It is a truth universally recognised, that a young superstar playing for Manchester United,in possession of vast fortune, should never cross Sir Alex Ferguson. The old knight's tale at Old Trafford is strewn with cast aside lieutenants. Some foolhardy, others feckless but all at the end expelled from the empire. As the trickle of stories on Sunday about Wayne Rooney became a flood, United fans could be forgiven for shrugging and murmuring that another hero is about to bite the dust.
It all started in Munich last March. United met Bayern in the first leg of the quarter-final of the Champions league. They were on their way to securing a valuable score draw when Rooney, trying to intercept an onrushing Mario Gomez, went over on his right ankle. It was not a stretch to say that any red hopes of silverware were effectively ended once he sustained the injury. Bayern scored as he lay stricken on the ground and United never recovered. He regained fitness towards the end of the season but lost all sharpness as his subsequent dire World cup performances attested.
Post World cup, with tabloid knives sharpened and court injunctions weakening, the story of Rooney's infidelities with a prostitute arrived with the force of a Tiger four-iron. Ferguson, citing the ongoing ankle problem removed Rooney from the action. That he did so at Goodision aroused only a degree of suspicion. After all he subjected Cantona and Ferdinand to Leeds, but his defence that he didn't want the game to become all about Rooney seemed plausible. The insipid performances of Rooney in the aftermath of that however seemed to suggest all was not right between manager and player. Whispers of punishment got louder. Rooney, on England duty informed the world he never had an ankle problem and it was his manager's decision not to play him despite him being in his mind one hundred percent fit. This, in Ferguson's eyes, was a betrayal. His fibs about injuries have now become a laughing stock but this one was designed to protect a suffering player. There was a degree of punishment in the treatment. That much is undeniable but can Rooney honestly say he doesn't deserve it?
That he chose international week to stick it to his manager can only have enraged Ferguson more. A now confirmed fully fit Rooney sat on the bench against West Brom and was introduced after Darron Gibson despite United chasing a goal. The tabloids spoke of irreparable damage to their relationship with Rooney's camp all but confirming he has no intention of signing a new contract.
The sand glass has been well and truly tilted in this story and we all know the outcome. It is worth repeating the names of those pieces that Fergie flicked from his chess board. Ince, Stam, Beckham, Van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane. Should Rooney join that list, it will be his choosing. He may flourish away from Old Trafford but a man with his self-destructive personality should stay under the tutelage of the best. If not, then he who is nicknamed "Wazza" could well go the same way as his nick-namesake.
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