Everyone has different ways of dealing with grief. Whether it’s something as serious as the untimely death of a loved one, the end of a long-term relationship or even the passing of a family pet – we all cope with these things in our own way. Football is no different.
After all – why should it be? It’s a passionate sport, full of ardent and feeling followers.
There are even some of us who think that watching the slow and painful decline of your favourite football club or player is one of the most gut-wrenching feelings imaginable. Some might scoff at the notion, but ask any fan of Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Wimbledon, or any club of that ilk, what it was like to see their team transform from world-beaters to lower-tier bottom feeders and it's likely they’ll rattle off something closely resembling the textbook definition of grief.
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It isn’t easy being a football fan.
Despite the cash-happy illusion of the game, being a professional footballer is not a cinch either. Take Wayne Rooney for example. Maybe five-plus years ago, somewhere between 2004 and 2012, the England international was widely regarded as one of the best footballers around.
An excellent dribbler with an eye for goal, who rubbed shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as a future great, but nowadays he is just as widely considered a performer, who failed to fill out his potential.
Also read: Twitter celebrates as Wayne Rooney breaks two records with free-kick goal
He has flopped, they say. He’s a has-been: someone who could have done so much more and yet, somehow, he’s failed. The see-saw of opinion, often bordering on the irascible, is something footballers in the limelight have to learn to put up with, it seems.
And yet, it is baffling that someone of Rooney’s clear skill can somehow be reduced to definition by his present standards, or perceived standards, as it were. Because, let’s be honest, he’s actually still a decent player, who’s always done a good, professional job. More than that, to paraphrase a certain famous British sitcom, he’s done a ‘damn good, bloody good, damn good job’ as a Manchester United player, and he deserves to be referenced as such for a very long time to come.
Yes, there have been times when the now 31-year-old has played below par for the Red Devils, but on the whole, a player of his long-serving abilities should be judged on the overarching pattern of his performances – and not on the outstanding troughs. Because, let’s face it, there have been far more peaks than nadirs in Rooney’s club career to date.
While it’s true the United legend is not the player he once was, it's also equally true that he is ageing and the club are not what they once were. It hasn't all been down to a personal shortcoming.
Only recently did Rooney reach double figures for the past two league seasons combined so the goals have not featured as prominently for him since 2015, but he has also suffered the fate of seeing three new managers attempt to foist their philosophies and styles on his own individuality in the very different forms of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, and that has certainly not allowed him to continue to flourish and develop as he would have liked.
So, let’s cast our minds back, in the spirit of celebrating his arrival as United’s all-time greatest ever scorer by reaching 250 club goals with a thunderous strike against Stoke City, to when he ruled the roost of not just the English or European game, but the global one.
Because while everyone remembers the famous treble-winning United of 1999, there is a lot less talk of when the Red Devils accomplished a similar feat back in 2008 when they impressively claimed the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup – a plunder Rooney was pivotal to.
Those who remember those few months well, will know that Rooney was United's top assister in the league with 13. He also grabbed 12 goals despite missing almost 10 matches. They would also distinctly recall that it was Rooney who netted the silverware-clinching goal against LDU Quito in the CWC final.
Because while Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed much of the headlines, ‘Roo’ was always ready to provide the backbone when available, and has done so ever since with incredible commitment and talismanic tribalism.
Another astounding highlight that obviously sticks out is his acrobatic bicycle kick against Manchester City in February 2011. A lot of column inches have been used up attempting to capture the essence of that strike, but it's hard to look beyond the visceral noise of the home crowd from that day for a fair barometer of just how good a goal it truly was – better yet, take a look at Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction from the dugout.
It doesn't take an expert lip reader to make out just how stoked he is about it hitting the back of the net in such an important match.
Before that, there was his sublime volley against Newcastle United back in April 2005 when he battered the ball past Irish goalkeeper Shay Given after a Roy Keane long ball was headed out by a Magpies defender straight into the sweeping path of the then 19-year-old.
Then, of course, there is his goal against West Ham United from the halfway line in 2014. Magic.
His past is littered with sumptuous goals, exquisite technique, hunger and raw power. But what does the future hold for him? Frankly, those who have already written him off should be wary because he has plenty of positive prospects ahead.
With 195 Premier League goals to his name, just 65 shy of equalling Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League record it will be interesting to see whether he will have the appetite to push on and break another milestone.
With at least another five or six decent years in him, time is still on his side to usher in a new dawn and kickstart an era of goal-scoring prosperity once again.
Becoming a fox in the box is still something he can achieve, and it’s certainly a development the fans would love to see come about successfully and naturally.
He’ll probably never be their go-to goalscorer again especially having tasted the delicacy of a marquee signing like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but with self-discipline, desire and a manager who’s willing to provide him with that role, in the starting XI or from the substitutes’ bench, for 15 to 20 PL games a season, he can become the greatest striker the division has ever seen.
So far, the career of Rooney has the look of a line going straight up before dipping slightly here and there – the latter years have besmirched his legacy somewhat for a select few critics, but if the player himself remains focused on improving himself he can discard all thoughts of setting off to the Land of the Red Dragon or heading to LA Galaxy for some easy cash.
There is plenty of time to delay the funereal reflections on his career – to silence them completely, even.
It’s up to him, however, to make the early grievers look silly. To prove the disbelievers wrong with a second coming. To underline his natural brilliance with a veteran-like surge.
Bring it on.
