Plymouth Argyle SCRAP fly-on-the-wall documentary after Wayne Rooney was axed as manager and club face relegation
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE have scrapped their fly-on-the-wall documentary following Wayne Rooney’s departure.
Rooney, 39, left by mutual consent on New Year’s Day alongside No2 Mike Phelan and first team coach Simon Ireland following a dismal run of one win in 14 games.
SunSport revealed in November that filming had commenced on a documentary series showcasing Argyle’s battle against the Championship drop.
The Pilgrims had hoped to flog the series to a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video – raising significant money and the club’s profile in the process.
Amid Argyle’s 10-game winless run and Rooney’s departure, however, The Guardian report that club bosses have scrapped the project.
They claim that it was felt the project could become a “distraction”.
Filming had commenced in October, but after working at just two games, production staff were told to “take a break”.
Lorton Entertainment had been working on the project.
The production company has ties to the former Pilgrims boss, having worked on the feature length documentary “Rooney” – shown on Amazon Prime Video, and “Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story“, which aired on Disney+.
Despite Argyle‘s documentary plans having been largely driven by Rooney and his team of advisers, club bosses did sign off on it initially.
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Lorton are understood to be co-owned by Kenny Shepherd, who is also a shareholder in Triple S Sports – the agency that have represented Rooney since he was a teen.
Plymouth Argyle have declined to comment.
Long-time Argyle coach Kevin Nancekivell has been placed in caretaker charge alongside injured captain Joe Edwards.
The duo guided the Pilgrims to a 2-2 New Year’s Day draw with Bristol City at Home Park, and are expected to be in charge of tomorrow’s Championship trip to Stoke City.
After the Bristol City game, Nancekivell paid tribute to outgoing boss Rooney.
‘PRIVILEGED TO GET TO KNOW HIM’
He told the BBC: “I’ve seen Wayne. He’s obviously disappointed and really sad. It’s a horrible time.
“People see the Wayne Rooney who’s an England international and legend of world football, but they don’t know him as a person.
“I’ve been privileged to get to know him. He’s a super human being and he showed a lot of class when he came and said his goodbyes to us.”
Nancekivell, 53, could remain in temporary charge as the Pilgrims take on Brentford in the FA Cup next week.
Former Argyle boss Steven Schumacher, who left for Stoke City in December 2023, is the early front-runner to succeed Rooney.
Remarkably, Schumacher’s Home Park predecessor Ryan Lowe is the second favourite for the post, having left Argyle for Preston in December 2021.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR WAZZA?
As for Rooney, he is expected to be offered an immediate return to punditry work.
A TV insider told SunSport: “Wayne is regarded as one of the best pundits in the business.
“He’s very, very knowledgeable about the game.
“And even though he’s actually quite a shy person, he really feels at home in a TV studio.
The insider added: “It’s been a rubbish end to 2024 for Wayne, but he’s not going to be out of work for long.
“He’ll be offered punditry work straight away and there’s interest from Sky in a potential long-term deal to tie him down as a pundit.
“Wayne still harbours ambitions of making it as a manager.
“But, like Gary Neville, it might end up being the case that he can carve out a more successful and lucrative career as a pundit rather than as a manager in the dugout.”