Rooney’s Redemption

Wayne Rooney has been a controversial figure with Evertonians since his departure in 2004. The boyhood blue turned his back on the club at the age of 18 to join United and endured a fractious relationship with the Goodison Park faithful. In recent times, he has led a revival of Everton’s form with 10 goals so far this season. He has been sorely missed over the last couple of games. We take a look at Rooney’s road to redemption.

Remember The Name?

When the young Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene there was a palpable air of excitement amongst Evertonians. His name had been whispered around Goodison in previous seasons. Could this young lad who was battering goals in for the youth teams really be that good? He rose to prominence in the 2002 FA Youth Cup scoring 8 goals including one in the final. It was in this game that he displayed the famous ‘Once a Blue Always a Blue’ t-shirt.

He made his debut against Tottenham in a 2-2 draw in August 2002 and made an instant impression. Strong, quick, skillful and with fantastic technique, Rooney had it all and Evertonians were excited. One of the top 3 prospects in world football was at Everton and he was a massive blue.

He scored his first goals for Everton against Wrexham in the league cup but had to wait to score in the league. He picked a heck of a game to do it in. Arsenal were a superb side at that time with Patrick Viera and Thierry Henry. The match was heading for a draw when it fell to Rooney 30 yards out. He took a touch to steady himself and curved a beautiful shot into the top corner past David Seaman. No-one would forget Rooney’s name after that strike. Afterwards, Arsene Wenger said “Rooney is the biggest England talent I’ve seen since I arrived in England.” Everyone would remember the name after that strike.

Led Astray, Taken Away

Rooney went on to score 6 goals for Everton that season as we just missed out on Uefa cup football. The following season was one of the worst in living memory. Senior players were rumoured to be unhappy with Moyes management and Everton plummeted down the table. Rooney expressed disgust after being substituted at Bolton. The season deteriorated and the players packed in. Despite Rooney’s 9 goals that season, Everton finished 17th, just above the relegation zone. The season finished with a with a 5-1 defeat to Manchester City. At the end of the game, Rooney lingered near the tunnel for a moment, looking back at the Evertonians. Within 4 months, he was gone.

After his controversial move to Manchester, Wayne Rooney had gone from being a potential Goodison God to a devil in the eyes of Evertonians. The feeling at the time was that the boyhood blue had left Everton in the lurch. The issue was not just the club that he had departed for, but also the timing of the move. Everton had one fit striker at the time and their biggest signing that summer was Tim Cahill for 1.5 million pound.

In delaying his transfer to the end of the window, Everton were forced to sell him for less money than they might have gotten for a once in a generational talent. David Moyes was unable to reinvest the money leaving Marcus Bent, Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson as the only strikers at the club. His actions seemed spiteful and only made his departure more painful for Evertonians.

Rooney the Red

Rooney’s relationship with Moyes had fractured in the previous season and his autobiography slated the Scotsman. He also did not mention Colin Harvey’s role in his development and Evertonians were hurt and angered by his stance. Rooney played against Everton twice that season. The first was a United win, 2 nil in the FA Cup. Rooney was backed by many United fans that day due to FA Cup rules but still received a fierce welcome.

The 2^nd game is one of Everton’s more famous games in the last 15 years. A Duncan Ferguson goal separated the sides and Rooney was given a fierce welcome home from Evertonians. The relationship between Rooney and the Everton faithful reached its nadir in 2008. After a foul by Rooney on crowd favourite Mikel Aretha, the Scouser kissed the United badge on his red shirt, incensing the Goodison crowd. He was substituted moments later to a crescendo of boos.

A Relationship Renewed

As the years went by, Rooney’s celebrations became more muted against Everton and the vitriol towards him decreased. The relationship thawed somewhat as time moved on. He was even seen at matches at Goodison Park with is son, perhaps paving the way for a return in future. Former players like David Unsworth stated their belief that he would one day wear the royal blue again. He had a couple of contract disputes at United but always signed a new contract with them on terms that Everton could not afford. As time went on, it looked like he would not be returning to Goodison before his career finished.

It was the testimonial of the goal scorer in that famous 1 nil win in 2005 that brought Rooney back to Goodison. Duncan Ferguson has remained close friends with Wayne Rooney. Big Dunc had been Rooney’s hero as a kid and when the Everton giant asked Rooney to play in his testimonial, he jumped at the chance. Rooney came on as a substitute in the 2^nd half and was instantly the best player on the pitch. A long range drive narrowly cleared the Gladys Street End crossbar. Unbelievably, the Street End sang his name as they had as a youngster. Whilst he didn’t score, his relationship with Evertonians was restarted that day.

Everton were the side he chose for his testimonial in his final season at United. When it became apparent that it would be last season, he stated that there were only 2 teams he would play for in English football. It was a thinly veiled come and get me message to Ronald Koeman who had already coyly expressed his interest. Could the dream return come true?

Rooney’s Return

In July 2017, Rooney completed an unlikely move back to Everton as Romelu Lukaku moved the other way. Rooney was delighted to be back but stressed that he was coming back to play to win a trophy. “I’m not coming into a retirement home. Winning trophies with Everton would be the pinnacle” he told press. Ronald Koeman was delighted with his signing. He believed Rooney’s experience as a key ingredient into the team he was building.

Rooney made a dream start to his 2^nd Everton career with a goal that could have been scripted in Hollywood. His clever movement got him onto the end of a cross by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, giving him the winner on his debut. Another smart finish followed against Manchester City.Unfortunately, things rapidly started to fall apart for Everton. Koeman’s other new signings were struggling and Rooney’s form dipped.

The Rooney Experience

Off the pitch, a foolish decision in the international break brought Rooney the wrong type of publicity. This surely affected his form with the constant scrutiny possibly leading to subdued performances. Koeman was sacked after a 5 2 defeat by Arsenal in which Rooney opened the scoring. Despite not starting every game, the boyhood blue has remained at the top of the scoring charts with Everton. He has matched the total of Lukaku, who he replaced the number 10 shirt. He has kept a cool head in some tense situations for Everton, with a late penalty against Brighton securing a point.

Whilst not possessing the pace and power of his early years at Goodison, Rooney’s skill, experience and composure have driven Everton on in recent weeks. His hat trick and goal of the month (season!) against West Ham were a display of that once in a generational talent. The composure and control of the third goal were exactly what Evertonians had dreamed about seeing in a blue shirt for years.

One of the big bugbears Evertonians had when Rooney left was that he had not scored against Liverpool. His first derby appearance had the Evertonians singing ‘Rooney’s gonna get yer’ To the Anfield tourists. Unfortunately, he did not score against Liverpool for Everton, and Everton did not win a derby with Rooney in their squad. It looked like that record of not scoring would continue until Dejan Lovren’s push on Calvert-Lewin. Rooney showed all of his composure to blast the ball down the middle and secure a morale boosting point for Everton. Goals against Newcastle and Swansea followed and took his season’s tally to 10 this season. This is his most productive year in an Everton shirt.

Rooney the Leader

Whilst he is not the player he was, Rooney is still vital to Everton’s ambitions this season. Now a central midfielder, Rooney possesses vision and a passing range which would be the envy of most Premier League players. His contract is for 2 years and with players such as Lookman, Davies and Calvert Lewin around him, he can be a strong influence on their development. On the pitch, Rooney is capable any moment of a moment in every game that has you rise up from your seat. The leadership that he has shown in recent weeks and his celebration at Anfield have shown that it matters to Rooney. Perhaps he regrets leaving all those years ago.

Rooney Redeemed?

For this Evertonian, Rooney is redeeming himself. There are still thoughts about what might have been. The overhead kick against City should have been in blue against Liverpool. The angry volley into the top corner against Newcastle should have been at Goodison. The trophies he lifted as United captain should have been as Everton captain. He should have been spoken about alongside Dixie Dean and Alan Ball, not Ryan Giggs and Bobby Charlton. If he can lead Everton to a cup win, those ‘what ifs’ will fade and Wayne Rooney will find redemption at Everton.

He still has time. Let’s hope he has one more trophy in him on his road to redemption.

 

Has Wayne Rooney redeemed himself? Have you forgiven him for his departure to United? Let us know in the comments below.