On a weekend we were meant to be sending strong signals to our main rivals while embarking on a season-defining fortnight by thrashing Wigan 4-0 at the DW Stadium thanks to 2 brilliant strikes by Chicharito, Rooney grabs the headlines for the second PL weekend running, although, this time, for the wrong reasons.
As Man Utd fans around the world vehemently argue against the notion that we get away with everything (as if Terry and Gerrard never get away with anything at all ever…) as Rooney is spared punishment from the FA, there should be no condoning or defence of what he did. Anyone blessed with the power of vision can clearly see Rooney elbowing James McCarthy in the face for no apparent reason apart from maybe McCarthy just stepping on his path.
That happened with the score 0-0, in the first 10 minutes of the first of 3 big away games for Utd which could shape our season. How different could the match have been if we were down to 10 men with 80+ minutes to play against a very spirited Wigan side who were causing us all sorts of problem in that first half? Given our atrocious away form this season, I don’t think we would have escaped unscathed!
On top of that, our first choice striker would have been banned for 3 more games and possibly more if FA had reviewed the incident retrospectively. I know we have good cover in the form of Berbatov and Hernandez, but with a heavily-congested fixture schedule, we need all our senior strikers to be fit and on form if we are going to have our hands on some silverware at the end of the season.
Even without thinking about how it would have affected Man Utd, that kind of thuggery has no place in the game. But then, for some time, Rooney’s over-zealous approach to football has been tolerated by most people, purely because there was a feeling he might lose some of his spark and inspiration if he doesn’t tackle someone from behind or swear at a referee once in a while.
As long as he didn’t cause serious injury to anyone, he didn’t cost us matches and was actually playing well, it was fine. But the elbow incident was the final straw for me. He had been looking very frustrated in matches lately and on Saturday, he came very close to wrecking what looks like a very tight yet promising title race for us. Rooney needs to get his act together. He offered a glimpse of what he is capable of against Man City when he is not telling referees to f*ck off and lashing out at players (like against Crawley Town).
He better stick to what he does best because Utd fans as well as coaches at the club will be running out of patience with his apparent lack of discipline on the pitch which could cost us dear at this stage of the season.
Good post Chudi. Patience with Rooney is wearing thin thats for sure.
We do not pay him what we do for him to act like that. A 3 game ban could have had serious effect on title chances.
The constant swearing at refs and general aggressive nature brings shame on this club and someone should step in and have a word.
You would have thought that after all the contract issues earlier in the season he would keep his head down but nothing seems to get through to him.
i thot i was d only one dat felt disgusted by that action….Rooney is a top player, buh he needs to get certain things outta d way…+ he shld realise dat some fans (me inclusive)are yet to forget his disrespect to the club and all that it upholds
Absolutely agree, I thought he had gone a long way towards redemption after the winner against Citeh, but again, he’s taken another step backwards! He doesnt appear to be happy this season, and maybe the rumours about him only signing a contract, so we could command a better fee for him are true!!
Couldn’t agree more with you, disgrace
Rooney is a disgrace at the moment and we keep leaving either the leagues top scorer in Berbatov or our new wonderboy Hernandez on the bench to cater for him. He should be dropped like anyone else would be playing the way he is. He disrespected our club by wanting to go to City and now he behaves like this. In my opinion, we should sell him in the summer and buy someone like Kun Aguero from Atletico Madrid.
I have read somewhere that he’s had some small scuffles with seniors like giggsy,scholesy, owen etc and there is some slight friction involved(could be BS, read it on twitter)
There’s simply no heart in the way he goes around..Nothing he does seems to come off, along with that the way he shouts at guys like nani etc iam surprised that they don’t give him back..The elbow incident was completely stupid considering it was only 7 min on the clock and us having massive away games ahead..
I certainly feel that wayne needs a right kick up his ass, someone like keano would have done those honours..Personally i was not at all concerned whether he was banned or not, cause iam not sure he merits a place on current form..I so miss that old mean machine who worked his ass off for the team.
Another point is that going by the great dane’s philosophy of defining greatness, his bottom level is pathetic for such a gifted footballer..
Grow up wayne, ffs a complete rookie from mexico is outperforming you..
without rooney man utd are and were less dangeruos ,he maybe does not score like last year but he`s presents and his passing and teamwork is better than any forwards that manchester has ,including wingers,he can spot a trough pass ,and always has an eye for another better positioned player,something what nani still has to develop