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Wayne Rooney: England need to be ‘streetwise’ after World Cup failure Wayne Rooney: England need to be ‘streetwise’ after World Cup failure
(2 months later)
At the side of the pitches in Urca, there was a man from Sky talking of the “dead men not walking, but doing their stretches”. Luke Shaw misplaced a pass in one of England’s training routines and Roy Hodgson could be heard bellowing his disapproval. Television cameras were lined up along the side with the greatest views, Guanabara Bay to the front, Sugarloaf mountain to the right. Yet the audience was smaller than usual. The television crews from South America, Australia and various parts of Africa and Asia, with their lorries parked all the way down to the ocean, have moved on already. At the side of the pitches in Urca, there was a man from Sky talking of the “dead men not walking, but doing their stretches”. Luke Shaw misplaced a pass in one of England’s training routines and Roy Hodgson could be heard bellowing his disapproval. Television cameras were lined up along the side with the greatest views, Guanabara Bay to the front, Sugarloaf mountain to the right. Yet the audience was smaller than usual. The television crews from South America, Australia and various parts of Africa and Asia, with their lorries parked all the way down to the ocean, have moved on already.
Hodgson will offer his thoughts on Sunday when he and Steven Gerrard appear before the microphones. One will say he wants to stay; the other will be asked to confirm if this is the end. Gerrard’s retirement from international football is not official yet but when it was put to Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart that it was the captain’s last tournament, nobody from the Football Association thought it was worth correcting. Frank Lampard will not be making an announcement but, at 36, he will be done as well after Tuesday’s game against Costa Rica. Third in line for the captaincy, Rooney will take on the armband when the qualifying process for Euro 2016 begins in Switzerland in September.Hodgson will offer his thoughts on Sunday when he and Steven Gerrard appear before the microphones. One will say he wants to stay; the other will be asked to confirm if this is the end. Gerrard’s retirement from international football is not official yet but when it was put to Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart that it was the captain’s last tournament, nobody from the Football Association thought it was worth correcting. Frank Lampard will not be making an announcement but, at 36, he will be done as well after Tuesday’s game against Costa Rica. Third in line for the captaincy, Rooney will take on the armband when the qualifying process for Euro 2016 begins in Switzerland in September.
He spoke so softly here there were times when his audience had to lean in to hear what he was saying. There was a public apology, when one was not really necessary, and a strong defence of Hodgson, making the point that as someone who started playing for England in 2003 he was in a good position to judge whether there had been an improvement in the last two years. “He’s moved us forward, in my eyes. I know it’s tough to say that, or believe that, when we haven’t progressed from our group but I’ve been in this squad for over 10 years and that’s me being truthful and honest. We’ve had a go. If you look over the previous two or three tournaments, we’ve not attacked teams. We’ve been too cautious. This time, at least we’ve had a go.”He spoke so softly here there were times when his audience had to lean in to hear what he was saying. There was a public apology, when one was not really necessary, and a strong defence of Hodgson, making the point that as someone who started playing for England in 2003 he was in a good position to judge whether there had been an improvement in the last two years. “He’s moved us forward, in my eyes. I know it’s tough to say that, or believe that, when we haven’t progressed from our group but I’ve been in this squad for over 10 years and that’s me being truthful and honest. We’ve had a go. If you look over the previous two or three tournaments, we’ve not attacked teams. We’ve been too cautious. This time, at least we’ve had a go.”
More than anything, there was the sense of someone trying to find the answers. Rooney has been in this position before, more times than he will care to remember, and it was something he said towards the end that really stood out. “I look at the teams who have won this tournament and you can see that nastiness in them. I think we need to get that in us. Maybe we’re too honest. Look at Uruguay the other night, they stopped the game, they committed I don’t know how many fouls; clever fouls, really, to slow the game down. I think we’re a bit honest in the way we play. It’s small margins. But those small things can amount to a big thing, in terms of staying in the competition or going out. We have to learn that quickly and adapt to that.”More than anything, there was the sense of someone trying to find the answers. Rooney has been in this position before, more times than he will care to remember, and it was something he said towards the end that really stood out. “I look at the teams who have won this tournament and you can see that nastiness in them. I think we need to get that in us. Maybe we’re too honest. Look at Uruguay the other night, they stopped the game, they committed I don’t know how many fouls; clever fouls, really, to slow the game down. I think we’re a bit honest in the way we play. It’s small margins. But those small things can amount to a big thing, in terms of staying in the competition or going out. We have to learn that quickly and adapt to that.”
Two things leapt out from that little speech. To start with, it is a fairly depression scenario when the first improvement the captain-in-waiting wants is for the team to be more cynical in its approach and the word “honest” is seen as a potential weakness. And yet, what he said carried some weight thinking back to that moment in the first half when the Uruguayan captain, Diego Godín, jutted out an arm to check Daniel Sturridge’s run. By rights, Godín should have been sent off for his second booking but Sturridge did not make a great deal of it and there were no great complaints from England’s players.Two things leapt out from that little speech. To start with, it is a fairly depression scenario when the first improvement the captain-in-waiting wants is for the team to be more cynical in its approach and the word “honest” is seen as a potential weakness. And yet, what he said carried some weight thinking back to that moment in the first half when the Uruguayan captain, Diego Godín, jutted out an arm to check Daniel Sturridge’s run. By rights, Godín should have been sent off for his second booking but Sturridge did not make a great deal of it and there were no great complaints from England’s players.
Rooney was the only one who went to the referee to complain. “Of course,” he said. “You see players surrounding the referees – I’m not saying Uruguay did that – but I’m the same now. I want to win the game. I got kicked 10 times, maybe, and I don’t think there was a yellow card given to an opponent. We try to be honest and get on with game, but maybe that’s a fault of ours. Maybe that’s where other teams are ahead of us.”Rooney was the only one who went to the referee to complain. “Of course,” he said. “You see players surrounding the referees – I’m not saying Uruguay did that – but I’m the same now. I want to win the game. I got kicked 10 times, maybe, and I don’t think there was a yellow card given to an opponent. We try to be honest and get on with game, but maybe that’s a fault of ours. Maybe that’s where other teams are ahead of us.”
What he was saying, essentially, was that England needed to be more streetwise. “I think so. You see a lot of the great teams over the years, international teams and club teams, and they all have that. I think that will come. But there are a lot of young lads who want to play every minute. At times we could have slowed down the game a bit, or controlled the game a bit more. It’s the small margins that have cost us.”What he was saying, essentially, was that England needed to be more streetwise. “I think so. You see a lot of the great teams over the years, international teams and club teams, and they all have that. I think that will come. But there are a lot of young lads who want to play every minute. At times we could have slowed down the game a bit, or controlled the game a bit more. It’s the small margins that have cost us.”
There is more to it than that, of course, and Rooney gave the impression he had been hard on himself since the Uruguay game. The statistics show he has run further in this tournament than any other England player. But this – as Sir Alex Ferguson has said before at Manchester United – is not necessarily a good thing for a player in his position. “We get stats daily from training and games and I’m always in the top two or three,” Rooney explained. “Maybe I do too much running, though. Sometimes it affects my decision-making inside the box, being tired from doing too much.”There is more to it than that, of course, and Rooney gave the impression he had been hard on himself since the Uruguay game. The statistics show he has run further in this tournament than any other England player. But this – as Sir Alex Ferguson has said before at Manchester United – is not necessarily a good thing for a player in his position. “We get stats daily from training and games and I’m always in the top two or three,” Rooney explained. “Maybe I do too much running, though. Sometimes it affects my decision-making inside the box, being tired from doing too much.”
A lot has also been made about his first World Cup goal and the fact it took him alongside Michael Owen, fourth in the all-time list of England scorers, on 40. Sir Bobby Charlton’s record stands at 49 and Rooney has plenty of time to reach his target.A lot has also been made about his first World Cup goal and the fact it took him alongside Michael Owen, fourth in the all-time list of England scorers, on 40. Sir Bobby Charlton’s record stands at 49 and Rooney has plenty of time to reach his target.
“It’s within touching distance. I’ll be disappointed if I don’t do it. But this is about the team and I don’t really want to be talking about my chances of breaking records when we’re all hurting. I had a couple of chances [against Uruguay]. I feel like if I’d taken at least one of them, we’d have gone on and won the game. That’s what’s disappointing.”“It’s within touching distance. I’ll be disappointed if I don’t do it. But this is about the team and I don’t really want to be talking about my chances of breaking records when we’re all hurting. I had a couple of chances [against Uruguay]. I feel like if I’d taken at least one of them, we’d have gone on and won the game. That’s what’s disappointing.”