Dominic Monaghan: Why We Talk about Rooney

Wayne Rooney, captain of Manchester United and England, has been subject to hateful press throughout his career, now more than ever. As a Manchester United and England fan, I am baffled.

Though Rooney is by no means perfect, nor does he claim to be, it seems to be the case that a highly paid person is subject to anything the media can thrown at him, however hurtful or untruthful it may be. Many absolute lies are printed in newspapers.

As captain of England he shows pride in the honor, does his best with the team that is selected around him, supports the manager and works harder than most. Anyone claiming that Rooney is lazy should look at his statistics as a professional footballer. He is elite and has always been that way. You cannot run as fast or as far as him so stop it.

For Manchester United, he is well on his way to eclipsing the all-time scoring record for the Reds. Hard to believe in the modern era.

He reads the game superbly, for what he may now lack in a few yards of pace he makes up for with a sharp footballing brain. He is one of the team’s best passers, he is a clinical finisher and he leaves it all on the pitch every week.

He doesn’t want to be the new Mark Hughes, he wants to be the new Paul Scholes. He has been one of my favorite United players since exploding into the scene a decade ago.
He is English. A bulldog. A Roy of the Rovers footballer.

We will miss his like when he retires.