Decline of Wayne Rooney and the England Squad

[Glenn-Murray]

Not one of these will make it at the very highest level. Not one.

Not one of Sterling, Zaha, Welbeck and Chamberlain will make it at the highest level? I doubt that.

I can see all of them playing regularly for England and they have the potential to be Champions League level players. If none of them got a Champions League winners medal in their careers I'd be extremely surprised.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

My wife is strangely becoming more and more interested in the beatiful game. She has already suggested playing Vicente more often, said "that's the racist footballer" when Terry appeared on a tv screen and has just offered the equally accurate "That bloke's a ****." when discussing Rooney. I will obtain the definitive verdict on Barnes over breakfast.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Not one of Sterling, Zaha, Welbeck and Chamberlain will make it at the highest level? I doubt that.

As an aside Sterling is in court in May for assaulting a woman.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

As an aside Sterling is in court in May for assaulting a woman.

The mother of his 3 (4?) kids?!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The mother of his 3 (4?) kids?!

I understand he only has one definite kid, possibly 2 and denies being the father of a 3rd. Quite an effort for an 18 year old. It took Rod Stewart until his 30s to get to the same level. This boy certainly has potential.

Something tells me this player will have the same career trajectory as players like Caroll, Barton and Dyer.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The mother of his 3 (4?) kids?!

Different mums apparently, so he could assault any woman and stand a higher chance than normal that its the mother of one of his kids.

 

[Hendrax]

put glen murray in the squad, could do a job

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not one of Sterling, Zaha, Welbeck and Chamberlain will make it at the highest level? I doubt that.

I can see all of them playing regularly for England and they have the potential to be Champions League level players. If none of them got a Champions League winners medal in their careers I'd be extremely surprised.

Sterling is a little tosser who will throw it all away. Zaha is a poor man's Ashley Young, and Ashley's crap. Welbeck is a complete donkey. Chamberlain is ok, no more.

Yeah, some of them may play regularly for England. So England will continue to be crap. And if you're a Man U player, there's always a chance that you'll win a Champions League medal. There have been some crap players who have one.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I know a couple of Man.Utd fans who go regularly ( and yes, they are from the south ) and they have been commenting on Rooney's fitness for sometime. They can't argue that he puts in a shift but reckon he is blowing out of his arse after 70 minutes of every game.
Welbeck is younger, fitter and faster. All factors to be considered by Fergie, when deciding on selection.
Rooney is short of top class. Not his fault. There are very few in that bracket. It is unfortunate how he has been built up by fans and media to be a world beater and then, when he doesn't perform on the highest stage, all manner of excuses are trolled out. ( Not fit, personal problems, played out of position etc )
A caller to Talksport last week called Rooney a genius. Bloody Hell. The number of geniuses I have seen on a football pitch in 50 years could be counted on the fingers of one hand and Rooney is not one of them. Paul Gascoigne had the ability to be right up there with the world's best but his self-destructive streak curbed that potential.
Rooney is the archetypal ' flat-track bully '..looking good against lesser teams. He cannot, however, influence games at the highest level and against the best teams.
Very good club player, decent International. No more.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Rooney is the archetypal ' flat-track bully '..looking good against lesser teams. He cannot, however, influence games at the highest level and against the best teams.

That'll be the same Rooney that scored against Brazil last month?

Just because he's not Messi it doesn't mean he's Ian Wright either - there was a player with talent who massively underachieved with England. I'm disappointed he hasn't fully justified the promise he showed in 2004, but it's not his fault no other striker bar Peter Crouch has looking the part in that time.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Zaha is going to be the best player England have had in years. He's a bit like a young Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment. When Fergie (or Mourinho, whoever) gets hold of him at OT he'll destroy defenders in the PL and in internationals on a regular basis.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I know a couple of Man.Utd fans who go regularly ( and yes, they are from the south ) and they have been commenting on Rooney's fitness for sometime. They can't argue that he puts in a shift but reckon he is blowing out of his arse after 70 minutes of every game.
Welbeck is younger, fitter and faster. All factors to be considered by Fergie, when deciding on selection.
Rooney is short of top class. Not his fault. There are very few in that bracket. It is unfortunate how he has been built up by fans and media to be a world beater and then, when he doesn't perform on the highest stage, all manner of excuses are trolled out. ( Not fit, personal problems, played out of position etc )
A caller to Talksport last week called Rooney a genius. Bloody Hell. The number of geniuses I have seen on a football pitch in 50 years could be counted on the fingers of one hand and Rooney is not one of them. Paul Gascoigne had the ability to be right up there with the world's best but his self-destructive streak curbed that potential.
Rooney is the archetypal ' flat-track bully '..looking good against lesser teams. He cannot, however, influence games at the highest level and against the best teams.
Very good club player, decent International. No more.

Very much this. Well put.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

That'll be the same Rooney that scored against Brazil last month?

Scored in a friendly against City Break Brazil. Even John Barnes managed this.

 

[Weststander]

As an aside Sterling is in court in May for assaulting a woman.

He'll definitely never make it in football then.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Zaha is going to be the best player England have had in years. He's a bit like a young Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment. When Fergie (or Mourinho, whoever) gets hold of him at OT he'll destroy defenders in the PL and in internationals on a regular basis.

I'll have a pint of what you have just had please

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

He'll definitely never make it in football then.

? What do you mean?

 

[Pavilionaire]

Scored in a friendly against City Break Brazil. Even John Barnes managed this.

City Break Brazil? If Brazil's approach to friendlies with England is so lax then how come they only lost 3 times out of 19 non-World Cup matches against us before Lampard's winner made it 4 out of 20 for us.

 

[Weststander]

? What do you mean?

Just a sarcastic response to England hating Pogue Mahone, who in one of his spiteful rants named Sterling a little tosser, and more particularly about Sterling's court case. That is, what bearing will that have on a long term football future?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Just a sarcastic response to England hating Pogue Mahone, who in one of his spiteful rants named Sterling a little tosser, and more particularly about Sterling's court case. That is, what bearing will that have on a long term football future?

I'd say his overall attitude, which is lousy at best and diabolical at worst, might have quite a bearing on his long term football future. His approach to training coupled with the court case have brought down many a seemingly better player. And his crap attitude to training has already been raised by Liverpool and also highlighted on tv (Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers gives Raheem Sterling a dressing down in Fox Soccer documentary - Telegraph) so it is very much real and not a sarcastic response from 'England haters'.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

City Break Brazil? If Brazil's approach to friendlies with England is so lax then how come they only lost 3 times out of 19 non-World Cup matches against us before Lampard's winner made it 4 out of 20 for us.

The reason they have only lost 4 times is because they are still much better even when in bucket and spade mode.