Wayne Rooney sack? Nonsense. The Plymouth Argyle boss is proving his desperate doubters wrong, but inevitable Man Utd return talk remains premature..
. Wayne Rooney , Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among the former footballers who have recently faced the wrath of the English media and fans of opposing teams when trying to cut their teeth in management. Going back decades, there has been a needless obsession with sporting failure in this country, with even some of England’s greatest ever players not immune to a hatchet job whenever they face any adversity.
England internationals have faced such treatment (e.g. Rooney and David Beckham) and recent major tournaments suggest this negativity is not going anywhere.
Rooney and co. could be forgiven for thinking this would ease once they hung up their boots, but they have come under just as severe scrutiny while being brave/stupid enough to give club management a whirl. Lampard and Gerrard were weighed down by this intense spotlight after perhaps being given Premier League jobs too soon into their development, while critics have been equally as eager for Rooney to fail in the Football League.
While Lampard, Gerrard and – more recently Vincent Kompany – have had the luxury of big budgets and immense facilities, this has not been the case for Rooney, who was dropped in at the deep end and been left to sink or swim. Amid Derby County’s financial turmoil, Rooney could not have chosen many more difficult clubs to manage in hi.