Should of never been given the option to retire,should of been dropped or told he would not be selected again! Said years ago England would only improve when the ego players were gone,only Rooney left now.
Think we still need him in the squad to be honest. Looking down our list of out and out centre mids shows just how far we are behind teams like Germany.
Henderson and Gareth Barry look like the only Englishmen who are guaranteed a game at CM in the top 7/8.
Barkley? Wilshere? Gerrard is done. He was to blame for at least one of Uruguay's goals and he's never consistently performed for England.
But Wilshere doesn't get in Arsenal's team, he's behind Ramsey, one of Arteta/Flamini who is holding, and Ozil who is attacking. And I just don't see Barkley as a replacement for the role that Gerrard was doing. Maybe he will be in the future, but right now he's very much an attacking midfielder who is playing just behind the striker.
Henderson will hopefully improve after being exposed to CL football next year, i'm worried however that he's the only centre mid who will be.
But Barkley doesn't have to be a like for like replacement for Gerrard. No one does. It's not been exactly successful has it? It'll be nice to have a player who can keep the ball, take players on, beat them and actually be effective going forward. I take your point on Wilshere though.
Should of never been given the option to retire,should of been dropped or told he would not be selected again! Said years ago England would only improve when the ego players were gone,only Rooney left now.
Great news. Once upon a time one of the best midfielders in the world, no debate. But he never brought it for England.
He was awful this world cup, whether you like it or not. Now I'm hoping Rooney loses his place in starting 11 and becomes a bench boy/impact player and Hart or Cahill are made captain. No one else for the job.
If Rooney actually gets his golden boy image still and gets to wear the captains armband I'll be fuming. I wasn't bothered like most people were about his previous international outings. I genuinely thought this might be his year as he had no excuses. But he seemed like he was unsettled (cause he's a spoilt baby) and one goal? Not like he didn't have his chances either. Another one who is 10x the player for his club than country and he treats them like shit so I doubt he cares for England too much either. Knowing Roy though he'll probably bottle it and praise Rooney.
The way things are looking, in the next few weeks Rooney may well be captain for club, country and the cherry on top earning 300k a week. Christ.
I'll get the tin hat ready, but if Rooney's got any sense he'll follow Gerrards lead.
I agree, Rooney's finished at International level...
Rooney burst onto the scenes in 2004 and looked immense. 10 years in an England shirt and he is lagging behind his piers (the Van Persies, Ronaldos, Messis, Mullers etc). Good assist for the goal against Italy, so still has something in his locker. However, yet another player who will retire never really having done anything on the intl scene where it matters. Will probably break Bobby Charlton's record, but there are more friendlies/qualifiers in this era. The worst thing is, I am already writing off the next generation based on how we bring players up in the English game, and their level of skill. No disrespect toward Sterling, but of all the talk about how exciting he was, we only got 60 odd mins against Italy, Chellini had him in his pocket toward the end. He didn't have a good game against Uruguay. I knw many will say it's too soon to judge, but I struggle to see where the improvements will be made. The worry is that he's in for the next 12 years. My bright spots are Barkley, possibly Shaw. I think we're pretty fucked at centre back, I knw people talk of John Stones, I haven't seen him. Is Gareth Southgate the right man to be managing them at such a crucial stage? I can't see him offering anything about how to beat players and attack, plus I think he has zero charisma. Even worse is Aidy Boothroyd, he's in there somewhere, brainwashing the next level down, looking for his Marlon King.
Gerrard was an exceptional player - in the Premier League.
His all-action hare 'em scare 'em and up and at 'em approach was ideally suited for the manic approach of our domestic competition.
At international level though he often - not always - looked like completely out of place because that level of football is all about ball-retention and not trying bloody Hollywood passes all the time.
Also agree about Rooney, he is a busted flush at the top-level because he is no longer quick enough or sharp enough to get away from top-class defenders, his only real option is to re-invent himself as a Paul Scholes type player - but he doesn't have the conditioning for that.
A true Liverpool legend and a brilliat player for them. Shocking for England for probably over 100 of his 114 caps. Thank goodness he has gone. Rooney will take the armband but retire after the Euros. Hopefully by that time the 'new breed' will give us some hope
The thing is, teams like Spain and Germany have a first team that is far superior to ours. If you look at their second team, they are also far superior to our first team!
I just don't see any real top class players coming through.
Shame he didn't retire before the World Cup! Awful Captain!
Actually he did, he just forgot to tell anybody. At least now he can concentrate on falling over for the scousers. He's so knackered that he makes Scott Parker look good.
I'll get the tin hat ready, but if Rooney's got any sense he'll follow Gerrards lead.
I agree, Rooney's finished at International level...
Rooney burst onto the scenes in 2004 and looked immense. 10 years in an England shirt and he is lagging behind his piers (the Van Persies, Ronaldos, Messis, Mullers etc). Good assist for the goal against Italy, so still has something in his locker. However, yet another player who will retire never really having done anything on the intl scene where it matters. Will probably break Bobby Charlton's record, but there are more friendlies/qualifiers in this era. The worst thing is, I am already writing off the next generation based on how we bring players up in the English game, and their level of skill. No disrespect toward Sterling, but of all the talk about how exciting he was, we only got 60 odd mins against Italy, Chellini had him in his pocket toward the end. He didn't have a good game against Uruguay. I knw many will say it's too soon to judge, but I struggle to see where the improvements will be made. The worry is that he's in for the next 12 years. My bright spots are Barkley, possibly Shaw. I think we're pretty fucked at centre back, I knw people talk of John Stones, I haven't seen him. Is Gareth Southgate the right man to be managing them at such a crucial stage? I can't see him offering anything about how to beat players and attack, plus I think he has zero charisma. Even worse is Aidy Boothroyd, he's in there somewhere, brainwashing the next level down, looking for his Marlon King.
They need to learn how to miss penalties in a shoot out so yes
Comments
He was awful this world cup, whether you like it or not. Now I'm hoping Rooney loses his place in starting 11 and becomes a bench boy/impact player and Hart or Cahill are made captain. No one else for the job.
If Rooney actually gets his golden boy image still and gets to wear the captains armband I'll be fuming. I wasn't bothered like most people were about his previous international outings. I genuinely thought this might be his year as he had no excuses. But he seemed like he was unsettled (cause he's a spoilt baby) and one goal? Not like he didn't have his chances either. Another one who is 10x the player for his club than country and he treats them like shit so I doubt he cares for England too much either. Knowing Roy though he'll probably bottle it and praise Rooney.
The way things are looking, in the next few weeks Rooney may well be captain for club, country and the cherry on top earning 300k a week. Christ.
High profile player yes, 'ego' player not at all.
His all-action hare 'em scare 'em and up and at 'em approach was ideally suited for the manic approach of our domestic competition.
At international level though he often - not always - looked like completely out of place because that level of football is all about ball-retention and not trying bloody Hollywood passes all the time.
Also agree about Rooney, he is a busted flush at the top-level because he is no longer quick enough or sharp enough to get away from top-class defenders, his only real option is to re-invent himself as a Paul Scholes type player - but he doesn't have the conditioning for that.
I just don't see any real top class players coming through.
At least now he can concentrate on falling over for the scousers.
He's so knackered that he makes Scott Parker look good.
:-)