Wayne Rooney - Old Enough or Good Enough?

mike65 · 08-06-2004 7:09pm #1

The thoughts of Lilian Thuram

But Thuram, set to face the Everton star when England meet France on Sunday, said: "I doubt how much Rooney can give to England.

"He is very young - too young for such a hard competition like this.

"He lacks international experience, so for England to depend on him to score their goals is dangerous.

Now, does that remind you of anyone?

Mike.

The Muppet · 08-06-2004 7:14pm

I hope Rooney shoves it down his throat Should EngerLand and France meet.

I think Rooney is a smashing player for his age and the nearest thing England Have to a young Shearer. I hope the rumours of him moving to Old Trafford are true as if he fulfills his potential I think he has the ability to be one of the best strikers on the planet.

KdjaCL · 08-06-2004 7:20pm

Originally posted by The Muppet
Should EngerLand and France meet.

They do on saturday, hello???

Dunno about Rooney Euros are hard place to get goals ,not many tournies have gone by with plenty of goals and oppurtunities.

kdjac

Jivin Turkey · 08-06-2004 7:21pm

Originally posted by The Muppet
I hope Rooney shoves it down his throat Should EngerLand and France meet.

For someone who does show a good deal of football knowledge you should probably check the Euro2004 fixture list sometime

Rooney is a good player, and likes the big occasion, Thuram might have to eat his words if Rooney gets his teeth stuck in.

Johnny_the_fox · 08-06-2004 7:24pm

Originally posted by KdjaC
They do on saturday, hello???

sunday, bye ?

its temper - which is rooneys main problem.. thuram is just trying to play with rooneys mind before the game.

KdjaCL · 08-06-2004 7:47pm

Originally posted by Johnny_the_fox
sunday, bye ?

its temper - which is rooneys main problem.. thuram is just trying to play with rooneys mind before the game.

Forgot to adjust the hour

kdjac

The Muppet · 08-06-2004 7:49pm

Not as interested as I would be if We were there so I havn't put much pass on the fixtures list TBH.

therecklessone · 08-06-2004 8:03pm

Originally posted by The Muppet
Not as interested as I would be if We were there so I havn't put much pass on the fixtures list TBH.

You mustn't have read a paper for the last six weeks then, eh? No Sky Sports?

eirebhoy · 08-06-2004 8:06pm

Originally posted by therecklessone
You mustn't have read a paper for the last six weeks then, eh? No Sky Sports?

Or he could have read the quote in the opening post:
"But Thuram, set to face the Everton star when England meet France on Sunday"

therecklessone · 08-06-2004 8:09pm

Originally posted by eirebhoy
Or he could have read the quote in the opening post:
"But Thuram, set to face the Everton star when England meet France on Sunday"

:eek:

Guy:Incognito · 08-06-2004 8:23pm

hes showing potential, but only for england. He wasnt anything special for Everton last season but for england he plays very well. He has a big temper issue though, if he doesnt sort that out he could end up costing England dear. Taking a swing at the Japanese player the othe rday was ridiculous, it was jostling at the most and he tried to hit him. I'd say the possiblility of going the Gazza way is a possibility, hopefully he wont cos itys not nice to see anyone wasting talent but i reckon in the sort term anyway he'll end up with a lot of cards.

I know its a cliche, but its true, if your good enough, your old enough.

The Muppet · 08-06-2004 8:25pm

Originally posted by eirebhoy
Or he could have read the quote in the opening post:
"But Thuram, set to face the Everton star when England meet France on Sunday"

LOL Gotta hold my hands up to that one. My bad:mad:

You mustn't have read a paper for the last six weeks then, eh? No Sky Sports?

Been away in a monastry as part of my rehabilitation:D

Big Ears · 08-06-2004 8:58pm

Rooney's goals record : Liechenstein-2 Denmark-1 Iceland-2 .

13 games, 5 goals . Well he is young so that is a good strike rate ,but I cant see him scoring more than 2 in portugal .Although with having other players like Owen , Lampard , Gerrard, and Beckham , 2 goals will maybe be all he needs to do to help England a lot .

verdict :Rooney to play well at Euro 2004 , not brillant , but not crap .

eirebhoy · 08-06-2004 9:16pm

Originally posted by Big Ears
13 games, 5 goals .

Clinton Morrison scored 5 goals in his first 11 matches (most of which were from the bench) but hasn't scored since.:D

Rooney is a quality player, I wouldn't say he was as good as Owen at that age but they could be the ideal partnership.

jesus_thats_gre · 08-06-2004 10:03pm

Originally posted by The Muppet
Been away in a monastry as part of my rehabilitation:D

I hope you really have "changed" for the better, for the sake of relationship anyway!!

Rooney is both old enough and experienced enough to do the job.

Shaque attack · 09-06-2004 9:11am

Rooney is both old enough and experienced enough to do the job.

tbh he's neither. What major international tournament has he played in? i think most defenders at euro 2004 will be able to handle him.

I know some people will say owen didn't play in any international tournaments before scoring that goal against argentina but rooney is not as good as owen was tbh.

BaZmO* · 09-06-2004 10:46am

Originally posted by Big Ears
verdict :Rooney to play well at Euro 2004 , not brillant , but not crap .

Get off the fence there Big Ears!!

and The Muppet, tut tut!!! and they let you back in??? LOL

back on topic, Did anybody see Football Focus (or whatever it's called) on Saturday morning on BBC1? Gary Linnekar was talking to Terry Butcher about Rooney's temperament being a problem. Butcher was saying that if he was playing against Rooney he'd make it his duty to wind him up by constantly jostling him, pinching him and just basically trying to get him to react. I reckon Thuram was watching the interview and was just starting early!!

B.

leeroybrown · 09-06-2004 11:36am

I think Rooney has the potential to be a very good player but his temperament is suspect to say the least. Not only does it get him in trouble on the pitch but it probably has a major effect on his club consistency too.

He'll need to be _very_ careful during the opening few matches of Euro 04 as you really can't predict how strict the referees will be over small niggling things at the beginning of a championship.

Thuram is probably just trying to wind him up, not that a player of his quality really needs to do it.

Big Nelly · 09-06-2004 12:29pm

Thuram was winding him up! and the rest of the french team will try the same as soon as the game starts.....easy traget,......once he loses the head he plays useles....

Does anymore remember who used to be also the same??? Beckham....every team that played Utd and England wud wind him up and he would be kickin out and stampin and everything

The Rooster · 09-06-2004 1:14pm

The fact that Thuram is talking about Rooney, means that Rooney has done half his job already. England arent relying on Rooney to score, not with Owen and 4 scoring midfielders in the team as well. There's loads of goals in that England team. Rooney is there to act as a foil to the defenders, to get stuck in without being stupid, and to generally annoy the hell out of them, and to create as much space for Owen as possible.

Rooney certainly won't be England's weakness. Thats the full backs. GaryNev and Cole are both great going forward, but they're poor defensively. Even agaisnt Iceland while Gary Neville played in some outstanding crosses he got skinned 5 or 6 times by the Icelandic winger.

Big Ears · 09-06-2004 1:30pm

Originally posted by BaZmO*
Get off the fence there Big Ears!!
B.

I cant my trousers are caught .

jesus_thats_gre · 09-06-2004 1:47pm

Originally posted by Shaque attack
tbh he's neither. What major international tournament has he played in? i think most defenders at euro 2004 will be able to handle him.

I know some people will say owen didn't play in any international tournaments before scoring that goal against argentina but rooney is not as good as owen was tbh.

He has to start somewhere... TBH, the fact that Thuram is yapping already sort of implies he is worried.

BaZmO* · 09-06-2004 1:52pm

Originally posted by The Rooster
....England arent relying on Rooney to score...

With respect, that's a rather silly comment to make. Of course they're going to be relying on him to score, (if Sven plays him) he is a forward after all.

What next? James is not there to save the ball he's there because he's very good at kicking the ball really far from kickouts?

B.

eirebhoy · 09-06-2004 2:21pm

Originally posted by Shaque attack
What major international tournament has he played in?

What major international tournament has James, Terry, Carragher or Lampard played in?

Shaque attack · 09-06-2004 10:32pm

Originally posted by eirebhoy
What major international tournament has James, Terry, Carragher or Lampard played in?

to begin with james isn't good enough and carragher is only a covering player so i dont see their relevance to the point your making. Terry and Lampard have had champions league experience which compensates somewhat for their lack of international experience, whereas rooney has been playing for everton.

He has to start somewhere

true but i dont think he will ever become one of england's best strikers

The Muppet · 10-06-2004 8:06am

Originally posted by Shaque attack
carragher is only a covering player so i dont see their relevance to the point your making. Terry and Lampard have had champions league experience which compensates somewhat for their lack of international experience, whereas rooney has been playing for everton.

true but i dont think he will ever become one of england's best strikers

It Looks like Carragher is going to start on Sunday should Terry not be fit so Sven must be happy enought with him.

I don't agree when you say Rooney is not as good as Owen was when he started as they are different type of Players. A lot of owns game was/is pace, Rooney has pace and is physically has a lot more to his game . I wouln,t worry about his lack of experience , he has already shown he can score at International level and he appears to me to be the typeof player that produces his best performances on the big occasion. There are doubs about his tremprement but if he can control himself and stay on the pitch I think he will have a good tournament.

I think he's very like a a Young Shearer and you can't get any better than that, He, needs to keep a level head and look after himself and not let the lifestyle and Hype ruin his football. If he does that I believe he will be one of greatest strikers in the game.

naitkris · 11-06-2004 2:11am

i do not think Sven will start Rooney from the beginning against France but instead put him on half way through or when England badly needs to step up the pace and score some goals.

i may be wrong, but Rooney and Owen aren't the biggest forwards around, they are both young enough (particularly Rooney) and when you have two attackers of small but agile build against tall, strong defenders i think it is better off to have a more balanced attack with maybe more experience, i.e. if Rooney is to go on as a sub, he maybe should go on in place of Owen?

i think the fact that England is hyping Rooney before the Euro 2004 games will force Sven to perhaps start him in at least some of England's games in order to please the English fans, whether this is a good thing or not, we will see.

Big Ears · 11-06-2004 9:46am

are u suggesting England start with Heskey , or 1 up front and 5 in the middle -But infront of the back four and Beckham , Lampard , Gerrard , Scholes further on .

although Rooney isnt the biggest he is very strong ,u probably dont notice but Alan Shearer is actually very small too,but he can win headers and is a very strong player on the ball .

eirebhoy · 11-06-2004 12:23pm

Originally posted by naitkris
i do not think Sven will start Rooney from the beginning against France

We already know the starting lineup for the France game because he used it against Japan and Rooney is partnering Owen.

naitkris · 11-06-2004 2:22pm

Originally posted by eirebhoy
We already know the starting lineup for the France game because he used it against Japan and Rooney is partnering Owen.

right, didn't know that.

The Rooster · 11-06-2004 3:28pm

Originally posted by BaZmO*
With respect, that's a rather silly comment to make. Of course they're going to be relying on him to score, (if Sven plays him) he is a forward after all.

What next? James is not there to save the ball he's there because he's very good at kicking the ball really far from kickouts?

B.

With respect, if you read my post you will see that my comment was not silly, and that your one is.

James is there to save the ball, as there is no other keeper there.

Owen is England's main striker, and if they are going to progress they will rely on him to hit the net regularly.

Rooney is the second striker. He's there to support Owen, cause as much havoc as he can with oppostion defenders, and create space for Owen. Of course if the chances arises, he'll be expected to get his fair share, but with Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham, who are all goalscorers in the team, England will not be relying on Rooney to score. Just like England arent relying on Scholes to score, but they're hoping he (or Lamps or Rooney or Becks or StevieG) will.

phenom · 11-06-2004 3:41pm

he is still young and I don't think he will get his game for England. I hope for his sake that all this hype surrounding him doesn't go to his head like some other young footballer. Everyone thought he was excellent and a star. I am not saying Owen is not good but to say a player in his Early 20's is brilliant it just went to his head so every time he had a bad game everybody was saying he has lost it . i don't think it is right to do that do a player.

Third_Echelon · 11-06-2004 4:10pm

Rooney will definitely start for england...

As an evertonian I really want to see him do well and put all the critics to bed about his game. He is still young, but he's at the age now where a lot of players have started to play and perform well in the big tournaments e.g. norman whiteside was 17 at Spain 82 i think it was.. Owen was around 18 at france 98....

His age shouldn't be a talking point at all... as jesus_thats_great said earlier in the thread he has to start somewhere and the big stage is where he performs best...

His problem this season at everton in my opinion has been the lack of a playmaker in midfield to feed the ball to him. With england he's got an abundance of those type of players to supply ball to him...

Rooney and Owen together upfront for england will be the starting pair... they compliment each other really well.

Owen's problem when he was younger was that you could nudge him off a ball no problem. He wasnt physically strong. Rooney has that strength and a physical approach to his game. He will pick up bookings for this, but he has passion and wants to win. They are the best players to have in your team. Love the club, love the team (and in my opinion this why he wont leave everton, but thats another days debate).

To sum up... Rooney now has the opportunity to show the world what he can do in a competitive tournament and he will shine...

Mighty_Mouse · 11-06-2004 4:15pm

Love the club, love the team (and in my opinion this why he wont leave everton, but thats another days debate).

He will is he has a good tournament!

Third_Echelon · 11-06-2004 4:21pm

I'd very much doubt it....

jesus_thats_gre · 12-06-2004 12:14pm

Originally posted by Third_Echelon
He will pick up bookings for this, but he has passion and wants to win.

To sum up... Rooney now has the opportunity to show the world what he can do in a competitive tournament and he will shine...

Sometimes the first bit of your statement prevents the second bit from happening. If Rooney does something stupid (lets face it, he is liable to throw a strop) he could possibly get sent off and his tournament would be ruined. He he keeps his cool and plays the way he can, he will be excellent in the tournament, otherwise he will **** it all up.

Wayne Rooney - Old Enough or Good Enough?

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