So what felled Great Britain in the 2010 World Cup? It wasn't the blown call that denied them a first-half goal against the mighty Germans. It wasn't their goalkeeper's sloppily played fielding of that trickle of an American shot which resulted in a draw with the U.S. and ultimately kept them from winning their group.
Nope, what did the British in was the inexplicable disappearance of their all-everything striker, Wayne Rooney (see photo at right). The chap who not only led Manchester United, but led the European world with 30 goals in international competition this past year, came up empty in South Africa. Zero goals. Nada. Bupkis.
Members of the media and football fans alike could sense something wasn't right. As England fanatic Ian Simmington puts it, "I could feel it in the air tonight. Rooney misses again. Oh Lord." Tabloid reporters could not believe it was true. And despite repeated questions, Rooney himself had no reply at all.
The reason Wayne Rooney wasn't himself during the Cup, was because it wasn't him at all. Blame the British management and their last-minute decision to replace him with Phil Collins (see photo below).
As if no one would notice! Just look at the statistics. Last season Rooney scored 26 goals in 32 games for United. Collins, in contrast. didn't even enter a single Premier League match. FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009-10, the English striker has won three Premeir League titles, two League Cups and the 2008 UEFA Champions League trophy. Enough, one would think, to have been selected over the long-time Genesis drummer whose only substitution came in 1975 when lead singer Peter Gabriel removed himself from the progressive rock quintet.
Someone needs to take responsibility for this egregiously poor decision. If heads don't roll within England's football hierarchy, they can't expect success in Brazil four years from now. As Collins himself so aptly put it, "If you don't stand up, you don't stand a chance."
No comments:
Post a Comment