On Thursday night, I was having a beer with my five a side football friends and the Man United mob amongst them were telling me Wayne Rooney was past it and that Manchester City would be wasting a kings ransom on his signing. They pointed out that he's played rubbish since March, his minds not on football and he's not scoring any goals, the main function of a striker. By Friday lunchtime, they'd all emailed me gloating that Manchester United had signed a new £60 million deal with him.
At the moment Rooney is crocked, so United fans will have to wait a few weeks to see if their new signing can turn the team around. Football fans are a fickle bunch. If Rooney's comeback on double bubble money is heralded by a few rather mediocre performances, will they welcome the prodigal son. We all know from his reaction to the England boos exactly how much Mr Rooney likes getting stick. His reasons for wanting out were that Man United lacked ambition. Now Rooney has ensured that United, technically bankrupt, have even less cash in the pot for new signings. In the past fans would greet players who left for richer pastures with cries of "There's only one greedy B****d". What happens when someone pulls a Rooney. The other question is how all of his team mates (and more importantly their agents) will react.
Which brings us back to Sir Alex Ferguson (or old rednose as he's known here). He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Let Rooney go and prove United lack ambition and have thrown in the towel, trying to keep up with City and Chelsea or break the bank to keep Rooney and hope something comes up. His problem is that the rest of the team now know that old Rednose can be "played". Just keeping the existing team will cost him. Rooney was his crown jewel and had he cashed it in, there would have been funds to buy three other players. Old Rednose probably correctly realised that had Rooney gone, the Glaziers would have pocketed the cash, so he'd be even worse off. United have not suddenly become a bad team. I expect them to finish in the top three, but who knows how the Rooney situation may affect the players. If it all goes horribly wrong and they are hit by a string of demands as other players try and cash in, it could spell disaster. Should United miss out on the Champions League, then it would be nearly impossible for the Glaziers to pay their bank overdraft. I'm sure that there will always be someone who would ultimately bale Manchester United out and any new owner would have to be seriously rich. Having said that it might take a few years and a new manager or two to get the wheels back on the wagon.
As time goes on, I realise that my love for the game is balanced by my disgust at the way the game is run. Much as I hate Manchester United as a team, it cannot be right that at the end of the day all of this is bankrolled by parents of young boys who look up to these greedy mercenaries. This morning I'll go to Cressingham Park to watch my son play football for the Watling FC under elevens. That is how football is at it's best. Sadly I think that Premiership has completely lost all connection with the people who pay the bills and that can only be bad.
Great Read! And spot on. The fact that a player who is in the worst form of his life can demand such a pay rise is ridiculous. Player power (or agent power) has ruined the game that I so passionately love, and it frustrates me that the Rooneys, Terrys and Ashley Coles of the footballing world appear to be more like C-list celebrities than idolised sports stars. Sad times!
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