They used to be the main men at Manchester United but time is catching up as Fenerbahce’s Europa League visit to Old Trafford showedThe presence of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie revived memories of when Manchester United were last a force. Those halcyon days occurred three long years ago when a record 20th championship was claimed at Old Trafford on an April night. Van Persie’s hat-trick sank Aston Villa and Sir Alex Ferguson lauded the Dutchman’s second strike as the “goal of the century”.It was a sweet over-the-shoulder volley that Van Persie hit on 13 minutes to give Brad Guzan no chance. The provider? Rooney, whose placing in midfield during that season began the quandary over his best position...
After a gloomy international break Rooney returns to Manchester United unsure how many chances to shine he will get before England reconvene next monthGlacial is the word that springs to mind when contemplating international breaks these days. Every few weeks the hurly burly of the Premier League gives way to a version of the same sport that operates at a snail’s pace. That is not just watching England either. Time seems to stand still for the whole of the process, making Wayne Rooney losing his place a five-day drip-feed of suggestion, confirmation, reaction and then attempted rehabilitation, with the eventual match a bolted-on afterthought that leaves the landscape oddly unchanged, save for the somewhat surprising discovery that hardcore England fans...
English football loved the assassin‑faced baby but what we are left with now is a fading pro, approaching his 31st birthdayIt has all seemed so joyless at times, with so many long, difficult periods when it has seemed like a black drape could be placed over the entire team it might surprise you to learn that when Gareth Southgate took his seat in the Stadion Stozice and set out his reasons for dropping Wayne Rooney it was seven years to the day since England had lost a qualifying fixture.It can seem almost a trick of the mind to remind yourself that England are unbeaten in all qualifiers since a 2009 defeat in Ukraine when Rob Green was sent off and, losing...
The podders assess England’s win over Malta and the rest of the international action: is this the beginning of the end for Wayne Rooney? Plus, Steve Bruce looks set for Aston Villa – but is the Championship’s gain literature’s loss?Subscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastOn today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by Rafa Honigstein, Iain Macintosh and Jacob Steinberg to whiffle on about the World Cup qualifiers. Is this finally the end of the road for Wayne Rooney? Does Gordon Strachan have a clue? Why can’t Wales win any more? Continue reading...
The most remarkable thing about the England captain beyond his goalscoring records is that no English footballer has ever been so widely discussedDon’t kill Wayne Rooney. You need Wayne Rooney. These were the last and also the most interesting words spoken by Sven-Goran Eriksson during his time as England manager, a period of almost-success that came flooding back this week with the news the Fake Sheikh Mazher Mahmood has been convicted of perverting the course of justice.Mahmood was the sting artist who plied Sven with £900 champagne on a hired yacht in 2006 to get him to say he wouldn’t mind managing Aston Villa and maybe David Beckham could be persuaded to come too. Yeah. I could do that. Beckham....