Big ears and rest of the media are criticising and mocking Wayne Rooney and I am absolutely furious with Gary "Big ears" Lineker http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2644769/Wayne-Rooney-running-time-England.html As far as im concerned the only role Wayne Rooney should have in the England team is a completely free role. I mean was Diego Maradona, Zidane and Del Piero given fixed positions to play? No they wernt as they were given licence to roam and express themselves. The problem Wayne Rooney has is that he cares too much for the team and so much that he is often covering full-backs and midfield. The defence and midfield are not solid or good enough for Wayne Rooney to solely concentrate where his undoubted world-class talents belong and thats upfront. Theres also the possession and passing quality of England which is very poor with Wayne constantly having to drop deep to protect the defence and midfield. Even Zidane and Maradona would struggle with the absolute utter rubbish England have and with the style of the team If England have any chance of doing well and even going all the way in the world cup then Wayne Rooney is absolutely vital for Englands chances. He is truly world-class and the only hope England have there so people like big ears should shut up and support England
I don't see why he deserves a free role at the expense of others. He's done very little to justify any higher standing than the rest of the squad. "Truly world-class" he is not.
When England **** up which they will everyone will use a United player as the scapegoat, probably be Rooney again.
In that case can every englishman stop blaming wayne for England's failures luke they have for the last 3 tournaments england have played in.
Well there aren't many nowadays so it'll be a choice of him or Welbeck or perhaps just get over yourself.
Is that really the case? I think people have been more critical of the managers than anything. Rooney has grossly under performed but others have too. In the past he's probably not helped himself enough by doing the wrong things, fitness-wise. That doesn't appear to be the case this time.
You can't doubt Rooney's ability, so Lineker's comment about leaving him out was, perhaps, more than a little tongue-in-cheek. However, as a striker, he's played almost as many world cup matches as Owen, Gerrard and Lampard and scored 3 less than Gerrard, 5 less than Owen and the same (=0) as Lampard. He, like the rest of us, will expect more at this world cup. I know there's more to his game than goals, but true strikers are measured on goals. P.S. To the OP, 'Animosity' is a huge stetch, BTW!
Rooney was never the best player in the England squad. That title belonged to Ashley Cole and guess what.... he is not even going! Rooney has done himself no favours in the past with his behaviour on and off the pitch. If walcott was fit i would have him start ahead of shrek.
On rooneys world cup finals goal tally... Hasnt he been injured for all but 2004? The one major tournament he was fit fir and he lit it up? England rely on rooney but this is part of the issue. We rush him back and expect great things. Its unfair on both rooney and england.
On the basis of what, he's fast? Rooney scored seven in qualifying, Walcott none. On the basis of how many goals he got to get us there then he absolutely deserves his place in the side. If he subsequently plays **** then fine, give someone else a go.
What a surprise! Based on what reasoning? Walcott is s**t for England and only marginally better for Arsenal. He has pace, but little all else. I have never really blamed any one player for England's failings to be honest. When they don that shirt they all become as s**t as each other. Lampard loses ALL his scoring ability, Gerrard has the odd good game but is nothing special (plus both of these players are now well past their best). To be fair I think Englands defence has performed okay recently with Cahill and Jags at the back. Hopefully Sturridge can bring some of his Liverpool form to the England squad and score some more crackers like he did vs Peru.
If Rooney was even half the player these players were then perhaps he'd get a free role to, how seriously f-ing deluded can you be?!?! And this coming from a fan of Rooney.
It's abit harsh to have a go at Rooney for his track record in World Cups, as both previous tournaments he's had major injury problems going in, and has been rushed back and forced to play when not 100% fit. As SAF has said many times in the past, Rooney isn't a naturally fit guy. He needs to be training day in day out to keep his fitness levels up, so it takes him a lot longer than most others to regain full fitness after a spell on the sidelines. Rooney is still England's most naturally gifted footballer, of that there is no doubt, and I'm sure he'll produce the goods at the World Cup if he gets an injury free run at it.
I'm sure you would But even Del Piero didn't get the luxury of a free role in the way Maradona for instance did or to the extent the OP is suggesting. A guy who (as much as you can in a team sport) pretty much single handed (pun not intended!) won a world cup for his country and we're meant to compare him to Rooney FFS!!! Rooney is a very good player but tactically ill disciplined and gets found out and wanting at the very highest level. Can't always blame injuries.
How does he get found out at the highest level? I hate this myth that International football is the highest level, when it clearly isn't. The Champions league for example has a lot more quality players in the 32 teams that play in it than the WC does. Rooney is well proven at CL level, and has done the business many times. As for the injury thing, are we supposed to hold having a broken foot and being rushed back to play against him? Rooney has had a serious problem going into both World Cups he's played in, you can't ignore that. You try playing with a broken foot.
