Football Special: Wayne Rooney’s dilemma
Manchester United’s dilemma is directly related with Wayne Rooney. The striker became the only consistent goal scorer for United, ever since Cristiano Ronaldo bid farewell to Old Trafford. However, Rooney has failed to find his scoring touch, Manchester
United is also failing to get good results. This season, the club has dropped points in all their away games, which shows the extent of their problems.
The main problem for Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, is Wayne Rooney. Although, Dimitar Berbatov has found his scoring touch in recent matches, still, Ferguson really depends on Rooney, the only player with some flair in Manchester United.
On the other hand, Rooney has failed to live up to the expectations of his manager and fans. Because of his lack of concentration, he is also facing fitness problems, day in and day out.
Therefore, amidst all this drama, Sir Alex Ferguson decided to drop him from the team. Manchester United was visiting Sunderland in the Stadium of Light. Sunderland has been performing well this season, showing good results against Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester City. In their home fixtures, Steve Bruce’s side is known for their physical presence and strength. Rooney was not fit enough for Ferguson, as he was struggling with an injury. Therefore, it was an easy decision to drop him from the squad.
Rooney, on the other hand, is at a critical stage of his career. He wanted to play against Sunderland, despite his injury. The real aim for the striker is to do well for England, but he thinks that Ferguson is not giving him many chances. During an interview
with the press, Rooney stated that he had conveyed to his manager that he would be willing to play a part against Sunderland. The international break is also coming, while England would be continuing their successful run in Euro 2012 qualifiers. Rooney wanted
this match in order to get selected for the England’s qualification match.
However, after a clear statement by Ferguson, announcing Rooney’s absence from the match, Rooney seems to be in more pressure. He hoped that Fabio Capello would select him for the England’s fixture, despite his injury concerns. On the other hand, he is also
upset about lack of opportunity, as the striker believed that the only way for him to stage a come-back is by playing more matches.
Also, Sir Alex Ferguson has also come out to defend his decision. He stated that Rooney needed some rest because of his injury problem. Previously, Rooney did try to play with minor injuries, but it resulted in long-term injuries for the striker. Ferguson
made this tough decision to travel to Sunderland without his star striker, in order to save his player from further problems. Apart from that, Ferguson also showed his pleasure about Rooney’s enthusiasm for playing despite his injury, but he felt that it was
his duty to protect him.
Whether Rooney plays for England or not is yet to be seen. One thing is clear that the striker is seeing his end now, because of compounding problems. For his English team and his club, Rooney has showed no signs of fitness or quality. Although, he got some
goals, but most of them were easy tap-ins, created by the midfielders. This indicates that the striker is losing his winning touch with each passing day.
Also, the fitness problems are also generating, which has made it hard for Rooney to re-discover his form. Since the end of last season, Wayne Rooney is often found sitting on the sidelines because of short-term injuries. And recently, Rooney’s career received
a hiccup in shape of the striker’s domestic problems. Due to a negative portrayal in the media, it is hard for him to concentrate fully on his job.
It is always hard for a player to regain his status. Often it requires calm and cool behaviour from the players. However, Rooney is not known for keeping his cool during the matches. So, for him the job to stage a comeback is even harder. Therefore, it is
being speculated that his career might be coming to an early end.
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