We here at The Busby Way have not been living under a rock and are aware of the situation with Wayne Rooney.
Initially as the editor of the site I decided I wanted nothing to do with the whole thing. I’m a United fan and this is a supporter site so fanning the flames of the story in no way shows support to Rooney or the club. I was made aware that the papers were going to release the story early on Saturday night and we could have jumped at the chance to get a couple reads but I thought it’s something I’d prefer to leave alone.
As I said initially I decided to avoid it but you can’t bury your head in the sand, it is a big issue that is looming large over the club so I’ll handle it how it should be, in footballing terms. I’m going to sit on my high horse sitting here passing judgement on Rooney or the lady involved, as I don’t know the proper details etc. We have all done things that people will abhor.
In terms of football many are citing the story as the reason Rooney didn’t perform at the World Cup, perhaps it was. I would like to think it also had to do with the fact he may still have been carrying injuries going into the competition with groin and ankle problems. The day before the story blew Rooney put in one hell of a performance against Bulgaria so who is to say Rooney isn’t able to separate his personal life from his professional? Tonight’s game with Switzerland should tell us a lot, if he does actually play.
Rooney’s passion and emotion is often talked about. Many people say it helps make him the player he is and I agree. I love his temperament and attitude. I feel when he has his back up against the wall and the world against him he is at his dangerous best and this is the situation he finds himself in. He is the talk of the town, everyone has a word to say about him and the majority of it being negative so I relish seeing Rooney silence his critics (whether they are right or wrong).
Unfortunately the timing of the revelation couldn’t have come at a worse time considering our next league opponents. You don’t need to give Everton fans an excuse to rip into Rooney and Liverpool will be equally vocal in their jeering but this points back to my previous point about Rooney silencing his critics. This being said I fear he could get caught up in the whole situation at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Sir Alex won’t be happy with the whole situation and rightly so. It has brought unnecessary attention to the club and I expect Sir Alex to have a word with the striker. I don’t think it will have massive reverberations in the dressing room despite ‘Michael Owen’s dirty looks’.
I think the whole thing is bigger in the showbiz world than it is in the football world, it is the second time a story like this has happened involving Rooney and it didn’t break him then and it won’t break him now. I just hope he can keep his head down and let his football do his talking with all the questions that are currently up in the air.
