After being suspended for England’s first two group matches of the European Championship, Wayne Rooney is now back and available for action.
Rooney who got a needless red card against Montenegro in England’s last qualifier before the tournament is now set to start against co-host Ukraine on Tuesday (19th), so what can we expect Rooney to bring?
Rooney has shown his class all season getting on the score sheet on 27 occasions and the English fans will be hoping that he can finally carry his club form to his country.
And Rooney’s arrival can surely only be seen as good news, with his presence giving Hodgson’s side, fresh attacking vitality, mobility and a player that can match the momentum of any game and play to it. Not to mention his threat in front of goal.
Not only will he add to England’s attacking front, his arrival could even change the whole dynamics of the team, with Theo Walcott having an instant impact against Sweden, if fit, he may get the go ahead instead of James Milner and we could see England shift to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, there are a few fans out there that aren’t too happy with Rooney walking right back into the team, many of these not being his biggest fans.
But there are always fears whether the striker will turn up to the big occasions. Rooney hasn’t had a very impressive time for the Three Lions since his debut tournament in 2004. With him seeing red in 2006 and where, of course, we lost another penalty shootout to the Portuguese. And then most recently in the 2010 World Cup, Rooney again had a torrid time and is remembered most for his on camera actions towards the fans after that dreadful goalless draw against Algeria.
Groups of fans also have shown their concerns on who will make way for Rooney. England showed real determination and desire to win against Sweden with team-mate Danny Welbeck and Liverpool’s Andy Carroll both having impressive games and getting on the score sheet in the process, and has resulted with many fans displeasure that Hodgson is changing a winning formula.
Although looking at the game, yes England won but it was far from convincing and having a player with Rooney’s calibre coming in can only be a blessing and could potentially be the all important difference.
Rooney is easily England’s best player and will give something extra to the team, especially if they are to play in a similar style to that against France should they progress out of the group stage.
And all of England will be hoping that the striker will make up for lost time with a strong performance on Tuesday.
Twitter: @tom_veitch
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