Wayne Rooney has worn the England talisman tag, now it is time for him to don the Super Sub label.
That is the serious consideration Fabio Capello has to mull over before Wednesday’s crucial World Cup Group C match against Slovenia.
As someone who reported and marvelled at the United striker’s excellent August to the end of March form for the Reds, it pains me to say it but the nation’s under-fire Italian coach now has to bench the 24-year-old hitman in Port Elizabeth.
It is not about making Rooney the scapegoat for England’s disappointing opener against the USA, nor the even more abject and unacceptable display against Algeria last Friday night, nor punishing him for his childish response to the jeers that greeted England last Friday after the 0-0 stalemate with Algeria.
It is not a knee-jerk hysterical reaction to facing World Cup exit and humiliation just seven days and two matches into the tournament and let’s look to the biggest name and make him pay to shock the rest of the squad into a reaction.
It is about what is best for England and Wayne Rooney.
He has apologised for his heat of the moment outburst in front of the TV cameras when he attacked England fans. That is now a closed chapter.
But quite evidently Rooney is either completely out of juice, he isn’t comfortable in Capello’s game plan, or as the Italian reckons, “The problem is in his mind.”
Ludicrous
Whatever the reason, sitting on his hands and doing nothing is surely not an option for Capello with his future and England’s World Cup hanging by a thread.
Axing Rooney completely would be ludicrous. But having Rooney as a revved up option among the subs as insurance is a sensible alternative under the circumstances.
Wearing the Super Sub label is not one Rooney has had to endure too much in his Old Trafford career. Nor is it a tag that sits too comfortably with him.
Sir Alex Ferguson rarely chooses to omit the £30m striker from his first choice XI.
But it has been known and it has worked on some of the biggest stages.
The last time Rooney had to remain in his tracksuit at the kick off for the Reds was at Wembley back in February for the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa.
By choice Fergie decided on a brief winter rest for United’s star performer for the clash with the big spring push around the corner.
However, Michael Owen’s hamstring injury after 42 minutes forced Sir Alex’s hand and with the game locked at 1-1 it was inevitably that a fired up Rooney answered the call and won the trophy for the Reds with a second half header.
In December 2008 in Japan at the FIFA Club World Cup, Rooney sat on the bench for United’s opening match in the tournament against Gamba Osaka. But when Fergie called upon him in Yokohama he plundered two goals in seven minutes of getting on.
Three days later he was United’s man of the match and goal hero as they became World Champions against Liga de Quito.
Of course, those are two moments when the tactic has worked but the flip side of the coin is that you are taking the risk of winding up Rooney so much by taking him out of the firing line that when he does return he is an out-of-control accident waiting to happen.
If he were to be left on the bench against Slovenia and things were not going well for England, would it be Rooney the focused calm hero of the hour or Rooney with the red mist ready to descend at any moment?
In season 2008-09 when Sir Alex Ferguson chose to rest Rooney at Craven Cottage things went badly for the Reds.
When he came on at half-time and couldn’t turn the ship around against Fulham the frustrated striker was eventually sent off.
Which Rooney reaction would you get in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is anybody’s guess but can England or the Reds hitman continue to hope whatever is troubling him will kick into life without some form of assistance.
On occasions it seems Rooney needs to be taken out of the firing line either for recuperation reasons or to fire up his form and he storms back.
He appears to have reached that point with England in South Africa.
Iron-fisted Capello is supposed to be the no-nonsense figure who doesn’t have favourites and no player has a guaranteed place in his XI.
It is a characteristic that pre-World Cup everybody was claiming was just what England have needed for years.
Post-Steve McClaren era when it was all very chummy and “Stevie G this and Wazza that” from the England coach, the Italian doesn’t have a ‘players’ pal’ approach and was looked on as the perfect antidote to McClaren’s unsuccessful way.
Choices
Shaking up the England squad hierarchy and putting everyone on their toes saw the team storm through qualification.
Capello has not been shy of making a big decision or two whether it was right or wrong. Axing John Terry as captain, for example, or dropping Robert Green following his blunder against the USA, were the actions of a man prepared to ruffle feathers.
The time has come for him to earn his £6m a year FA contract and make another choice that you couldn’t have forseen when England’s plane landed on South African soil two weeks ago.
England now seem so lacking in ideas and Rooney such a heavy touch shadow of his former self, that it would seem something drastic has to be done.
Rooney hasn’t been the player whose outstanding form saw him win both the PFA and Football Writers’ prestigious Footballer of the year awards with a landslide majority since he collapsed clutching his ankle in the Allianz Arena in United’s fateful Champions League match against Bayern Munich.
Crossing your fingers that he’ll wake up one morning and his pre-March 30 form will be on tap again, is surely now no longer an option.
Alf Ramsey didn’t choose to drop his first choice Jimmy Greaves in 1966 but when the prolific scorer was injured in a final group game against France and his replacement Geoff Hurst scored in the quarter-finals, the England manager made the decision to stick with the latter.
It wasn’t initially a well received decision by Ramsey but history proved his judgement spot on. Resting the player who was our pre-tournament world class ticket to success could be Capello’s Ramsey moment.
A Rooney-less England might just be the once unthinkable, but unexpected, gamble that sparks our World Cup.
Lighting a fire under Rooney by letting him brood and boil on the bench against the Slovenians, wouldn’t break Rooney but it could also make him.
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what a joke of an article! Stuart surely wrote the above tongue in cheek!
Stuart,
I think it is you who is "completely out of juice"
All Capello needs to do is play players in their best positions and bring in Cole for Heskey
complaints from the england camp about the manager being too strict and not listening to anyone elses viewpoint the same manager they all adored a month ago as they were waiting to see if they got a free south african holiday good job these primma donnas never played under ramsay clough or a certain bill mc'garry great managers great intelligenge but a slight blind spot understandind the term PLAYER POWER get the egoistic posers home now
this article sums up ingerland. Come home wayne and spend the summer with Scholesy - a man who knows UNITED > england.
Same old Media..........England fail because too many of the players just aren't good enough....but that's not a story so let's write one that is linked to United. That will drum up some fervour !!
"Beck's at fault for England's poor world Cup"
"Rooney rant robs England".
"Carrick latest to blame new ball"
" tired rooney ?....blame Fergie ! "
" don't blame Green........ blame Foster & Fergie ! "
" Scholes didn't want to know "
" Cole needs 5 chances to score one "
" Neville loves United more than England "
"United players stick together"
" Phil Neville is ugly "
He isn't fit and hasn't been since his ankle injury against Munich. He allowed himself to be rushed back into action by SAF in an attempt to save utd's season. It didn't work and England and Rooney are paying the consequences. He simply isn't worth a shirt because he has given the team nothing yet. His control, positioning and stamina are non existent.
Rooney should not have apologised for speaking the truth - So-called England fans "supporting" the team by booing at the World Cup! That's not support. That's not loyalty. That's not what being a supporter should be about.
Well said Wayne!
Good idea. Might spark him back into life as he has been woeful so far. Thats why Utd need some more attacking options as well. Rooney could of had his best season for us last year, goal scoring wise, you just dont know. Hernandez might come good. Fergie will hang onto the Berbaflop as he knows if he sells him he aint guaranteed the money to buy new players. Would like to see Cleverley being given game time, as it looks like the pot is bare for new players. He showed at Watford he can score from central midfield, something glaringly missing from Utds game. Having no money for players might be a blessing in disguise for some of the up and comings. You never know some might actually break through.
Let Heskey play alone up front :) So Rooney won't get injured. Great for United.
No wonder he didn't score.. He's used to getting great passes and crosses from Scholes Nani and Valencia, now there's Fat Frank and some overrated Scouser who can not run nor pass straight anymore. And Lennon/wright phillips... ? lol ...maybe good enough for citeh, but not for a world cup
Can not understand the delusional England "fans" anyway, telling some sky sports reporter "England 5-0 EASY WIN AGAINST ALGERIA". If Algeria had a bit more confidence in playing more offensive, then England would have lost. 5-0 lol
'We'll win the world cup, it's a great era etc' .... with that team?? delusioness at its best
UNITED > ENGLAND
I'd drop Capello before Rooney. He is frustrated with having to play with players that couldn't even clean his boots, like Heskey, Crouch, Wright-Phillips. Players like Ashley Young, Adam Johnson and Agbonlahor sitting at home. And where the hell is Joe Cole??? That is why he is out of sorts and it is Capello's fault.
I don't agree with Stuart. Rooney is England's best player it's the shower he's on the pitch with that need dropping. Rooney's apologised for the crap that came out of his mouth & that should be his spur to have a blinder. Gerard & Lampard should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of bottle alleged WC players don't crumble. Why the hell Carraghalah is there is pathetic him & Terry played like geriatrics. Heskey is embarrassing. They are all just in it for themselves & endorsements IMO. Apart from feeling sorry for the people who've spent a fortune flying over I don't really care if they get knocked out on Wednesday.
If he's fit, he plays.
It is then down to Capello to conjure a formation that works, why not drag Rooney back to midfield to get him more involved, bring crouch and defoe (ie a partnership who have played together many times) in, leave heskey and barry out.
thats my 2-penneth.
Interesting idea but can't see it happening.
What he said after the match was very insulting to the fans who paid a lot of money and wasted a lot of time going to the match. I bet very few are as rich as he is. He showed that he still has some issues in regards to his temper but you could see he was very unhappy with the performance of the team as a whole which is good.
My only fear is that maybe he is trying too hard and should try and relax.
I think Capello made a massive mistake in not taking Adam Johnson, NOT because I'm a blue, but because he gives another option to a very limited bench!
Be interesting to see who starts on wednesday. I'd go with Crouch and Rooney. Crouch is by no means a pretty footballer (physically or skilfully) but there's no denying his international scoring record!
Rooney has scored 30+ goals this season playing as a loan striker in the main supported by a 5 man midfield. For Capello to ignore that fact is shear arrogance.
Behind Rooney should be Cole, Barry, Gerard, Milner and Lennon. If Lampard cannot replicate club form for England, and he hasn't ever done that, then he should be sent home.
That midfield could protect our vulnerable centre backs and provide some decent ball for Rooney IN THE OPPOSITIONS BOX not 3 0 yards from goal.
And as for Terry's bleating to the press does anyone else think he is getting his excuses in first before he is exposed as the thoroughly average thuggish cart horse that he always looks like without Carvalho, KIng or Rio to get him out of the mire ??
rooney isnt injured?
we dont have a geoeff hurst?
stupid article imo its time to drop stuart mathieson
Why is the emphasis on Rooney when all of the other players haven't performed either? Yes he has played poorly in the last two games but he is a special player and easily the most talented of the lot. To remove him would significantly weaken the team. If Capello played a system that suited Rooney with 5 in midfield I am sure we would do better. Then he could earn his 6million by ruffling Crouch, Defoe and Heskeys feathers instead!
Totally agree. Keep him on the bench for the first half. If the repleacement does well keep him off. If the replacement does badly, bring him on the second half, by which time he will be hungry to play.
So what you are suggesting is that the player the entire english press rested their hopes on to win us the World Cup has a bad game against Algeria and now he needs to be on the bench????
What happens if Heskey, Crouch and Defoe miss a hatfull of chances, i know, the same papers will slate Fabio for not playing Wayne.
Look at how SAF deals with him, he has on occasion gone 8 games without scoring a goal, but when they come, they win you games.
I'll tell you what, drop Lampard, Gerrard and John Terry and replace them on Wednesday night. All have been poor at this world cup so shelve some blame with these players also.
If Wayne does play and scores the winning goal, i hope he ignores the English press.
You always need a scapegoat for our failings e.g Beckham, Ronaldo
Type your comment here...Yes!
well i always thought you reported on fiction and not fact but to suggest Rooney should be dropped i now know you know nothing of football and how low standards of reporting have dropped at the Manchester Evening News. Go and write your fiction elsewhere.
Pod The Red
What a load of cobblers!
It's rubbish. The defense needs to push higher and to be able to do that Carragher needs to be axed he is way to slow. Also the middfield needs to play wider and with Barry, Gerrard and Lampard all on the field that is never going to happen, put on some good wingers and Carrick should be abel to feed them with dirrect balls. Also Heskey is laughable and shouldn't even be in South Africa. The thing is that Rooney needs good service and the players he has been playing with just can't give it to him.
Friday was the worst I have seen Rooney play but I would give him 45 mins on Wed. to see if there is any improvement. If not, I would certainly bring him off but for who? The player I would drop is Lampard. He's never played well for England and him and Gerrard are the real problem. They don't give the team the right balance and Capello is making exactly the same mistake as Ericsson by trying to fit the "best" players into a team that does'nt work. Scholes must be laughing all the way home!
Rooney should start wearing his 'lucky' gloves again
Stuart. Step into my office... Your fired..... Your P45 will be posted to you!!!!
This article is nonsence!