MATTHEW LINDSAY
Rooney at his most dangerous with point to prove
IF his last two games for Manchester United and England are anything to go by, then rumours of Wayne Rooney’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. The displays of Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy led many, including his own national team manager Roy Hodgson, to speculate that he may, after 13 years as first choice striker, be dropped for the Euro 2016 finals.
“There are questions about whether he should be the one playing or should another be playing,” admitted Hodgson when questioned about his captain last month.
The doubters should have known far better. The 30-year-old was impressive for 120 minutes as United defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 at Wembley nine days ago to clinch the first FA Cup victory of his career. He set up Juan Mata for a late equaliser to take the game to extra-time.
On Friday night at the Stadium of Light he scored his 52nd international goal in a 2-1 win over Australia in a friendly. Barring injury, he will be in the starting line-up and will win his 111th cap when England face Russia in Marseilles on June 11.
It is no coincidence that he has come back so strongly after being written off by so many. He is at his most dangerous when he has a point to prove.
The knee injury that caused Rooney to miss two months of the 2015/16 campaign and spells of indifferent form for Louis van Gaal’s utterly uninspiring team led to widespread conjecture that his powers may be on the wane.
But, if anything, he may pose even more of a threat at Euro 2016 than he has at previous major finals. The presence of exceptional talents like Alli, Kane and Vardy, and possibly even Marcus Rashford, will help him make an even greater impact. He won’t have to shoulder as much responsibility as he so often has in the past.
Rooney, who has never complained about the demands placed on him by his country, has suggested as much himself. “I don’t take my place for granted,” he said. “Obviously you want to play and it is great that the competition is there. It hasn’t always been. But the quality we have got is there to see.”
Indeed, it is. Spurs forward Kane has scored no fewer than 32 goals for club and country this term while Vardy has netted 27 times and helped Leicester City stun football to win the Barclays Premier League.
Rashford became, at just 18 years and 208 days, the youngest player to score on his debut for England when he netted after just 138 seconds against the Socceroos. It will be no great surprise, particularly with Daniel Sturridge nursing a calf injury, if he is named in the 23-man squad for the finals tomorrow.
If England once again fail to realise the excessive expectations of their supporters in France it will be down to their defensive shortcomings and not due to Rooney being unable to perform at the same high level as he so often has in the past. His intelligence and experience will complement the youth and energy of his compatriots well.
This, of course, doesn’t augur well for Scotland who will face England in their Russia 2018 qualifying campaign. Rooney scored twice on the last occasion he faced Gordon Strachan’s side in a friendly at Celtic Park two years ago. He should once again be the man to watch when the two sides face each other at Wembley on November 11 and then at Hampden on June 10 next year.
By that time, Rooney will have started working with Jose Mourinho, who was finally confirmed as Van Gaal’s successor as Manchester United manager last week, at OId Trafford.
It will be compelling viewing seeing how the Portuguese, who was unceremoniously ditched at Stamford Bridge in December after Chelsea’s catastrophic start had seen them slip to 16th in the Premier League table, fares when he returns to football.
Has The Special One lost his mojo? He was certainly far from convincing in his last two appointments at Real Madrid, where he left three years before his contract was due to expire after a season he described as “the worst of my career”, and Chelsea, where rumours of dressing-room unrest abounded before he was jettisoned.
Mourinho, though, has always been renowned for his man-management. How he fares at United will depend to a large extent on him being able to bring the very best out of Rooney. He will make developing a strong relationship with his skipper a priority. The player should flourish.
The hunger and ability of the boy from Croxteth have not diminished with the passage of time. Expect him to show the old adage about form being temporary and class being permanent is true in France next month.
If England once again fail to realise the excessive expectations of their supporters in France it will be down to their defensive shortcomings
TOMORROW Nick Rodger