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Will Wayne Rooney’s be a Career Unfulfilled?

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For a player who has amassed an enviable collection of silverware to date during his near eight-and-a-half year Manchester United career, it may seem incongruous to consider whether Wayne Rooney is failing to maximise the incredible potential he displayed when he so memorably burst onto the Premier League scene as a 16 year-old at Everton.

Rooney began to ebb into the national consciousness with a widely broadcast goal in an F.A. Youth Cup contest against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, before seemingly firmly nailing his colours to the Goodison Park mast when revealing the now infamous ‘Once a Blue, Always a Blue’ t-shirt upon scoring in the final of that competition against Aston Villa.

When he struck from 30 yards to beat a flailing David Seaman, and so combine the ending of a 30 match run without defeat for Arsenal with the anointing of a new English football sensation, there appeared no boundaries to what Rooney could achieve.  Within 15 days he was slaloming through a stellar Leeds United defence and scoring a goal which was treasured even more fondly by Evertonians, ending as it did 51 years without the Merseysiders tasting victory in the league at Elland Road.

The joy and freedom Rooney readily expressed in his game resulted in him becoming a player who excited his clubs supporters more than any other in a generation.  The anticipation every time the youngster received possession was palpable and the portents were that he would be at the very core of an Everton revival under David Moyes.

There was one period in particular when Rooney was simply unplayable.  In the December of his first season – 2002/2003 – consecutive home performances against Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers were of a standard that could rarely have been reached by any individual on a football pitch.  That includes Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Pele et al.  Rooney was that good.

It was never to be so magical again at Goodison for the boy from Croxteth.  His second full season was Everton’s most miserable of the Moyes reign and, amid increasing acrimony between player and manager, speculation over the teenager’s future gathered with unseemly haste.  That was exacerbated by a virtuoso showing from the then 18 year-old at the European Championship of 2004.  After scoring four times during the group stage, Rooney’s early withdrawal through injury was widely considered to be a major factor in his team’s quarter-final defeat by Portugal.

Suddenly Rooney was the property of the nation.  Most tellingly his name sold newspapers, and the rumour-mongers filed daily copy concerning the future of unarguably the greatest talent produced on these shores since Paul Gascoigne.  Troublingly for Everton, a perception was building that for Rooney to best express his gifts he needed to be playing at an elite club, under the guidance of an experienced boss who could smooth the rough edges around the player’s combustible temperament.

It was deemed the perfect move then, by all bar Evertonians who felt horribly betrayed, when the player switched to Old Trafford and a calming mentor in Sir Alex Ferguson.  A debut hat-trick in a Champions League fixture against Fenerbahce came as little surprise from a man who kept surpassing even the loftiest of expectations by way of his fearlessness, exuberance, and sheer quality.

Rooney’s spell at Manchester United is well documented.  The lifting of four Premier League titles, a Champions League, two League Cups, two PFA Young Player of the Year awards, and the 2010 Players’ Player of the Year crown, would, for even most of the sport’s finest individuals, represent a magnificent trophy haul.  Indeed, it exhibits an excellent achievement for a man who is still only 27.

For all those present during Rooney’s nascent career however, there is the nagging thought that he hasn’t developed to the extent of which he was undoubtedly capable.  His was a unique ability, one to which we bear witness in this country all too rarely.  When on top of his game, Rooney was – and on occasion still is – compelling viewing.  He had the confidence to display the full range of his remarkable skill-set and, most notably, shared the ability possessed by Maradona, of the sheer force to galvanise his side to victory against any opposition.

One clear reason for a slowing of the once unerring upward trajectory in Rooney’s progress has been a trend by both Ferguson, and myriad international managers to meddle with his position in their starting elevens.  Such is his array of gifts that it has been difficult for these men to resist employing Rooney in a deeper lying role, in an attempt to maximise his time on the ball and therefore his ability to influence matters.  Almost as soon as he had made his initial impact at Everton, and then produced a mesmerising display on full debut for his national team in a European Championship qualifier against Turkey, various sages were offering their differing opinions on how to draw the most from Rooney’s talent.

The answer, of course, was to let him play – to do what he was already doing.  Rooney’s early potential had been showcased with him operating as a striker.  Any opposing manager would have been delighted at the idea that they wouldn’t face the prospect of attempting to quell the threat of the game’s most precocious attacker with him deployed on the shoulder of their last defender.

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  • Roger says:

    Rubbish, over rated, over hyped English player who’s minimal ball skills are apparent when he comes up against the elite in Europe. No dribbling skills, and rely’s on strength and a very good work rate, but that does NOT make you a great player. To me Rooney is a very above average English player, and a average player if being compared to the elite players of Europe and beyond…. Simples.

  • Daithi says:

    I totally agree with the final line…’for his ingenuity to flourish again, he (Rooney) requires a fresh stage and a new challenge’ – his influence in games lately has been very low-key – and perhaps Real Madrid is that place?
    It would be no coincidence if that happened
    and Ronaldo made the return journey and should Lewandowski also arrive, Rooney would soon be forgotten!
    I have no idea if any of that triangle of circumstances will come true but I would not be surprised for Sir Alex openly admits that the return of CR7 would excite him and would put the icing on the cake for his final year or so as United manager. The added inclusion of a prolific striker in Lewandowski would ensure United stayed at the top for many more years to come.

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