Being a Manchester United fan has obvious benefits. There’s the trophies, the youth system, the stadium, the nice kit, the fact that you’ll never struggle to see a game on television, and the lack of managerial turmoil. And the more of this you have, the easier it gets to take it all for granted – even those who lived through the barren years will say silly things after a defeat at Anfield or a home draw against relegation fodder. However, it’s the last on that list – our managerial stability – that’s important, and the one we most often fail to acknowledge. While every single one of us may indeed love Alex Ferguson, it’s bizarre watching a team for your entire life and basically not once having seriously questioned the manager. It’s not normal, and it’s not an exaggeration to suggest that we might never have the same faith in one individual ever again
And with managerial stability comes a continuity in other areas, too. Ferguson doesn’t take any shit, so we could relax in the knowledge that we’d never be pushed around by arrogant players like in the Chelsea dressing room, or continually shown disloyalty like certain Arsenal players. Anything that happened was all part of the master plan – nobody pushed Ferguson around, and nobody pushed Manchester United around.
And then Wayne Rooney came along.
When Rooney entered his ludicrous run of goalscoring form that ended in disappointment with his injury against Bayern Munich, it seemed to be an absolute certainty that he would go on to break records at United and become a true legend. And after the transfer request, and insulting the club, it seemed that even if he stayed, he could never again be truly loved. Now, however, the former is looking more the case than the latter – seemingly, we’re prepared to forgive and forget all after less than a year.
A couple of games of booing. A near-embarrassing indulgence for a player in appalling form from both the crowd and manager, which it’s hard to imagine any other player enjoying – certainly not one Dimitar Berbatov, who despite playing out of his skin could still somehow not attract the adulation or support posessed by a man in shocking form who’d threatened to join our closest rivals. And then after a bit of good form, it was all over. “Remember the Wayne Rooney transfer request? Yeah, I never had any doubt either.”
In fact, the repercussions could go on for a long time – it could be the start of players beginning to have their say. Ronaldo wasn’t the same – he wasn’t doing it for higher wages at the club, wasn’t trying to engineer a move to our closest rivals, and wasn’t using contract expiry to force the issue. In contrast, when we climbed down to appease Rooney, we smashed our highest wage, shelling out £180,000 a week for his sake – now, any player who reaches such a high level will be able to reasonably demand the same, and wages will be forced up across the whole club as a result.
But more than that, it’s hard to escape the sense that in keeping Rooney we lost something more valuable than a top-quality player. It looks unlikely we’ll see it this summer, but we’ve arrived, fashionably late, into the era of player power. It;s not hard to imagine that if Nani, say, had shone towards the end of the season he might’ve deployed similar tactics to secure a lucrative move away or new contract. His poor form and the purchase of Ashley Young has weakened his position, so we won’t find out this year at least. It’s speculative, but already it’s hard to remember that none of this would’ve been imaginable in the past. It doesn’t matter if Rooney is a ‘special case’, he sets a dangerous precedent for years to come.
When the transfer request came in, my own personal opinion was that he should be immediately sold to the highest bidder. I still think that would’ve been right – there’s no point in getting rid of him now, but the worst effects of the whole affair may not be apparent for another year or two. Glad to have you on board, Wayne, but after that, United feels a little less like United and a little more like any other club. The next time a key player hands in a transfer request or tries some more flamboyant contract negotiation shenanigans, you’ll all remember who to blame, right?
———-
Follow Callum on Twitter or read more by him at Surreal Football.
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Sell the bastard!
We have indeed been spared those kind of situations, until the Rooney saga last year… One does not even want to think about the “new” situations that might arise under SAF:s successor…
i have 4given wazza long tyme ago.
Yawn, but here is my take on this AGAIN!
Should Rooney be considered a legend even if he ends his career at United? Well it depends how he ends his career!
Have I forgiven him? Yes of course I have, I’ve forgiven people for doing far worse
Does it still have a bad taste in my mouth? Of course it does
Do we really know everything that went on behind closed doors? NO
Should we let this go already? Hell YES
He shouldn’t have done it in that kinda way. It was so embarrasing and almost turns us into a laughing stock. He still has loadz of heart to convince – hope he can do that on the pitch.
Berbatov,playing out of his skin,i beg to differ.while no doubt a great player,i feel he is not united quality & the manager seems to agree.by the way,great articl,callumBerbatov,playing out of his skin,i beg to differ.while no doubt a great player,i feel he is not united quality & the manager seems to agree.by the way,great articl,callum
@CedarsDevil
+1
It doesn’t bother me, the man spoke how he felt about the way the club was heading. I thought he was right in doing it cause I agreed with him in what he was saying. Anyone else to have come out like that prob would of been sold by Sir Alex.
Bring on the new season.
Once Rooney started prducing some spakling form, it was easy to forget the transfer request. That’s football fans for you. Heck, some even thought that the only player that dared to insult Alex Ferguson this season was Wes Brown.
The ramifications of this could be what you say in this article. But truth be told, this wasn’t the first time United dealt with this situation. Ronaldo’s was quite similar. Like I said at the time, offer him 200k a week and lets see how adamant he is about joining the club he “supported as a kid”. Another case that comes to mind is Vidic and some very weird rumors that made the surface until he renewed his contract. Unfortunately the power is in the players’ hands nowdays. Not a lot we can do about it. I am quite certain we will deal with this thing again in the future.
@Cedars, Hi buddy, but this article covers a wider topic in general which requires discussion more than whether Rooney was right or wrong.
Have United and Sir Alex lost that air of invincibility that separated us from the rest of mosquito-like player who sucked the life out of their club and held it for ransom?
As long as Sir Alex is in-charge, I would say this is not the case. Incidents will always be handled on a case-by-case basis. If somebody thinks he can hold our club for ransom, then he will be swiftly dealt with. This has always been and always will be the case as long as Sir Alex is our manager.
Even in Rooney’s case, I would like to think Sir Alex took the high-ground and upper hand with his brilliant, emotional, and, dare I say it, manipulative interview. Rooney was cornered and helpless after that. Rooney still got what he want, but I don’t think he exactly got “how much” he wanted. I personally think Sir Alex played it out nicely in that regard and brought Rooney under control. Yeah, it was not the swift action we expect with everyone else, but Rooney for this United team is not “everyone else”.
There was no way we could afford to treat Rooney like that. He was, is, and will be for the foreseeable future, the lynchpin of this United side. He does not have any backups coming through and we could’ve faced immediate drastic consequences if we had lost him. Sure, had that happened, as I said at the time, I would’ve trusted Sir Alex to re-build the team brick-for-brick and get us through but that would’ve been a long process, and I kind of hoped that Rooney would sign which he did.
TL:DR, Rooney was a special case and was treated by Sir Alex as such. Even then, Sir Alex forced Rooney’s hand by that interview and gained control of the situation, so it’s not like Rooney got one over the Master. If anybody else tried it, he would be swiftly beaten down, because we don’t entertain that at United. This is what I feel regarding the whole saga.
Correction: It wasn’t a transfer request by Rooney. Just a refusal to sign a new contract.
spot on scott
very sad indeed… ur last word hit the nail on the head!
@Fergie’s gum
Berbatov had 19 goals by late January. I’d say he was playing out of his skin. Until then anyway.
WR10-simply the bestWR10-simply the best
Balaji
You make some excellent points my friend and yes I do realize that the article was mainly written to highlight player power, something we never witnessed at United before…….But I did ask the question whether or not we know what actually did happen behind closed doors.
Thats an incident we are trying to forget but you are spot on it will come back to bite us and this will be worsened by the fact that when next a player holds the club to ransom we might not have SAF with all his influence and genious to deal with it. I know the club will try and find the best guy but those will be big shoes to fill!
I’ll forgive him, but never forget what he’s done to everyone of us.
Should we forgive and forget? Should we forgive and not forget? Should we do none and continue vilifying the guy? I personally am in the second bunch. And with the passage of time, maybe I’ll be able to forget as well; but that’s not up to me!
Well said, Scott, you’ve produced a piece with real insight and historical perspective. Exactly why I love RoM. You have raised fundamental issues that I fear will come to haunt the club in exactly the way you suggest. It’s so true that it has been incredibly easy to take the success of the Fergie era for granted as though that is the norm, either at United or elsewhere. Having lived through the McGuinness, O’Farrell, Docherty, and Atkinson eras following Matt Busby, it’s chastening to think we may all too easily slide back to the same sort of mediocrity when Sir Alex does finally go. Whoever takes over won’t have the powerbase that Fergie’s built for himself so the issue of ‘player power’ will loom larger and larger. It’ll also be harder to attract top players when he’s gone as everyone will be watching to see who the new man is and whether he’s big enough to step into the gaffer’s shoes. Whoever does succeed him will have such an incredibly difficult act to follow, as everyone the whole world over knows, and the Faustian pact to keep Rooney will undoubtedly make things more difficult. The irony is that the same players who felt belittled and betrayed by him at the time will now almost certainly at some point seek to take advantage of the precedent-setting pay levels conceded to keep Rooney.
I must agree. I had the same worries, we are a club with pride. We cant tolerant any nonsense from the players. Rooney saga makes the whole structure of the club collapse. You will get to see the effect 5 years later when Sir Alex retires and the players demanding more wages.
For the umpteenth time just let this thing go FFS. what is past IS PAST. He’s still a United player it’s all that matters right now. DEFINITELY forgiven him. i cannot keep a grudge with rooney for that. it is always nice to learn to forgive and forget cuz it might be you in the begging position one day. Even during the saga i still hoped he would stay because there are not many strikers out there like wayne rooney. strong, fast, skillful an eye for goal and on his day the deadliest striker on this planet also young. You simply cannot just let someone like that go without trying to convince him and that is why i commend Fergie for doing his utmost to convince him to stay because he knows that players like wayne rooney do not come around everyday., fast forward a few months. premier lge champions courtesy of rooney’s late season surge. a slight setback in the rooney – united relationship but that is just what it is. A SETBACK and nothing more.
Just for the record fellas, STR did NOT write this article!
Sir Giles
I have been dreading the day since the boss was close to calling it a day about 9 years ago!
dont forget george best … he did the same .. but today for us he’s a legend!!!
I think many ppl forget that Rooney was under a cloud because of the whole (hole) prostitute thing and what better way to remove that debate than to play this one out the way it did and then use it to galvanise the team…Sir Alex played this one to perfection for me and now he’s got new players.
Personally, I think there is a closeness between player and manager and a ripple had to be created that was bigger than the hooker issue and then let it settle down.
The way Rooney plays, does anyone think he would not be forgiven long-term? I never believed he would leave at any stage.
move on
@Giles Oakley – It was me who wrote it actually, but particularly glad you liked it – always enjoy reading your stuff.
When you look at what Rooney now earns it is actually pretty normal when compared to all of the other elite level players around the world, so on that front I say fair enough, it was always going to happen one way or another, it was just a shame that he resorted to such extreme and disrespectful tactics – they will never be forgotten.
I’m not sure this article really stands up generally speaking though, because whatever people may say, Rooney is a special case. This won’t set a precedent – if any other player tried what he tried, they would be told to politely fuck off.
@Dannysoya
“it is always nice to learn to forgive and forget cuz it might be you in the begging position one day”
Sorry? If i was earning £80,000pw or whatever it was i don’t think i’d be begging. In fact i’d be quite happy. Rooney’s smeared his image at this club the end. Held the club to ransom for more money. If he was sold tomorrow i wouldnt give a shit.
Dont care what anyone says, he is a ledgend in the making. He has learnt and wont be that silly again.
Rooney had the balls to say what we were all thinking, we were in poor form and we were being told there is no value in the market. for fucks sake move on we are on the edge of some thing wounderful. Give some creadit to SAFonly he knows what was best for the club . He has put the club first for the last 25 years .
To AUTHOR….I agree with all you say, but SAF cant do much about that. Why? Money is in Glazers hand. If those bastards didnt took all profit to USA, than we would have money, we could buy players, then we wouldnt worry much about Rooney, we would buy another one.
Glazers could pay all debt until now, but they were paying only interest, and rest took for themselfs. If you have 100 mil profit per year, and then sell Rooney for 70-80 mils, with 180 mils you can buy all new squad. Then he would fight for his place in Manchester United, he would be worried, do we want him in another years or not. Now it is opposite.
We can say that loyalty is the most important, but trophys is that counts…if you can buy anyone, than with time you can win trophys also.
Watching the Champions League interview with SAF (Which turned out to be explaining Rooneys stance) You could see in the gaffers eyes how much he had been hurt , he looked a broken man and I really really felt for him .
It was then that I thought Fuck Rooney ,let him go to whoever he wants , no one player is bigger than the club …… It was only in the following days that I realised the Gaffer had played a blinder and that interview was pure genius the rest as they say is history … Blame the agent …….Blame the hooker………Blame whoever……Times are changing , just thank SAF for being SAF !!!!!!
Although my first reactions were the same as yours, sell the bugger to the highest bidder, I must admit that a day or two later I had a change of heart not because I forgave Wayne, on the contrary I still haven’t to this very day, but I understood that we could not afford to let him go. If we had we would have conceded a) that Citeh would in future be able to get any player that they fancied from us – we had to make a stand – b) we would have been seen as a second tier club by the likes of Barcelona, Real etc and c) that it was his agent who was pulling the strings not wayne. Yes we had to give him a new contract, yes we were held to randsome but do you think that the likes of Wesley Sneider would have been coming to OT if we had sold Wayne?? I don’t think so.
I think Rooney is a fantastic player as many here no doubt do BUT BUT BUT the feeling I have for Rooney does not run as deep as it could do or it does for other players. IF Sir Alex was to announce that a deal for Rooney going to another team was brought up tommorrow I would naturally be worried. Worried for the make up of the team and who his successor might be and how we would then change our style to cope with the vast ammount of changes. I wouldnt feel much for Rooney because that feeling isnt there. I was more heartbroken when Cantona quit, when Hughsie called it a day and when it was clear that Ronaldo was going. I am more upset that John Oshea has left the club than I would be should Rooney be shopped. Id be more worried for the team should Rooney go than JOS but from a fan to player relationship standpoint, I dont care much for Rooney at all. I find him cass, of poor upbringing, a complete slob, an ignoramous. He as a person is as interesting as a 14 year old hoody who spends every night outside McDonalds and scratching cars. He is a country mile behind the type of personality and player I want at United, likes like Scholes, Charlton, Law, Cantona, Irwin, Giggs (even though he has been naughty), The Neviller the list goes on and on. To me Rooney is the common slob mentality that I expect from teams like Spurs or Newcastle.
Do I want Rooney to stay, YES because we’ve made too many changes this year as it is. Would I care if he was shopped next year – probably not. Will he ever be remembered by me as a LAW figure, never even if he scored 40 goals a season that will just make him a footballing superstar, LEGEND never.
I’ve actually resigned to thinking- “Hey, while you’re here I’ll love you and support you and so score as many goals and win as many trophies as you can for us”.
I’ve sort of stopped expecting loyalty tbh. It’ll save me from any disappointment. And it’ll also make me appreciate players who are actually loyal ( only time will tell) more-like Berba. Football has made me a skeptic. Sigh.
@KingOfStretfordEnd
Its actually been a sad 5-10 years of football. Club loyalty seems to have evaporated with the trinity of Scholes Giggs and Neville being described as the bastions of a dying belief. The England set up is so pointless now that ME a patriot and lover of football in general has even not bothered to watch their games on tele despite the fact Id travel 100′s of miles to see them with mates and make a party out of it. We can all blame money and the like for ruining the game but we all know its actually the players and society as a whole that has destroyed the game. or the game is thriving in Spain and despite a lul in Italy the game and its fans are still flying the flag with Pride.
Goat – Summed it up better than anyone. But, time for us all to move on. That doesn’t mean, you have o love him and you forget what he done. No, have those thoughts, but get behind him, while he wears the Red of United. I’ve got a feeling, this season will Rooney’s best in a United shirt. The pressures on him, no doubt. He owes the boss big time, and now he must repay the managers faith in him. As for loyalty in football, it gone people. The days of Scholes, RedNev and Giggs staying at one club for all their careers, is done. The modern footballer, bar a few here and there, are all about their own self interests. It’s sad, but a fact of life.
I’ve forgiven Rooney because a unhappy player would not have scored a overhead against City, a crucial goal against Chelsea and seen off schalke. A player that wanted out would not have stepped up to the spot for the penalty to seal the 19th title or find the firepower to score against Barcelona. Wayne Rooney was off form for large parts of the season but what was impressive about the boy was that he bounced back from immense World Cup pressure, bad form, newspaper rumours and private life allegations, Injuries and contractual problems to be The Rooney of 2009-10 for us.
Rooney has been forgiven by many but for it to be forgotten forever he must at maximum do this with United;
-Reach 600-650 appearances
-Score 250-300 More Goals
-Win 4 more Premier Leagues
-Win At maximum 2 more Champions Leagues
-Win 2-3 FA Cups
-Win 3 League Cups
- Win 1 World Club Championship
- Win 1 Super Cup
That means adding 14 more cups to his collection of 10
If he does this before he leaves United or Retire I will never breathe the word of Rooney Holding United Hostage to his demands.
@Clint … Spot on mate!!!!!!
Just came in for a jiffy and off to dinner, need to say this though:
@Balaji Sivaraman: Friend, u may not love yourself enough but I think the guys in here do like u.
Next time u decide to jump off the 5th floor of yr office or If I remember correctly u said something about cutting off yr red nut willie over something!
Dude ,think of us R.O.M ers and take the escalator or lift , and put da knife down !
I promise we will have nigellas boobies at yr place to suckle on !
easy does it camel rider!
TWAT
TWAT
TWAT
FAT FUCKING TWAT – i for one will not sell my soul and chant his name ever again just because he is a good player.
Hope he breaks his fucking legs.
Nice one Keano. Because Keano would never say anything derogatory about United or question any of the players! Oh hang on…
Its easy to proclaim – whats past is past. The thing is if it comes back and bite United at the back and the club would have to endure another insulting moment like that, there’s no way past is past.
Our rivals (if not everyone) will be having a field day coming up with taunts like ‘You’re shit – Rooney said you are!’. Of course to continue vilifying the guy would be dumb but then again I wish he wouldn’t have put the club to the ransom like that. And not to mention making a mockery out of Fergie.
We might not have lifted the 19th if not for Rooney hitting off form at the right moment but I think in retaining him United has lost something loads and loads more valuable and thats the absolute say of the gaffer. What am saying now might not much sense, right esp after we’ve just lifted the trophy but it will – should any of our players throw tantrums like that again in the near future.
And God I hope am wrong.
@GoatinaUnitedShirt
Said it well there. Players like Giggs, Scholes and Neville are a dying breed. Oh wait, maybe a dead breed for the matter. Ha, and don’t get me started on England, they’re a disgrace.
Other than Callum’s concern, my main worry is a certain mentality among United fans that a player can get away with anything he does (against the club, not on a personal level like Ryan) as long as he produces the goods on the pitch. Hence many recent comments from fans saying “good riddance” to loyal servants like Wes Brown or those internet tough guys that drove Gibbo away from twitter. Not to mention those United fans that give Berbatov a hard time to this day. At the same time, we should forgive poor Wayne because “he made a mistake” and (of course) because without him, the 19th title might have never arrived. Imo, that’s a mentality for City fans. You know. The same bunch that are quick to embrace Carlos Tevez even after 50 transfer requests and don’t even remember how Richard Dunne was kicked out of their club like a piece of meat.
@keano 86
Fuck off you cunt. All you people that say you will never cheer his name again are full of shit. I suppose you all just sat there when he scored that winning goal against City, you people make me fucking sick you sound like fucking City fans they way you keep going on about it. He made a mistake and he apologized to the team, club and fans, either move on of FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!
@Dave, Well.. my friend… I think you’ve just made an offer I can’t refuse.
we’ve all been over this before,imo rooney is a rentboy and has lost all my love,think as a person he’s a cunt. i’ll respect utd’s decision and support him while he’s producing.what added to the disillusionment was berba playing top class football and treated very badly by sir alex just to accommodate rooney,berba is a all round decent lad with a genuine love for utd and was treated like a whipping boy.
Last year rooney became bigger than the club and should have been sold,everyone knows my love for utd and sir alex but i did lose some respect for him over the rooney and berba situations.
we are all humans and we do make mistakes…. of course he got the deal he wanted but we should not forget his contributions in the past as well……….let by-gones be by-gones
Callum, I apologise, I hadn’t bothered to check who wrote your piece. Makes no difference, I still thought it was an excellent piece! Sorry to see people abusing each other here. Better than self abuse, I suppose…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k819HxefPew This can only help matters!!!
LUHG
Sex with someone you love, that is Giles.
This article is 100% spot on. Rooney crossed the line last year with his blackmail of the club, disrespecting the fans and the manager in the process of so doing. And at the time when Rooney, then the 3rd most skilful player at the club, was playing crap too. Excellent player or no, if it had been my call…..for peace’s sake I won’t go there as events have moved on. Suffice to say, as long as Rooney’s picked to wear a United shirt then I’m support his efforts on the pitch.
I’m sure SAF had wider reasons that explain Rooney’s survival of that which was previously considered unsurvivable , namely open challenging SAF and incurring his wrath. However, I doubt whether that now involves SAF building a team or formation around Rooney as many readily suppose. I suspect we’ll find out sooner rather than later starting with the summer tour…
United till i die
You make a fair point. Im not a Rooney fan per se but yeah i lept out of my seat when Rooney scored that Hughsie special. But I do remember a little disapointment that it was Rooney who scored the goal. I do remember the edge of the celebration taken off because it was Rooney who did it. I certainly didnt chant his name and I remember I was cheering the cross rather than the goal. Who knows maybe in time it will get better but their is a deep seated loathing at the moment and Im not as fickle as most and just forgive so easily. As far as I am concerned he crossed the line and did the taboo. For me it is the same as if one of your best mates fucked your daughter. You still have fond memories of the person, hell you may even say you forgive him after a massive punch up and months of ignoring each other. But every time he helps you paint the spare room or fix the car, hes still the cunt that fucked your daughter.
united til i die – slip your tampon back in and lick rooneys arse some more.
NOBODY is bigger than the club. despite what rooney may think.
sorry can’t by into we all make mistakes and lets move on.with rooney it was all about selfishness and greed and he got exactly what he wanted after lying to the fans,insulting the club and his teammates.
it was fuck all to do with ambition and all to do with money,the grotesque way he went about it at the expense of everything utd stand for and to see sir alex cave saddened me to the core.Respect utds decision,respect rooneys ability to play football but never forget he’s just a greedy fucking rentboy who doesn’t give a toss about utd or the fans,so if he’s not scoring goals and earning the 200k a week blood money why the fuck should we give a shit about him.
Afternoon lads. Thought I would add a welcome to the world to Becks little one.
Harper Seven Beckham! Welcome to this bright world lass. You go girl!
Seven for his days at United?
People singling out Rooney as the only United player EVER to have acted like this and got their way, maybe need to ask themselves whether in fact he’s the only one who did it so publicly, which, although worse, doesn’t represent a fundamental difference.
I seem to remember Rio stalling on a new deal over money grounds. Sure he didn’t threaten to leave – certainly not in front of the press – but who’se to say there aren’t players on our books now – or haven’t been in the past – who have behaved the same way that Rooney did, and got their way, but simply had the common sense to carry it out out of public view?
Sneijder wants Milan Stay!!!!
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_7032276,00.html
DAM!!
Excellent Thread.
I wanted Rooney sold. Had no problems with that whatsoever. No player is bigger than the Club. But in reflection I see it differently. The Rooney saga was inevitable as we pay our players LESS than the market, so somebody from our quality ranks was always going to force the Club to pay more money. Although I don’t doubt Alex was genuinely upset, we shouldn’t forget that his press conference was always “theatre”, and it was always “designed” to receive a specific response from the Faithful, the rivals, and the ABU press. Alex is no mug, he is a real tactician. (which is why I called that Journo a Twat)
Bottom line, United haven’t been weakened by the Rooney saga. United do not exist in a vacuum, so like ticket prices, player wages couldn’t stay artificially low at Old Trafford forever. There HAD to be an increase someday, and Alex HAD to face the issue of player power sooner or later. The reason the Club are now in a stronger position is because this inevitable change happened on OUR terms. Did Rooney get the 250K other players receive? No he bloody didn’t, and he’s our best player, so the artificially low cost of producing Old Trafford magic continues, does it not? IMO the United Way marches into 2011/12.
Without exception we take losses in life, and whether a Club, a player, a manager, whatever… the real question is how we address these inevitable SH*T STORMS that life brings our way. Thats what defines a Club and a player, so imho Alex has yet again shown his brilliance in leading Manchester United forward through the good AND bad. Great thread on INEVITABLE player power Callum. It was bound to raise its head at OT, and imho it hasn’t weakened us. United with Alex at the helm made the best out of the worst, so its a bittersweet victory for the Club.
As to Rooney. I couldn’t even write his name for months. It is getting better. I lay most of the blame at Paul Stretfords feet. Rooney played his part and clearly went way over the top from the perspective of just about every red. But he started to play with some heart and for me, long may it continue. If he goes, he will only be an afterthought in Uniteds glorious push. If he stays, he really has to start from ground zero to rebuild what he had if fans hearts.
LET IT GO !!!
I hated him, but he is too good to lose… he knows he made a mistake, and has apologised so just forget about it, it wont happen again, FACT.
We will just go round to his house again and ‘have a word’.
@ Thabsheer:
‘dont forget george best … he did the same .. but today for us he’s a legend!!!’
Er, no. George never held the club to ransom for more money or openly disrespected his fellow players, the fans and the manager . George may have had issues with personal discipline (e.g shagging the odd Miss World or actress when he should have been at training) but that’s a different matter altogether.
Re: Sneijder, Nasri etc.
I prefer the Dutchman over the Frenchman, but bottom line i’d rather see Ando, Fletcher and Young in the middle. Young has outscored and out played Nasri for all three seasons they’ve both played in the same league. Ashley is a better player than Nasri, and he plays very well in the middle. Even on the wing, he enjoys bringing the ball into the middle and leaving pockets behind him.
Young is a different player to these two, because he is much more dynamic. He brings more to the game, and our Club, because he can roam and cover more of the pitch. He’s never played at a top Club like Sneijder, or Nasri, but he’s still outscored and out-assisted our midfield since Ronny left.
So im much, MUCH more excited about our new no.18 than either of these “targets”. Always have been. When he first signed I expected him to be played in midfield with Tony and Nani on either side, and if he is, HE IS A BETTER PLAYER THAN NASRI IN THE MIDDLE. If our business is done with our three new players, I for one would be very happy. Sneijder wants too much money, and personally, I’d prefer it if we didn’t pay it, and just kicked on with what we’ve got. Call it old school if you will
Agree with those who think we need to move on and support Rooney. As long as he is committed and wearing the shirt, he will get my backing. Maybe muted, but my backing.
Off topic, What is up with Kuszczak. Can’t believe he couldn’t be plused to win 2 more trophies. Our preseason will put us in line to win a really spectacular trophy in the MLS all star game v Bechs and Henry and they will be up for it. Also the Audi cup vs Barca etc. Anders will be number one or is the thinking that deGea will join for those games.
Great article Scott I am asked all the time have I now forgiven Rooney and continually asked am I now singing his name again. The answer is no and I would have definately sold him ,he is nothing more to me than an employee. In terms of ability he is a great employee but if we could have replaced that employee without impacting the team then we should have done. If not then just use him for our own benefit. The Berbatov situation saddens me, all he has ever done is want to be accepted by the fans, and he jas done everything to try and acheieve that yet he gets more abuse than that socuse rat.
Is it just me or has Nasri been a little bit overhyped since the United links began? course he’s great,he’s young and has potential and everything, but some people are now saying he’s better than Sneijder. seriously?
@Redhound
I agree mate, I rate Nasri highly but to suggest he is better than Sneijder is ludacrus! Sneijder is a world class player proven at every level. I would be happy with one of them to be added bt given the choice its a no brainer for me.
He’s still dumb, he’s still a cunt and I still wont sing his name. He’s just lucky he’s so good at football.
This article is not written by Scott.
nasri was a good deal when the first talk of 10mill was being thrown around,at 25mill i say fuck that let the bitters have him.
So far we’ve had:
Muelensteen singing Sneijder’s praises
Young tweeting that “it looks like Sneijder’s on his way” (quickly deleted)
And now G Nev speaking out that he would be “a great signing”
Of course, they could all be disconnected and meaningless. But I’m starting to get a funny feeling about this one…
The hypocrisy stinks.
We’re more than prepared to forgive one of our players trying to jump through another person’s chest, and effectively torpedoing our entire season through a complete brain fart yet we can’t get past another player having a brain fart and effectively realizing that and trying to resolve it a week later.
These are human beings. Not gods. They’re flawed and sometimes prone to weakness. Why is Cantona measured by one yardstick yet Rooney by another? Mind you Eric is my favourite player EVER but even then I can see the double standards to this.
I’d rather have a player state his doubts but play out of his skin for the club the rest of his career than another player claim absolute bleeding red then calling it quits a couple of seasons after claiming some desire to paint frescos or photograph cows…
Drastic examples I know… But I digress…
If we can’t be more open hearted and understanding that players can
be subject to moments of weakness e.g Evra then we’re no better than the dippers.
Great read so far, I have to work the next 12 hours will come back, open a few beers and read.
@GOAT thanks for you prospective, you can take the boy out of Liverpool, but you can never take the Liverpool out of the boy?
yeah to some extent its a no brainer. Nasri has that attacking thing about his play, the dribble, will make a genius pass once in a while. Now Sneijder boy oh boy!! I think He should have been named among the best players in the world the year in 2010 after Inter won the UCL. Probably among the best 3 free-kick takers in the world, has that great pass built into him, will keep possession and he arguably masterminded that 3-1 defeat of Barca. About that age thing, Scholes has retired at 36? Sneijder is 27, Nasri is 24, Young is 26. The media and some people are making Sneijder out to be a grandfather but i think he has at least 5 good years left in him
Young tweeted Sneijders on his way? Someone is getting the hairdryer later!
ransom VS fair pay?
The yanks got Man Utd for 750,000,000.00 and now it has doubled in value.
I for one believe, pay the players there worth.
tweeting = trouble
@willierednut
Yeh, Phil McNulty retweeted it, but then looking at Young’s timeline, it had disappeared.
Could’ve just been him reading a gossip column and being gullible, of course. Though I suppose by now it’s no secret that we WANT him…
@willierednut, just saw the last thread, no worries dude. Not your style at all. No more full on attacks by me as well. Imposters will spell better then me. Use punctuation right ect. ect.
young doesn’t have a twitter account mute point
I will never forget SAF’s face at that infamous press conference. The article raises good points, the most important being that for the first time (to my knowledge), SAF publicly “caved in” to a player. Does that set a precedent that undermines SAF? We’ll see. I have to think, though, that SAF was aware of how this would look, and therefore have to conclude that he really does consider Rooney that important to the club. A view that is also confirmed by him continuing to play Rooney even when he was badly out of form in every sense (whereas certain others are dropped no matter how many goals they score).
I truly don’t think it makes any difference to SAF’s successor though, because I always figured that whoever walks through that door will need a huge pair of nuts, and the total backing of both the club and us, the fans.
As for loyalty, forget about it. I posted on this elsewhere a few days ago. There’s simply too much at stake these days. Sure, we can liken the players to whores. And their agents to pimps. But the clubs are their customers, and they are both demanding and ruthless too. Indeed, I would argue that SAF’s response to the Rooney affair is evidence of that point.
And us fans are no better. All of us — fans, players, clubs, agents — want our jollies, in whatever form that takes — money, glory, success, titles, whatever, and we don’t much care who we have to trample on to get there.
Players don’t have loyalty, but neither do clubs. Of course, there are exceptions. Whatever some may think of the club, I was actually pleased to see Wigan say, in the midst of last season’s relegation battle, that they would stick by Martinez as manager even if they went down to the Championship. And I was equally pleased to see Martinez stick by the club when he could almost certainly have moved somewhere bigger. I was pleased because it seemed like a nice bit of old-fashioned loyalty. The romantic in me, misses that. But the realist in me accepts that it no longer works that way. Loyalty and sentiment are things of the past. We, the fans, have made this far too lucrative, and the businessmen have been very good at exploiting that — no problems there, it’s what they’re supposed to do. And if players take advantage of that, well, what does anyone expect?
Apparently Young doesn’t actually have a Twitter guys, so that’s a red herring right there.
As for this article- it wasn’t written by Scott….but its no surprise that he allowed an anti-Rooney article to be posted on. Somehow, if it was an article written in praise of Rooney, I doubt he would’ve posted it. Fair enough I suppose….it’s his blog….
my main problem with the rooney situation really isn’t his weekly wage and his right to be a top earner,its lying to me all those years about loving the club and wantng to be at utd for life,to follow in the footsteps of other utd legends.
then you find out he’s just a greedy rentboy cunt and everything he’d been saying were lies,that’s the reason i’ll never forgive him,he sucked me in then betrayed my trust.
@rachreddevil1
Seems you’re right. That one must’ve been a fake. Why do people bother with that shit? Talk about not having a life.
But if your’e gonna correct me, then allow me to correct you… it’s moot point, not ‘mute point’… just so ya know!
I think Wayne Rooney is the only person who has put Ferguson in that awkward “please stay” situation? with Rony he knew he was going to leave and was just buying time. The look on Fergie’s face looked like ” There, you have it, he wants to leave, i dont wish it but he want to leave,do something someone”. It was like a cue for those balaclavva-clad guys that showed up to his crib.
Heres the Ashley Young tweet that he apparently later deleted from his timeline, doesnt appear to be a legit Twitter account though- http://i.imgur.com/bz2RC.jpg
@wayne … here’s another approach that works OK for me: I start with the idea that they are all greedy rentboy cunts, and liars too. Then, when that turns out true, I am not disappointed. In fact, I feel smart, because I am proved right
. And, on those rare occasions where a player really is different, I am happy to be wrong 
We’ve had comparisons to Rio and Best on here in what Rooney did last summer.
I think fans can forgive a player for being a little grumpy and wanting to get the best deal by stalling. Thats part of football and has been for donkeys years. Thats what Rio did, he threatened to leave. What Rooney did was exactly what Heinze did. He wanted to move to a club that the fans hate with a passion. Had Rooney come out and said I want to go to Madrid or Barcelona, although alot would hate that and through all sorts of biggated remarks the spaniards way an understanding of moving to those clubs can be understood (even though I would never contemplate it). What Rooney did was moot a transfer to the more ambitious City and disrespected his team mates and manager. That is fucking garbage of the highest order. I forgive him for wanting to get the best deal but by bolox I’ll never forgive him for being a sellout and a prostitute.
He is even more hated because what he did in his personal life too. That is personal as far as I am concerned HOWEVER wen you see that his personal life was going wrong as well you are left to wonder what the fuck is the big deal with the boy. I know for one if he walked down the street and I walked the other way in my United shirt I wouldn’t even acknowledge the despot.
Very good player though.
Nobody’s saying Rooney wasn’t stupid, but sorry….I’ve gotta take you up on stuff like questioning his commitment and loyalty to the club.
If he stays here for the majority of his remaining career, can you really sit there and say he doesn’t love the club? Put it this way- if he wanted to leave now, he would. He could walk into pretty much any side in the world, and the fact that he’s signed to a contract means we’d get a hefty transfer fee. I don’t see him asking to leave though, do you?
Greedy and money minded- YES, like most footballers.
Uncommitted and lacking loyalty to the club- NO. It’s not like he’s being forced to stay here against his will.
I suppose the best way to come to terms with it is, I love United the club, its history everything it stands for, the fans and the stories they can tell. The players are just male prostitutes by the most part and are of a repugnant nature. That is why Scholes is so special, through it all he is the player I want to see alongside Bobby Robson in the stands, I want him on the training field doing what Nobby did for him and the magnificent 95, I want him in the boardroom, I want Paul Scholes at every match for the rest of his life.
Sorry Bobby Charlton, what a cunt!
Hang on fuck Im digging a hole for myself here
That is Bobby Charlton in the stands NOT Bobby Robson (had just watched a youtube on Robson (Bryan) and got it mixed up in my head.
And no I didnt mean Bobby Charltons a cunt, he is an absolute legend and the epitimy of all things United.
Couldn’t give a fuck what a player does in his personal life. Be that Giggs, Rooney, Bestie. That side of things, that sad bastards fixate on, in the UK, is baffling to me. If it affects the club, I trust the manager 100% to sort it out.
That’s your own tail you’re eating Goat!
@Manchuchu says:
“The hypocrisy stinks.
We’re more than prepared to forgive one of our players trying to jump through another person’s chest, and effectively torpedoing our entire season through a complete brain fart yet we can’t get past another player having a brain fart and effectively realizing that and trying to resolve it a week later.
These are human beings. Not gods. They’re flawed and sometimes prone to weakness. Why is Cantona measured by one yardstick yet Rooney by another?”
There is no hypocrisy here. Cantona ‘s boot administered ‘justice’ to come scrote who was in the process of verbally insulting his mother and his heritage at the time. Not the most PC thing to do, perhaps, but understandable nonetheless in the heat of the moment.
Rooney on the other hand deliberatly disrepected the club for a wage hike. The irony is, he probably deserved a rise anyway…
Ahhh the ol’ Rooneygate debate.
I could’ve cared less about the sex scandals. As we’ve come to realize, even the most adored of athletes just find it difficult to keep their pecker in their pants. Human nature to act on our desires and when they’re right there in front of us, night in, night out, who am I to judge another man’s will with the ladies. Fuck me, I know I’d have a hard time turning down a prime piece of ass ready to do whatever I wanted, with, in all likelihood, her best friend there to hum my bag as well.
But the fact that Wayne decided to ask for a transfer, question our “ambition” and even be rumored to be working behind the scenes to secure a move to City was down right appauling. I was shocked as were most and it hurt for some time. That 3 week saga felt like years. I got over it though. While the player’s wearing the kit, he’s still a Red Devil and I will support accordingly. When he hit that overhead against City, it could’ve been Osama fucking Bin Laden and I’ve have jumped outta my bar stool and cheered. Not for the player, but for the team.
Wayne Rooney the person can get bent. I’ve lost every ounce of respect for him I ever had. However, Wayne Rooney the player is a joy to watch. It’s pretty clear that, to our current squad, he’s the heart beat. As Wayne goes, we go and even though I hate him off the pitch for what he did, I will continue to love him every time he’s on it. I’ve no choice. He’s a difference maker and watching him play the way he did over the last half of the season quickly reminded me that what I think of a player as a person means absolute shyte.
He will NEVER garner legendary status at this club, for me his file is forever scarred. He will however, get my full backing every time that’s strip’s on because nothing’s more important than the success of the club and, well, let’s face it, our bed’s made for at least the near future, and yes, I’ve got my jammies on and am ready to sleep in it.
@Stateside hi mate,if that’s the case it just becomes harder for me,when i first got off the boat in canada i started watching nhl,nfl,players wages were reasonable and ticket prices also.As the player power became more and more prevalant,wages went up ticket prices went up,players loyalty to club and fans went down.
I’ve quit watching hockey and the nfl stike is the final nail in that coffin,in a way its almost like animal farm,the players got the power have now ruined the game, the ave fans participation is becoming less and less.friends of mine who have been calgary flame season ticket holders for years this year are not renewing,just sick of low quality and rising wages,ticket prices year after year.Most clubs in north america regardless of sport[not counting the nfl] lose millions each year.
Quite frankly its insanity a businessman spending millons on a team should be allowed to make money and the ave fan be able to watch the team he/she loves,the dissconnect has become so big north american sports are completly dysfunctional.
i’ve supported utd all my live,football is finally catching up with,hockey,baseball,etc teams are going broke, players wages,ticket prices keep going up.the players if not footballers most would be stocking shelves or other lesser jobs yet they get greedier and greedier and have no appreciation for how lucky they are.greedy cunts like rooney just keep on chipping away at my faith.it’ll take a cross the board fan revolution a world wide boycott of all matches to stop this madness and get the sport heathly again.
Goat @ 16:36 … great post.
@Mr C
Exactly. The Rooney and Cantona cases are nothing alike.
Costas and MrC
Cantonas attack on a fan could be akined to when Keane went through Halland. It was a moment of complete madness and the fire that is in such a players belly in not being second to anyone. Yes problems arise from their actions but these are part and parcel problems in competitive sport. Even the very great Scholsey had to sit in the stands the odd time for the odd missdemeaner.
Rooney bit the hand that fed him, fucked the hands daughter, shat in the hands new Rolls Royce and wiped his smeggy cock up and down the hands newly decorated front room.
A bit of a difference I think everyone would agree.
Goat … “Rooney bit the hand that fed him, fucked the hands daughter, shat in the hands new Rolls Royce and wiped his smeggy cock up and down the hands newly decorated front room.” That made my day lol
I’ve learnt to forgive him.he’s such an adorable lad on twitter I must admit.Very innocent seemingly.Good read though.
I refuse to believe that he had a move lined up to City. He wouldn’t have done it, purely for the fact that he wouldn’t have been able to live in the same city as the supporters he betrayed.
Did he try and screw us over and lie to get more money- yes.
But like I said- watch his performances and try telling me he’s not got commitment to this club. Watch him on the bench during the Cup semi final vs Man City and tell me he doesn’t care.
If he stays here for years to come, you cannot seriously tell me he’s not committed. He could quite easily ask for a move right now if he wanted, and the club wouldn’t mind selling him coz we’d get a hefty transfer fee now. But has he not chosen to stay?
So accusations of being greedy are perfectly accurate. Questioning his loyalty to the club, unfair IMO.
adorable and very innocent.lol that has to be a wind up.
just read bellamy won’t take a pay cut of his 80k a week and would rather play for city reserves,kinda sums up what i was talking about and everything thats wrong with the modern day footballer
@Sparkz his options are ltd because his wife doesn’t want to leave england,just leaves city and the rentboys who could afford to buy him.think you’re deluding yourself its common knowledge city had tapped him up,by his actions proved he had no loyalty to the club just his bank account.
now he’s making 200k a week better see some kind of commitment out of him that’s all i can say,getting that kind of money then not trying how much more of a cunt could he be.
Rooney is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
Oh well.. That’s some United support for ya..
Rooney is damned by his own actions simple as that,nothing to do with any fan,made his bed so he better produce on the field
@Goat
Graphic, but spot on.
Wayne- if he’s as uncommitted as you’re making out- then moving to City or Chelsea wouldn’t be a problem would it? He could quite easily hand in a transfer request right now, and go to one of those 2….where he’ll earn even more than he does now.
As I said- I don’t see him asking for a move do you?
By all means criticise him and call him greedy, but anybody can see that one thing he doesn’t lack is commitment to the club.
Brilliant player. He’ll show it this season. Never be a legend now though. I said, all I had to say at the time. Rooney knows he fucked up. The manager called him out and he ended up signing a new deal. That’s it done for me. If the club sell him in the future, so be it. Until then…
Score plenty of goals!
@Sparkz with rentboys forking over 50mill for trannyboy not even sure they’d spend 60mill on rooney,probably only leaves city,moved there his life would be misery and maybe in danger.
those fans visiting him with masks on must have scared the shit out of him,like i said optons very ltd,you think he shows commitment i’m saying he only showed commitment after the big contract.beginning of last year he wasn’t trying and his play was putrid.he’s nothing more than a rentboy in my eyes and i don’t give a fuck if he stays or goes.before all the bollocks it was unthinkable.
Neither forgiven or forgotten.
Looking back- what does everyone make of fergies decision to drop jim leighton for les sealey?
Wayne- since when did Chelsea become financially sensible? Do me a favour, if Rooney said he wanted to leave tomorrow, Roman would be first in with a £60m offer, and they’d ship Drogba off.
And you’re kinda contradicting yourself- you’re saying Rooney wouldn’t go to City for fear of his life- yet according to you, he was more than willing to go there in October? And don’t act like the guys in masks made him realise how dangerous it would be for him if he’d gone to City…he would’ve known that before, this is a local rival you’re talking about.
His form might’ve been dog shit at the beginning of last season, but I wouldn’t say he was any less committed on the pitch tbh. You’re forgetting that even after he signed the new deal, he still had another 3 months of poor performances. Poor performances doesn’t equate to a lack of commitment.
@Keano86 “NOBODY is bigger than the club. despite what rooney may think”.
I agree and that also goes for fans as well, if you cant support EVERY single player while they wear the red shirt for 90 minutes then fuck off. You dont have to like him as a person but while he plays for us he should get every fans support.
@Sparkz hi mate, not contradicting myself,think rooney had his head turned by the offer of big money without thinking of all the consequencs.When it comes to roman, lost his fucking head in january chasing the CL but the reality is once the fair rules come into play chelsea are in deep shit,roman cannot keep spending money the club doesn’t have otherwise no europe. same goes with city.
can have all the money in the world but when the club has to start balancing books the madness has to end
Yeah but if a player of Rooney’s calibre became available, you can’t tell me Roman wouldn’t bring the chequebook out- especially with Drogba and Anelka in their 30′s! They’re well in need of a striker and they’d go for Rooney without a second thought if he was gonna leave OT.
i don’t understand the rules,what i can gather if they were in place today neither chelsea or city could enter CL.not saying he wouldn’t want rooney,what i am saying might not be in a position to buy him.Drogba and Anelka are irrelevant because already bought and paid for and age wise not worth to much in transfer fees,roman would still have to go in the hole to a tune of 60mill.
i think chelsea are in serious trouble have a aging team but not seeing to much transfer activity.signing trannyboy for that kind of money one of the worst decisions ever,team is in decline yet roman is stuck with these fair play rules,he just can’t keep writing cheques
I pay hundreds to watch united every season and I know for a fact I would rather see rooney playing than not. Yes he fucked up but to say he won’t go down a legend if he stays the rest of his career is in my opinion a piss take. Say he has twelve or so years here and helps us to shit loads more trophies then folk will remember that October fortnight? Do me a fucking favour. Its done. Time to move on. For what its worth I reckon he is gonna be top drawer this season.
Thanks for the comments and stuff. I’m not saying get rid now – the damage has been done and I do really like him as a player.
Brilliant article.
This will rumble on for a while, as the bad feeling is still very much there in some quarters. I very much enjoyed singing “Steve Gerrard Gerrard”, but after what Rooney did we were left with egg on our faces – there’d no defence….he made us all look like cunts – so us calling him a cunt can come as no surprise…….I’m sorry to say this and I know this will be unpopular – but I still haven’t forgiven Rio…so Rooney has no chance
we are so bored of transfer rumours that we have to read about the Rooney saga yet again… Ofcourse we had to keep him, he is the only attacking player in the squad that at the top echelons of the football world. What would it have said to potential signings if Rooney had left two years after Ronaldo and Tevez. Keeping him was a message to everyone else as well, “we are Manchester United, we keep our best players when we want to, and we sell the ones we don’t want anymore.”
North Stand Tier 2 – I agree in one sense about the message it sent out….but it depends how you interpret that message. One way is the way you have, the other one is we’ll be taken for a fuckin ride. The manager, players and fans. Scholes, Nev and Giggs were probably disgusted….he’s lucky to play for us – not the other way round.
King Eric – We’ll have to disagree on this one bud!!!!
Rai. Hello mate. Ha. Yeah we will agree to disagree. Suffice to say northstand called it right and someone previously. If we had sold rooney to city it didn’t bare thinking about. The football world would have loved the “powershift “. We would have looked exceedingly smalltime.
Willie mentioned a wage cap the other day, I think there should be something to stop the madness. Like he said top end footballers fair enough, but when you think people like Shaun Wright Philips getting millions in his career for fuck all it does make you wonder…
The message was loud and clear, don’t fuck with the boss! There was already a contract on the table for Wayne to sign. He signed it. End off. What, lose him on a bosman? That’s real smart. Glazers are cunts blah blah blah. They ain’t fucking stupid. I battered Rooney, when this shit broke out in October. Vented my spleen in the fullest. Got that shit off my chest. Keep going on and on about it… fuck that. He’s a cunt, yes. But he’s our cunt. He’s our cunting cunt!
Also Cantona77 made a great point at the top. This will probably happen more and more, especially when God retires. Whoever plays for the club should appreciate the history and standards. Manchester United Football Club are not a team playing a game, Manchester United is bigger than religion itself in my eyes and should be treated in that manner.
Rai – How about a cunt cap? Lol.
Willie – “he’s our cunting cunt”….I’ll agree on that one!!
As for a cunt cap, I think that type of cap would sell……might be tight on the old head though
@United till i die
I understand your argument mate and like I say Rooney is a great employee and one we would rather have but that is all he is to me an employee.
I for one will never sing his name, did I cheer when he scored the winner against City of course I did we just beat City i went nuts! Did I cheer in Wembley when he scored against Barca? Of course I did we just levelled the game in the euro cup final. I never celebrate an individual goal I celebrate the fact United have just scored.
Maybe its just me, maybe i should sing his name i dont know but the one thing I do know is he did it to Everton and he wanted to do it to us, he just didnt realise the ramifications until he went piblic.
I dont agree with the notion of you have to support every player no matter what they do, we are not lemmings and dont need to fuck off because we refuse to forgive and forget. Time may heel who knows but the thought of him saying we have no ambition and to disreprect the gaffer then his now divided opinions from fans is fully justified.
Giggs12Gerrard0 – top post
Lemmings can’t sing.
King Eric at 19.35-
I pay hundreds to watch united every season and I know for a fact I would rather see rooney playing than not. Yes he fucked up but to say he won’t go down a legend if he stays the rest of his career is in my opinion a piss take. Say he has twelve or so years here and helps us to shit loads more trophies then folk will remember that October fortnight? Do me a fucking favour. Its done. Time to move on. For what its worth I reckon he is gonna be top drawer this season.
Pretty much bang on I’d say. Him signing that contract put the club in a good position as well, coz if his form didn’t pick up and Fergie wanted to get rid in the summer, we’d have the comfort of him being on a long term deal = a big transfer fee.
What we saw in the last few months was Rooney playing out of his skin. He carries that on for a few more years and he WILL go down as a legend, no question about it
“he’s our cunting cunt”
“he’s our cunting cunt”
“he’s our cunting cunt”
That white Peleeeeeeee.
“he’s our cunting cunt”
“he’s our cunting cunt”
“he’s our cunting cunt”
Wayne Rooney is his nameeeeeee.
Gloooooorrryyyy Gllooooorrrryyyy Man Utd!
Gloooooorrryyyy Gllooooorrrryyyy Man Utd! Chug a beer!!!!!!!!!!
Do it again. One more Time.
Wayne Rooney has one of the most attractive noses in the country, according to researchers.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2013699/There-14-types-nose–yours.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Breaking News!
Wayne Rooney to be sponsored by Vicks nasal spray next season!
I’m also hearing that he’s the new face of Hoover.
While I can understand what you’re saying, I think it is equally important to understand the changing landscape in football. Real Madrid shelled out 80 mill pounds to Ronaldo and he’s earning a gigantic sum today. Chelsea has been paying 150K plus salary/week for the last four odd years for few of its bastards and then comes the juggernaut called Shitty willing to throw around money all willy-nilly. In this light, comes a situation where either your let these clubs steal away your star players or you go ahead and say what the heck and pay the salaries although with great reluctance. If we want to be the best, we can’t stand alone with wrong pretense when top clubs like Barcelona and shitty ones like Madrid (hate ‘em to death), city and chelski go on about brandishing big cash for top players. Sometimes you’ve got to play the game just to avoid being a victim but here we’re playing to be a real bad ass.
Willierednut
I dont know if leemmings can sing mate but I have produced a beauty for Wesley once he signs!
Gazza’s Transfer Saga to United (Or the Non-Transfer)
http://unitedbanter.blogspot.com/2011/07/gazza-saga-transfer-that-never-was.html
It’s not that he asked for the transfer request, it was seeing Ferguson on TV and you could see that he was deeply affected I have never ever seen Ferguson like that before and that is what hurt the most. Footballers are human so they want the best for themselves and to be honest clubs are the same once they are done with a player they get rid of them regardless of how much that player wants to stay.
Clubs and fans can be fickle just as players can, the thing with Rooney that got me was that he had only had the responsibility for one season and then he was ready to bail just like that. Ronaldo had been pinnacle for 3 seasons, in fact he revelled in it and he still does at Real Madrid. So it was really disappointing when Rooney was looking to move and as much as people will say where is the proof I believe he was going to Manchester City, that might even explain why Tevez started acting up as he may have been told Rooney would be coming but that’s a whole another issue.
Seeing Ferguson rocked to the core, that one really hurt me, but the Rooney saga has made me realise anything is possible any player can go anywhere it does not matter if the teams are bitter rivals as longs as it is a paycheck who cares.
Fergie played the media like a violin. He knew by calling out Rooney and the leech Stretford, he would be taking the upper hand. That proved to be the case in the end.
@willie have to disagree somewhat,no doubt sir alex played the media but by all accounts,sir alex and rooney had a pretty tight realtionship almost father/son.so i think sir alex was genuinely hurt and felt betrayed like alot of us did.
The US tour Begins July 13th, New England Revolution v Man United at the Gillette Stadium followed by games against Seattle, Chicago, All star Team and finally the big one gainst Barcelona.
Here’s a preview of the US Tour- Will the Fringe players make their mark?
http://www.thehardtackle.com/2011/man-united-usa-2011-tour-of-opportunity/
Pictures of Wayne’s new hair.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2014060/Wayne-Rooney-hair-transplant-Was-30k-really-money-spent.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
I know it pains me to say this but as a fan from the Philippines, but I had to learn the harsh realities of being called a Gloryhunter. True that I started watching United back in 1999, but I can’t deny liking them for what I’ve learned, not just the trophies they’ve earned. I’d by lying if I said most of my fellow Filipino fans didn’t like United for their style of footy or how they win their titles year per year, or even getting ourselves spoilt for choice esp. when Sir Alex Ferguson himself chooses his players. We can’t deny these things.
The fact that we’re one solid evidence of a growing fanbase outside of Mancunia is something that I can be proud of, no matter how much I’d feel ostracised by some of you here. So I’d say go ahead shoo us away if you’d like, ‘cos from the very start we chose to learn how to love Manchester United and FCUM too (even if we only have limited access to their activities) and we will continue to do so, and fight for it until the very end.
It hurts, and I’d cry blood if I have to, but for the sake of our newfound hope in watching the Greatest Team to Walk this Planet we have to continue following Man Utd because it has given us something to inspire us and help us realize that we’re not alone in supporting this great club outside of Mancunia. We have to face facts too, that because of technology we can avail of these things, whether we buy the club’s merchandise or not, whether we watch the club’s losses or not.
Thanks STR for sharing this info to us. We know we’ve been spoilt for choice on this one, and yeah we’ll do the best we can to keep ourselves grounded for the club’s and the local fans sake…so when the time comes that the club goes through a weird transition, we’ll be here.
GLORY GLORY MAN UTD, FROM MANCHESTER, TO MANILA AND BEYOND, THE REDS WILL ALWAYS GO MARCH AND BLAZE ON ON ON!!!
I felt at the time he should be sold. When he wasn’t I was sure he would be in the summer, Fergie always get’s his revenge, no matter who the player is. But as the season wore on and the initial shock faded, I began to feel as if it was all too convenient. Rooney was brought back too quick from his injury, he had not played well and only scored one goal since. Our performances were also a bit lacklustre.
It was obvious he needed a break. It was also obvious we would need to spend big in order to replace Van Der Sar, Neville, Scholes and Giggs, who all could of retired, and only Giggs didn’t. How better to make the Glazers act.
Fergie, knowing all true United fans have the same ”United against the world” mentality he has, will always stick by a player while he is in the clubs colours, promises Rooney a big pay deal and a nice rest in America if he tows the line, he claims he wants to leave, says lack of funding and too much driftwood as the reason. Suddenly we buy a keeper(Lindegaard), go in for Young in January, who we eventually sign in the summer along with De Gea and Jones, taking our spending total to around 85Million, more than the Glazers have spent in any season previous, If we buy Sniejder as well we will have spent more in the last 12months that they had in the previous 5 years.
Rooney also got his rest and was in America away from everything. And came back on fire, took him a bit to get the goal but once he did he did not stop scoring and providing, he also got the crucial goals we needed, and got us briefly back in the the Champions League final, had the rest performed like him and Park, who knows what would of happened.
The Rooney saga, could prove to be the biggest gamble Sir Alex Ferguson has ever took and it looks like it has paid off. ALso watch the video of Rooney being taken from training that day, Ferguson has a slight smirk, as if he knows the gamble will pay off.
There is no way on earth Wayne Rooney would still be at United if it was true what was said. Don’t forget, he was also never seen to say it on tv until after it was all over, when he acknowledged it on MUTV, which under Fergie is an excellent tool to feed the news that we want to be revealed.