Rooney’s fired up to bury old rivals
HE’S been waiting for this. As far back as July 10, when his homecoming was confirmed, Wayne Rooney had a big circle in his calendar around the second weekend in December.
Never mind returning to Old Trafford to face Manchester United or the first chance to play at Goodison Park again. There was one fixture Rooney had in mind: Liverpool, away. Having grown up in the city and been immersed in all the history and stories of this contest, a giddy Evertonian spied an opportunity.
‘That was one of my big regrets when I left Everton (in 2004),’ Rooney said. ‘Not scoring in the derby. To score against Liverpool for Everton? That would be great.’
The simplicity of those words do not do justice to the burning ambition he has to wreak havoc behind enemy lines. The memory of his first trip to Anfield when a chance went begging in December 2002, after all, has never left him. Rooney (below) stood on the touchline that afternoon, smiling as the Kop barracked him, even spinning the match ball on his finger when it came his way. When manager David Moyes eventually let him off the leash, he came within the width of a crossbar from writing his name in history. The game, to his frustration, ended 0-0.
That was as good as it got during his first spell. Three more appearances against Liverpool yielded no goals and two defeats but now the chance to correct that anomaly has arrived. These are the occasions in which a player of his talent should thrive.
‘We have to do it as a team but we want him to play a big part,’ said Everton manager Sam Allardyce. ‘He has the ability to create problems. So we have to feed him enough ball, we have to make the right runs off him and make the right passes.
‘ The stand- out player against West Ham (10 days ago) was Wayne. Not just with the hat-trick but how much he created for us. I hope we are not putting too much pressure on him!’
The pressure of performing is something he will gleefully accept. If Everton are to end a barren run without a win at Anfield that stretches back to September 1999, Rooney is going to be central to the plot.
It has not been an easy few months, with a storm engulfing his personal life and Everton’s results threatening to spiral out of control, but finally there is stability. Those who have watched him train in recent days have been struck by his focus and calmness.
Now it is a case of transferring all that to when it matters most. Allardyce knows the key success is for Everton to ‘master that strikeforce’ of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Yet there was a glint in his eye when he pointed out that derbies don’t always go to form.
‘As an Evertonian he (Rooney) is desperate to do well,’ said Allardyce. ‘Everton is his club and he can use all that experience to deliver the kind of performance he gave against West Ham.’
The first time Jurgen Klopp came face to face with Rooney in January 2016, a sledgehammer finish from the then Manchester United captain smashed open a sterile game and, for that reason, Liverpool’s manager won’t buy the stories that Rooney is past his sell-by date. ‘ I had no idea whether there was criticism in England or whether he didn’t get the credit for all the things he did for United and England,’ said Klopp. ‘ Since I’ve been here, he didn’t have the best time at United but he still scored the winner against us. ‘He’s still a fantastic player. I’m not sure if it’s allowed but I like Wayne Rooney as a person! And I’ve always liked him as a player. Do I worry about him? I would be silly not to. But if you worry only about him that would be another big mistake.’