16 points and unbeaten Rooney

[Wignall12]

16 hours ago, 86 Schmokes & a Pancake said:

For me the jury is still out where Rooney is concerned. I do think however, without wanting to sound like an apologist again, that there are some mitigating factors. Firstly, I think the new owners and / or Mel were hasty in letting Cocu go. In doing so, a tough job has been thrust upon Wayne before he was ready. I think even he would have rather had some more time to complete his coaching badges and get some more experience under his belt. I also think that the team was looking pretty disenchanted with life in general when he took over and that's tough. Rooney will understand the game well and probably has enough raw cunning and experience garnered from his playing days, to handle the coaching side of the role adequately given time. Man-management however, is a totally different skill-set and would be a steep learning curve for anyone of his inexperience. 

My ongoing concern is that we still look a bit porous at the back and this is the prime reason I'd advocate Terry in tandem with Mac. That to me is a really strong combo. Terry's well documented past discretions however, are an issue for some and that's entirely understandable. From my standpoint however, the Ferdinand incident, whilst reprehensible, was a long time ago. He was banned for 8 games, fined £220,000 and stripped of the England captaincy, so whatever we think of his behaviour, it can't be argued that he did not pay a heavy price. He was also absolutely dismembered by the media at the time and with the release of the Ferdinand documentary, he's again received some unsavoury headlines. Also, in modest mitigation, he is taking the knee in acknowledgement of the BLM's anti-racism drive and has already expressed a desire to bring Ashley Cole in as one of his coaches. After the court case, he took counselling and also undertook an applicable awareness course. I don't believe he is, or ever really was, a racist in the purest sense of the word. I believe his response to an also reprehensible comment from Ferdinand, whom, lest we forget, initiated the spat, was borne out of ignorance and immaturity, more than any deep-rooted bigotry. To a man, all the BAME players at Chelsea came out in support of Terry at the time and were adamant that while his comments were vile and that they fully condemned them, that in their experience, Terry was anything but racist. Indeed they argued that he'd been incredibly giving of his time with some of the younger players, BAME and otherwise, who had often come from difficult backgrounds and who's adherence to the straight and narrow could sometimes waver. I'm not much for religion, which will doubtless shock you all, but some of it resonates, nonetheless; “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone ...” I can't speak for you lot, but I know I've done stuff as a younger man that I bitterly regret, but we don't get the chance to revisit our follies. The best we can hope for is to not repeat them. People have forgiven me for past indiscretions and that itself imbued a degree forgiveness in me. I know this sounds a bit wishy-washy but trust me, it's a powerful and life-improving notion concept and it lowers blood pressure too!

Furthermore and perhaps more importantly, I think Tery has shown himself to be a major coaching talent already in his time at Villa. Their defence has improved leaps and bounds since his arrival and Dean Smith has himself been at pains to give Terry the credit for that. Had Villa not beaten us at Wembley, they'd be in a world of FFP pain with the money they'd spent, their squad size and wage bill, so the critical nature of his role in their surge into the top half of the Premiership should not be underestimated. Their back 4 were barely out of first gear for the entire game, after all. Equally, Terry is not the novice some on here would have us believe. He's been coaching for three years now and has, in my opinion, earned his chance to step up. Compared to the Lampard who first rocked up at Derby, he's a gnarly, wizened old pro. Conversely, Wazza, as yet, has not earned his stripes, which is not to say he won't, but rather that he has not to date.

So where does this leave us? I sense that for numerous reasons, Wayne will most likely be invited to stay on. I think the demise of Sheffield United might play into this as it's not certain, despite his amazing work with the club to date, how long Chris Wilder's services will be retained. Of the realistic AND available candidates, Terry is my pick. Were Wilder's services available however, he'd certainly give Mac et al pause for thought. This fact alone may encourage us to play the waiting game and extend Rooney's time in charge a little further. This is not ITK btw, just a theory of mine that might explain some inconsistencies in messages emanating from PP. If I were Mel, I'd be on the phone every day, that much I do know.

A final thought would be that despite me not being Wayne's biggest fan right now, I think we really do have to give him some credit. Three games unbeaten (yes, alright, two were against weak sides) and grafting an away win at Millwall is not to be sniffed at. Green shoots at least. Clearly if we get handed our arses by Brentford, then we're back to square one, but if we show we can compete with a team who are easily one of the better sides in the division, then even if we lose, the pro-Rooney argument strengthens further. Despite some silly posts on here, I don't think folk are willing the team to lose, I think they are concerned that we're jumping out of the frying pan, so to speak. Perhaps Wayne is on the way to proving me and them wrong!

Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for bearing with my rambling nonsense. A hard-earned win today gives us a little welcome respite. That's progress of sorts, right? 

COYR

 

 

Well thought out and reasoned post sir, I concur . If indeed we do get handed our downward facing orifices on a plate , I will not be surprised , however,  its the manner in which we perform that is critical.  Green shoots seem to be sprutting forth , lets hope it continues (not that far behind the Red Dogs , Agent Hughton is doing a Sterling job so far )

COYR !!

[ramsbottom]

23 hours ago, Beetroot said:

2 draws and a win with (almost) the same group of players that had lost their last 3.

Rooney is definitely the difference. Whether it's because he's no longer on the pitch or because he's now in charge is not yet clear.

I think the big difference is that he’s not on the pitch...

[Srg]

1 minute ago, ramsbottom said:

I think the big difference is that he’s not on the pitch...

Amazing what you can do playing with 11 players. 

[europia]

23 hours ago, Asheville Ram said:

Is it possible for you to make a post without slagging off

a) the club

or

b) Rooney 

 

It wouldn't be forum without posters expressing opinions on the club, players, managers etc. Generally it's ok to attack the post, but not the poster. That way, everyone can get along, or simply agree to disagree.