WAYNE ROONEY AND THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES

In the 19th-century fairy tale “The Emperor's New Clothes,” Danish author Hans Christian Andersen tells the story of an emperor who is duped by two weavers into wearing clothes that are “invisible to any one who was unfit for the office he held, or was incorrigibly stupid.” Afraid to be labeled incompetent, none of the emperor's ministers or servants will admit they cannot see the clothes. The emperor's own pride and vanity send him parading naked down the street until he comes upon a boy who speaks up about the invisible suit.
The tumultuous couple of days at Manchester United’s camp weren't a fairy tale, but it has all the connotations of one. The abject effrontery shown to the management, owners, players and fans was one chapter in the club's history that every fan would like to forget in a hurry. Long before Wayne Rooney, the club, under the ethically inclined Scot, Sir Alex Ferguson, has recorded analogous trends of star players leaving under acrimonious circumstances.
Paul Ince had set the stage in 1995, when, after a fall-out with Ferguson, he demanded an exit. The gaffer famously laughed off Incey’s departure, asserting that he has more than competent replacement in the holding midfield role in Nicky Butt and Roy Keane. The latter went on to establish himself as one of the finest midfielders in the history of the English Premier League and led the club to that momentous treble in 1999.
Wayne Rooney was taken under the wings of Ferguson at a tender age of 18; he was on the verge of joining Newcastle from Everton in 2004 when United swooped a coup, a payback to the Magpies, vis-à-vis the Alan Shearer situation eight years earlier. The lad quickly won over the fans, especially after his vibrant debut, scoring a remarkable hat trick against Galatasaray, and formed a formidable partnership with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Even by his standards, he could not instantaneously change the club’s last period of relative decline after 2004. Ferguson recounted that ‘a player (Roy Keane I would like to presume) said to me Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were not good enough and he wasn't prepared to wait. Ferguson went on to articulate ‘that is the problem with potential, people don't identify potential. If Ferguson has failed to identify the potential in Cristiano and Rooney, the duo won't have excelled, and the club would have been the loser.
Under the tutelage of Ferguson, Rooney has gone on to mature into one of the best strikers in Europe. He had a fabulous season in 2009/2010 marred only by the unfortunate injury picked against Bayern Munich in March; to this day he is yet to recover from the traumatic and psychological effect of that injury.
Just like they got his maelstromic private life spot on, the English press began to spread troubling rumours of a row between Rooney and Ferguson, suggesting that the striker is poised to move on. Rooney chose Wednesday, the very day United were to host Bursaspor, to affirm he really wish to leave. As a professional player he has all the right to choose where to ply his trade, but the reason he gave was what rocked the club and the fans. His claim that the club is no more ambitious or attracting world-class players that will guarantee winning silverware is preposterous to say the least.
The torrent of backlash that unfounded tittle-tattle attracted has seemingly played a huge part in Rooney’s subsequent retraction of his stance. The entirety of United fans all over the world dispelled Rooney’s baloney and believed that with or without him the team will go on, just as it went on even with the departure of Paul Ince, Eric Cantona, Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane. As Ferguson made his entrance on Wednesday night, he received a rapturous standing ovation, a clear testimony that the fans are solidly behind him, no matter what. After the slim but comfortable victory over the Turkish team, Ferguson told reporters the team would be intact even without Rooney: ‘the structure of the club is good. We have the right staff, the right manager, a brilliant chief executive. There is not a thing wrong with Manchester United’.
The most luscious criticism of Rooney’ cataclysmic statement came from Blackpool’s witty manager, Ian Holloway. He condemned his ingratitude in the strongest of terms: ‘Manchester United have helped Wayne Rooney’s career massively on and off the field. The manager, the club itself, has invested in him. They bought him for massive amounts of money as a young man and they have helped him blossom into a player he is’.
Former United skipper, Roy Keane, who himself left Old Trafford after falling out with Ferguson, believes any player should jump at the chance to play for Manchester United. ‘Players have opinions and if they want to leave then good luck to them, Man United will more than survive’.
Keane went on to say ‘if any player ever asked me, and one or two have, if they had a chance of signing for Man United I would tell them to do it and they won’t regret it. I was there for twelve and half years. I love every minute of every day playing for that club, every minute of every day’.
The very suggestion of Rooney leaving United was surprising, I can recollect him telling BBC’s Dan Walker in November 2009 ‘I love the club and I am really happy…the very thought of leaving the club has never entered my mind’. Almost a year to the day, a combination of Manchester City’s reckless spending spree, Glazer’s financial plumage, youthful exuberance, and the brinkmanship of avaricious silver-haired agent, Paul Stretford, led to Rooney’s first change of mind. His second change of mind came on Friday afternoon after the announcement of the turn-around of events, after all of us have written Rooney off and have started to anticipate for his replacement, that Rooney has agreed to sign a new 5-year contract worth a basic £160,000/week, plus inceptives that could see him earn in excess of £200,000/week should United win another Premier League or Champions’ League title.
Alex Ferguson did confirm Rooney has apologise to him and the players, but to get back any semblance of admiration, he has to apologise to the fans who had revered him all through. The fans were incensed by the proposition that he might join the ‘noisy neighbours’ Man City. The very prospect of that calamity happening apparently made 40 irate balaclava-clad rabble to descend on Rooney’s Cheshire mansion only to be chased away by the police. A banner hoisted at Old Trafford on Wednesday night perfectly depicted the fans’ anger and planned retribution: ‘Collen has forgiven you. We won’t’. Also, graffiti outside a supermarket in Manchester dared Rooney to join City: ‘Join City and you’re death’. Hmm.
The prospectus saga has now been put to bed, but the wound it created will take sometime to heal. While blaming Rooney for taking that bold stance, for condemning his teammate's ability to deliver, we should take a moment to lament on Glazer’s handling of the club. The Glazer family has done more harm than good to the club; they have helped turn the club's £100 million operating profit into an £80 million loss. This financial meltdown, if left unchecked, is very likely to plunge the once-burgeoning club into downward spiral.
When Wayne Rooney celebrates his 25th birthday this Sunday at a marquee party in the grounds of his £4.5 million Cheshire mansion, the champagne will taste sweeter than ever. But his adoration by the fans will remain tainted, if not forever, for a very long time to come.