Will Wayne Rooney become a
Stretford End King? Only Denis Law and Eric Cantona hold that special title, chosen by the United faithful.
Wayne Rooney is perhaps the best example of an English player who has been outstanding for his club and disappointing for his country. In the 2009-10 season at Manchester United, Rooney scored 34 goals in 44 appearances and was chosen as both the Players Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association Player of the Year. No other England player is as renowned internationally. But in South Africa 2010 he barely made any impression, and has now played eight games in a row in an England shirt without scoring a goal. In his excellent book,
Rooney's Gold , John Sweeney documents all the major events, on and off the pitch, from Rooney's short life so far: his humble origins in the Liverpool suburb of Croxteth, otherwise famous for its gang violence, where his father,
Big Wayne, an ex-boxer, earned £120 a week as a labourer and little Wayne dreamt of playing for Everton; the goal he scored for Everton against Arsenal five days before his 17th birthday; the £25 million transfer to Manchester United when he was 18; the alliances with prostitutes, including, allegedly, though it was never proven, a
grandmother; the red card for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's testicles during England's defeat to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals; the multimillion-pound wedding in Italy to childhood sweetheart
Coleen McLoughlin, with the pictures in OK!; the twisted ankle in the Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich this year, which may or may not have had something to do with his lacklustre
World Cup performance. Plus, much more juicy gossip about England's most famous footballer.
Who is the Stretford End King!Wayne Rooney, Denis Law, or Eric Cantona?
