Written by The united Religion.
Despite saying that Wayne Rooney would be in the traveling squad to face Valencia after the Bolton match, Sir Alex Ferguson has left the Manchester United center forward out – and now the rumors are swirling.
Rooney's having a tough time
One thing that needs to be asked: Could Wayne Rooney already be burning out at just 24 years of age?
Fans all around the world saw first-hand during the FIFA 2010 World Cup that Rooney was often frustrated and did not look like his normal self.
Now that apparent frustration has continued into his performances for United and it has become quite clear that for the first time the pressure of being the biggest player – since Paul Gascoigne – in England is finally starting to get to him.
During the summer, the normally energetic, full-of-life forward was seen with slumping shoulders with a very disgruntled, unpleasing look on his face, and at times he look as though he was trying to find a rock on the pitch to hide under.
His poor performances on the world’s biggest football stage this summer was just the beginning of his problems following the release of the well-documented prostitution scandal.
The personal incident prompted Rooney to ask the press to respect his personal life, which all but signified his guilt in the matter.
Protection
At United, Sir Alex does a wonderful job of trying to protect his players like they are his own children, and he more than likely had one of his infamous father / son talks with Rooney in recent weeks – just like he did with David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo following their World Cup incidents.
But we are talking about Wayne Rooney here – the boy that captured the eyes and greedy England souls at just 17-years of age when he burst onto the scene with Everton. The boy with the broadest of shoulders and the world at his feet – well, he has found out first-hand that the people loved him for only the success that he bring them.
Now those same people that put their arm around him and talked him up when he first started out, are now ripping him down just as fast, and it is leaving him with his whole world spinning and confused.
With his personal life in complete suffering, and his professional life sputtering, Rooney is on the verge of hitting rock bottom, but Ferguson will not let that happen.
Thankfully for him, he has a manager like Ferguson, because the 68-year old manager, despite contrary reports from rival fans, cares and loves for Rooney and the rest of his players and has offered a helping-hand on more than one occasion.
The United boss allowed him to try deal with his personal issues by missing the crucial match with Fulham, because Rooney knew that the press was about to publish with the whole cheating scandal. Sir Alex said that he had a stomach illness, but everyone knew that was hogwash when they saw all of the front pages of the newspapers the next day.
Then, Ferguson opted not to subject Rooney to the abuse he was surely to receive from the Everton supporters, and despite him saying that he has a good away record at Goodison Park, he could definitely used him there.
Everyone saw – and held their breath – when Rooney pull up lame after going over on his left ankle just before half-time against Rangers, but like the true hero he is, he played through the pain. Rooney then played a full 90 minutes against Liverpool, and even though his form was not there, he still trudged on and put in a solid effort in the 3-2 win.
Following his exertions in North West Derby coupled with Ferguson’s Carling Cup policy, it was not surprising that Rooney missed the away trip to Glanford Park to face Scunthorpe United, which should have given him a few extra days’ rest before the short trip to Bolton.
Against the Trotters, Sir Alex saw he was struggling and relieved him of his duties thirty minutes from the end. After he came off, Rooney was seen icing his left foot, but there was no rough challenge or awkward moment, which required him to receive some attention prior to him be substituted.
If his ankle was still bothering him then why would Sir Alex risk him against Bolton, who are somewhat unfairly known for their physical style of play and ultimately lose him for the crucial trip against Valencia?
The answer is simple – and exactly why Ferguson cannot send him on a much-needed break – because the media will continue to hound and harass him there. It would be an unprotected environment as well with access to the team hotel, etc, and that is not what this boy needs right now – at all. Bottom line, Rooney is going through a bit of a spell where football does not look like a priority to him. Because of that, he is most certainly not enjoying the game he said that would play for free, and his head is elsewhere and is in desperate need of break from it all.
In his absence, whether it is for personal reasons or a real injury, United have more than capable players who will chomping at the bit to fill in for him. If there is ever a person who knows how to deal with a situation it is Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Manchester United manager definitely have to work his magic to get Wayne Rooney’s head straight and back in top form.
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