As the final whistle blows on a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Bristol City, Wayne Rooney heads over to the away stand to thank the fans who have travelled to support his club, Plymouth Argyle. It is the third defeat of the season by four or more goals and is the second in the past few days. Is this the end of the former England legend’s time at Home Park? Does this and previous management failures taint his legacy?
How We Got Here
According to the Telegraph, Wayne Rooney has to get the next couple of games right if he desires to stay in charge of Plymouth Argyle. With the next two being against spiraling Oxford United and a Swansea City team trying to find its identity, the margins are super thin.
The ex D.C. United, Derby County, and Birmingham City manager was brought in by Plymouth Argyle during the summer. The hope was that Rooney would stabilize a club that barely missed out on relegation by a point. With talent like Morgan Whittaker at the club there was optimism that progress might be made.
Rooney got right to work bringing in signings such as Rami El Hajj, David Grimshaw, Kornell Szucs, Michael Obafemi, and Ibrahim Cissoko among others. The most curious departure was letting promising goalkeeper, Michael Cooper, leave for recently relegated Sheffield United for 2.35 million Euros. Also, Dan Scarr, a veteran defender, left for Wrexham for a fee of 325 thousand Euros.
Despite a full preseason with his team, Plymouth Argyle opened the season in miserable fashion by losing 4-0 to Sheffield Wednesday. From there, the season has not gotten any better as Plymouth have won three, drawn five, and lost ten. As stated above, three of those ten losses were by four or more goals. After the most recent game, the loss to Bristol City, Rooney admitted he was embarrassed while going to greet the supporters in the away end. The England legend certainly has to feel frustrated especially as the 4-0 loss comes right on the heels of a 6-1 disappointment at Norwich City.
Rooney Out the Door?
With all this happening, one would assume that Rooney is in a very tenuous position. With a documentary coming soon about the Wayne Rooney era at Plymouth Argyle, there definitely seems to be urgency to right the horrendous away form quickly. Somehow, the form at Home Park for Plymouth Argyle has been the best part of the club’s season as Plymouth have acquired most of their points at home. Because of that and a mounting injury report, reports indicate that there is not an urgency to fire Rooney just yet however.
How Does This Affect the Wayne Rooney Legacy?
Wayne Rooney, as a player, is probably one of the most iconic in recent, if not all of English football history. His accomplishments speak for themselves. One has to consider, however, if his spotted managerial history is tarnishing all he did as a player. Every club Rooney has been at has only become worse when he takes over. No club is more exemplary of this than Birmingham City. In only three months, Birmingham City had such awful form that they never recovered even after sacking Rooney. Because of this, Birmingham City were doomed to relegation.
Despite that performance, Plymouth still hired Rooney. His record at Birmingham City is eerily similar to his current record with Plymouth Argyle. Rooney had two wins, four draws, and nine losses in his three month tenure at Birmingham City. If history is any indication, this does not bode well for the club in Devonshire.
While all of this is bleak, it does not detract from the excellence that was the player, Wayne Rooney. It certainly feels like he has maybe found a thing in football he cannot conquer for the first time. This surely has to sting his pride, and he most certainly wants to right that. Still, it might be better if Rooney took a lower league position and worked his way up from there. For now, he has only sunk the clubs he has thus far managed.
Wayne Rooney’s newest managerial gif is hanging by a thread. These next two games will be huge in determining not only his job but also how much the players want to play for Rooney. Managing is a truly difficult balancing act, and Wayne Rooney might fall of that tightrope unless he finds the delicate balance needed to succeed.