It's About Time Wayne Rooney Was Given The Respect That He Deserves

Surprise, surprise.

Saturday 7th January 2017 shall forever be remembered as the day that Wayne Rooney finally cemented his name into Manchester United folklore. After knee-blindingly nestling the ball into the bottom corner of Ali Al-Habsi's net, during what was a dominant 4-0 performance against Reading in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, Rooney is now on par with the great Sir Bobby Charlton for goals scored in a United shirt. However, there is still a feeling of disquiet amongst a lot of the United faithful who ardently feel that his time is up and that he should now move on to another path. But why should this be the case? Hasnt he earned himself one of those vintage retirement based contracts like the rest of those more recent United legends?

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are perfect examples of Manchester Uniteds very own bread and butter footballers who all, seemingly, were allowed to bow out of the game on the terms that suited them the most. Giggsy, rather remarkably, managing to stretch out his last footballing days as a player to the ancient old age of 40. Longevity in it's purist form. Scholes, if you can remember, actually came back out of retirement due to the boredom card that his post-playing career inevitably dealt him.

So what separates Rooney from the rest?

There is a mixture of reasons behind why some of the Red Devils fans have taken such a dim view on why Rooney shouldnt be considered to be one of their all-time greatest players, but these reasons are, in my opinion, very harsh. I would like to say to those fans who are against the heralding of Rooney The Great: Cmon now, have you forgotten all those great days when he delivered time and time again and with that, my mind is immediately cast back to some of his most finer moments in the Manchester United jersey.

The Champions League hat-trick on his United debut against Fenerbahce back in 2004, the stunning and unique volley against Newcastle in the Premier league the following season, the spectacular overhead kick against 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City 5 years ago, and of course, lest we forget, the 6 match winners he has managed to muster up down the years against the bitter old enemy, Liverpool. Ironically, this weekend Rooney will have the chance to surpass Bobby Charlton - and stand alone on 250 goals - when United meet Liverpool at Anfield this Sunday.

But, in essence, when we think of the criticism Rooney has received, it is predominantly through the newspaper publications and social media sites where he has attracted the most hatred, bile and spite. Most of which are not Manchester United fans; yet, a surprising number often merit their own verdicts as a concrete reflection of the reality. They say that he is too old, hes past it, hes overpaid, hes too slow, he is not allowed to have a few sanctioned drinks following a historic victory against Scotland... It is never ending.

The reality now is that Rooney is Englands greatest ever goal scorer, he is Englands most capped outfield player (most likely going to collect another 7 to overtake Shilton to be the all time), he is Manchester Uniteds greatest ever goalscorer, he is, for all intents and purposes, an emblem of the 21st century Manchester United. He may not have gathered the international success that he, and his critics, may have liked, he has however always tried. Rooney has taken a lot of blame for Englands past shortcomings.. and arguably, rightfully so. But has he ever played in a world class England side? Arguably not, some will say in Euro 2004 he did, and back then he actually delivered against all the odds.

The biggest slab of discontent the people always seem to drop against Rooney is the fact the earns an unprecedented amount of money just to be a Manchester United player, and this, in modern day Britain is always going to add an extra distasteful layer of pressure. Due to the seismic gap between modern day Premier League wages and real life wages, here is where, I believe, we can unpick the first crucial element of why Wayne is so disliked. But can you blame and criticise a man for signing a contract of that size? It would be extremely petulant to do so. After all, a footballer can only be judged on two things - his achievements, and his form. You are applauded for good form, but you should always be respected for such monumental achievements like his - this latest one is just another of what is an extensive list.

So where does the buck end with Rooneymania? For me, it simply doesnt. Rooney is this countrys most well-known footballer. If he goes to China, itll be the same scenario as when Beckham left for Real Madrid and then LA Galaxy, if he stays at United hell continue to be slaughtered on a regular basis by those same ghouls on the terraces and by those same crows on social media. He could easily cop it and go for the easier life abroad. If he does somehow manage to recapture world class form, or indeed reinvent himself into the significant player that he once was, then maybe that would be the best possible way for him to bow out.

In the meantime, though, there isn't any harm in Rooney continuing to fade away in the same manner as John Terry is currently at Chelsea. People seem to think that you can't be allowed to be less of a player at 31 than you were at 26. Preposterous. He's been a full-time professional in the Premier league from 16 years old and he hasn't stopped. One thing that is for certain though is that he isn't Ronaldo or Messi. They should just be left on their higher pedal-stool for forever and a day. A question I do often ask myself though, would Ronaldo and Messi have been able to hack it in the Premier League for all those years? We will never know, but an an interesting preposition itself.

Finally, I would like to point out that since he has been a professional footballer, Rooney has managed to play in an astonishing 739 football matches. It is a stunning achievement in itself that he is still standing. When he's done and dusted and finally decides to call time on a stellar career - which may I add boasts of 5 Premier League titles and a coveted Champions League trophy - it is then that we may all realise how terrific a footballer and model professional he has been.