Why Wayne Rooney Can't Be an England Legend Even If He Breaks Goalscoring Record
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Wayne Rooney scored three more goals for England in their two matches over the final international break of the calendar year, taking himself to 46 goals at that level all told—just three shy of the record held by Bobby Charlton.
The Manchester United and England captain performed particularly well against Scotland in the friendly on Tuesday, scoring twice and showing the energy, determination and spirit that are among his greatest attributes.
It has once more spurred talk of whether Rooney can genuinely be referred to as an England legend; an oft-handed out title which is hugely subjective...but which in this case, scoring record or not, is beyond the player in question.
An outstanding talent? For sure. The best player England have had in the last decade or more? At least in the top three, before subjectivity takes over again. But there is more to being the legend of an entire nation than having bigger numbers than everyone else, and it is here that Rooney falls short.
Big Tournament Performance?
It is an often-levelled criticism of Rooney that he hasn't produced the goods at a major finals for his nation since Euro 2004, when he was still a teenager.
Perhaps true, along with the truth of the mitigating circumstances—injury, poor squad, bad luck, Steve McClaren—surrounding some of those tournaments, but whether he was young at the time or not, Rooney has impacted on a major finals.
Pre-2014 World Cup talk was over whether Lionel Messi would rightly be regarded as the greatest ever, even above Diego Maradona, if he led Argentina to glory in Brazil. And yet, he hadn't had a magnificent impact at previous World Cups—that would have been his first, perhaps his only, masterclass major tournament.
Rooney has done it once, scoring four times in four games at Euro 2004 and quickly being heralded as one of the best, one of the biggest, one of the most exciting. How many other England internationals can claim the same?
Bryan Robson, for example, is frequently lauded as one of England's finest ever, winning 90 caps in total.
But an injury sidelined him from playing a notable part in World Cup '86, while in '82 his biggest moments were done after an hour of the first game. Robson was also injured for the 1990 World Cup—in the squad but having to watch on for the most part. In between, he was perhaps impressive at the Euros in 1988, but England went out in the group stage, losing all three games under his captaincy.
Has such a lack of finals success and regularity of being a top player at that stage dampened how he is perceived as an English great? Seemingly not. So why should it apply to Rooney—or indeed anyone else—when the current captain has, at least, performed to his capacity in one finals?
Consistency
Another measure of a top-class player is that they are able to perform well, to be called upon with regularity and over a long period of time.
Rooney made his debut at age 17 for the national team and, just over a decade later, has surpassed the century-mark of caps. Has he been at his best throughout that time? Of course not. But has anyone emerged to challenge him, seriously challenge him, as a regular starter in the England attack? Anyone with the longevity, consistency and goalscoring ability who should be in the squad now?
Apparently not.
Danny Welbeck is having some success now, and Daniel Sturridgelooks as though he probably should, too—fitness permitting. But go back further: Over the last decade, which strikers have been good enough, consistent enough and reliable enough to even muster 20 goals for England, let alone an Alan Shearer-esque 30?
Michael Owen. Peter Crouch.
That's it.
Attackers often get the quickest route to "stardom" and iconic status, but can any of late be argued to be on Rooney's level, fleetingly or over time, even when he hasn't been at his best?
Legendary Figures
Rooney stands up to scrutiny against most that have come before him and can be considered one of the better players England have produced—that much shouldn't be in doubt.
Indeed, by the time Christmas of 2015 rolls around, he'll almost certainly be the nation's top scorer in the game's history, and by the Christmas of 2016—when Rooney will be 31 years of age—he'll likely have made more appearances for England than anybody else.
Against such numbers, iconic figures may be made. But those who reside in the halls of legends have altogether less tangible assets to their game, to their persona, to their history.
Scoring the fans to a live TV camera immediately after a match, by and large, does not fit in that territory. Nor do the early years of red cards, overly aggressive emotions or arguments with managers, much less the club-based transfer-request-new-contract sagas.
Perhaps it's a cultural thing, the way English fans look at their players differently from Brazilians, or from Americans, or from Estonians. Perhaps it's a modern-era thing, with now-culture and a daily feed of information; much of it clouded, needless or exaggerated.
Either way, Rooney hasn't the persona to unite a nation over something as simple as "should he start up front in a World Cup," let alone over whether he is a true legend of the country—and so, he cannot be one.
Even in the most recent past, his appointment as captain was met by disgust, disapproval and amusement by varying factions of national team onlookers.
One of England's top talents? Undeniably. In the record books? He certainly will be, quite possibly for all time. But a revered and inarguable hero of English football? A legend? It seems Rooney will always fall some way short
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