2010: Wayne Rooney

Edgar Allan Pillow

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I know I'll get slated for posting this, but this was something I mentioned often in Rooney thread years ago.

I don't think any of you can forget about the interview and in all probability, I think he had money as his onjective. But at the same time, his claims at that time have come to reality now!

"I met with David Gill [United's chief executive] last week and he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad," Rooney said in his statement in October 2010 "I then told him that I would not be signing a new contract.

"During meetings in August [2010] I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world.

"I have never had anything but complete respect for MUFC. How could I not have done given its fantastic history and especially the last six years in which I have been lucky to play a part?

"For me it's all about winning trophies – as the club has always done under Sir Alex. Because of that I think the questions I was asking were justified."
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But there have only been two league titles won in the years since and one runners-up medal in the Champions League following the Wembley defeat against Barcelona in May 2011.

While the United machine has ground to a halt, City have overtaken their neighbours as kings of Manchester and now possess a team of all talents which could yet sweep the board this season.

United and Rooney, following the midweek Capital One Cup humiliation against MK Dons, have just the FA Cup and Premier League to play for this season and only the most one-eyed optimist would suggest they have any chance of emerging as champions.

The decline has been remarkable and Rooney saw it coming.

Rather than continue to be viewed with suspicion by many United supporters, he should perhaps be regarded as the man who saw the iceberg, but who was ignored when he raised the alarm.

The fact that he subsequently signed his new contract in October 2010 - and then again earlier this year - is the argument against Rooney, one which points to his readiness to take the money and put all previous concerns aside.

But if he sits down and reflects on his 10 years in a United shirt this weekend, will Rooney think of the goals and the glory or the disappointments and missed opportunities?

He may just look back four years and think about what might have been.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...erg-but-was-ignored-when-he-raised-alarm.html
 
He shouldn't be asking these questions in the first place. He is paid to play football and that's what he should be doing. He had no clue whatsoever about the limitations under which SAF and Gill were operating and to assume that they had anything but United's best interests in mind is sacrilege.
 
'But there have only been two league titles won in the years since '

Only two league titles in 4 years?
 
But there have only been two league titles won in the years since and one runners-up medal in the Champions League following the Wembley defeat against Barcelona in May 2011.
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Only two league titles? Are you kidding me Captain hindsight? There's only been 3 different clubs in the past 10 seasons to have done that and only two who have repeated as champions.
 
"But there have only been two league titles won in the years since and one runners-up medal in the Champions League following the Wembley defeat against Barcelona in May 2011"

:lol:
 
Subho611 said:
He shouldn't be asking these questions in the first place. He is paid to play football and that's what he should be doing. He had no clue whatsoever about the limitations under which SAF and Gill were operating and to assume that they had anything but United's best interests in mind is sacrilege.
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Agreed, but he is/was well within his rights to want out from a team he feels is/was stagnating. Players cannot demand we sign other players, but what should they do if they are on a sinking ship?
 
The fact that he went on to sign a new contract after those statements should clearly show where his concerns really were. If he would've left then he might have a case, signing a new contract despite having those "assurances" shows the money was the real concern.
 
gza the genius said:
The fact that he went on to sign a new contract after those statements should clearly show where his concerns really were. If he would've left then he might have a case, signing a new contract despite having those "assurances" shows the money was the real concern.
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Or maybe he was just reassured.
 
The one positive Rooney's hissy fit did was urging the Glazers to abandon the existing wage structure which helped us attract RvP and now Di Maria.
 
That questioning of the club's ambitions at a time we were still winning a lot was the worst he had done for me. Since that day he had been my favourite current United player even when Ronaldo was there. To win me over again after those disgraceful comments was only possible with regular world class performances, which didn't follow. He was good at times, but nowhere near constantly great or as good as he thought he was.

Also funny how he didn't have the balls to question the club's ambition when he wasn't the best player at the club until 2009. Only after Ronaldo and Tevez left he came out with that crap. And the worst thing? That useless statement came out a couple of hours before our CL game. Still gets me angry when I think about it! Since then I still see him as a good player, but nothing more. Since then, in contrast to other United players, I don't feel any joy or sadness when he for example performs/fails for England.

Oh and to answer the op, nothing has come to reality. The opposite actually. We have hardly attracted top players anyway, before Rooney came out with that. We mostly attracted potential and gave them time to develop (yeah, like we did with Rooney the ungrateful Scouse). Only since RvP's signing we started to attract top class players which ironically resulted in Rooney feeling insecure about his position! You couldn't have made it up!

Rant over, I am really not in good mood everytime I think about it, he turned from hero to villian within a minute and when he was linked with City I know many United fans including myself who just said: "Hopefully he actually goes to City now, they deserve each other!" :mad:

Sorry for not sticking entirely to the topic :mad:
 
I always feel Rooney is a genuine person - despite many on hear painting him as a machiavellian money grabber.

I said at the time and maintain now that Rooney had genuine concerns. At the time I thought his concerns were misplaced, but in hindsight he was right. The club flapped around in the transfer market for a good few seasons after Ronaldo left.
 
gza the genius said:
So he went to them and wasn't given the assurances he needed and then suddenly a week or so later they decided to switch their entire strategy around to reassure Rooney? Seems more likely Rooney just said what he thought would make him sound better.
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I've no idea what they actually did or said to him, but it's not exclusive to have the same strategy and reassure Rooney.
 
Skills said:
'But there have only been two league titles won in the years since '

Only two league titles in 4 years?
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Whoever wrote that article is an utter c@nt.

Only 2 league titles and a champions league final...erm..after the first lost to Barcelona (so that's be 2 champs league finals then)

Bloody hell, he should have gone to City and won....erm...2 league titles!
 
Rooney had a point but he handled everything pathetically making stupid statements and by sell accounts pushing for a move to city of all teams.

With regards to played and their awareness bout the happenings at the club, I found it funny how scholes recently said that he should have seen the signs when he and giggs were close to 40/40 and starters for the team. I mean, everyone else could see those "sings" but they've only realised now?
 
For those slating Rooney, he made these comments after these two summer transfer windows:

2009:
Out: Tevez, Ronaldo
In: Valencia, Owen, Obertan, Diouf

2010:
In: Hernandez, Bebe

You can see why he was concerned, can't you? City meanwhile we're busy adding the likes of Silva and Toure to their squad.

Rooney came out after the 10-11 season and seemed genuinely humbled and embarrassed after we won back the title and reached the CL final - "how wrong was I?" he said. However we didn't push on from there and I think his earlier concerns were still justified, as became more evident in the following seasons.



I know this doesn't fit with the anti-Rooney vibe on here, but whatever I like Rooney, I think he's a good bloke really, and despite what popular culture might suggest I think he's pretty smart too (in some senses). He's clearly smarter than your average Caftard, which admittedly isn't saying a lot.
 
Rowem said:
I always feel Rooney is a genuine person - despite many on hear painting him as a machiavellian money grabber.

I said at the time and maintain now that Rooney had genuine concerns. At the time I thought his concerns were misplaced, but in hindsight he was right. The club flapped around in the transfer market for a good few seasons after Ronaldo left.
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I think his history would suggests that's not the case. Clearly the point he raised was a valid one, we didn't invest in anyway properly after the CL win and certainly the Ronaldo sale which we're now paying for, but I think the fact that it got resolved so quickly after Ferguson saying we could make him the highest paid player in the country showed that it was simply a play to get more money. He had 2 years left on his contract, if it was a concern about transfer policy he could have held signing a new deal until he saw what we did in the summer of 2011 .
 
He is so smart, we should fire Ed and hire Wayne in his position. I bet his first job would be giving himself new contract, and after that he would sign Özil.
 
united_99 said:
That questioning of the club's ambitions at a time we were still winning a lot was the worst he had done for me. Since that day he had been my favourite current United player even when Ronaldo was there. To win me over again after those disgraceful comments was only possible with regular world class performances, which didn't follow. He was good at times, but nowhere near constantly great or as good as he thought he was.

Also funny how he didn't have the balls to question the club's ambition when he wasn't the best player at the club until 2009. Only after Ronaldo and Tevez left he came out with that crap. And the worst thing? That useless statement came out a couple of hours before our CL game. Still gets me angry when I think about it! Since then I still see him as a good player, but nothing more. Since then, in contrast to other United players, I don't feel any joy or sadness when he for example performs/fails for England.

Oh and to answer the op, nothing has come to reality. The opposite actually. We have hardly attracted top players anyway, before Rooney came out with that. We mostly attracted potential and gave them time to develop (yeah, like we did with Rooney the ungrateful Scouse). Only since RvP's signing we started to attract top class players which ironically resulted in Rooney feeling insecure about his position! You couldn't have made it up!

Rant over, I am really not in good mood everytime I think about it, he turned from hero to villian within a minute and when he was linked with City I know many United fans including myself who just said: "Hopefully he actually goes to City now, they deserve each other!" :mad:

Sorry for not sticking entirely to the topic :mad:
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You really don't see that as a potential reason to question club ambition since we bought Valencia and got Owen on free as their replacements?
 
RORY65 said:
I think his history would suggests that's not the case. Clearly the point he raised was a valid one, we didn't invest in anyway properly after the CL win and certainly the Ronaldo sale which we're now paying for, but I think the fact that it got resolved so quickly after Ferguson saying we could make him the highest paid player in the country showed that it was simply a play to get more money. He had 2 years left on his contract, if it was a concern about transfer policy he could have held signing a new deal until he saw what we did in the summer of 2011 .
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He was told to put faith in Ferguson's transfer policy - bringing in talented prospects like Hernandez - the policy of VALUE, the policy of developing of our own - this was also just a few months after the Green and Gold campaign where fans feared that the Glazer family were here to rape the club financially for their own benefit. So, of course, a large contract offer would offer reassurance that we would spend where necessary - but that we we waiting for the right players, at the right price. I don't doubt that this was also where the agent steps in and sees an opportunity to make some money for himself. The true villains are the money men, not the footballers.
 
Rowem said:
For those slating Rooney, he made these comments after these two summer transfer windows:

2009:
Out: Tevez, Ronaldo
In: Valencia, Owen, Obertan, Diouf

2010:
In: Hernandez, Bebe

You can see why he was concerned, can't you? City meanwhile we're busy adding the likes of Silva and Toure to their squad.

Rooney came out after the 10-11 season and seemed genuinely humbled and embarrassed after we won back the title and reached the CL final - "how wrong was I?" he said. However we didn't push on from there and I think his earlier concerns were still justified, as became more evident in the following seasons.



I know this doesn't fit with the anti-Rooney vibe on here, but whatever I like Rooney, I think he's a good bloke really, and despite what popular culture might suggest I think he's pretty smart too (in some senses). He's clearly smarter than your average Caftard, which admittedly isn't saying a lot.
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I agree with most of this.
 
RORY65 said:
I think his history would suggests that's not the case. Clearly the point he raised was a valid one, we didn't invest in anyway properly after the CL win and certainly the Ronaldo sale which we're now paying for, but I think the fact that it got resolved so quickly after Ferguson saying we could make him the highest paid player in the country showed that it was simply a play to get more money. He had 2 years left on his contract, if it was a concern about transfer policy he could have held signing a new deal until he saw what we did in the summer of 2011 .
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At about 2010, Rooney was an integral member of the first team. I think he would have gotten a raise and extension by default. No reason for him to rock the boat. I do believe that he was genuinely concerned, but made a mess of things going about it. The fact that he came out with a bonus only added to the disaster.
 
Subho611 said:
He shouldn't be asking these questions in the first place. He is paid to play football and that's what he should be doing. He had no clue whatsoever about the limitations under which SAF and Gill were operating and to assume that they had anything but United's best interests in mind is sacrilege.
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This, especially during that period in time when the CM issue was relatively under control and the team was wildly successful.

Lets not try to paint this as some issue of Rooney having the foresight to see that the squad would soon be as it is today, this was purely about getting an improved contract and providing himself with an excuse to sulk his way to another club as he wasn't being given the squad status he felt he deserved.

Also for those trying to view our problems as some huge colossal hole that we are in, think again. The issues we have could still be solved in about 1 or 2 transfer windows with the right purchases. Money itself does not appear to an issues we are just slow and indecisive and don't appear to have understood the CM arms race that has been taking place during the last few seasons. It isn't so much a lack of ambition as a slowness to act and a seemingly lethargic scouting setup. If those things equate to a lack of ambition then fair enough, but we have spent a fair amount of money since 2010 just not in a large majority of cases on the right areas or players.

The opportunity when SAF retired was there for somebody to waltz in and off the back of a league winning squad simply assess the deadwood and decisively get rid of them and bring in what we needed CM and wing wise, alas again with Moyes we were slow and hesitant, with LVG at least we appear to have spotted the issue and the stories about the players we do not want appears to indicate he understands the issue. The question again is how decisive will we be, by the close of this window(which in itself is leaving it too late IMO) we shall know a little more.
 
Black Adder said:
You really don't see that as a potential reason to question club ambition since we bought Valencia and got Owen on free as their replacements?
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No. He was asking for more money and knew he couldn't afford it when there were better players around. Once they left it only took him one year to act like that. And by all accounts, in 2010 we somehow unluckily got knocked out in the CL by a CL finalist and just finished one point behind Chelsea in the league. It's not like we were struggling for top 4! By all accounts Rooney's claims were completely unjustified. If he himself was performing at Ronaldo/Messi level you could maybe somehow forgive him, but in his case he was just slightly better - if at all - than some other players (VdS, Vidic, Evra, Berbatov, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs). Really astonishing when you actually think about it, how many of our top/loyal players he disrespected with that statement!
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
At about 2010, Rooney was an integral member of the first team. I think he would have gotten a raise and extension by default. No reason for him to rock the boat. I do believe that he was genuinely concerned, but made a mess of things going about it. The fact that he came out with a bonus only added to the disaster.
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Oh yeah, a 150k pay increase I'm sure that was a real disaster for Wayne. As Rowen said, he's not stupid and he knew the club couldn't let him go, what message would it send after losing Ronaldo and Tevez and not bringing in an expensive, top class player? I admire him for using his position and his importance to the club to make the most money possible for himself. All the talk after he re-signed was about Ferguson having a £150m warchest, we didn't spend that much over the following 5 (maybe 6) transfer windows. The Glazers, businessmen who would have a plan of how their strategy, would not make an about-turn in a couple of days because Wayne Rooney had briefed the press that he wanted to leave.
 
Rowem said:
I always feel Rooney is a genuine person - despite many on hear painting him as a machiavellian money grabber.

I said at the time and maintain now that Rooney had genuine concerns. At the time I thought his concerns were misplaced, but in hindsight he was right. The club flapped around in the transfer market for a good few seasons after Ronaldo left.
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Id agree with this. people forget the human aspect in players, there not just paid machines that go out and play unless your Jose Bosingwa. I dont believe for a second that the squad wouldnt talk amongst themselves about the state of the squad and transfers, and after a teammate like ronaldo leaves your team after an unparalleled period of success you have to question how your going to replace them. Rooney is and was the most marketable and important English player in the game, i dont think he personally sat there and dictated terms of his contract, his scumbag agent did that for him. the only question was what club he wanted to be at, and if your winning everything at united and u feel barren times are coming because of a transfer policy or lack there of, i dont "blame" him for at least questioning his position.

That said, i doubt he stayed up at night like a SAW movie, meticulously plotting and working out his vision of where the clubs heading, After he sees players like Ozil who he recommended or whatever that story was, leave for the big clubs around the world and united sign obertan, you would be mad to not put 2 and 2 together. 1 day your playing with ronaldo and tevez, the next your lumping the ball to valencia and bebe in training. and add into the fact the class of 92 are edging their way to retirement. and will be unable to carry the weight of the club forever.
 
united_99 said:
No. He was asking for more money and knew he couldn't afford it when there were better players around. Once they left it only took him one year to act like that. And by all accounts, in 2010 we somehow unluckily got knocked out in the CL by a CL finalist and just finished one point behind Chelsea in the league. It's not like we were struggling for top 4! By all accounts Rooney's claims were completely unjustified. If he himself was performing at Ronaldo/Messi level you could maybe somehow forgive him, but in his case he was just slightly better - if at all - than some other players (VdS, Vidic, Evra, Berbatov, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs). Really astonishing when you actually think about it, how many of our top/loyal players he disrespected with that statement!
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Everyones entitled to their opinion so I do understand how you feel about it.

I don't like Rooney questioning anything Sir Alex (or D.Gill) did, but at the same time think there's more than just wanting big payrise when he could've easily got the same money elsewhere (back then when he was on top of his game).

Also don't see how replacing Cristiano and Tevez with lesser players did any good to United, not to mention losing Scholes, Giggs and having Fletcher and Cleverly in midfield these days.

Perhaps he really raised those question with wrong intensions (money), but fast forward 4y later and we have squad with only 3 or 4 great players and bunch of players who can't believe their luck for being at United.
 
Rowem said:
For those slating Rooney, he made these comments after these two summer transfer windows:

2009:
Out: Tevez, Ronaldo
In: Valencia, Owen, Obertan, Diouf

2010:
In: Hernandez, Bebe

You can see why he was concerned, can't you? City meanwhile we're busy adding the likes of Silva and Toure to their squad.

Rooney came out after the 10-11 season and seemed genuinely humbled and embarrassed after we won back the title and reached the CL final - "how wrong was I?" he said. However we didn't push on from there and I think his earlier concerns were still justified, as became more evident in the following seasons.



I know this doesn't fit with the anti-Rooney vibe on here, but whatever I like Rooney, I think he's a good bloke really, and despite what popular culture might suggest I think he's pretty smart too (in some senses). He's clearly smarter than your average Caftard, which admittedly isn't saying a lot.
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I know this doesn't fit the pro-Rooney vibe on here, but Hernandez has had a great world cup in 2010 and both him and Valencia were good for the first couple of years. Noway would the extremely intelligent Rooney have known how good or bad those players could have turned out. It's not like in all the years since Rooney had joined us until 2010 we had been signing superstars all the time. Maybe he should have left in 2006 then when we lost Keane and RvN and only signed Carrick?
 
united_99 said:
I know this doesn't fit the pro-Rooney vibe on here, but Hernandez has had a great world cup in 2010 and both him and Valencia were good for the first couple of years. Noway would the extremely intelligent Rooney have known how good or bad those players could have turned out. It's not like in all the years since Rooney had joined us until 2010 we had been signing superstars all the time. Maybe he should have left in 2006 then when we lost Keane and RvN and only signed Carrick?
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It's not a slate on Hernandez or Valencia to suggest they weren't on the same level as Ronaldo or Tevez (or the likes of Ozil, Silva, Benzema, Robben, Ribery etc etc etc who we were unable or unwilling to get). They were good young players with potential, nothing more. Even if they had gone on to become the two greatest players to ever play the game it wouldn't detract from his genuine concerns at the time.

Oh, and "pro-Rooney vibe on here" - don't make me laugh - this isn't 2008 any more, Rooney's been fat, moaning, petulant, overrated, over the hill, selfish, unprofessional, greedy and generally useless for years now according to this place.
 
Rowem said:
It's not a slate on Hernandez or Valencia to suggest they weren't on the same level as Ronaldo or Tevez (or the likes of Ozil, Silva, Benzema, Robben, Ribery etc etc etc who we were unable or unwilling to get). They were good young players with potential, nothing more. Even if they had gone on to become the two greatest players to ever play the game it wouldn't detract from his genuine concerns at the time.
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I agree, but my point is we had mostly signed potential, so why the moaning all of a sudden in 2010? Ronaldo and Rooney weren't world class either after all, when we had signed them and it understandably took us 2-3 years to reap the awards.
 
united_99 said:
I agree, but my point is we had mostly signed potential, so why the moaning all of a sudden in 2010? Ronaldo and Rooney weren't world class either after all, when we had signed them and it understandably took us 2-3 years to reap the awards.
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Ok I see your point. So to answer the question why all of a sudden in 2010 - well months previously you had the Green and Gold campaign being very loud and visible with fans raising their concerns about where the money was going. SAF and Gill were being mocked for their statements about "value". City were sweeping up some of the best talents around. We also had an aging midfield - Scholes and Giggs were clearly on the decline by then but still heavily involved in the first team. We'd just lost the league and only reached the CL quarters (a disappointment after two consecutive finals prior to selling Ronaldo).

In previous years we did indeed sign potential, but in addition to a few superstar signings (Ferdinand, Veron, Berbatov, arguably Ruud, and arguably even the 18-year Rooney himself) - and of course an existing core of players that included some of the world's best players in the peak of their careers. Also I'd say we signed some of the best young players around - I believe Rooney and Ronaldo were both record fees for a teenager at the time. A few years later we're taking punts on players like Tosic, Bebe, Obertan and Diouf, most of whom were already in their 20s.

You can argue back and forth about whether or not the concerns were valid but I can not fathom how anyone can think the concerns were insincere. I even disagreed with him strongly at the time - myself being an unrelenting optimist who was certain that SAF was going to build a world class team out of obscure young talents.
 
Annoyingly, he was right, but I still have massive issues with him for doing what he did and massive issues with the fanbase that forgave him straight away and effective made the club seem smaller and less powerful than it's own players.

That said, we may have declined but so has he. He's fecking crap nowadays.
 
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