In defence of Wayne Rooney

Thank God, I am not English.

I am, however, a big fan of the English Premier League (Manchester United, which will come to bear shortly) and the English national football team.
Which is why I staved off writing this till the ashes had settled (no, not the cricket ones. Not yet, at least).
 

Obituaries have filled today’s papers and websites. Post mortems that would make CSI look amateurish have already been conducted. Even some verdicts have been passed. Every lover of the game and follower of the Three Lions (or 23 pussycats) wants to know: Who is responsible for the murder and rape of England?
My objective is only one: to make sure neither the crime nor the time is pinned on Wayne Rooney (yup, the Man Utd connection).
Allow me to state my case.

The Gaffer is always right

Wayne Rooney does what the coach tells him to. It’s been one of the secrets of his success. Sir Alex Fergusson had him play as a left-winger for an entire season. He did it and did it well. He then had him play alone as a lone striker upfront. He did it and did it well.

So, when Fabio Capello tells him to play upfront with Jermaine Defoe or Emile Heskey, he will do just that. Now, here’s the problem. Rooney is such an intuitive and instinctive player that when another striker crowds his space he immediately moves away looking for other spaces and more importantly looking for the ball to put through for his strike partner. Capello’s first mistake. Forcing Rooney out of the space where he is most lethal.

Passed away

Rooney did his best to listen to his coach and not go searching for the ball. But, the ball never came to him. Capello’s second mistake.
The whole of England and possibly the world are sure Rooney is England’s best player and best goal-scorer. Surely, that many people cannot be wrong. Capello played a system where getting the ball to Rooney was not the be-all and end-all of every move. It should have been. Capello went in believing all his players were equal and therefore, the pass was to be made to whoever was open. Fatal flaw.

Players got used to NOT looking for Rooney. Every move should have been built around Rooney. Not only did Rooney lose his space upfront, he also never got the ball.

Need for speed

After the first game, I was bemused by the pace at which England were passing the ball and running. I thought the screaming Capello was yelling about the need for speed. After the second game, I began wondering if it was Capello’s tactics to play slowly. After the game against Germany I am convinced Capello played the age-old Italian way of ‘keep the ball at any cost’. Especially, at the cost of speed.

The players’ prime motive was not to lose the ball. Even if it meant passing it so slowly that the opposite team had all the time in the world to set up their defence. Wayne Rooney is one of the fastest forwards in the world. He is not designed to play ‘thread the needle’. His movement off the ball works because defences are being worked out of position by lightning-quick build-up play. In South Africa, England were moving the ball so slowly that when they decided to give it to him, he always had three players marking him. He had no chance to play.

So…

A combination of the above three factors clearly shows Rooney played in a set-up and system that was never designed to allow him to play. The  prima facie evidence I provide might be an indictment for Fabio Capello. That I leave to your judgement and wisdom. However, leave Wayne Rooney alone. Like England, he was set-up, to fail.
 

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