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| Wayne Rooney |
Let's start by discussing why Rooney may be considered world class. A superb record that displays his goalscoring prowess says a lot, but there's more to Rooney than that. He also boasts a superb assist record, hitting double figures for assists and goals in his last 5 seasons. He's a leader, one who at his best can grab games by the scruff of the neck and win them single-handedly. Not only is he a great scorer of goals, he's a scorer of great goals - think the overhead kick against Man City, the volley against Newcastle and even the free-kick against Arsenal at the age of 16. Even when Man United have struggled, like last year, Rooney's performances were a shining example. On-form, Rooney is a scary player to face, with pace, which is often very understated, power and impeccable technique. He may not be the exciting, raw 18 year old that he once was, but he's still a frightening player.
What I think is the problem with Rooney is that he was so good at such a young age, that because he's not Cristiano Ronaldo people think he's not very good. We play down his talents and feats because he hasn't progressed as much as we thought he might. You could argue that he peaked early - especially at international level, where he was absolutely scintillating at Euro 2004, but a damp squib at the recent World Cup. So what went wrong?
Rooney is plagued with inconsistency and cursed with being English. Inconsistency is understandable at a young age, so people didn't mention it so much, but at 28 those problems should have long gone. Quite why he cannot hit a consistent run for an extended period we may never know, but Rooney can be quiet for long periods of games or even seasons, but he will always score goals and make chances. That's what sets Rooney apart; against Estonia he was poor, the public opinion of him at an all-time low and a lot of pressure on his shoulders, yet he still scored the winner. Good players have bad games, great players have bad games, but great players will still contribute.
Being English and only playing in England may have hurt Rooney's career. Whilst he is a very physical player, he is extremely technically gifted, but maybe lacks the footballing intelligence to fully utilise his talent. In England, physicality is so important that we maybe don't look at the finer details. Had Rooney moved abroad, to Real or Barcelona at the age of 23/24, he may have become the player we all hoped he would. The European focus on intelligence, positioning and ball retention is extremely close and this would have helped Rooney massively. As it is, his awareness and movement have limited him a little bit, I feel.
Look at the successful English teams - all of them have players that have played large portions of their career abroad. Chelsea will walk this year's Premier League, as has been clear since the summer, and their team consists of 2 players who have played in England their whole life - Terry and Cahill. A spell abroad may have sanded off Rooney's rough edges and made him the complete forward.
Wayne Rooney is an enigma - on one hand, he is statistically brilliant, obviously talented and an icon, but on the other, he is inconsistent and when he should be at his peak, he appears to be dropping off, a worrying trend that he will no doubt stop now I've written this. Will he go down as a great? Maybe for Man United, but I'm not sure he will be remembered as fondly in the eyes of the England fans.
Article contributed by: Elliott Griffiths
Blog: Just Like Watching Brazil
Twitter: @ElliottBCFC
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