THE STARS OF 2015

12 months to be a great... MoS experts pick the men and women who could make this year their own

FOOTBALL

WAYNE ROONEY

THE England record is a given. He is on 46 international goals and this year will surpass Sir Bobby Charlton’s mark of 49. But he needs only 24 goals to surpass Sir Bobby’s Manchester United record of 249 too — that should be expected, injury permitting, in 2015.

All of which means that this year we will again spend time considering Rooney’s impact. A summary thus far might read: not quite as good as we had hoped for in 2004 but better than almost anyone else.

His longevity knocks spots off Paul Gascoigne; his goal-scoring will be better than Gary Lineker and Kevin Keegan. You have to go back to 1966 to put Rooney in his place. Those who feared he would burn out were wrong. Rooney is the best we have — and we should be thankful.

ONE TO WATCH: Matt Grimes Until last week, Grimes, 19, was the best technical midfielder in League Two having been nurtured by Paul Tisdale at Exeter City. Swansea have now taken him to the Premier League. He’s already played for England’s Under-20s — and not many do that from League Two.

Rob Draper

CRICKET

JOE ROOT

WITH the World Cup and the Ashes, this year should be a big one for the new crop of England players who emerged in 2014, but the most important man this year and for some time to come is Joe Root.

Now the Yorkshireman is back in the middle order, he should continue to make big runs in all forms. Root is also highly regarded as a leader and favourite to succeed Alastair Cook as Test captain and would have become ODI skipper after the World Cup had Cook managed a decent score in Sri Lanka and stayed on. As it was, it was felt that throwing in an inexperienced captain would have been reckless and Eoin Morgan got the nod. Root’s time will come.

ONE TO WATCH: Sam Billings ngs This should be the year when Billings, 23, gets his chance in limited-overs cricket with England. He is the sort of dynamic player they will need where his explosive batting and keeping should ensure a fruitful future. He is good enough to play alongside Jos Buttler just as a batsman, too.

Paul Newman

ATHLETICS KATARINA JOHNSONTHOMPSON

THE only British athlete to top the world merit rankings for 2014 — despite spending much of the season injured — the 21-year-old completed just one heptathlon last year, winning the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis, before being ruled out of the Commonwealths and European Championships with injury.

Victory in Gotzis, with a personal best of 6,682 points, was a breakthrough and 2015 is where she is expected to win her first major senior medal. She will compete at the World Championships in Beijing in August, and former Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee believes Johnson-Thompson can win gold in Rio and break her own worldrecord score of 7,291, set in 1988.

ONE TO WATCH: Thomas Somers Over 200m, Somers became the second fastest 17-year-old in history last July — the only man to run faster at that age is Usain Bolt. He will bid for World Junior Championships gold this year.

Martha Kelner

RUGBY

STUART LANCASTER

THE obvious choice is the only choice. The England head coach will find himself in the hottest of hot seats when it comes to the highlight of this sporting year — the rugby World Cup in this country in September and October.

England must find a way out of Pool A containing mighty rivals in Wales and Australia. The doomsday scenario of the hosts being ditched from their own party so early is enough to keep the coaches and their RFU employers awake at night. Lancaster endured intense criticism in November and admitted that it served as useful preparation for what awaits him nine months from now. As a relative novice at Test level, he will face a monumental and very public challenge of his credentials.

ONE TO WATCH: Sam Burgess Bath’s cross-code recruit Burgess, 26, is undertaking a crash-course in the nuances of union, with his every move analysed amid a raging debate about his best position. Meanwhile, the England coaches are desperate to pick him as soon as he has shown the faintest grasp of a whole new ball game. His quest to claim a fast-track call-up for the World Cup is the most intriguing personal tale of the year. A nation is willing him on.

Chris Foy

GOLF

RORY McILROY

IT is never easy following up a banner year but it will be surprising if Rory McIlroy does not manage it in 2015. OK, a date in a courtroom to settle a legal battle with his former management company is hardly the place a world No1 should be in February, just two months before the Masters.

Against that, the Northern Irishman could hardly have come up with a better set of major venues. Three will be on courses that fit his eye, with the fun beginning with his first tilt at the career Grand Slam at Augusta in April. And if he wins there, with St Andrews for The Open and Whistling Straits for the USPGA to come, he might never stop.

ONE TO WATCH: Danny Willett A first invitation to the Masters was recognition of cracking the top 50 and if the 27-year-old keeps his focus, it might be the top 20 this

time next year for the Englishman.

Derek Lawrenson

TENNIS

ANDY MURRAY

THERE cannot be many excuses for Andy Murray not producing his best. Losing members of his coaching staff and the slog towards the top after back surgery were mitigating circumstances last year, and finishing as world No6 was commendable.

But now he has had time to settle with new coach Amelie Mauresmo and if he is going to add to his two majors — his best chance remains Wimbledon — there is no time to waste because he is 28 in May. Adding a more aggressive dimension to his play means going against his counter-punching instincts, but he has to evolve. At 33, Roger Federer has shown it is never too late.

ONE TO WATCH: Nick Kyrgios Only 19 and very self-assured, Australian Kyrgios showed what he can do by beating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. He has natural, easy power, and 52 is a precocious ranking for a teenager. But the year after a breakthrough can be tough.

Mike Dickson

FORMULA 1

JENSON BUTTON

F1 fans should thank the McLaren board members who outvoted chairman Ron Dennis’s intention to ditch Jenson Button. The result is a world-class showdown, for Button versus Fernando Alonso represents a test of each man’s mettle in the autumn of their careers. It is also a clash of styles. Button, 35 later this month, is a resilient character who accumulates points quietly. Alonso, 33, is fiery yet brittle. Button outscored Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. If he does the same against Alonso, rated the most complete driver by most, he might even get another contract.

ONE TO WATCH:

Jolyon Palmer

B Britain’s first GP2 champion since Lewis Hamilton, Palmer, 23, will either be handed a drive this year — possibly by Force India, for whom he has tested — or will probably never be heard of in F1 again.

Jonathan McEvoy

BOXING

AMIRA KHAN

IF he can overcome all the boxing politics, this year could bring Amir Khan the opportunity to challenge the top two pound-forpound fighters on the planet and perhaps even claim that mythical title for himself.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are the greats in the sights of Bolton’s courageous ambassador for Anglo-Muslim relations. On the evidence of his victories in 2014 over Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander, he has the speed and maturing style to give them a helluva fight — unless they get in the ring with each other in the richest bout of all time.

If that does get in Khan’s way, a Battle of Britain with Kell Brook could refill Wembley Stadium.

ONE TO WATCH: Callum Smith At 24, the youngest of Liverpool’s four brothers who hold various domestic titles, Smith is seen as the hottest prospect and a potential super-middleweight championship successor to Carl Froch.

Jeff Powell