Rooney – seeing things more clearly than we think?

Written by Eoin O'Callaghan on October 19, 2010 | 10 Comments »
Posted in General, Manchester United, Money Game

Back in January 1995, Sir Alex Ferguson was attempting to deal with the fall-out of Eric Cantona’s now infamous Selhurst Park kung-fu attack on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons.

Though the Frenchman remained at Old Trafford for another two and a half years, Ferguson later admitted that ‘my initial feeling was for letting Eric go. I felt that this time the good name of Manchester United demanded strong action. The club is bigger than any individual’.

And so here we are – a few months shy of sixteen years later – and Ferguson’s latest l’enfant terrible stands perilously close to the edge of the precipice – a career so bright and aluminous just six months ago now seemingly close to combustion. Wayne Rooney, unhappy with how Ferguson has treated him since his private life began to be played out in British newspapers, wants out.

The 24 year-old, grappled from the blue side of the Mersey at aged 18 for 25.6 million pounds, wants to get away. The Croxteth native, such a paradox of shyness and self-destructive explosive anger, of simple tastes and over-indulgence, of family values and outside influences, wants to leave it all behind.

And everything now points to him doing that. In the same way Cantona very nearly moved to Serie A in the summer of 1995 feeling he had ‘little future in the English game’, Rooney may also decide that with red-tops and broadsheets following his every move, a family unit balancing on a knife-edge and his actual playing form suffering the most acute dip since that glorious winner against Arsenal eight years ago today, he’s ruled Brittania and there’s nothing left to achieve there.

When Cantona handed in a transfer request, it was politely turned down by the Manchester United board who said at the time, ‘It’s in the best interests of both the club and player that he remains with them’. But, the drama still wasn’t over with Ferguson hopping on a flight to Paris, escaping the hacks by riding the Parisian side-streets on the back of a Harley-Davidson, all to sit in Cantona’s company and persuade him that his future was at Old Trafford and that ‘everything would be alright’ in the long-term.

Ferguson’s initial response to Rooney’s behavior suggests little hope in salvaging the situation and, perhaps the critical aspect to all of this is whether or not Fergie even wants to try. In recent years, as has been showcased in many media outlets, his ruthlessness in removing ‘problem players’ from his squad has become a tradition of sorts – often reflecting a transition on the pitch. Paul McGrath and Norman Whiteside paved the way for Gary Pallister and, ultimately, Ryan Giggs.

‘Big-time Charlie’ Paul Ince was allowed leave the club with Fergie convinced Roy Keane was his heir-apparent while David Beckham’s move to Real Madrid resulted in Cristiano Ronaldo arriving from Sporting Lisbon and another successful period followed, culminating in Champions League success in 2008.

There have been blips along the way, however. Ferguson has admitted erring when selling Jaap Stam to Lazio after only three seasons in Manchester. The centre-back gave opinions on his United team-mates and discussed how he was recruited by the club in his autobiography – his departure from Old Trafford followed imminently.

The Dutchman’s presence in central defence had coincided with United taking ‘the Treble’ in 1999 as well as another two consecutive League titles but the then 29 year-old was still shifted to Italy – Fergie also believing Stam had lost a yard of quickness following an Achilles problem.

In November 2005, Roy Keane was effectively ‘sacked’ by United following an interview given to in-house TV station MUTV in which he criticized his team-mates (it was never shown at Ferguson’s insistence). Keane’s mouth had become a source of continued annoyance for his manager who felt the player’s attacks on the team essentially translated as a subtle dig at him.

The swiftness with how Keane left Old Trafford was perhaps the most shocking thing of all – no recrimination; no mud-slinging but there was certainly plenty of separation anxiety. And it continues to this day – Keane proving irreplaceable as the fulcrum and heartbeat of the team.

And that’s what Ferguson needs to decide. Is Rooney irreplaceable? Perhaps. He was brought to the club with a long-term strategy in mind – to be a jewel in the crown, the centre-piece of Ferguson’s last great Manchester United side. If he does force through a transfer, Ferguson needs to re-evaluate his current squad.

With many talking of an imminent retirement in two years, does the manager have time to rebuild another winning side, capable of one last Champions League success? If Rooney goes, will Ferguson stick around to see the fruits of another golden generation? Does this mean another four of five years at the helm of Manchester United for Sir Alex?

With many outlets pondering what Rooney is thinking and with Ferguson’s press conference ensuring it’s the player who’s painted as the pantomime villain, perhaps we’re not giving Rooney the credit he deserves. Maybe this has been coming for a while and with the financial insecurity at the club, the lack of marquee players even being linked to United anymore and the sides’ continued and misguided over-reliance on Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, it was only a matter of time before one of their key players decided United weren’t at the cutting edge anymore.

Are Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Kiko Macheda really good enough to form the hub of Ferguson’s next great side? Have Nani and Anderson both been anything other than expensive flops? Are Michael Carrick and Ji-Sung Park simply making up the numbers?

In the cold light of day, a training pitch doesn’t lie and maybe Rooney has looked around, seen the future and got scared. Maybe he’s right to want only the best. Manchester United’s tradition as one of the greatest teams in the world exists only because of their success and without it, as Liverpool have found out (and Manchester United experienced too in the decades following Busby), freefall is only a few short years away.

This could be a watershed moment in the history of Manchester United. Of course they will remain a force with or without Wayne Rooney but maybe it will take a 24 year-old from Merseyside moving somewhere else to finally open United’s eyes to the bigger problems threatening the long-term future of the club.

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