Wayne’s goal was simply Roomarkable

WAYNE ROONEY’S sensational 60-yard goal against West Ham was the best of its type I’ve ever seen.

For technique, it surpassed David Beckham’s from inside his own half for Manchester United in 1996, Charlie Adam’s long-range equaliser for Stoke at Chelsea and Xabi Alonso’s against Newcastle for Liverpool.

Rooney has scored some special goals, notably a worldclass overhead kick winner in the Manchester derby and his winner as a 16-year-old against Arsenal.

But his sense of occasion has not deserted him – with new Everton boss Sam Allardyce looking on in the stands, he completed his hat-trick with an outrageous piece of skill and opportunism.

Let me tell you, as an ex-professional, how much technique went into Rooney’s third goal (above). To hit that ball first time, as it bobbled towards him, as flat as a golfer punching his tee shot beneath the wind, was incredible.

It was one of the greatest goals ever at Goodison Park.

And Rooney proved that when he plays in a position where he can dictate the pace of a game, he is far from finished.

GOOD luck to Alan Pardew as he takes charge of West Brom – but he won’t expect a honeymoon period as his old club Crystal Palace are first up at the Hawthorns today.

I still think sacked boss Tony Pulis would have guided Albion to safety, but some of the fans wanted to see more flair and

Pardew may well deliver it. Whether or not it will win them more matches is a different question.

Ultimately, Pardew (right) will be judged on results.

Pulis won only seven Premier League matches in the calendar year 2017 before he was sacked. Pardew won just six in 2016 before he was fired by Palace last December. Much as I like both managers as people, Pardew for Pulis was not an obvious swap. ONE point, and a solitary goal, from his first three games at West Ham has given new boss David Moyes only a slender basis for recovery.

West Ham’s next three games are against Manchester City tomorrow, Chelsea next Saturday, and Arsenal the following Wednesday – horrendously difficult matches on paper. There must be a real danger that West Ham will reach Christmas anchored in the bottom three, and who’s going to score the goals which lift them to safety? Andy Carroll is struggling, Andre Ayew has scored only twice in the Premier League this season, Diafra Sakho is not a regular starter, and Javier Hernandez can’t come back from injury soon enough.

Looks like it’s going to be a long old winter in the east end of London.

But he knows he cannot afford to trail old rival Pep Guardiola by more than 10 points when the Manchester derby comes round next week.

The next two games are massive for Mourinho if he is to have any chance of catching Manchester City.

Lose at the Emirates, where Arsenal have won their last 12 in a row in the league, and United will probably be 11 points adrift when the neighbours come to Old Trafford. Last week I said we should hand the title to City now because they won’t be caught – but Mourinho won’t see it that way. Where Guardiola is sweeping towards the title playing fantasy football, the Reds boss will be plotting a course to the top – where he can chip away at City’s lead, how he can make them nervous, where he can score points and strike fear into them.

But now he has Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic back, Mourinho can’t go to Arsenal and grind out a goalless draw as he did at Liverpool.

If he wants to catch City, he must today put away Arsene Wenger –