London: Wayne Rooney may have been staunchly defended by England coach Roy Hodgson after the opening 1-2 defeat by Italy in the World Cup, but his performance attracted criticism from former top players and coaches. Some like former England coach Graham Taylor made allowances for him being played out of position wide on the left by Hodgson while others were less charitable with former England midfielder Alan Mullery calling for the 28-year-old to be dropped.
Mullery echoed comments made by Rooney’s former Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes, who before the World Cup had queried whether he had already peaked and faced a struggle to get into the first team. The main criticism of Rooney’s performance revolved not around his play going forward, as he created England’s best chances and had three shots at goal the most along with Raheem Sterling but how he often left Leighton Baines exposed at the back. While Rooney has insisted he is happy out on the left it is a significant change of opinion since he objected to being put there under former United manager Alex Ferguson.
Scholes, who attracted a fair amount of criticism for his remarks, was kinder to Rooney in his blog for bookmakers Paddy Power on Sunday. “The disappointing thing was not the way Wayne Rooney played but where he was played,” Scholes wrote.“I don’t blame Wayne one little bit but he was played in three different positions. He’s without a doubt England’s best goalscorer but he was played on the left, played on the right, then in the centre.
“Where’s the confidence in Wayne to say: ‘You’re our main player. You’re our centre forward’? If he plays there, he scores goals,” Scholes added.Taylor, who coached England from 1990 to 1993, said Rooney’s performance had been not up to the standards expected of him but he was not solely to blame for that. “I think when you are a player of Wayne Rooney’s quality and you don’t match those high standards, you are going to get criticised,” said Taylor, who is working for the BBC as a pundit.
“If you are not playing in your normal position it can affect you. I think Wayne should be allowed to be played centrally he does not like playing wide and, from a personal point of view, I would want to see him play up front. That is his best position,” Taylor added.Former France and Arsenal star striker Thierry Henry told the BBC that it wasn’t so much Rooney’s positional play that should be assessed but the importance of his miss in the second-half. “I have missed chances like the one Rooney did in the second half at 1-2 down, but Wayne will know that in a game like this one, he has to score there. He didn’t, and that was the turning point for me,” Henry said.
Mullery, capped 35 times, told the BBC Hodgson should bring in fresher talent for the next group game against Copa America champions Uruguay. “I don’t think Wayne Rooney should start against Uruguay. He did not look like he was enjoying himself. If you are playing in a World Cup you should be enjoying it. Yes, he worked hard but how many shots did he have on target?,” asked Mullery.
