Wednesday 15th October 2014 11:04
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Wayne Rooney: Has scored three goals in six appearances for United this season
Manchester United FanZoner Liam Canning believes Wayne Rooney has not deserved his recent criticism and has the record to prove his worth.
Over the course of the past month, Wayne Rooney has been at the end of some brutal criticism regarding his performances for his respected club and country. He has been continuously labelled as a villain, falling short of everyone's expectations so far, and avid viewers are becoming more restless with their judgements. Is this justified?
The England captain, who is seven short of the all-time goal-scoring record for England, has been crucified by his performances in the world-cup - albeit scoring his first world-cup goal. Fans weren't reluctant to pin-point England's failure at the world-cup on the new captain.
For a man who was brought up in the limelight ever since scoring that famous goal for Everton v Arsenal all those years ago, he hasn't half dealt with the criticism he receives. However, there's reason to believe that Rooney doesn't deserve all of the criticism that is thrown at him.
Rooney is 31 short of becoming Manchester United's top-goalscorer, seven short of becoming England's, and 85 short of scoring the most goals ever seen in the Premier League. You wouldn't expect a player who's not far off those prestigious records to be receiving such fuelled messages.
Bobby Charlton took 758 appearances to score 249 goals. Wayne Rooney currently has 448 appearances and is only 85 short of his record.
With being awarded the captain's armband for Manchester United he has scored three in six appearances so far this season, a huge improvement from last season. Likewise, for England, he has scored four in his last six games. Not a bad feat.
It's hard to understand, with those stats at hand, where the criticism and complaints originate from.
A recent topic of debate has arisen from the ashes, and consumed the back pages for the next week. Wayne Rooney's hack at Stewart Downing. A controversial debate which has had fans in distress.
People will go as far as saying that Wayne Rooney is ruthless, doesn't share the same philosophies with the club and that he should be stripped of the armband. For both England and Manchester United. From what I can recall, Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Eric Cantona all made rash decisions when being captain.
Did they receive the uproar that the media have given Rooney? Absolutely not. Roy, Nemanja and Eric did not receive to the same scale of drilling from the public or the media.
What's the difference between the three past United captains and the latest? Fear factor. Nemanja, Roy and Eric all had the media bowing down to them, as they knew at any moment, one of those three players could say/do something very risqué.
Wayne doesn't possess that. He's opened himself up to the fans and the media, and has a relationship with them. Possibly due to the fact that times have changed, but also because he's wanted that type of sentiment more than the other three.
You can argue both sides; you can say he's a villain due to his poor world-cup form, his rashness, his attitude, the excessive money-incentive contracts and the continual transfer requests. But, you can also say he's a victim. A victim from the onslaught of fans, media and public figures. An onslaught which he does not deserve from his unbelievable record.
People are quick to forget his goal-scoring and assisting record and just focus on his 'lack of commitment'. When you go back to the dark days of the Moyes era, who was the one trying to lead their team on when no-one else looked bothered? Correct, it was Wayne.
All in all, I do think he's been out of order at points in his illustrious career - but can you name another football of his quality who hasn't? He may be on £250,000 per-week, but in my eyes, he's repaid that with his consistent performances and determination to strive for the best - not only for himself, but for his club and country.
You can follow Liam on Twitter @OffsideLiam - and don't forget to follow @FanZone too for links to all the latest blogs.
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