The Reinvention of Wayne Rooney

It was the summer of 2010 and we were all packed into the Main Event, the official pub of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club of Canada. Our beloved club was about to play a friendly against Celtic at the Rogers Center and it was their first trip to Canada. We were singing, drinking and above all, chanting as we anticipated seeing our heroes grace the pitch in a few hours time. All of a sudden a CP24 camera crew shows up to cover our celebration and we are forced to choose one chant to sing in front of the camera. There was no doubt in the room as we all immediately began to sing the “He Goes by the Name of Wayne Rooney” chant that was heard at grounds all over Europe last season.

The unassuming and seemingly-irrevocable love that United fans gave their star man was at its peak at the point in time. Wayne Rooney had taken center-stage at Old Trafford following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. A side was built around him and he was scoring goals aplenty with the service he was receiving from Antonio Valencia, Nani and Dimitar Berbatov. We had come within 1 point of winning the league and optimism was high heading into the new season. Not even the most pessimistic of our lot couldn’t have imagined what would happen in the fall.

Rooney’s early season form was awful and we were all searching for reasons why. On October 17 2010, with United failing to impress in the Premier League and Chelsea seemingly running riot with the title, Rooney declared his intention to leave the club. An alleged row with Sir Alex Ferguson was deemed as the main cause for his departure and one doesn’t need to look further than Jaap Stam, David Beckham, and Rude Van Nistelrooy to see that the boss doesn’t appreciate players that disagree with him. Revelations about an affair with a prostitute nicknamed “Premiership Jen” came to the light and his abject World Cup performance was still being dissected. The worst part about all of this? He seemed keen to join Manchester City, our “noisy neighbours.”

In short, Rooney decided to stay with Manchester United and signed a new and improved contract, seemingly repairing his relationship with the gaffer. He went off to the  United States to become match fit and set off to win back the hearts and minds of the fans. Once back form injury he put in a few decent performances and showed flashes to us that he was back to his best. Then he scored THAT  goal. The Manchester Derby was tied at 1-1 heading into squeaky bum time, and Wazza scored an audacious overhead kick to win the derby. THAT goal seemed to reignite the fire in his belly as his performances since then have been spectacular.

His hat trick away at West Ham to turn a 2-0 loss into a 3-2 lead was simply outstanding. His goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League was perfect and his performance in Germany last week was nothing short of brilliant. He is no longer at the top of a packed midfield and the focal point of all crosses and long balls. He has been converted into a prototypical “number 10” as he plays as an attacking midfielder from the center and is able to creatively dictate the flow of the game. With Javier Hernandez’s dangerous movement in front of him, defenders have a conundrum. Rooney drifts into the space between the opposition’s midfield and defence, pulling players into uncomfortable positions as Chicharito plays on the shoulder of the last defender. Wing wizards Valencia and Nani are always available out wide should the opposition’s fullback consider doubling up and Ryan Giggs has also been given a free role in the midfield to retain possession. The result? An extremely hard to beat Manchester United team that plays in a fluid and deadly 4-2-3-1.

It is now the summer of 2011 and I am certain that we will all, once again, be packed into a pub on the day of the Champions League final. There might not be television coverage but that will have no impact on our chanting and singing. While he hasn’t quite reached the deity-like status we gave him last year, Wayne Rooney is doing all he can in his new role to make us forget that he even thought about leaving.

Will he be forgiven if he scores against Barcelona at Wembley? It certainly wouldn’t hurt!

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