Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan gave their opinion on Wayne Rooney; on his current form, and the causes relating to the media circus surrounded his jaded life at the moment. Sir Alex spoke of Rooney finally coming to terms with just how much interest he is to the country’s press, while Keegan chose to question Rooney’s decisions regarding endorsements i.e. he should take the rough with the smooth.
Ferguson did not come out and blame the media. He is far too wily and long in the tooth to think that would have any positive effect on the situation. By proclaiming that anyone put under that sort of intense, public scrutiny would show signs of weakness, he was perhaps asking the press to give the country’s most gifted player a little breathing space. Ferguson said:
“I don’t think the boy can turn a corner at the moment without a camera on him. He can’t move without the paparazzi being on him and, for a young person that is not what you want.
“You want to play and enjoy your football without that attention on you, because that can be quite exhausting. He would like to keep playing with freedom, but the siege of the tabloids can wear out anyone.”
For Rooney, the constant nag of paparazzi is nothing new to him. Since being propelled onto the Premier League stage, barely out of school, his entire life has had it’s very own public diary as we have become obsessed with his mercurial talent. The fact that that same attention has only increased after the allegations made, is of no shock to us, and should be even less of a surprise to the man himself.
Kevin Keegan was on ESPN when he regarded that Rooney should be fully prepared to take the hits from the media, after courting their attention throughout his career:
“You can’t then turn around and say there’s too much paparazzi around or too much publicity.
“You can’t have all the contracts, sell your wedding to magazines and things like this, and suddenly say, ‘That’s the tap I want to turn on but we want to turn the other one off’.
Although I don’t make a habit of agreeing with Keegan on the opinions he has (not out of spite, just common sense really), I can see where he is coming from. Whether any of the allegations made are true or not is pretty irrelevant – certainly to us, not to him or his family – the fact is that they exist, true or not. When agreeing to virtually every commercial deal humanly possible: Nokia, Ford, Asda, Coca-Cola, EA Sports, plus a five-book deal over twelve years (obviously there is the contract with Nike, but I see no problem with sportsmen being endorsed by sports brands), one must also accept that there will be reasons that put you in the variety of media we have access to toady, that you may not be happy with.
I don’t blame Rooney for agreeing to every contract that has been thrust in his face. I can only imagine he has agreed to things he sees as harmless, and financially lucrative, while just wanting to carry on with playing football. For most of the media appearances he makes, he seems quite reluctant, although he is getting better, and would rather be somewhere else.
I can’t remember Rooney ever looking as downcast as he does at the moment. As an England fan, and a fan of football in general, I want to see Rooney playing at his best, because it is such an amazing thing to behold. Ferguson would love the press to leave him alone, but knows he’s is flogging a dead horse in any attempt to try and prevent the attention from laying off. Keegan himself has struggled with the media attention, particularly while in charge of England, and has his own point to make, one that holds some validity.
If Rooney is guilty of any marital misdemeanours then he has brought this problem unto himself, and it is really only he that can find a way out of it. What doesn’t help is the frighteningly good form he was in previous to this slump. Being a professional player, to the level that Rooney has reached, means playing the game in the right way, and by game I mean the entire package that goes along with the time on the pitch. I for one hope his skills off the pitch can reach a level close to what he is capable of on it.
Do you agree with Fergie? Or Keegan? Or neither?
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