SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO....

After the John Terry England captaincy debacle earlier this year, I was blogging about the possibility of the captain's armband going to Wayne Rooney. Married, family man, talisman of the team, player of passion and loyalty, hero to supporters and youngsters alike. And then tabloid stories emerged on Rooney's dalliances with prostitutes during his wife's pregnancy. England performances hit an embarrassing level and his form for Manchester United reaches new depths of crapness. Sir Alex benches him with an 'ankle injury' which is a euphemism for 'sorry Wayne, but you ahem.. couldn't score in a brothel', and suddenly Wayne wants out. In a week of breathtaking cynicism and opportunism, Wayne looks across to the Saudi-trillions blue side of Manchester and all of sudden United are forced into looking to cash in on their talisman rather than see him sail off into the sunset on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. The grubby goings on this week expose more of what is wrong with modern day football, footballers and money-obsessed agents.  I doubt that Rooney will never be spoken of in the same terms as Best, Charlton, Greaves, Moore. The footballers who as boys, played their football on the streets and who grew into men with nobility, with club and country loyalty and were worthy of being hailed as heroes.   
The situation brought out Sir Alex Ferguson to call a press conference of never before seen humbleness and paternalism. He appeared genuinely hurt by Wayne's 'infidelity' and seemingly took the slant rather personally. Players have often crossed Ferguson and wanted out of Old Trafford. Stam, Heinze, Whiteside, McGrath, Beckham, Ince, Van Nistelrooy to name but a few could testify to Ferguson's ruthlessness. Ruthless and media-manipulating he may, but Ferguson is also a pragmatist. He realises all too well that Manchester United needs Wayne Rooney and pulled out all the stops to keep him. It's said that Ferguson spoke personally to Rooney and reminded him of the club's history, its traditions, the success and trophies, the romance of Old Trafford and what it means to pull on the red shirt. He reminded him that to cash in now for a move to Eastlands might considerably strengthen his bank account, but would he want to be a pariah and remembered for all the wrong reasons. Despite their often lack of brains and their unnerving ability to be swayed by the riches, footballers also have huge ego's and perhaps the penny dropped that a move from a place like Old Trafford might not the brightest idea. Of course, a hefty increase in salary with a promise of world class players being bought to increase the challenge for cups and premierships have have helped, but Rooney decides to stay and all is now rosy again on the red half of Manchester. 
Or is it? As a diehard United fan, I for one don't feel in mood for celebration at Rooney's decision to stay. I haven't heard much of an apology to the United fans yet. I will wince when Rooney scores and goes running off towards the corner flag clutching his shirt and kissing the Red Devils badge with gusto. Do what the club pays you millions to do and score shedloads of goals. Show some passion and commitment in helping United win the premiership and Champions League and we may just forgive you. For now....   

ACHTUNG ROONEY

I suppose it was inevitable... those bloomin' Germans get one over on us again and Wayne Rooney gets crocked. For the United fans it was very nearly auf weidersehen to Bayern Munich after Rooney scored after two minutes. Shut up shop, defend, game over. Get them back to Old Trafford and finish the game off with a win. 
Sloppy defending right at the end of the match  and Bayern score two. Not a disaster in terms of the result but what happened next with Rooney could be viewed as not United's finest moment. A twisted ankle means he misses this weekend's title decider against Chelski. There's a view that he'll miss the next 6 matches which are critical in United's quest to retain the Premiership title. United have a great squad and I'm hoping Berbatov and Macheda step up to the mark. Rooney however is United's lynchpin and his presence is inspirational. United's loss is Chelski's gain I'm afraid. 


All England's fans would have collectively groaned at the sight of Rooney limping today on crutches. It's our best chance of winning the world cup this year and Rooney's our passport to glory. On the plus side, he now gets a month's rest before the tournament. There's now less chance of him breaking anything which will rule him out altogether. As a United fan though, I'm absolutely gutted!   

BACK AT THE TOP

It's 5pm on Saturday and Final Score has just confirmed the following 3 items of beautiful news... Man United have beaten Hull 4-0. Wayne Rooney bagged all four of them taking his tally to 20 this season. United return to the top of the Premiership. It doesn't get much better if you're a red and an England supporter and I'm going to indulge myself in this glory for a few moments.

Glory over and so to the not so tantalising news around Old Trafford. Figures were published this week on the current financial status at Man Utd. Following the Glazer takeover, huge loans were secured to gain control of the club.Debts totalling £716m were published this week, but cash reserves made slightly easier reading following the sale of Ronaldo for £80m. Rumours are circulating that Rooney may be the next to leave Old Trafford for Real Madrid. A stock value of anything between £50m-80m would certainly ease the investors coffers. Can you imagine Rooney at Real Madrid? He can barely speak English let alone Espanol. 'Calm down, calm down there lad. Dos beers por favor ay ay?' And next year Kai Wayne has a new baby brother.. San Miguel Poncho Rooney.

Amongst the financial turmoil, the United players continue to enjoy rich pickings. Get this... In 2008, salary costs of £121m were shared between 68 players and 476 ancillary staff. Despite the input from 476 ancillary staff, United have recently endured a crocked defence and seen defeats to two of their greatest rivals - losing 1-0 to Leeds and 2-1 to Man City. 476 ancillary staff? I'm just going to take a few moments to try and imagine what 476 ancillary staff actually do.

Perhaps I'll just smile in the knowledge that we're back on top... Rooney plays for us and for England... Ferdinand is back.... and I'm filling out an application form to become the 477th member of the ancillary staff. I'm sure they'll need a mental health nurse / blog writer in there somewhere...