8/13/2007

Is Rooney's absense from the England squad really a "devastating loss" ?

Apparently Wayne Rooney is to be out of action for two months, meaning he will miss four England European Championship qualifiers and a friendly against Germany.

On the BBC website Alan Shearer describes Rooney's absence as "devastating for England and Steve McLaren". I disagree.

The statistics show that Rooney has not scored a goal in a competitive England match since joining Manchester united three years ago. Indeed his biggest contribution to England in the last three years was getting himself sent off against Portugal in the last world cup, and thus contributing to England's elimination from the tournament.

Some loss ?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wayne Rooney is the most talented footballer in the world and his abilities on the pitch are not limited to scoring goals. Of course he will be missed by England. Hugely.

He is one of the few England players who gives 100% when he plays for the national team. Perhaps only David Beckham and Steven Gerrard compare for commitment.

We have some of the top players in the world yet they tend to play like a Sunday league side when they get together. We certainly need Rooney.

Anonymous said...

I disagree. Rooney's motivation is money. If he was passionate about England he would not be best mates with Ronaldo, the man who got him sent off in the world cup.

What has Rooney's contribution been to any of England's qualification wins ?

Nich Starling said...

Sky Sports showed some interesting stats last night. Since Rooney was picked for England first 4 years ago, we have lost only one game in which he has NOT played. In total we ahve won 82% of matches in that period he has not played in, but won only 52% of games he HAS played in.

Pages