Book Review: Wayne Rooney - My decade in the Premier League

When I first picked up the book, I was a little sceptical. And when the Premier League comes to mind, Manchester United inevitably pops up; along with Wayne Rooney, of course.

Rooney has been one of the most successful strikers the English Premier League has ever witnessed. From making his debut at the age of 16 for boyhood club Everton, to lifting the Champions League at Moscow in 2008, the book covers every important detail in Wazza’s life.

The entire book is in first person, with only the foreword written by Sir Alex Ferguson. Feelings such as walking on to the hallowed turf of Old Trafford, signing autographs and earning £75 a week and playing alongside idol Duncan Ferguson have been intricately written to help the reader feel exactly how Rooney felt.

Sir Alex is referred to as ‘The Manager’, while the senior players are called by their nicknames – Ryan Giggs is referred to as Giggsy, Paul Scholes as Scholesy and Gary Neville as Nev. He speaks up about experiencing the hairdryer and how he used to at times answer back and instantly regret it. He also talks about how he used to be one of the players that gained weight easily and he overcame it by following a tiring and painstaking training routine.

Moreover, Rooney also gives his own opinion about the role money plays in modern football. He clearly states how the big G’s have never driven him to give it his all for the club he’s always dreamt of playing for. He even gives his take on the infamous rant by Rafael Benitez in a chapter named “FACT!”

However, as a reader, I couldn’t really connect with the author when it came to topics that meant a lot to him. For example, the Merseyside, Mancunian and Manchester-Liverpool derbies are talked about throughout this book. Not every reader is an Everton fan to feel how Rooney felt while playing for Everton and while watching the Merseyside derby at home when he joined United.

One can appreciate the fact that Matt Allen has done a brilliant job in encapsulating the ten year Premier League experience in the eyes of a young centre forward born and brought up in a tough family residing in Croxeth, Liverpool.

For a neutral reader, the 22 chapters provide undulating motivation with a subtle hint of mesmerisation at the end of every second sentence. At the end of the book, you might almost find yourselves promising to read a chapter a day whenever you are feeling down.

The reader will instantly have a different idea about the personality and character of the father of young Kai Rooney, and if Wayne himself was actually aiming at that, then he has done quite a decent job.

The desire to win and succeed is well outlined in the book, along with how Sir Alex instilled the winning mentality in one of the greatest sides of European football; where complacency has no reserved seat in the minds of the young and old, who took their seat in the prestigious locker rooms of the Theatre of Dreams.

It’s the kind of book which has lines you don’t really think you can forget. A must read for any United fan and for anyone who is down on inspiration and struggling to find motivation to succeed.

Rating: 8/10

A detailed account of some important games – the likes of the Moscow final in 2008, the 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal and the 6-1 battering at the hands of Manchester City. It also includes the tiniest of details of the emotional roller-coaster suffered by the United players on the final day of the 2011/2012 season, which saw cross-town rivals City lift the English Premier League title on goal difference.