When Wayne Rooney took the pitch for his testimonial game against Everton, praises flooded in from all corners of the sport. From fans who’ve seen him wear the Blue of Everton, Red of Manchester United and the White of the Three Lions. Praise from players who truly appreciate what Rooney brings to the team which is sometimes unnoticed on the pitch and from managers who’ve seen him transform from a 16-year old wonderkid to a truly world class player at his peak. A great career was celebrated.
However, in the midst of the celebrations, a question that has persistently been asked for the past 8 years or so did not fail to make its way to the build up of the game - how good could Wayne Rooney actually have been?
When Rooney scored his first league goal for Everton, he wasn’t even 17 at that time. He scored against an Arsenal team that had been unbeaten for 30 odd matches. It was no ordinary goal either - a scorcher from outside the box, which lead to commentator Clive Tyldesley famously exclaiming “Remember the name, Wayne Rooney”.
Rooney followed up on the performance, and in 2004, he secured a transfer to Manchester United in a deal that made him the most expensive player under the age of 20 in the game at that time. He was 18 years old, tipped as the future of England at the biggest club.
During his initial United days, Rooney was actually held in higher regard than former teammate and now 4 time World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, it wasn’t until the 2007/08 season that Ronaldo finally eclipsed Rooney in terms of pure stats and performances. Rooney had scored more or equal number goals as compared to Ronaldo in the first 3 seasons they were together. An apt description of Rooney in those days would be a player with the strength of a bull and the feet of a belly dancer.
One main reason why critics say that Rooney couldn’t keep up is his unwillingness to work as hard to reach the next level. His fitness wasn’t up to the mark. However, people forget that Rooney was forced to play under the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo in the season he eclipsed him. One of the reasons Ronaldo scored so many goals was because Rooney was there to cover him whenever he drifted from the wings to get into a more central position to score. And the moment his tremendous versatility and on-field selfishness was noticed also plotted his potential downfall.
Ronaldo left in 2009, and Rooney mostly flourished as the main striker for United after that, except for a disappointing World Cup and a shocking transfer request. Fast forward to 2012, in the wake of another star striker, Robin van Persie, and the problems get a lot more serious.
Rooney finally had competition within the team from a player who could match his ability. Van Persie was also probably a better finisher at that time if not the better player. Sir Alex Ferguson noticed this, and Rooney was forced to play second fiddle to him in a more withdrawn role where goals weren’t his primary concern. He was also shifted to midfield at times. This change also led to Rooney submitting another transfer request, which was rejected.
When Fergie retired and David Moyes stepped in, Rooney’s form and adoption of the No.10 role was one of the silver linings in the miserable season that United had. Rooney scored 19 goals that season, which was a decent return for a player playing in a team far away from its best form.
After David Moyes was sacked, in came Louis van Gaal, and Rooney started playing a proper midfield role in some games. He actually managed to control some of the games with his huge array of cross field passes and ability to maintain and change the tempo of the game – but in a restrictive system – Rooney could only do so much and his impact on the game and goals both gradually decreased. In fact, Rooney only managed to score 6 goals in 2015, a meagre return for a player who used to touch 30 goals a season not long ago.
Jose Mourinho has stated that he won’t play Rooney in midfield and that he’ll only play him as a 9 or a 10. This is a welcome move for people who still believe in Rooney, but the question still looms large whether Rooney retains the ability to have the required impact in that role anymore. There are predictions that if Rooney does play as a striker, he will be replaced in no time by a teenager who has made the kind of impact Rooney did 14 years ago - Marcus Rashford.
Wayne Rooney still has a lot to offer; he can be a prolific striker capable of still scoring 20-25 goals a season as he nears the twilight of his career, but his time as a player has turned into a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ situation.
There would be no denying what a great career Wayne Rooney has had. He’s broken several club and country records, but his reputation should have been up there with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, competing for the greatest individual accolades in world football.
