Will Wayne Rooney’s be a Career Unfulfilled?

In recent years the tinkering has exacerbated.  Rooney has been shunted to either wing, he has filled a deeper lying midfield role, played as an authentic number 10, and occasionally filled his old main striking role.  Rooney undertakes any job with which he is tasked uncomplainingly – especially any move back into midfield – because of his desire to be at the centre of the action and to have the ball at his feet ball as often as possible.

That hunger for the game is an asset which, thankfully, hasn’t disappeared from the Scouser’s armoury.  Contrary to predictions though, the hoped for improvement to Rooney’s discipline has been a long time coming, and was achieved more through self-governance than any outside influence.

A costly sending off in Montenegro resulted in a two match suspension at this summer’s European Championships.  When he returned to the side – after an ill-thought out post-season break in Las Vegas – Rooney’s contribution was lamentable.  That the presence of the player who shone so brightly eight years previously could ever have a negative effect on a football team would once have been unthinkable.   Unfortunately, the 2012 chapter in his England career was by then all too familiar.

Ironically, Rooney’s halcyon tournament of 2004 came while he was still an Everton player.  At the 2006 World Cup injury and ill-discipline blighted the Manchester United man’s competition.  Four years on problems in his personal life were at their apogee and had a startling adverse on-field effect.  Rooney’s place as a certain selection for the boss of his national team has hitherto been sacrosanct.  For the first time since his 2003 introduction that status is under threat.

More worryingly for Rooney is that this situation is now replicated at his club – and the scrutiny afforded to his personal performances will only intensify if talk of Manchester United signing the brilliant Polish forward, Robert Lewandowski, from Borussia Dortmund proves to have some substance.

Already this season, a partnership with Robin Van Persie which had many predicting a monumentally prolific return – both in goals and in creativity – has underwhelmed.  The Dutchman has largely excelled in his new environment but Rooney has, despite no lack of application, been subdued.  There had been hints of a return to form after early season injury – susceptibility to assorted ailments is another increasingly worrying trait – in goal-scoring outings against Reading, Manchester City, and Sunderland.  Against United’s city rivals in particular, Rooney’s all-round contribution was exceptional.

Nevertheless, that brief renaissance ground to an abrupt halt with Rooney’s awful display at Swansea City.  All of the attributes readily associated with the player at his imperious best – touch, vision, quality of passing, and finishing – were, without exception, absent.  This wasn’t a one-off.  Too often in recent years, for both club and country, that type of performance has been a feature of Rooney’s football.

Van Persie has indubitably superseded his English team-mate as United’s first choice forward.  The playmaking position, for which so many people have long earmarked as ideal for Rooney, is destined to be filled by Shinji Kagawa – that likelihood becoming ever stronger should Lewandowski join his former Dortmund colleague at the Red Devils.  Equally, Ferguson will not employ Rooney at the expense of Tom Cleverley’s progress.  Nick Powell’s ability will quickly demand first-team involvement.

United currently luxuriate in the knowledge that their squad contains immense attacking artillery.  Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck are fighting for forward spots, while the excellent Antonio Valencia, and both Ashley Young and Nani are available to fill the wide berths.

Added to the problem of intense competition for his place in the team, Rooney’s relationship with Ferguson remains delicate as a consequence of his aborted September 2010 transfer request, which, most damagingly, saw him flirt with Manchester City.  After his aforementioned insipid contribution in South Wales on Sunday, Rooney openly contradicted his manager’s strange outlook on the ruckus between Ashley Williams and Van Persie.

His agitating at the time of his wish to leave Old Trafford is further evidence of Rooney’s insatiable appetite to drag everything he can from his time at the top of the game.  For the player, that may mean the garnering of all the medals that he can lay his hands on.  For any observers who want to watch football’s genuine stars, of which there are so few – that is why the names of Messi, Ronaldo, and Xavi resonate to such extreme levels – demonstrate their skills with a definite joie de vivre, the wish should be that Rooney can rediscover the swagger of his youth.

None of this is to say that Rooney has become a poor player.  In fact, he remains one of the finest in his country, and only last term scored 27 top-flight goals.  The lament is that everything in 2002 – and in Portugal two years on – pointed towards him being one of the greatest – anywhere, ever.  Once this season draws to a close there will be no distraction of a summer sojourn with England.  It may be the ideal time for Rooney to focus on whether, for his ingenuity to flourish again, he requires a fresh stage and a new challenge.

For more from me, head to my blog, or follow me on Twitter @McNamara_sport.

Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.