FC Ronaldo
Posts stuff that's been said before in tweet form
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Daniel Storey at F365, I salute you.
http://www.football365.com/news/england-blame-game-16-conclusions
http://www.football365.com/news/england-blame-game-16-conclusions
Wayne Rooney
England’s captain, leader and biggest on-field culprit. The manner in which Rooney was shoehorned into England’s starting XI whatever the cost was frustrating. The way in which he stayed on against Iceland until the 87th minute was galling. Even if some people thought he was worth 8/10.
Rooney started England’s qualifying campaign as a striker. He moved back into midfield not through any expectation of excellence in the role, but because he was not longer fit-for-purpose as a forward at club level. Having started at the age of 16, the body has gone. The killer instinct is now the killer extinct.
Initially, signs were promising. There were still relevant concerns about Eric Dier being exposed by a central midfielder whose mobility and stamina were on the wane, but against teams who were happy to let England have the ball, Rooney almost thrived. Yet even then it was impossible to tell what type of midfielder Rooney would be. He just sort of ‘was’, there when you looked up at the screen without ever really changing the course of play. Playing 30-yard passes to a full-back is a weirder party trick than that thing your uncle does with his trouser pockets and genitals.
The best captains, just like the best midfielders, spur their team on when it really matters. Against Iceland, Rooney did the opposite. He was monumentally bad, incapable of holding onto the ball and then inaccurate with his passing. To have 91 touches and yet be only England’s eighth-best passer and create one chance is appalling. Rather than put life into England’s play, their captain created a creativity vacuum.
Rooney did not retire from international football after the match, but England’s next manager should make the decision for him. Rooney has been a magnificent player for his country, but that time has now passed. When the dynamism has been lost, so too has Rooney’s England raison d’etre.