WAYNE’S SOON BACK IN THE OLD ROOTINE
HE WAS everywhere. Outside the stadium, they sold T-shirts to mark the occasion. In the programme, there were 13 separate images of him, not to mention a five - page interview.
The story of Wayne Rooney’s return to Everton demanded he be the centre of attention on his second first day but, for all those photographs and the paraphernalia, romance can only last so long. This, Rooney knew, was one of the most important days of his career.
‘There is a lot of expectation,’ Rooney acknowledged. ‘ I knew when I came back, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. There are still some fans who maybe thought that I wasn’t good enough to come back here.
‘I could have gone to another Premier League team and taken my foot off the gas and seen the last few years out. But coming back here? I’ve got to be the best I can. This is the club I grew up supporting, it’s the club I want to play for. I want to do well. But it’s up to me to prove myself.’
And prove himself he did. Nobody should think Everton have signed a player to tear defences apart and step into the shoes of Romelu Lukaku. Nobody should think, however, that Ronald Koeman has bought a car that no longer has an engine.
‘ Football fans aren’t silly,’ Rooney said. ‘ Everyone knows I’m not the explosive player who was here when I was 16 to 18. I think I’m a lot cleverer than I was back then. My game has changed. Hopefully the change in my game can help the team.’
If he was everywhere off the pitch, he was everywhere on it, too. His afternoon against Stoke started when bumping fists with Sandro Ramirez after 10 seconds to offer encouragement and continued in a similar vein, leading by example.
Whether it was in the 10th minute, when he made two headers in quick succession to clear corners, the 29th minute when luring Joe Allen into making a desperate foul or in the 92nd minute when he ploughed into Darren Fletcher and made a critical tackle, Rooney’s presence was constant.
‘He could have gone to a league where he could have played in second gear but you can’t do that in the Premier League,’ Fletcher noted after dusting himself down.
At 31, Rooney, it should be noted, covered 6.8miles, a distance that only Morgan Schneiderlin on Everton’s team surpassed. The most crucial statistic, though, was the goal. It was a fabulous one that enlivened a game that had been devoid of rhythm, stretching his neck and burying Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s perfect cross with a bullet header.
He will score more goals for Everton, that is for sure, but it is everything else he provides that is just as important. This was a point that Ronald Koeman wanted to make. ‘We did not sign Wayne because he will score 25 goals a season,’ he said.
‘He will bring experience, a winning mentality and cleverness to the team. Every time he had possession, it was the right decision and the right choice.’ SUPER STAT: No player has scored more Premier League goals on the opening weekend than Wayne Rooney (eight). EVERTON (3-4-1-2): Pickford 7.5; Keane 7, Jagielka 7, Williams 6 (Martina 46min, 6); Calvert-Lewin 7, Gueye 7.5, Schneiderlin 6.5, Baines 7; Klaassen 5.5 (Davies 60, 7); Rooney 8, Sandro 6 (Mirallas 77). Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Besic, Holgate, Lookman. Scorer: Rooney 45. Booked: Martina. Manager: Ronald Koeman 7. STOKE CITY (3-4-2-1): Butland 7; Zouma 7.5, Shawcross 6, Cameron 7; Diouf 6, Fletcher 7, Allen 6, Pieters 6; Shaqiri 7, Bojan 6 (Choupo-Moting 72, 6); Berahino 6 (Crouch 72, 6). Subs not used: Grant, Johnson, Tymon, Adam, Ramadan. Booked: Allen. Manager: Mark Hughes 6. Man of the match: Wayne Rooney. Referee: Neil Swarbrick 7. Attendance: 39,045.