Three-quarters of England fans back Gareth Southgate’s decision to drop Wayne Rooney.
In an exclusive poll run for FourFourTwo by Forza Football, 75% of more than 1000 respondents who identify as England supporters said they too would have dropped Rooney for the game with Slovenia.
Having recently been dropped to the Manchester bench by manager Jose Mourinho, the erstwhile England captain had come under increased pressure for his position in the national side, with some fans booing him during Saturday's Wembley win over Malta.
Subsequently, interim manager Southgate announced that Rooney will indeed be a substitute for the Slovenia game - the first time that England’s record goalscorer has been dropped since 2004.
Rooney now faces a battle to get back into the England side, especially with his predecessor Alan Shearer strongly suggesting he retire from international football, but he will take heart that one in four fans would still pick him. That proportion may rise or fall over the course of the qualification campaign; we’ll keep you informed…
