There’s only two days to go to the start of the world’s biggest football tournament and it seems Wayne Rooney has lost his temper and is a reckless man who could ruin England’s hopes at the World Cup in South Africa.
Rooney ranted at the referee in England’s last warm-up game against local minnows and suddenly everyone is worried that the Manchester United striker is a ticking time bomb ready to explode and blow the World Cup for a nation.
Preparing a scapegoat? Sounds like it. There has to be one after all, why not Rooney? Why not the one who is carrying the hopes of a nation on his back?
The fact remains that in probably every game the England No10 played for his club this year, he swore at the referee, even if it was from afar on certain occasions. Why is it suddenly a big deal?
In fact, John Terry does it a lot, Steven Gerrard also has a go at testing his French skills on a regular basis on the pitch and I’m sure everyone’s loveable giant Peter Crouch has showed his dismay at more than one referee this season.
The referee in question in Monday’s game, Mr Jeff Selogilwe, claimed Rooney said ‘F*** you’ in an outburst towards him. Should he be swearing? No. Will it get him sent off in South Africa? Unlikely.
The reaction to this incident, which would have been nothing if the referee had not spoken to the press, has been over the top.
Suddenly all the enthusiasm and passion Rooney shows on the pitch is now recklessness and stupidity.
Certain members of the media have been claiming Rooney constantly shows his frustration when his, and his fellow players’, performances drop below par. Since Monday’s incident, some are complaining that he is harming morale with his constant berating, some claim he is risking a red card when he jumps into a tackle to regain possession and some say he needs to calm down.
To them people I would say don’t be so inane. As an outsider looking in on the foray surrounding England at South Africa, Rooney’s passion is key, in my view to any slim hopes of success at this World Cup for Fabio Capello's men.
He has led the line for Manchester United all season with that same passion, a fire in his belly that his keeping the hunger for success warm. He lets his team-mates know when they’ve made a mistake, he shows his anger at himself when he loses possession by sprinting 40 yards to reclaim possession and he inspires others around him.
In an age of overpaid players, who couldn’t care less what colour shirt they’re wearing but more about the zeros on the pay cheque, Rooney’s attitude is a breath of fresh air.
When he wears the white of England or the red of United, he wants to succeed, he has the passion, so much in fact it has the potential to boil over but Rooney has only been sent off once since the infamous Ronaldo wink incident in 2006.
Rooney has matured greatly since that night in Germany and being managed by men like Sir Alex Ferguson and Capello has certainly helped. The striker has put all that over aggression into his performances which have reaped dividend to say the least.
Rooney needs to be left to let rip, to let that fire breathe and roar like one of these English lions that you go on about all the time. He has the passion that others crave but if Capello tries to stifle it by telling him to calm down then England’s slim World Cup chances will be well and truly smothered.
agreed Chris. Rooney is not a dirty or malicious player but a player who wears his heart on his sleeve everytime he steps onto the pitch, and yes sometimes his over-exuberance takes over and gets him in trouble but without him and his raw passion the england side are little more than a bunch of spoilt know-it-alls destined for the inevitable heart-ache that we've sen in previous years. You'll be hard pushed to find a player at the tournament who will wear his nations colours with such pride and I believe that Englands success and Rooney's passion and ability will go hand in hand
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