho will quietly and professionally phase him out. He won’t disrespect him by just dropping him and making him train with the reserves, even though he would have my support if he did. No, he saves that kind of thing for the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has only been there five minutes.
He will pick him as long as it does not directly result in the team losing. That way, after a few more bad games he can legitimately leave him out with the fans blessings. Many supporters, myself included, would like him out of the team now, but that isn’t the way Jose will play it.
Ideally if an MLS club would come in and make an offer Rooney may be tempted to go. He has said that he likes the idea of playing in the USA and United fans also think it would be a good career move for him.
Merritt Paulson, owner of MLS club Portland Timbers thinks that it would be a good move for the MLS, not just Rooney. Here’s what he had to say according to Squawka.
However this tale pans out, the best outcome is one that sees Wayne Rooney playing elsewhere as soon as possible. With him out of the team there will be more balance and more pace and, consequently, more chance of winning things.
Out with the old and in with the new!