Personally don't think he is **** but he is not world class. Firstly he was playing out of position but if he was that good he could have adapted, he didn't. I thought this game was ideal for a Lambert type centre forward but it would appear that Rooney is safe in this team. I also think that Henderson had a very poor second half as did Gerrard so I wont blame just Rooney for the loss. Pirlo however was excellent.
I've had it with Rooney now, is there a player anywhere who is playing on his teenage reputation more than this waste of space.
We were crying out for a Plan B with 20 mins to go! Lambert / Carroll / Crouch type to launch a ball up to. It frustrates me so much when you are 2-1 down with 5 mins to go and the the team are are playing the ball along the back 4 keeping possession!!! LAUNCH THE F*CKER!!!!!!
He had a good game... Roy said so ?!?? I'm in total agreement marra... Get a winger out on the left (oh wait... We left them at home!!!!!)
Let's be honest here, he is a good player, not world class though, but suffers from world class status without the ability to cope with it. He would be fantastic in a system that suited him but the rest of our players co!bined mean that the system doesn't get the best out of him. He is played becuaes of who he is rather than what he is. Also a lot of pundits were praising welbeck for making loads of tackles high up the pitch. I thought he was an attacker but he did very little of this. Pioneering the attacking defender role?
If we built the side around Rooney and not play him out of ****ing position, we'd see the best of him. Come on Roy, play him up front with Sturridge just behind him, Stirling out on the left and Welbeck on the right with Gerard and Barkley in the middle.
No, Rooney is played badly out of position and despite everyone saying he's '****' is still the one that gets the stick as he's the one that people actually know COULD do it. Nobody slates a water carrier, only a talisman, the team were ****ing decent last night, Rooney made the goal, yet it's all about Rooney again. It's about Rooney cos he is our finest footballer, maybe Barkley will get close, but slate him all you like, he's the best we have by some distance, the only player who could even have thew words 'not world class' said, the others, it don't need said cos there's no debate. It's the English way though right, take our best and try and break it. I'm a fully confessed Rooney fan and think a move abroad away from this countries bullshit would make the lad.
Not looking for scapegoats already, put him in goal then I guess he will really be rubbish. Sure there are better wingers than Rooney but not his fault he is played out there, probably out there to accommodate Jordan, who also didn't play particularly well??
Not a winger, and presumably only played there so he's actually in the side I'd start him in the middle or not at all, massive mistake from Hodgson to start him on the left imo
I agree with that, and he shouldn't be a shoe in to start. Hodgson needs to answer the lack of left footed players, inbalancing the side. I don't think the team was far off, but a left sided player could have given us more width, Italy did not look great at the back at all.
He shouldn't be in the team and it proved last night that the team if suffering to accommodate Rooney. Play him in the middle of a 3 in a 4231 or dont play him at all.
Can't undersand the huge criticism about him based on this game, there were a few who could be put under the microscope after that decent team performance. Looking at it Rooney was the only player who was given a role he is not used to and it could have been changed but let's face it he was doing well enough and wrong footed everybody with that shot that went inches wide. For me Sterling was playing like it was a practice match and was caught in possession too often handing the initiative back to Italy too many times. Not Rooney's fault that the defence did not move out to close down the first goal or that Hart was beaten at the far post cross, we could kick this around forever, but it all down to one player selected to play out of position.
