Previously England’s shining light, Wayne Rooney is presenting a problem to the Three Lions this summer. In all honesty, he shouldn’t even be in the squad but Roy Hodgson’s bright idea was to give the forward the captain’s armband.
That means that, barring injury, Rooney is a certainty to make the trip to France this summer in what’s hopefully likely to be his last international tournament. After bursting onto the scene at Euro 2004, it’s fair to say he’s been disappointing.
Sure, he’s England’s all-time leading goalscorer but we expected so much more from him. Unfortunately for the supporters, his potential involvement this summer would make England’s starting line-up significantly weaker- so there’s simply no reason for him to start!
Before we upset Manchester United supporters and those in love with Wayne Rooney, we’ll put our argument forward in this piece. If you still want to bite our head off, then the comment section should keep you busy.
Hit Rooney below to see FIVE reasons he can’t start for England this summer!
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Vardy & Kane
With Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, England have a striker partnership that’s notched 40 Premier League goals between them this term- and that tally is likely to be extended between now and the end of the season.
Starting Vardy and Kane shouldn’t even be an argument, as their form this term means it should really be a certainty- especially when Wayne Rooney hasn’t even managed to get into double figures. In fact, Kane outscored him last season too…
With two deadly strikers capable of creating moments of magic, why on earth would you stick one of them on the bench? Don’t do it Roy.
Record at international competitions
Firstly, I’m not taking anything away from Wayne Rooney for becoming England’s all-time leading goalscorer. Ok, I lied. I am. Is it really that much of an achievement for a world-class forward when his goals have come in qualifiers against sides anyone can beat and international friendlies.
International tournaments are where it matters most, competing with the big guns. Wayne Rooney has featured in every tournament for England since Euro 2004, with this summer set to become his sixth venture with the national side.
What’s Rooney got to show for it? Four goals at a major tournament, two of which came during his breakthrough in Euro 2004 and the others came at the 2014 World Cup, where England went home at the first hurdle, and at Euro 2012 against Ukraine.
Stats, stats, stats
What do Andre Ayew, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Dimitri Payet, Georginio Wijnaldum, Graziano Pelle, Troy Deeney, Marko Arnautovic, Jermaine Defoe and Odion Ighalo all have in common? They’ve all outscored Wayne Rooney in the Premier League this season.
Of that list of nine players, only three play for club’s in the Premier League’s top ten this season and three of them could be relegated. Wayne Rooney, England captain, has just seven goals in the league this term.
Is it down to a bad season? I wish. Last season he got 12 and he hasn’t had a season with 20+ goals since 2012 and just two in his Premier League career, never winning the golden boot.
Better options in attacking midfield
What’s the answer then, dropping Rooney into an attacking midfield role? Well no, actually, as there’s better options there too- with England boasting Dele Alli (same goals than Rooney this season) and Ross Barkley (more goals than Rooney this season).
Rooney playing behind the strikers would be Roy Hodgson putting Rooney into the side simply because he’s a household name. He’s not better than the options England have, he doesn’t deserve to be starting in that role and England don’t need him there.
Let the new era begin
So, where does Wayne Rooney fit in then? Nowhere is the answer. He’s a squad player and if it wasn’t down to the fact he’s captain, there’d be a case against taking the Manchester United forward to France altogether.
The simple fact of the matter is England won’t win the European Championships this summer and reaching the last eight would be a decent achievement with a young squad. For England, the best target is a semi-finals spot.
France, Germany, Spain and Belgium all have a better side, whilst there’s an argument to suggest the Three Lions wouldn’t be able to overcome the likes of Italy, Sweden and maybe even Wales.
Rather than waiting for the end of the tournament to ring the changes, why not start now?
