English Premier League News: “Wayne Rooney is mentally distracted,” says Sir Alex Ferguson
Over the past few weeks, Wayne Rooney’s world has taken a nosedive – allegations about his private life and a goal drought for his club point towards an unhappy present for the star striker.
According to the Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney is going through a tough patch mentally. The illustrious manager further claimed that the furore over his private life is affecting Rooney adversely both mentally
and in terms of his match performances.
Ups and downs are a part of the game but mental freshness is very important for athletes and Rooney doesn’t seem to be in anything other than a state of mental disrepair at the moment. Sir Alex argued that Rooney’s dip in performances
is primarily because he’s losing his focus in the sport.
Last season was a revelation for the Manchester United striker as he thumped in 34 goals. After a disappointing World Cup, Rooney has struggled to capture anything resembling his form of last year. When asked about Rooney’s form, Ferguson mentioned that Rooney
is still trying to burden the pressures of reproducing his form from last year as well as all the attention brought onto him due to allegations made in the papers about his personal life. Sir Alex also noted that with fame come trappings, and tabloid attention
is just one of them.
“I don’t believe he has a confidence problem but the boy is starting to realise finally, without any question, what kind of focus is on him as a human being,” Ferguson told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Since Wayne Rooney is one of the most famous sportsmen in the world, it is probably not just the glare of photographers and television cameras that keeps Rooney up at night. Perhaps most important is the player’s unsteady relationship
with his wife – especially after allegations about Rooney’s personal life were made public in the tabloids.
These days, the 24-year old is trying to concentrate on his game because it is important for him to keep his head down and play the game with freedom. Rooney still remains a vital cog in both the Manchester United and England side,
and this is something that Ferguson noted in his recent interviews. With Rooney in glorious form, both teams perform immeasurably better than when Rooney is playing poorly.
Currently Manchester United are third in the Premier League table behind Chelsea and Arsenal (though equal with Arsenal on points) and seem to be doing well enough on the attacking front without Rooney in full flight. However,
Ferguson claimed that regardless of results, Manchester United are a stronger team with Rooney in the team to help orchestrate things.
The importance of Wayne Rooney cannot be questioned, and without doubt if the striker hits form sooner rather than later, Manchester United will find themselves tearing up the league.
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