rooney_shouting

The images of Rooney, shouting and berating his own players in the last game has prompted much debate – but I see it as a positive and think it will be one of the turning points in our season.

With a defence that has so many holes in it, it is reminiscent of Swiss cheese – it was the cause of a comfortable lead turning into a defeat – then it’s a captain’s God-given right to make his feelings known. Fans and players alike look to their leader in situations like this and all too often they are met with a shrug of the shoulders, an apologetic hand raised or a head focusing on the ground to avoid eye contact with team mates.

Not this time. Last season we were crying out for passion from the players – this season we got it. The moaners aren’t opposed to Rooney’s reaction, they are sore with the result.

The fact is, Rooney was fully focused on the game from the very start. The concentration and determination was evident from his Roy Keane-like stare in the tunnel as he was about to lead out his team. He is all too aware that the squad drastically underperformed last season and is a man looking to make amends.

This is the second season that players have had to adapt to new tactics, formations and style of play so they can’t be expected to go out and play as fluidly as they did in 2012-2013. For a start, five of the first team were summer signings and they need time to gel together as a unit. We will get beaten this season by teams who play better than us on the day, but on Sunday we beat ourselves and that’s clearly what irked Rooney.

Keano spent most of every game shouting at his own players – even when we scored it was common for him to still be having a go at someone during the celebrations. This was due to his fear of failure and he did everything he could to prevent that. Rooney is a very different player but he is now in the prime of his career and his fear of failure is coming to the fore. Lifting premiership trophies was almost commonplace under Sir Alex, but Rooney knows that he needs to inspire and motivate the team back to a level where we can even be considered challengers again.

Last season was a wake-up call – but one that we dozed off after. Last Sunday, however, was the final time we hit the snooze button. It’s zero tolerance from her in otherwise we’re in for another nightmare.

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