Football Betting: Rooney risks burnout

Premier League / Frank Gregan / 10 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Rooney in action for Egypt

"Rooney's fixation with playing every minute of every game is naïve. A footballer's body is the same as a car; miles on the clock will determine how long a player can continue."

Sir Alex has seen and conquered all at Manchester United so can he cure Wayne Rooney's workaholism? Frank Gregan reports.

Sir Alex Ferguson has solved more problems than Albert Einstein during his tenure at Manchester United. He inherited a squad with a drinking culture, which was at the time pretty much the norm in English football. It was the days of play hard on the park, drink hard off it.

There was little that Fergie could do about his senior players - Betty Ford would have had her work cut out changing the ways of the self-confessed drinkers like Paul McGrath and Norman Whiteside - but he knew he could mould the youngsters coming through the ranks and instill them a different mindset. Sir Alex made sure that his young players knew that booze would not only hinder their quest to fulfil their potential and mean a shortened career.

Young stars thrived on his advice, the FA Youth winning team, known as the 'Class of 92', which included David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, became the foundation stones of the most successful club in England. Booze had been conquered, nightclubs were for losers and Sir Alex moved on to tackling the next problem.

He's handled everything - accusations about his son's integrity, a flying boot across the dressing room that split the eye of England's highest profile player and a squabble over image rights. Throw in a Spice Girl, American owners, FC United and his spats with Kevin Keegan, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger et al and it's safe to say that he's just about seen it all.

His current problem is a bit out of left field; let's face it, it's not everyday that a boss has an employee who wants to work every hour of every day and has to be told when to stop grafting! There is more to Wayne Rooney's life than football. He is a husband and a father but it seems that he still remains a workaholic!

His fixation with playing every minute of every game, backed up by the pouting of his lip as he occupies a seat in the dugout and the hurling of a water bottle as he is substituted, is naïve. A footballer's body is the same as a car, miles on the clock will determine how long a player can continue. There is the perception that Rooney is still young but he is 25 in October and is getting to the age where he needs to be careful.

Desire is a good thing but playing while injured is very much a short term gain for long term pain. There are exceptions of course - a Champions League Final, a World Cup Final or a Premier League title decider - but a friendly against Egypt is not one of them.

Sir Alex may have thought he had seen it all during his reign but he probably never imagined that he would have every England fan rooting for him, willing him to make sure that Wayne Rooney is fit for the World Cup. England are not Sir Alex's concern but he is very keen to ensure that Rooney doesn't burn himself out. He'll be hoping that his star player will be running the show at Old Trafford for many, many years to come.

For the rest of us, it's the summer that counts. Rooney has been matched as high as [19.0] to be top scorer at the World Cup and a match should currently be available at [13.5]. He is in tremendous form but is he in great condition? Let's hope that between them, a Scotsman and an Italian can make sure that England's main man arrives in South Africa raring to go.