Playing for England has never been so pleasurable for Wayne Rooney, but it seemed like a clear message to Sir Alex Ferguson, rather than just another endorsement of Fabio Capello, when the Manchester United forward talked yesterday of national service as a kind of release.
International duty is where top-class players such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, not to mention those going back from Paul Scholes to Glenn Hoddle, are traditionally required to make sacrifices that would never be asked of them at their clubs. However, Rooney, before the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan tomorrow, is in the rare situation of being indulged more at present by Capello, the England manager, than by Ferguson at United.
When the big matches came in the final weeks of the season, notably in the Champions League final defeat by Barcelona, Rooney was marginalised on the left wing by Ferguson and, while his willingness to muck in is part of what makes him a team player, he left no doubt yesterday that he sees himself as a striker.
“The position I play for England is, as I’ve said, the one I like playing most,” Rooney said. “Obviously I haven’t played that position for a while for United. Of course, it’s the manager’s choice, but I’ve always said my best position is playing up front, so I’m enjoying that.”
It may not look like the most outspoken comment, but, coming from a player such as Rooney about the choices made by a manager such as Ferguson, it was surprisingly candid, hinting at the forward’s frustration at continually being asked to “do a job for the team” while Cristiano Ronaldo, a natural winger, is given the freedom to do a job for himself up front.
Ferguson said during United’s pre-season tour to South Africa last July that he had to “define Wayne’s role better” and “play fair” with him, which meant playing him “through the middle, either the front role or tucking in just behind”. But more recently, in the build-up to the Champions League final, he suggested that it may be better for Rooney to start on the left side and drift inwards than to do the reverse, as has been his tendency.
Rooney scored twice and played superbly after moving out to the left for the second half of United’s 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in April, but rarely looked anything like so potent when deployed there in subsequent matches in the Champions League.
Ferguson would point out with some justification that Rooney operates partly on the left side for England, in a loose partnership with Steven Gerrard, but the player believes there is a distinction between that role and the one he was asked to fill in the Champions League final.
“When you’re playing out on the left, you have responsibilities to get back and defend a bit more down the left and sometimes that does take away a bit of energy from your attacking,” Rooney said. “But with England, you can get your rest at times by swapping with Steven. That allows you to get forward as well. But I’m happy to play where I’m playing.”
He was as vigorous as ever during a remarkably intense training session in Almaty yesterday, watched by local schoolchildren and orphans, in which he found himself holding the ball up to John Terry after the Chelsea captain took three kicks at his ankle.
Even more alarming was the manner in which Gary Cahill, the Bolton Wanderers defender, clattered into Gareth Barry, which had some eyewitnesses wondering whether the latter’s transfer to Manchester City this week had upset his former Aston Villa team-mate. That resulted in a penalty that Rooney, underlining his confidence, floated over Robert Green.
The West Ham United goalkeeper appears to have won his battle to convince Capello to pick him, ahead of Paul Robinson and Scott Carson, in the absence of David James. Matthew Upson is marginal favourite, ahead of Joleon Lescott, to partner Terry in central defence, although Rio Ferdinand has not given up hope of recovering from injury to face Andorra at Wembley on Wednesday.
Lampard calls for new signings
Frank Lampard has urged Chelsea to bring more creativity to the squad in the summer in their bid to become English and European champions. “It seems our intentions are to really push on this summer and add that couple of players who can make us really top-drawer,” Lampard said. “We need someone who can produce something for us, as a wide man or a creative midfield player, or someone as a striker who can work with [Didier] Drogba or [Nicolas] Anelka in certain different ways. We want to push on again.”
source : timesonline.co.uk
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