Tired, Jaded And Out Of Form, Wayne Rooney Needs To Quit The National Team For Good.

By Ewah Chika.

"It's disappointing tonight, but I enjoy and am proud playing for England.

"I'll be interested to see who the next manager is. If selected , i'll certainly be there," were the words of England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney after England exited the European Tournament after losing 2-1 to lowly rated and debutant Iceland on Monday night.


Very few people have achieved the kind of success Wayne Rooney has achieved in club football and the national team . A player who became a member of the national team at the early age of 17, announcing himself to the World in the European Tournament group game against Switzerland with a wonder goal. To buttress further, Rooney has scored 178 goals in 368 league games for Manchester United and 15 goals in 67 games for Everton. This is the reason why he was signed for £25.6 million by Alex Ferguson for United in 2004.

After the exit of England at the hands of lowly rated Iceland, many feel it may be time that the Merseyside born forward quits the national side after playing more than 115 games and scoring 53 goals of which 13 was scored since the last World Cup in Brazil (2014). Although Rooney is the highest goalscorer for England over taking Sir Bobby Charlton, he has been ineffective in the third half  recently since the signing of Robin Van Persie in 2012 by Manchester United.

Rooney has failed to deliver on the international scene since his Euro 2004 impressive display. In this tournament and also for Manchester United he has been redeployed to midfield due to his fading qualities in the final third rather than  abundance of talent.  At 32, Rooney seems to be on decline and has regressed so much that he failed to boss the midfield allowing Swansea and Iceland attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson to emerge the best midfielder on the night against Iceland. Unlike Lionel Messi who has lost four finals , Rooney has never come close to winning a tournament with England with his  closest being the quarter final stage in 2004 Euro's in Portugal, 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2008 Euro's in Poland and Ukraine . The Three Lions captain has lost pace and the hunger that made him aggressive which is vital to his game. This was so evident last season as he flattered to deceive when played as the main striker and point man, missing glorious chances and making no attacking contribution before the introduction of 18-year-old Marcus Rashford as the main striker and his (Rooney) redeployment to the midfield.

As captain Roomey failed to instil confidence on the young English team which struggled with nerves and technique all through the tournament only excelling in pace and energy which wasn't enough. This saw his withdrawal as Roy Hodgson's side chased the game against Iceland. It is fair to say that although England's Golden generation that played from (2002-2006) failed to win a trophy , Rooney wouldn't have made the team based on his recent form which explains the dearth of talent in the present squad. Like Messi, Rooney should leave the stage when the ovation is loudest as the likes of Ross Barkeley and Dele Alli stake their claim to play further high the field in his present position .