The tackle
was wild, unnecessary and stupid. But so was the reaction. It often is
where Wayne Rooney is concerned. Within seconds of referee Lee Mason
producing his red card, Rooney’s status as Manchester United captain was
being questioned.
How
can Louis Van Gaal stand by him after this, it was asked. How can he
lead, for club or country? And few stopped to consider the wider
question. Who else could? What other choice is there? Who is Manchester
United’s captain, if not Rooney?
Robin
van Persie? Only a week ago there was speculation he would not make the
team when everybody was fit. Michael Carrick is no longer guaranteed a
place, nor Darren Fletcher. The new arrivals need time to become United
players, let alone United captains, while nothing in the careers of men
like David de Gea or Phil Jones suggests they are ready for
responsibility yet.
Wayne Rooney tosses the Manchester United captain's armband to Robin van Persie after his sending off
Rooney was shown the red card by Lee Mason after his cynical foul on Stewart Downing (below)
This
leaves Rooney. Number one in a field of one. Van Gaal named him as the
sole player in United’s stellar front line guaranteed to start. He
couldn’t say that of Van Persie, Radamel Falcao, Juan Mata, even Angel
di Maria. Maybe by the end of the season his best XI will emerge, along
with a rival for the position, but right now Rooney stands apart and Van
Gaal takes the rough with the smooth.
The
problem is that when Rooney gets rough, the smoothness in his game is
soon forgotten. Like the fact he gave Manchester United the lead after
five minutes in high-pressure circumstances on Saturday.
This
was a big weekend for United. Conceding four goals unopposed to
Leicester City is not a good look on any elite club, and neither is a
mid-table position having spent £150m on players, with executives
demanding automatic qualification for the Champions League. West Ham
United were fresh from putting three past Liverpool, too.
The forward is the only real option as United captain when he is available
Rooney scored the vital first goal for United against West Ham, setting them on their way to victory
So
Rooney didn’t score just any old goal. He scored a fabulous
tension-breaker, on the half-volley from a Rafael cross, straight as an
arrow. It was his 176th Premier League goal, overtaking Thierry Henry,
placing him behind only Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.
Some
of the goals have inspired titles, some have been scored in a
floundering team. In disgrace, we hear that Rooney is no role model. Yet
his contribution to the team is a constant example. Rooney is one of
the few United players who emerges from the David Moyes era in credit,
and he hit the ground running for Van Gaal, too, scoring the first goal
of the season against Swansea City.
He
already has three for United in six appearances. No Diego Costa, then,
but United’s entire pattern of play is not dedicated to putting him in
on goal, the way Chelsea are built to serve their striker.
It
would have been easy for Van Gaal to go with Van Persie, his captain
for Holland, but he disappointed him to choose Rooney. So he must have
seen a spark, or at least a spark worth preserving. He must have worked
out that the captaincy would make Rooney happy, and Manchester United
would be better for that.
Darren Fletcher (second left, instructing Daley Blind) is United's vice-captain but isn't a regular in the team
David de Gea is a regular in the United team but is not ready for the responsibility of captaincy
Louis van Gaal could've chosen his Holland skipper Van Persie as United skipper but resisted
He
must have appreciated Sir Alex Ferguson’s observation when he noted
that Rooney would often accurately predict Manchester United’s team for
the weekend, because he knew the game so well. And he must have
concluded, like so many good judges, that Rooney’s occasional explosions
— he has been shown a card in his last two games but before that his
last booking was February 1, a run of 27 matches for club and country
without transgressing — were a trade-off for attributes too numerous to
detail.
So
yes, Rooney let down his manager, his team and himself on Saturday. He
will spend the next month repenting, and will miss significant matches
with Everton and Chelsea. Yet Van Gaal, more than anyone, knows his
alternatives. There aren’t any. Beyond Rooney, United stare into a
leadership void.
Why put a slug in charge when FIFA need action?
Precise
definitions vary, but the genus Ariolimax, otherwise known as the
banana slug, is widely regarded to be the slowest creature on the
planet. It has an average speed enabling it to cover a distance of 6.5
inches in two hours.
The
Giant Ai, or three-toed sloth, is the slowest among mammals, with a top
speed of 0.3 miles per hour. It lacks muscle tissue and only comes down
from the treetops to defecate on the forest floor, at intervals of
roughly seven days. In this way it has been cited as the inspiration
behind Michel Platini’s policy decisions as UEFA president.
Yet
stop right there, sloths and molluscs, there’s a new kid in town: a
FIFA committee member, moving towards a good deed for football. This
organism covers the distance spanning one A4 sheet of paper, in roughly
11 years.
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