DON’T BE SHY LET FLY
As Bobby Charlton prepares to hand Wayne Rooney his 100th cap next weekend, he offers five simple words of advice to the England captain
THE granddaddy of English football will return to Wembley next Saturday to present a 100th cap to the whippersnapper he fully expects to displace him shortly as the all-time leading goal-scorer for his country. Even though his cherished landmark is so close to being passed, Bobby Charlton is only too pleased to be doing the honours for Wayne Rooney on the hallowed turf before England kick-off their European Championship qualifier against Slovenia. ‘This is one of the oldest records in the game and I’m proud to have held it for so long,’ says Charlton. ‘But I’m happy that it’s Wayne who will be the one to break it. Not just because he’s one of ours at Manchester United. He’s a personable lad and always respectful to me. I’m glad the FA have asked me to do this.’ Never mind that this ceremony, replete with gold-plated cap, will be a very public spectacle far removed from the way Charlton received the old cloth version which brought up his century of appearances for England. That tassled item of headgear was delivered to his home in a small box some six weeks after he scored in a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland at Wembley on the night of Tuesday, April 21, 1970 in which both he and George Best scored. ‘Just like all the others,’ he recalls with a smile. No fuss, back then. Not that the first gentleman of football expected any. Still doesn’t. Typically he was embarrassed when he picked up his own latest gong the other night, the inaugural Global Ambassador trophy bestowed at the annual Football Business Awards. Nor did the greatest midfield player in England’s history ever presume he would be given the captaincy, even though he enjoyed the privilege on occasion for his country and towards the end of his career at Old Trafford. And although he reiterates that ‘Wayne will fully deserve his century of caps and my goal record,’ he questions the wisdom of both England and United giving Rooney the armband. Not that Charlton deems him unworthy of the office but because he senses that the young man who has become somewhat a protegee of his own would score more goals without the burden of that responsibility. ‘Pele didn’t captain Brazil and I was very happy to play under Bobby Moore for England,’ he says. ‘Our job was to get on with scoring and making the goals and winning the games. ‘Wayne’s form goes up and down a bit and I don’t think the captaincy helps. He takes a lot upon himself and he doesn’t always make the right decisions. He’s England’s best player, our lad most likely to win matches. That’s what he should focus on. His own game.’ It is in the best interests of England, United and not least Rooney himself that Charlton reveals that opinion. He does so fully aware that the highest-paid English footballer listens to him. ‘We do chat from time to time,’ he says of their relationship at Old Trafford, where he is a director. ‘Sometimes he comes to ask me something. Sometimes I make a suggestion.’
MOST OF those quiet exchanges must remain in the confessional but Charlton sheds light on the piece of advice he repeats most often. It harks back to what Matt Busby’s assistant, Jimmy Murphy, used to tell him in their halcyon years at Old Trafford: ‘If you don’t shoot, you won’t score.’ Charlton has modified that to fit Rooney’s way of thinking, telling him: ‘Don’t be shy, let fly.’ Charlton’s trademark goals were 30-yard thunderbolts, with either foot. He believes that if Rooney does the same with greater frequency he will not only break his England record but obliterate it. With 43 goals from his 99 games thus far, Rooney stands six behind Charlton’s 49. Says Sir Bobby: ‘If he shoots on sight more often he will not just get one up on me but maybe go on and get another 50.’ That giddy prospect owes more than a little to his belief that the era of tiki-taka possession football, of which he despairs, is becoming passe. ‘All that square passing is not for me,’ he says of the style which Barcelona perfected and many others have striven to copy. ‘It dismays me to see a team kick-off with the centre-forward nudging the ball to his inside right, who passes it back into midfield, from where it goes to a defender who passes back to the goalkeeper... from where they start all over again. ‘We were never content just to keep the ball. When the defenders won it they got it to us quickly and we either hit positive forward passes or, better still, ran with it past opponents. That tiki-taka has been found out now and even Pep Guardiola is moving away from the Barcelona way at Bayern Munich. It is going out of fashion and thank goodness for that.’ Quick-fire attacking is the United tradition and Charlton is convinced that it’s full application will be of benefit to Rooney. That was the way he burst upon the game with Everton and then made his impact at Old Trafford. To encourage that attitude from Rooney, he offers an idol from United’s recent past by way of example. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is changing the game in Spain,’ he adds. ‘With all that pace and power and athleticism he is driving Real Madrid back into dominance both there and in Europe. You don’t sit back playing 10 yard passes the way you’re facing with this lad in your team. You go for it. I’m so glad he got his World Footballer of the Year Award. Lionel Messi is a great player, too, but Cristiano deserves the honour. He’s setting football alight. To my mind he’s taking us back to the way the game should be played. Magnificent player. And a committed professional.’ To his regret, Charlton cannot envisage even a Rooney firing on all cylinders enabling England to emulate that lone World Cup triumph enjoyed by himself, Moore and the rest of the class of ’66. ‘To be honest,’ he says, ‘it doesn’t look possible for England to win a major trophy now. Simply, there are not enough English players in the top flght of the game for that to happen. Yes, there are bright lads coming through and at United we have a tradition for doing that. ‘I spoke with Fabio Cappello when he was struggling as England manager and he told me the problem was simple but couldn’t be solved. He didn’t have enough English lads to choose from.’ So while Charlton expects Rooney to leave his personal footprint on football history he predicts that it will be with United that he will continue his search for titles and cups.
WITH LOUIS van Gaal helping him cement his legacy. ‘This manager is serious about the game. He knows what he wants from his football team. He won’t suffer fools. All our players will be improved by him. Wayne included.’ He sees England’s difficulties increasing as the global game expands and improves, explaining: ‘We’ve just seen a terrific World Cup. Attacking football played by countries with a deep pool of top players. That’s great for world football and it will get even more challenging. Those big TV audiences in the US show that at last our game is ready to really take off over there. Japan are on the march. And what about China waiting to explode? All his caps are secured in a bank vault in Manchester, held in trust for his daughters. Not that he can remember the details of how he won many of them. ‘In those days,’ he says, ‘it was always the team first.’ But just in case ‘young Wayne’ listens too intently when he says that, Charlton reminds him of Busby’s version of Jimmy Murphy’s timeless mantra: ‘When you see the whites of the goal-posts have a crack, son.’ Just like the young Bobby Charlton.