Wayne Rooney: Is he as good as he once was?
After some less than impressive performances for England this week, two TEAMtalk writers debate whether Wayne Rooney is on the decline.
In Daily Debate, two TEAMtalk writers give their views on a hot topic and then invite readers to decide who has put forward the best argument.
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Is Wayne Rooney past his best?
He's been made captain of club and country this season, but there's a growing consensus amongst supporters that the Manchester United talisman has long since peaked.
A goal in both European Qualifiers this week against San Marino and Estonia, however, have taken him up to 43 international goals - and fourth on England's all-time record goalscorers list. But there's a general feeling that Rooney should have done far more in the two games, and that he's not the same talent that burst on to the scene over a decade ago.
Ian Watson and James Marshment discuss whether Rooney is on the decline...
Rooney has peaked
Ian Watson (@ianwatson1)
The praise for Wayne Rooney will be plentiful when he reaches 100 England caps and inevitably breaks Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record in the not-too-distant future. Despite the eulogies, though, it is becoming clear that the Manchester United captain's best days are behind him.
Rooney will be 29 next week, the age when most players are performing at their peak. But most footballers have not been subject to the kind of scrutiny and expectation that the England skipper has had to deal with since he was 16 years old. As Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes have both alluded to recently, Rooney has as many miles on the clock as you would expect of a player in his mid-30s.
His form over recent seasons certainly has not matched that which he has showed in previous years. It may not be fair to judge him solely on goals scored given his new role as a deep-lying forward - a positional switch that comes only because Louis van Gaal was not "satisfied" with him as a striker - but how often now do you see Rooney dominate games and be the driving force he once was? Where he used to take great pleasure in tormenting opposition defences, he now seems to be a far more reluctant nuisance. We are treated to only glimpses of what used to be a prominent characteristic of the best United sides of the last decade.
Despite recently being identified as worthy of the captaincy for club and country, Rooney appears weary. The pressure he has been subjected to from a very young age may explain the mental side of that, and the demands on his body of playing at the highest level for as long as he has may also mitigate any physical decline. But Rooney has not helped himself in that respect.
The United star is a natural footballer but not a born athlete and his lifestyle choices have raised eyebrows almost throughout his entire career, with the player happy to indulge himself when he believes the time is right. Nothing wrong with that, perhaps. But he only has to look at former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as an example of the discipline required to attain world class status - a level Rooney has generally fallen short of.
Former United fitness coach Mick Clegg said of Rooney: "Wayne didn't see the importance of the gym really. He'd say, 'I'm here to play football'. In contrast, Clegg said of Ronaldo: "He took on a new level of total dedication to his training because he wanted to be the best footballer in the world."
Anyone will fall short in comparison to Ronaldo in almost every aspect. But while Rooney's influence appears to be declining at 28, his former United colleague goes from strength to strength at 30, largely because of his attitude and desire to make the very best of the attributes he was given. Can Rooney say he has treated his talent the same way?
Rooney is hardly the first striking prodigy to wane earlier than the average player. Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Fernando Torres and even Brazil's Ronaldo all struggled to take their exceptional talent into their late 20s and early 30s, so perhaps we should not be surprised that Rooney's peak has come and gone.
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Rooney remains a top talent
James Marshment (@marshyleeds)
Forgot the games against San Marino and Estonia, Wayne Rooney is, was and remains one of best talents both in this country and in the world game.
Yes, he's not in the same echelon as the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but nor he ever was. But when on top form, Rooney can be considered in that next bracket of forward players in world football.
People suggest his form has been on the decline, but five goals in 11 internationals this calendar year (a total he's only beaten only once during his career when playing the same number of games) suggests there's nothing wrong with his goals output or his form.
You can also argue that his stats over the last three years point to a player very much still at the top of his game.
Over the last three full seasons (2011/12/13/14), Rooney has played 120 times for Man United and has netted 69 goals in total, at an average of a goal every 1.73 games. In the three seasons before that (2008/09/10/11) he bagged 70 goals from 135 games - an average of a goal every 1.92 games. So how is that a player on the decline?
OK, his game may have evolved since he burst on to the scene (we often see Rooney dropping deep looking to dictate the play) and that may offer a slight indication of where he's going wrong..... Rooney is an honest lad, who only wants to win, but if he developed a more selfish streak - and thus operated far higher up the field - then I believe his goals output might be even greater still, and would this discussion then become a moot point?
Either way, Rooney is a born winner and I don't doubt he'll soon go on to become England's record goalscorer - something I've had a personal obsession with seeing in my lifetime after first Gary Lineker and then Michael Owen narrowly fell short of Bobby Charlton's landmark.
As far as I'm concerned, it's case closed. Don't believe the hype, Rooney remains top class and as good as he ever has.
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