Wayne Rooney’s too young to be written off and too strong-willed to give up but a step back could be a wise move for now
LEAVING Plymouth after barely six months will hurt Wayne Rooney.
After four jobs in as many years and a win rate of barely 25 per cent across them, doubters will ask if his managerial career could be over at the age of 39 – before most bosses even take their first match in a dugout.
Yet anyone who has spent time with Rooney will tell you that he has a drive and determination to be as good a boss as he was a player.
And while that may look an unlikely aspiration at this stage, very few people have made money betting against Rooney over the past two decades.
In truth, Rooney has made things hard for himself with the jobs he has taken at the start of his time as a manager.
Admittedly, openings normally come for two reasons – because the previous manager has been a success or, more frequently, that they are inheriting a dumpster fire.
For Rooney, taking the gig at a cash-strapped Derby, facing the almost certain inevitability of a relegation-causing points deduction was hardly the act of someone who wanted an easy life.
Rooney led the Rams from six points adrift of the Championship field to a nominal last-day survival act in his four months at the helm, only for the EFL to impose that anticipated 21-point penalty to send the club through the trapdoor.
It was not Rooney’s fault, by any means – he walked into a mess, cleaned it up, only for a giant bucket of trash to be thrown over the floor after he’d finished.
Unsurprisingly, probably aware of the looming offer from DC United in the MLS, he quit Pride Park before his move across the Atlantic.
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Away from home and family, Rooney led a lonely off-field existence at his rented mansion 45 minutes outside the US capital.
But his enthusiasm was crystal clear – as was his recognition that this was the start of a long journey.
When he spoke to SunSport ahead of taking charge of the MLS All-Star team to face Arsenal in July 2023, Rooney was bright-eyed and focused.
He said: “I know I am not where I want to be as a finished article but these next few years are really important in terms of me getting to grips with the role and getting the best out of myself and eventually out of the players.
“I’ve had to learn about handling languages, culture, religion and understanding all those different scenarios which could happen if you manage at the top level and which you will have to deal with.
“Patience is key, understanding that you are going to lose games, that you are not going to win every game.
“It’s about staying calm in those situations, to figure them out and face those difficult moments and get through them.”
Four months later, only three days after leaving DC, Rooney was unveiled at ambitious, Tom Brady co-owned Birmingham, with a mission to take them back into the Prem.
It did not work. It was a bad fit, despite Rooney bringing in Ashley Cole – whose next job was on the England coaching staff – and John O’Shea to help him.
Just two wins in 15 games was a horrible record but even the best managers can have jobs which are disasters.
Bobby Robson, Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Roberto Mancini and Arsene Wenger all had early setbacks and they didn’t do too badly.
Yet taking the Plymouth job in the summer, after they had survived in the Championship by the skin of their teeth, was Rooney once again walking into a perilous situation.
Knowingly, true. But once again fighting with one hand tied behind his back.
Perhaps what he needs now is to take a step back. Not from management, but from the frontline role.
To work as an assistant to a seasoned, wily old hand. To have an input and key position but not be directly in the line of fire.
Rooney is too young to be dismissed. Too strong-willed to accept it is all over.
And at some point, surely, he will be offered the job that he cannot possibly turn down – back at boyhood club Everton.
For now, he must lick his wounds. Repair his confidence. Maybe, for a few months, sit in a TV studio to analyse and entertain.
And be ready to come back – better and even more focused on proving what he truly believes to be his destiny. Do not write him off.
Wayne Rooney's record-breaking career
WAYNE Rooney took the football world by storm when he made his debut for 2002 with Everton.
He quickly became the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 342 days and was named the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year.
The striker joined Manchester United in 2004 and spent 13 years at Old Trafford. He went on to make 559 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 253 goals. To this day he is still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Following his spell with United, Rooney returned to Everton for a season. He also spent one-season stints with D.C. United and Derby County at the end of his career.
As well as his impressive club career, Rooney is also England’s second-highest goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, behind only Harry Kane.
After hanging up his boots, the England icon turned to a career in management.
He took charge of Derby County in 2020 and managed to just about save the club from relegation from the Championship at the end of his first season.
However, with Derby handed a 21-point deduction the following campaign, he was unable to keep them up again and subsequently left.
Then came a 15-month spell in charge of MLS side D.C. United. He failed to impress during his time in Washington and parted ways with the club at the end of the 2023 regular season.
Rooney was controversially handed the Birmingham job in October 2023, replacing John Eustace with the club doing well and sixth in the Championship table.
However, in 15 games he suffered nine defeats and managed just two wins. He was sacked in January 2024 with Birmingham down in 20th. The club were relegated to League One at the end of the campaign.
He returned to management in May with Plymouth Argyle but managed just five wins in 25 games. The United legend now finds himself out of work once again.