Wayne Rooney is overrated.
Good that we have all cleared up. Before his supporters start sharpening the pitchforks, let me just explain before your blood boils over the limit. By me calling him overrated is not saying that he is a rubbish player, of course not, that title belongs to the likes of Van Persie and Fred. Wayne is a good footballer, not sure that can be said the way he's currently playing for United, but the way people talk of him so highly is wrong and it also does more harm than good for the progression of English football.
It does not matter how many goals Rooney has scored, or whether he has broken any scoring records. His performances at the Euros and World Cups should be the main focus. After all, the last time I actually checked on this, you don't win any medals from qualifying for either a World or Euros. This is the winning business and the only language that I understand are medals and trophies. By making any noise whatsoever about him passing Charlton's record, is not forcing England's FA and the country as a whole to try and work towards improving their team in order to win said trophy. The only conversation and reporting being had should be what needs to be done to perform better at tournaments and actually reach a semi-final which is something they haven't achieved since 1990. Dedicating ANY coverage to Rooney's tally against part-timers and bricklayers just makes England look very bad in the eyes of the world.
Netherlands are actually in a similar position to England, even though on face value it may appear worse. Both countries have current squads that are seriously lacking in quality and are just not up to the standard of what would be needed to even think about winning a Euros. Only difference is Holland have one of the best players in the world with Robben whilst England don't have any world-class personnel and....they still have Hodgson as their manager. Netherlands still have lot of work to do to get their football back on track, but they are in a slightly better position than England. Even if all the Three Lions are fitter than six golden fiddles, they are not going anywhere near a semi-final and...they still have Hodgson as their manager.
The English public are slowly agreeing to have at least a few slices of the rather nice humble pie. No longer do they beat their chests and claim to be favorites before entering a competition. Thankfully, they realize that they are no longer an elite team and don't even consider themselves doing anything of note come a tournament. But they should take it one step further, and shut down any kind of praise that comes Rooney's way for breaking the record because it is completely and utterly meaningless in the grand scheme of things. How do you champion a supposed "star" who has only managed to score ONE World Cup goal in THREE attempts?
For England's benefit, the quicker they start putting the focus on Wilshere, Chamberlain and Barkley, the better chance they have of at least being competitive. Just like with Holland who need to move past Sneijder and Van Persie, England have to expunge Rooney as he's yesterday news. Maybe he can still play a role, but having him as captain meaning that he has to start will be detrimental to England. I am still trying to find the last great individual performance that he had in an England jersey at the Euros or in a World Cup.
Unfortunately, the English can be very stubborn and stuck in their ways. They would rather keep losing with their philosophy than try and change to keep up with the modern game. That's why young English kids with great talent, turn to street football rather than plying their skills in 11-a-side. The current English setup under Hodgson just isn't fun and exciting enough to take part in. After all, this isn't going out to war or saving lives...this is trying to get a ball inside a fishnet, and therefore enjoyment of the game has to be an important part. Once people are actually having fun playing the sport and aren't allowed to express themselves, they will simply go somewhere else to get their fix.
Ditch Rooney, bring in the youth, change the culture of football in the country, and then England can start to make important strides towards winning a Euros...or even a World Cup.
HH
