Magic Roo rolls back the years to batter Moyes
AFTER his one match as England manager, Sam Allardyce suggested it was not for him to tell Wayne Rooney where to play.
Just put him out there and let him do his stuff, was the big fella’s suggestion.
Almost 15 months on, it is doubtful his view will change.
Not after this throwback performance, not after this hat-trick, not after this strike.
Not after what just might be the most impudent, the most perfectly-hit goal of his record-breaking career.
It was truly a remarkable moment, Rooney drilling in Joe Hart’s skewed clearance from inside his own half.
It completed his hat-trick and, after 20 nervous second-half minutes, made the game safe.
No wonder Allardyce, in the directors’ box, wore a grin broad by even his standards.
With the club’s limitless thirst for farce, his deal had not been officially announced when he rocked up in the Goodison car park with his old mucker, Everton director of football Steve Walsh.
He shook the hand of Farhad Moshiri, and a couple of ambitious TV crews tried to grab a word only for all parties to be dissuaded by two fans who were hardly laying down vocal garlands.
The last time Allardyce met David Moyes here in a managerial capacity was in May 2013 for the final home game of the latter’s 11-year reign at Everton.
I was not there but, apparently, Hammers fans mildly taunted the home contingent about Moyes’ imminent move to Old Trafford. Their response was to remind the guests they had Allardyce, presumably not in a congratulatory manner.
Now, Everton have Allardyce, as this current vintage of West Ham followers reminded them, and he has a serious job on his hands.
It will help if he gets the sort of assistance provided by Pedro Obiang and Joe Hart.
Obiang turned Gylfi Sigurdsson’s tame pass into a defence-splitting ball and Hart recklessly upended Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Referee Michael Oliver had only one dilemma . . for how long would he let Hart plead before producing the red card to go with the penalty.
Not even a yellow materialised but a modicum of justice prevailed when Hart’s save popped up obligingly on to Wayne’s weave. One simple nod later and Everton were invigorated and West Ham, hardly a bundle of effervescence before then, flat.
That is why the second was no surprise. It was simple enough, Rooney sidefooting in from eight yards after Jonjoe Kenny’s airshot at a Tom Davies cross, but it was abject defending.
Coming into this game, it had been easy to forget West Ham were in deeper depression than Everton. You soon remembered. It was a flimsy, half-hearted display of serious relegation candidates.
In contrast, in David Unsworth’s final frolic in the technical area, Everton looked a team with a sense of purpose and a degree of organisation, both missing for most of the stand-in’s tenure.
Davies brought a sense of urgency, Rooney a calming influence, while even Ashley Williams looked to have recaptured some semblance of defensive authority.
It cannot have been lost on Unsworth that this sort of commitment and application in previous games might well have landed him the gig until the end of the season.
It was certainly not lost on the crowd, who were booming his Rhino nickname soon after Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Lanzini’s penalty following a Williams foul on Diafra Sakho.
Rooney followed up Pickford’s save with that stunning piece of sheer brilliance.
The astonishing goal alleviated the nerves and there was even time for Williams to head home a Sigurdsson cross.
All that was left was for Unsworth, in his final meaningful act as manager, to allow Rooney a standing ovation as he was substituted.
No one can have applauded more than Big Sam.