Rooney’s right man for the big stage

WAYNE ROONEY’S record against Liverpool is not great. Of his 249 Manchester United goals, only six have come against the enemy. His old manager Sir Alex Ferguson used to worry that Rooney got too emotional against the Merseyside clubs. Occasionally he left him out. Jose Mourinho would probably be wise to select his captain against Liverpool tomorrow, though. Rooney is one goal away from being his club’s record scorer and has always liked a big stage. The Rooney debate rages on among United fans. Some would dispute his place in the pantheon, citing a couple of contract wrangles and his form of recent seasons. He is a Scouser, too, and that never helps. But Rooney’s friend and former team-mate Darren Fletcher put it well when in conversation this week. ‘Football has become about six-second YouTube clips,’ he said. ‘But anybody who has actually watched Wayne’s career properly at United understands his worth.’ It was an interesting take and one that probably sits well with the home fans who applauded Rooney off the field warmly when he was substituted in the EFL Cup match against Hull City on Tuesday. Supporters who have viewed Rooney’s years at Old Trafford in their entirety will know that his football has changed. But they will also know that the path of a long career rarely runs smooth when played out almost entirely at one club. Ryan Giggs’s place in the grand scheme of things is not in doubt. Rio Ferdinand is also fondly remembered. But both men will tell you of times when the Stretford End viewed them with something other than unquestionable affection. Giggs’s crime was to flutter his eyelids at Italy’s Serie A. Ferdinand’s was to hesitate over a contract. So the point here is that those who go to Old Trafford every week will know what they have seen. They will acknowledge the early stardust of a debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce. They will remember the season when he went toe to toe with Cristiano Ronaldo, both scoring 23 times. And they will remember the way he subsequently sacrificed himself at Ronaldo’s altar, spending the next season doing his team-mate’s running. And what of now? Undoubtedly Rooney has declined in terms of his capacity to win games on his own and it appears his days as a voracious scorer of goals is over. Liverpool would be happy if he wasn’t selected tomorrow, though, and that says much about his enduring worth to United. So Rooney deserves his place at the head of the list without doubt. You don’t score 249 goals for United just by being there and when he scores his next to move clear of Sir Bobby Charlton, there should be no asterisk placed against his name.