England fans (deservedly) booed Wayne Rooney during England's 2-0 victory over Malta, and amid calls for him to be dropped, Reds legend John Barnes has launched a staunch defence of the beleaguered attacker.
Speaking on behalf of England team sponsor Vauxhall, Barnes argued that playing Rooney is a 'no-brainer', and described the Man Utd forward as a 'superstar' and a 'great team player'. He further enthused:
"If you leave Rooney out, who are you going to bring in? People have to stop saying Wayne is not as good as he was or not good enough unless they can give us somebody better to replace him".
First, Barnes is speaking as a representative of England team's main sponsor, so he hardly going to criticise Rooney in public (!)
That notwithstanding, Barnes is patently incorrect to suggest that England don't have anyone 'better' (i.e. currently more effective) to replace Rooney. Whether it's as a striker, or a number 10, England have plenty of potential replacements, including Sturridge, Vardy, Kane, Rashford, Lallana, Barkley, Alli, Walcott, Sterling etc.
Rooney is finished. He's the last remaining relic of the laughably labelled (and endlessly failing) 'Golden Generation', and the sooner he's put out to pasture, the better.
Rather surprisingly, Gareth Southgate appears to agree (somewhat), and he's dropped Rooney for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier with Slovenia.
* Rooney: €29m-rated (CIES Football Observatory)
Speaking on behalf of England team sponsor Vauxhall, Barnes argued that playing Rooney is a 'no-brainer', and described the Man Utd forward as a 'superstar' and a 'great team player'. He further enthused:
"If you leave Rooney out, who are you going to bring in? People have to stop saying Wayne is not as good as he was or not good enough unless they can give us somebody better to replace him".
First, Barnes is speaking as a representative of England team's main sponsor, so he hardly going to criticise Rooney in public (!)
That notwithstanding, Barnes is patently incorrect to suggest that England don't have anyone 'better' (i.e. currently more effective) to replace Rooney. Whether it's as a striker, or a number 10, England have plenty of potential replacements, including Sturridge, Vardy, Kane, Rashford, Lallana, Barkley, Alli, Walcott, Sterling etc.
Rooney is finished. He's the last remaining relic of the laughably labelled (and endlessly failing) 'Golden Generation', and the sooner he's put out to pasture, the better.
Rather surprisingly, Gareth Southgate appears to agree (somewhat), and he's dropped Rooney for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier with Slovenia.
* Rooney: €29m-rated (CIES Football Observatory)
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