Ferguson Says "Nothing In It" As Rooney Loses His Cool Once Again

Rooney was lucky to get away with a blatant elbow. Photo: Telegraph

Another Man Utd game passes and despite a resounding 4-0 crushing of Wigan, what I took from the game was that Wayne Rooney continues to behave like a thug on the football field. An off the ball incident is again the talking point; one that needs little discussion when you see it! Why is it that Wayne Rooney (given his almost dyer performances earlier in the season) continues to act like a angry little juvenile when he knows there are 20 camera's focusing on him for 90 minutes?

The incident itself seemed rather innocuous, but when you look at the replays Wayne Rooney has DELIBERATELY elbowed Wigan's James McCarthy in the face. Those of you who have just watched on Match of the Day, or have seen previous replays wull see that McCarthy takes a slight step to block Rooney. Rather than running around the player though, Rooney in typical fashion loses his cool at such an insignificant act.

I do not want to dwell on incident from years ago involving Rooney; suffice to say we all know despite some moments of footballing brilliance, he has been involved in some rather immature altercations. What always surprises me is the reaction of the manager in such situations. Having spoken to various Managers/Coaches in at different levels of the Football Pyramid, they all suggest that a Manager has to stick by their player, regardless of the incident in question. Sure enough, Alex Ferguson did nothing to deviate from such a theory, stating that their was "nothing in it". Mike Phealan (Man Utd Assistant) also concluded that the incident was not worth mentioning let alone a booking or red card in Rooney's direction.

Rooney DID NOT have a good game today. Despite form that has certainly improved of late, he is a million miles from the player we love to watch. Yes he did score today, but he tucked away a chance that a blindfolded Bruce Forsyth would struggle to miss! I just wonder whether his lengthy blip in form is starting to irritate him as well as the fans; resulting in such incidents as today. Certainly, I appreciate that the media will make more of this incident than perhaps they should. Just like Joey Barton it will always become more 'exposed' in different media outlets than it would if a less high-profile player was involved.

Finally, I am left a little bemused when looking back at how referee Mark Clattenburg dealt with the situation. Despite being an 'off the ball' incident, let's not forget that Clattenburg has seen the incident and given nothing more than a free-kick. If a player has deliberately elbowed an opponent in the face AND the referee has seen it, then why not a Red Card (or least of all a Booking)?

I for one would love to see a return to simply outstanding form from Wayne Rooney, but I just cannot see it. Watching Wayne Rooney play no longer gets me on the edge of my seat. I hope the FA take retrospective action against him, but will he ever learn? His aggressive nature on the field has at times been a hugely positive aspect of his game, but not these days. To finish, it is refreshing to see that my previous point about Manager's always turning the blind eye is not the case for everyone. Blackpool's Ian Holloway (whom I have nothing but admiration for) could not defend DJ Campbell's red card in any way today; simply suggesting that the player "lost his cool" and was rightly sent off. Nice one Ian, maybe one day the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene "See no Evil" Wenger will follow your example!

DH