Since his arrival at the tender age of 18, Wayne Rooney has been surrounded with greatness on the pitch and controversy off it. Things are different this season though, with Robin van Persie arriving, Rooney may now find himself droppable, and possibly even sellable.
Earlier this week Wayne Rooney revealed that back in 2008, he turned up to pre-season training half a stone overweight, he also claimed that a bust up with Sir Alex was the reasoning as to why he wasn’t included in the match day squad for our 3-2 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers back on Boxing Day, a defeat which would later cost us the title.
Since Ronaldo’s departure in 2009, Wayne Rooney has been our talisman, our star performer, and our icon. But with the arrival of Van Persie, the club can now afford to get tough with Rooney. A great player yes, but he’s always susceptible to an off-field drama. Whether it be an affair or the handing in of a transfer request, in essence, Wazza is the media’s dream footballer.
Sir Alex is renowned for his strict rulings and toughness with his players, just look at the long list of players who’ve tried to go toe to toe with the great Scot, Beckham, Stam, and Keano to name a few. I feel that Fergie was forced to take a certain leniency with Wayne over the past few years, however Wayne doesn’t have that luxury anymore. Even this pre-season Rooney looked unfit, on his return to his boyhood ground for our first league game, he looked shattered after about 10 minutes. I get the fact that Rooney is stockier and bigger than most footballers, but is it really to much to ask that a player of his stature comes to pre-season fit and raring to go? It’s extremely unprofessional on his part.
He’s certainly saying all the right things at the present time anyway, in an interview with Sky Sports he stated that he wants to stay at United for “a long time”. The injury he suffered vs. Fulham could well be a blessing in disguise for our no.10. He faces a month on the sidelines away from football; this time could do him the world of good. Imagine what he and RVP could do if both were fully fit and firing on all cylinders? It’d certainly strike fear into opposition defences. Here’s to hoping these two can fire us to #20.
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