Few players split opinion quite like Wayne Rooney at Manchester United and beyond.
In England’s recent World Cup qualifier against Malta, which was won 2-0, Rooney’s name was booed when the teams were announced ahead of kick-off. In their next game against Scotland, it was cheered. It’s confusing when you consider he’s the captain of his national team and its all-time top scorer – yet he’s also a shadow of his former self.
Manchester United fans are yet to boo him; on the contrary, he’s largely well received at Old Trafford. But it’s clear that large sections of the fanbase wish he’d been moved on some time ago.
Embrace the siege
If anything motivates United supporters to rally around one of their players, it’s when they’re in the firing line from the national press and rival fans
That’s not to say all he’s achieved for the club hasn’t been appreciated, or been forgotten. He isn’t the first player to contribute heavily to United’s success, only to reach a point where he’s no longer able to perform at the top level. Nor will he be the last. What’s rare, though, is for a player to perform as poorly as he has, for so long, and yet still be on the payroll.
United fans’ frustrations over the 31-year-old’s declining form aren’t helped by the memories of him wanting out in 2010 and 2013, only to be rewarded with a huge contract on both occasions. Incredibly his current deal doesn’t expire until 2019, despite having stopped being good enough to earn anything like his current salary – up to £300,000 per week – years ago.
Still, if anything motivates United supporters to rally around one of their players, it’s when one of them is in the firing line from the national press and rival fans. The siege mentality kicks in, and especially now: in us-against-the-world expert Jose Mourinho, the Reds have a manager who may even be capable of fostering it as well as Sir Alex Ferguson did.
Lesser of two evils?
BACK OF THE NET FA pretending that other people applied for England job
As has been well documented, Rooney got drunk in the England team hotel following the win over Scotland. He was up until 5am glugging red wine, as his stained lips in the photographs proved, having gatecrashed a wedding going on at the same venue.
No one could argue against the notion that Rooney behaved unprofessionally, but it’s hard to know whether his behaviour was out of the ordinary for professional footballers on a night off. Having been ruled out of England’s next game against Spain with a slight knee injury, meaning a whole week before his next match, Rooney’s big mistake was getting caught.
It’s somewhat cruel that Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 39th hat-trick for Real Madrid in the same week that Rooney had his “obituary” written in the press, according to the player himself in a statement he released on Saturday. When the pair were teenagers at United it was Rooney who had the greater potential to develop into a world-class player – but it really needn’t be said that Ronaldo’s career has vastly outshone his old team-mate’s. It’s hard to imagine the Real Madrid man ever getting plastered, let alone doing so mid-season at a team hotel.
And yet, while Rooney is worthy of criticism, the incident’s reporting has arguably been disproportionate to the crime. The man himself told reporters after United’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal that the way he had been treated was “disgraceful”, then released a statement which read: “Enough is enough. It feels as if the media are trying to write my obituary and I won’t let that happen. I love playing for my country and I am proud of my achievements to date – but I have not finished yet.”
It’s somewhat cruel that Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 39th hat-trick for Real Madrid in the same week that Rooney had his 'obituary' written in the press, according to the player himself
Since the pictures of Rooney were published, it’s been revealed that the rest of the squad went out that evening too, away from the team hotel. Jordan Henderson – who, unlike Rooney, knew he would be playing against Spain days later and would be wearing the captain’s armband – drove 100 miles to Bournemouth and back with Liverpool team-mate Adam Lallana. The two were reportedly at a strip club until 4.30am before returning to the team hotel, hours before they were training with the rest of the squad.
How extreme would the reaction have been had Rooney been the one getting lap dances hours before a training session, knowing he’d be captaining his country two days later? It’s easy to understand why he feels hard done by.
The upturn
Enough is enough. It feels as if the media are trying to write my obituary and I won’t let that happen
However, while Rooney might be incensed right now, he may look back on this moment positively – it’s got those fans who’d previously berated him standing up for their player. “Rooney’s on a bender, Rooney’s on a bender, na na na na!” rang around the Stretford End when he warmed up on the touchline for the Arsenal game, followed by “If Rooney scores, we’re on the p***!” from the East Stand’s singing section after his introduction with half an hour left.
There were also plenty of derisory chants about the national team too (“You can stick your f***ing England up your arse” and “World champions twice, once more than England, world champions twice” both did the rounds).
It’s not a new phenomenon: there’s no love lost between some sections of United’s support and their national team. The treatment of David Beckham following the World Cup in 1998 didn’t help, but the support he received from the fans over the following season certainly did no harm in helping him play a blinder as United won their unprecedented Treble.
Rooney won’t emulate the campaign that Beckham produced on the backdrop of England ignominy – the latter was only 23 post-France, after all – but it might still bring out the best in him. He played his best football in a long while against Arsenal, and while performing well for half an hour isn’t worth getting overexcited about, it showed Rooney wasn’t about to wither away in a difficult situation.
Besting Bobby
There are plenty of United fans who are dreading the moment that Rooney replaces Sir Bobby Charlton as the club’s all-time top scorer; the consolation he scored in the defeat against Fenerbahce earlier this month brought him to within two of the record that has stood since 1973.
Still, whatever the country might be saying about his drinking, United fans are largely on Rooney’s side. The player who has, increasingly scathingly, been referred to as a “scouser” more often than a “legend” by his own club’s supporters has got more people fighting his corner than he’s had for years.
It doesn’t mean those who want rid of him are now hoping he sees out his contract, but it would be the perfect time for Rooney to take advantage of this newfound goodwill and play well enough so that the Old Trafford faithful have no choice but to back him.
With time running out on his career (whatever Rooney may protest), the recent incident may be the best thing to happen to him in ages. United’s fans are onside again – for now, at least – and now may be the only time to repay them with some match-winning performances. That, however, might be easier said than done.
