Rooney's Rashness

Wayne Rooney’s red card against West Ham was a shock because he has done “a lot to curb that side of his game”, the Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman told the Sunday Supplement.

The Manchester United captain lashed out at Stewart Downing and was handed a straight red card resulting in a three-match ban – one of which will be the clash against Chelsea.

United managed to hold on to their 2-1 lead and survive a late disallowed goal from West Ham.

“Wayne’s actions landed his team in it. If not for an offside flag, it would have cost his team two points,” insisted Ladyman. “He knows he got it wrong. His manager knows he got it wrong.

“Wayne has done quite a lot to curb that side of his game. What really shocked me was that any player can succumb to the pressure of a big occasion, chasing a game in a final or a semi-final – but this was a Premier League game that United were leading.

“The ball was in United’s half and out of the blue, Wayne hacks Stewart Downing to the floor. He was deservedly sent off. It was clever management from Louis van Gaal [to defend Rooney] but privately I’m sure he was seething.”

Dominic Fifield of The Guardian questioned whether last week’s humiliation at Leicester caused Rooney to see red.

“We saw Rooney’s reaction at Leicester when the fourth goal went in, he was livid and bawling at his defenders," he said.

“You do wonder whether this is frustration that’s come from the Leicester game. He’s used to seeing United teams steamroller visitors to Old Trafford when they’re 2-0 up and that should have been four or five.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson added that Rooney’s sixth career sending-off is not a return to the hot-headedness he displayed as a youngster.

He said: “It’s five years since he’s been sent off for Man United and three years since the England one [against Montenegro], I’m not excusing it, but there’s some context there.”

The Sunday Supplement panel agreed that the 28-year-old’s moment of madness – a day short of his 10-year anniversary of joining United – will not taint his legacy.

Wilson said: “The fascination with Rooney is not one incident on Saturday – it’s why someone who we thought would become a great player has become a very, very good player.

"He looked better than Cristiano Ronaldo when he was a teenager and obviously it’s not easy to take that step to the very, very best in the world.

“I don’t know if it’s off-field things in his preparation. I always feel that there’s a simmering frustration that what has been a very, very good career has not quite gone to the stratosphere that you would hope.”

Comparing Rooney to his peers is unfair, insists Ladyman, who claimed: “The reason he’s not reached the heights of Ronaldo and Messi is because he’s not as good as they are, simple as that. He is absolutely as dedicated. He’s been an exceptional footballer for Manchester United.”

“I think we’re being too harsh," Fifield added. “Maybe he’s been eclipsed by other greats but when you look back on his career – five Premier League titles, a Champions League, he’s the captain of his country, he could end up as Manchester United’s record goal-scorer and he could end up as England’s record goal-scorer.

"That’s not too bad!”

Credit: skysports.com