I’ve been reading with considerable dismay the reports in the media this morning and over the weekend that suggest we’re moving closer to a move for England and Man United’s Wayne Rooney.
Words cannot adequately express how much I fervently hope he doesn’t come to Chelsea.
I have always felt Rooney is overrated, but on his day a world class player. That is not in discussion. He’s a fantastically talented lad.
Good (very good in fact) a couple of seasons ago, he’s not been any good for United for a while now. He drinks, he (allegedly) smokes and he’s living the footballer life – he cares more about the lifestyle and the accoutrements and luxuries that go with it than he does about the game. Fergie (who love him or hate him knows a bit about football and footballers) stated his fallings out with Rooney last season were ‘lifestyle related’.
You have to question where the hunger has gone?
Simple – he’s won everything going at United and deep down he knows Van Persie is a better player and that he’s unlikely to regain his Darling Of The Stretford End tag he had before the Dutchman’s arrival. He’s had a long career already even though he;s what, 28? 29? …there is nothing else for him to do – it is understandable that his hunger for the game should be dimmed slightly. That being the case i have to ask you our readers – does that strike you as something Jose would put up with, or something he absolutely cannot countenance?
I think I know the answer.
Then there’s the physical aspect. He’s a big lad and has already had a long career. Injuries have started to creep in more and more and any United fan will tell you he takes a lot longer than most to come back even from a small knock that has kept him out for three weeks because he tends to put weight on while he is injured and that it affects his fragile confidence. That should be an alarm bell right there. He’s unquestionably had his best years and that weight and power he’s used to good effect so far will now be hurting him – the muscle injuries will only increase from here. He’s not a 50 game a season player any more. Contrast this with the 67 games Juan Mata played for Chelsea last season.
He’s very much a form player as well and again, I ask you – is Jose’s Chelsea the place for him to play four or five games doing absolutely nothing trying to regain his fitness and lose the four or five pounds he’s carrying? Nope, I cant see it either. We just cannot afford to carry any passengers – ask Torres.
So we’ve established that he’s probably not as hungry as he was. He’s probably not bouncing out of bed every morning any more for training in the rain and cold and he probably doesnt lie awake in bed every night unable to sleep because he’s so desperate to win trophies. We’ve outlined that he’s physically on the Wayne (pun intended) and that he’s had his best years in this regard. We’ve covered the fact that he’s only going to pick up more and more injuries from here on in, and that he’ll only take longer and longer to recover from them.
What else is there?
Well, there’s the media circus surrounding him which I’ve always found distasteful. He’s a media celebrity and owes more than he’ll ever know to Fergie for the latter’s help in dealing with the media. Fergie had the press in his pocket for so long, that the press have been straightjacketed in terms of how they can report on his players. A John Terry-esque witchhunt would not have been tolerated. Rooney would not have this protection at Chelsea. You get the sense that having built him up and made him out to be the best player on the planet at times during his United career, that the media are licking their lips to knock him down again for not performing for England. Him signing for everyone’s favourite panto villain and enemy of football etc would be like a blue rag to a bull – they’d absolutely destroy him.
We saw what happens when the media do not approve of a transfer from one of England’s old school big clubs to new money Chelsea in a certain Mr Torres – once they decide that the claws are out and the agenda is set, there can be no appeasing them. That Torres scored many more goals than Rooney last season and looked a far better player most of the time yet was still lambasted as the single worst player ever to play football whilst nobody even mentioned the awful season Rooney had, proves my point. Will they go balls out knives out for Rooney if he signs for us? Yes. Will non-stop media negativity affect him if his desire and hunger is not there? Of course. That’s why they do it.
So do we want to smash our wage policy to pay daft ridiculous money for *another* massively overpaid, overrated and over-the-hill media circus on legs who just attracts negative headlines no matter what else he does?
No.
Another fact to bring up is that Rooney is unlikely to start every game at Chelsea. Given that Lukaku, Torres and probably Ba as well are all better at holding the ball up and tracking back to help in defence than Rooney is, how many games would he really get? 25? 30? Tops?
How will the media report that I wonder? Even if he scores every other game he plays for us (which I think is massively unlikely given last two seasons)…
BATTLE OF THE FLOPS: CHELSEA FLOP ROONEY DROPPED FOR 50M FLOP TORRES
Etc.
I can almost hear the collective underwear creaming from the sports hacks already.
If I was Rooney’s agent I’d be advising him in the strongest possible terms to either take the money and the months of bench time at PSG or the paycut and the guaranteed starting spot at Arsenal because he’d get a far easier ride at both clubs.
I’m sure Rooney himself likes the idea of playing under Jose but does Rooney strike you as the sort of player Jose likes?
Lazy, overweight, a potential front-page liability, questionable desire, injury prone, doesn’t track back much, short on confidence and criminally short on form, lacking a yard or three of pace he once had, prone to bouts of ill discipline, loves the WAG lifestyle, best years behind him, media circus (harder to deflect blame when we lose etc)?
Don’t see it boys and girls, I’m sorry.
Again, I’m not saying he isn’t a good player. He is. On his day. I just dont think the signs are there that he’d have many of those days at Chelsea.
Pass please Chelsea.
CAREFREE.
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