da dobrowin： The Rooney PR machine is in full swing making sure he gets (note: not earns) his place in the starting line-up for England at EURO 2016.
da jogodeouro： He has talked of renewed vigour with his fresh midfield role, but the reality is very different. Despite being without a good tournament under his belt since 2004, we still seems desperate to fit him in wherever we can. Rooney is a striker, so why are we trying to crowbar him in deeper? Because we are English and feel we owe him for past services.
No other team does this. Look at Australian cricket getting rid of Border when the team were still all-conquering… Things move on and the new generation needs a chance to shine. Sir Alex Ferguson was equally brutal with any number of big name stars, even though they seemed to still be at the top of their game.
Rooney, conversely, isn’t even at the top of his game but we are STILL trying to make a place for him!
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Ah, but he has great games in that role recently for Manchester United, cometh the cry. But, crucially, who against? Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Bournemouth were clear of relegation at the time and, even though their ground looks over the beach, probably had their minds on warmer versions of said coastline. Crystal Palace represented stronger opposition but, equally, lacked players with experience of the big occasion. For Palace just the getting to the FA Cup Final was an enormous achievement. To address those that claim Rooney ‘ran’ the FA Cup Final it is also worth noting that this was hardly the thrashing Arsenal dished out to Villa in the previous year. It was, in fact, a rather laboured 2-1 victory against opposition Man United would expect to beat comfortably.
Sometimes we have to move on and let youthful players have a proper chance to strut their stuff, and with Rooney on the pitch England will not be able to do that as the team will feel they have to cow-tie to yesterday’s man. Rooney’s presence means he becomes the focus (again) and thus other players cannot flourish in the way they would without him.
To put it another way, this video content is my alter-ego, Professor Pownall, and is part comedic, part serious. Professor Pownall is the resident Soccer Scholar at SUSD (Swindon University Soccer Department). He firmly believes that if England ‘Resist Rooney’ then the Championship can come home:
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