Football: why Southgate dropped Rooney
“Time waits for no man,” said Henry Winter in The Times – not even Wayne Rooney. After 13 years of being one of the first names on every England team sheet, the England captain was dropped by caretaker manager Gareth Southgate ahead of the side’s disappointing 0-0 draw in the World Cup qualifier against Slovenia on Tuesday. It wasn’t a surprising move. “England’s midfield looks better balanced with Eric Dier holding [and] Jordan Henderson pressing and surging upfield, providing a platform for Dele Alli.” Rooney, who has already been demoted to the bench at Manchester United, has “become a minister without portfolio”. The writing was on the wall after England’s 2-0 home qualifier victory over Malta on Saturday, said John Brewin on ESPN. “Sat deep in midfield”, Rooney “became a bystander to England’s young, thrusting forwards”, doing nothing but ping attractive yet pointless diagonal passes across the field. By the end of the game, some home fans were even booing him.
There’s a simple explanation for Rooney’s demise, said John Cross in the Daily Mirror. “The nation’s record goal-scorer is not a midfielder.” Even against “lowly” Malta – ranked joint 176th in the world, alongside Laos – he frequently got caught in possession. Southgate simply realised what United manager José Mourinho figured out earlier this season: Rooney should be picked “on merit as a forward, or not at all”. Some argue that the 30-year-old should have retired from England duties after Euro 2016, to focus on “extending his club career”, said Daniel Taylor in The Guardian. But Rooney has always “valued international football”. He never conjured up make-believe injuries to “cry off international duty”; indeed, he says he will continue turning up, even if he isn’t guaranteed a place in the starting line-up. With 117 caps, only eight short of Peter Shilton’s record, “he still might establish himself as England’s all-time appearance-maker”.
The question now, said Alan Smith in The Daily Telegraph, is who should take the captain’s armband? The obvious choice is Henderson, who was the on-field skipper against Slovenia. The Liverpool midfielder is the only England player besides Rooney to captain his club side. He’s growing in confidence and maturity, and “with the experience of 29 caps, could now go on to make a proper mark on the international stage”. There is another option, said Jason Burt in the same paper. Rather than having a permanent captain, why not just give the armband to the oldest or mostcapped player? It’s essentially a ceremonial position anyway – and no one should have “a divine right to be in the team”.