Is Rooney really irreplaceable for England?

Fabio Capello must be beginning to wonder whether a jinx really is attached to the role of England football manager. While most managers of top teams in Europe will be bursting with positive energy looking forward to the European Championships in June 2012, Capello will have the same old problems which have bogged England down over the years. At a time when he should be looking forward to the double-header against world champions Spain and Sweden to experiment with the bright young talents attempting to stake their claims, he is instead faced with unwanted distractions such as how to cope without his best player Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United striker’s senseless sending off against Montenegro which ruled him out of the first three matches of Euro 2012.

It’s almost been 8 years since a young 18 year old burst on to the scenes in the Euro’04 in Portugal for England scoring as many as 4 goals. Since then, the 2006 World Cup, the 2008 Euros that England failed to even qualify for and the 2010 World Cup have come and gone, all without another goal from Rooney and with his country still waiting for his teenage promise to be translated into a substantial tournament performance. Rooney always brings about unwanted attention on the national team during the big tournaments for England, be it his controversial sending off against Portugal in ’06 World Cup or his outburst on the fans for jeering the team in the 2010 World Cup and now the ban which will see him miss all of England’s games during the group stages. So the inevitable question on every English fan’s mind is can England cope without the Manchester United talisman? The simple answer is No.

England were looking good in the process of building an impressive team of hard working individuals, especially Rooney who had started the campaign brightly this season having employed his inimitable style on the ball,dropping into deeper lying positions behind either Darren Bent or Defoe and running at defenses with aplomb. It’s a huge blow for England to lose Rooney who is without a shadow of doubt the man in form for both club and country right now. Everyone has opinions on whether Rooney should be picked for the tournament or not,but the general consensus remains that he must be picked for the tournament even though it is clear he will miss the group stage matches. He is just as important to England as Messi is for Argentina or Ronaldo is for Portugal and definitely England need him at Euro 2012. Based on current form, he will be important for the team and England should be strong enough to go past the group stages even though their opponents are still unknown and we do not yet know which other players the manager will pick for the tournament squad. .

Rooney has become such a lynchpin to this team that you can hardly pick anyone from the country to replace him and expect to have the same impact. A fully fit Steven Gerrard might have answered some of those problems but given his prolonged absence from the game and not playing week in and week out for Liverpool is a major cause for concern for Capello. Another player who can and should in my opinion be given that role is Rooney’s team mate at Manchester United Ashley Young. Young has more often than not played as a wide player but he is more than capable of playing behind the striker in a supporting role to the target man,a job which he did well last season when he was at Aston Villa. The forgotten man, Joe Cole could also be given another go at some point before the team for the championships is picked, given that he is performing exceptionally well at Lille in the French League. Danny Welbeck, whom Sir Alex Ferguson has preferred a lot this season and has an exceptional work rate, could also be another candidate vying for that spot. Owen is another man who could play well behind a target man,but that won’t happen because Capello has blatantly refused to pick the former Liverpool man. The fact is, Capello should determine now whether Rooney will be a waste of space or could still prove useful in Poland and Ukraine. Given the stature of the player, it remains vital that Capello remains clear in his thought process of what he intends to do with Rooney and England.

Rooney is enjoying his game and is a valuable asset for the team but his absence need not exactly spell doom as it is being portrayed in some quarters. However, with an exceptional work rate coupled with an extra-ordinary eye for goal, Rooney is every team’s dream player. The only question mark which has remained and will continue to remain is his ever persistent temperament issue. As England have found out over the years,he can become a liability if things are just not going his way. But that is the trade off managers have to make with some one like Rooney, it’s a gamble which nine out of ten times managers would take simply because of his genuine match winning ability.