RoodidEnglandproud,Wayne

RANDOM irritations. When did a holding midfielder become a single pivot? Would Graham Taylor have got less stick if he had requested ‘quick transition’ rather than wondering why Carlton could not knock it?

Football stays the same, coaches just find different ways to describe it. AS England prepared to take on Belgium, Wayne Rooney posted a photograph of himself on a plane, heading to sign for DC United.

It was easy to forget that, less than two years ago, he was telling us how Russia 2018 would be his last crack at a World Cup.

Instead, his annexing is still held up almost daily as an example of how Gareth Southgate has taken this team forward.

It was the right thing to do, but this squad’s popularity should not cloud the memories of a player (right) who served his country so well.