Wayne Rooney is a name that has been spread across the back pages for around a month now and on the lips of everyone in the media when they talk about football. It hasn't exactly been good press either, most of the time with pundits and journalists wondering where his next goal is going to come from or whether he is actually good enough to play in a centre forward role anymore. He has, of course, scored goals for Manchester United in the Champions League but has come up short in the Premier League making these claims get louder by the week.
When it came to the international break though, people were talking about him for a completely different reason. He has been so close to breaking the England goal-scoring record for quite a while now, so every time he pulls on an England shirt that is the only thing people can focus on. He's finally answered all the demands that were directed his way by not only equalling the record, but also by overtaking it to be the all-time record England goal scorer and the first man to ever score 50 goals for his country (congratulations to him).
After all the negative press surrounding him in recent weeks, it's refreshing to hear his name in a positive light. I think everyone expected him to score in the game against San Marino, which he did, but then people also expected him to get more than the one in the game. It was clear after the match that when Roy Hodgson decided to substitute him, people were questioning why he hadn't been allowed to finish the match and break the record in that game. It needs to be said as well that by equalling the record in the San Marino game, it means that he did it in as many games as Sir Bobby Charlton, which is another great achievement in itself.
He couldn't have chosen a better stage to break the record though. Switzerland were tough opponents and it took England until midway through the first half to break the deadlock through Harry Kane. It was 6 minutes from the end when the moment everyone was waiting for came though. Raheem Sterling made a run into the penalty area and got taken down and the referee awarded a penalty almost instantly. As soon as he pointed to the spot, you could tell there was a change in the air around Wembley Stadium. For the first time as far as I can remember Rooney actually looked nervous as he stepped back in preparation for the spot kick, but the second he saw it hit the back of the net, you could see the pride and the emotion on his face. I'm pretty sure he got a standing ovation as well (a well deserved one if you ask me).
It wasn't even just the one record that Rooney broke yesterday. He became the first England player to score in 7 consecutive competitive international games (a post-war record) and the penalty took him to his 300th goal for club and country combined. He's also been tipped by his fellow England team mates and the manager to get even more goals and has been named the talisman - all of this happened after the match. Since Saturday, the media have been raving about how Rooney is such a great goal scorer, when a week before they were complaining about some of his poorer performances at the beginning of the season.
My point is, whenever Rooney has a bad game, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon and pile more and more pressure onto him. They count down the minutes since he last got a goal, pick apart every performance he's ever done and then when he doesn't perform well in the next match, they question why. I don't think Rooney ever lets the opinions of others affect him personally, but what if he did? It would certainly explain why he struggled sometimes on the pitch. Then when he puts in a good performance one match and maybe has an off-game the next, suddenly his good performance becomes the 'one-off'. In this day and age, people are too quick to judge the players on the pitch. I'm not saying fans only call out Rooney, because that isn't true, but piling pressure onto players, young or experienced, can't be good if it gets inside their heads. Personally, I think the fans should show their support for the player instead of slating him and then making a 180 during the next match. Then again, I have a feeling that won't be happening any time soon.
So, if everything carries on as normal, and Rooney doesn't score against Liverpool at the weekend, I guess his performance and achievements over the last 5 days will soon be forgotten, and we will be back to hearing how he's losing his touch as a centre forward. If that is the case, it was nice while it lasted...
When it came to the international break though, people were talking about him for a completely different reason. He has been so close to breaking the England goal-scoring record for quite a while now, so every time he pulls on an England shirt that is the only thing people can focus on. He's finally answered all the demands that were directed his way by not only equalling the record, but also by overtaking it to be the all-time record England goal scorer and the first man to ever score 50 goals for his country (congratulations to him).
After all the negative press surrounding him in recent weeks, it's refreshing to hear his name in a positive light. I think everyone expected him to score in the game against San Marino, which he did, but then people also expected him to get more than the one in the game. It was clear after the match that when Roy Hodgson decided to substitute him, people were questioning why he hadn't been allowed to finish the match and break the record in that game. It needs to be said as well that by equalling the record in the San Marino game, it means that he did it in as many games as Sir Bobby Charlton, which is another great achievement in itself.
He couldn't have chosen a better stage to break the record though. Switzerland were tough opponents and it took England until midway through the first half to break the deadlock through Harry Kane. It was 6 minutes from the end when the moment everyone was waiting for came though. Raheem Sterling made a run into the penalty area and got taken down and the referee awarded a penalty almost instantly. As soon as he pointed to the spot, you could tell there was a change in the air around Wembley Stadium. For the first time as far as I can remember Rooney actually looked nervous as he stepped back in preparation for the spot kick, but the second he saw it hit the back of the net, you could see the pride and the emotion on his face. I'm pretty sure he got a standing ovation as well (a well deserved one if you ask me).
It wasn't even just the one record that Rooney broke yesterday. He became the first England player to score in 7 consecutive competitive international games (a post-war record) and the penalty took him to his 300th goal for club and country combined. He's also been tipped by his fellow England team mates and the manager to get even more goals and has been named the talisman - all of this happened after the match. Since Saturday, the media have been raving about how Rooney is such a great goal scorer, when a week before they were complaining about some of his poorer performances at the beginning of the season.
My point is, whenever Rooney has a bad game, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon and pile more and more pressure onto him. They count down the minutes since he last got a goal, pick apart every performance he's ever done and then when he doesn't perform well in the next match, they question why. I don't think Rooney ever lets the opinions of others affect him personally, but what if he did? It would certainly explain why he struggled sometimes on the pitch. Then when he puts in a good performance one match and maybe has an off-game the next, suddenly his good performance becomes the 'one-off'. In this day and age, people are too quick to judge the players on the pitch. I'm not saying fans only call out Rooney, because that isn't true, but piling pressure onto players, young or experienced, can't be good if it gets inside their heads. Personally, I think the fans should show their support for the player instead of slating him and then making a 180 during the next match. Then again, I have a feeling that won't be happening any time soon.
So, if everything carries on as normal, and Rooney doesn't score against Liverpool at the weekend, I guess his performance and achievements over the last 5 days will soon be forgotten, and we will be back to hearing how he's losing his touch as a centre forward. If that is the case, it was nice while it lasted...
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