Who can tell whether he'd be even better if he didn't! Rooney is quality though. Watching him play it's hard top see how people can think otherwise. Maybe people don't watch him play.
Not forgetting his £300,000 a week which seems to upset some people. I think he is England's only world class player but by the end of the World Cup there will be two, c'mon Adam!
I don't think he's world class either. His form for United this season has been very good, and he's scored a few goals for England, but his general play in an England shirt is poor and his presence is enormously detrimental to the effectiveness of the England team. If he can bring his A game to the world cup, in a way that he has failed to do in tournaments since he first broke onto the international scene, then we can maybe start to think of him as world class.
I completely agree with just about every word you said there. I think Rooney is massively overrated but he fits perfectly into the general English mentality and ethos, running until he's red in the face (which doesn't take long- probably down the fegs), giving his all for the team. I prefer a striker who saves his energy for scoring goals. Do you ever see Berbatov with a red face? Ibrahimovic? I'm not denying his talent and skill and he is a good player, but not as good as people make out. Not for me.
He didn't exactly have a thuggish appearance like Wayne Rooney though. My favourite George Best quotation is the classic "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." There is no argument from anyone who saw Best play that he was genuinely world class. The tragedy is, he never got to show his skills off at a World Cup.
I understand part of what you are saying, but it must be difficult to perform in a ****e England team that seems to fall back into the dark ages when it matters. I'll agree that I think his frustration gets the better of him for England. As for him being detrimental to England effectiveness, that was probably in qualifying games when the rest managed to do ok against OK opposition. At a World Cup, or a Euros England haven't performed for a long time. Rooney was very good however in 2004 until his injury. As a player for Man utd, I think he has been exceptional for many years; much more good than not. By the way, I am still waiting for Mr Messi to have a good World Cup. Not saying for one minute that Rooney is as a good a Messi, just making the point that the generally acclaimed best player in the world for he last several years, hasn't yet had a good World Cup.
I would suggest that it is a hangover from the days when hard work was more favoured than skill. Hard work alone is useless. Skill alone is useless, but in Britain the balance has obviously been wrong for many years. Why this is I do not know. Perhaps it is in the culture, perhaps it is even down to worn and muddy pitches of the past, which nowadays seem to be on the wane [most Premier League pitches are a delight for most of the season, these days] Is it an accident that at the club where the pitches are kept in fantastic order, all year round, that fine and skilful footballers are produced..? Incidentally, a contibutor slightly fell into the trap earlier by suggesting that one of the attributes of Rooney being world class was that he works hard on the pitch. It's not working hard, it's working effectively, and that takes intelligence, vision and skill, and yes a bit of hard work too. I think everyone would support the notion that Lionel Messi is world class. Have you seen his work rate..? It's not the highest, but he works effectively. He's brilliant at what he's good at, and no doubt works hard at it. But we have to get out of this idea that hard work alone is a major factor in governing success. It's a coverall word that has become misunderstood. George Best would work very hard - at doing what he was brilliant at. MLT used to work very hard - also at doing what he was superb at. Rooney is brilliant at... wait a moment, I'm thinking. Rooney is a great all rounder. Probably the best in Britain, and he possibly stands comparison with other players in the world - where he falls short, in my opinion. The blessed Nigel Adkins [I think] coined the phrase... hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard. It's a lovely phrase, but it shouldn't be taken absolutely literally. Just imagine what would happen to hard work if talent decided to work effectively..? Hard work would get beaten out of sight.
Played in a different era, of course. Back when the viewing public didn't simultaneously pine for the "good old days", when footballers were real men who smoked and drank; and scrutinise footballers' lives down to the smallest details and criticise them for smoking and drinking.
He's been misused (maybe Rooney has too) by Argentina managers trying to fit him in with all the amazing strikers they have. I think they've cracked it now though and I'm sure he will shine in Brazil.
To be fair to Rooney, his complexion does tend towards reddening much more than Ibrahimovic's. And Berbatov has never run far enough to break a sweat...
A poor choice perhaps. Ibrahimovic, on the other, only has disappointment because he plays for Sweden, and they have failed to qualify for the World Cup this time. In all other respects he is utterly world class, a winner, works effectively at what he does, yet barely breaks sweat [OK, I exaggerate that last bit].
I'd have hated to see the England team of the last few years without Rooney, instead going with Darren Bent or some such. In recent years, in qualifying games, whenever there's been a key goal - it seems to be Rooney. To me, anyway. I think he's a classy player but sometimes lacks the positional discipline to be a ST. He's a good AM too.
