Wayne Rooney: It just might work.
Cobi Budge looks at some of the positive elements of Wayne Rooney's appointment as Head Coach, amid concerns from Argyle fans.
By Cobi Budge
Mr Wayne Rooney. Manchester United maestro. England superstar. Global footballing icon. And now? The new Plymouth Argyle Head Coach.
It’s been 50-something days since a 1-nil defeat to Bristol City ended Ian Foster’s tenure at Home Park, and since then we’ve been talking about a number of potential candidates. Former Sheffield United gaffer Paul Heckingbottom? Lincoln City’s Michael Skubala? Former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior? Perhaps a manager from abroad? Nobody was expecting us to appoint Wayne Rooney. But here we are.
I’d like to try and convince you that this unlikely alliance may just work.
So in the words of the famous journalist Fabrizio Romano - who is now reporting on Argyle himself - here we go!
The Neil Dewsnip Connection
The Neil Dewsnip connection is obvious. The two Evertonians go back a long way. There are those who want to frame this as being a bad thing. But the truth is, whoever we appoint is going to have to be able to work with the Director of Football. Rooney has been named the new Argyle “Head Coach” rather than “Manager”. This might suit him. I can see him being content with the Head Coach role, at least for a while. He might need that to help hone his coaching skills.
The Need for a Project
Let’s consider what Rooney actually wants. He appears to want a project. He said as much in a recent interview. People are levelling criticism at him for the jobs that he did at Derby County and Birmingham City. But in both cases, there are mitigating circumstances that get ignored.
Derby were in financial turmoil for a lot of the time that Rooney was there. The players weren’t getting paid, nor was he. It was a far from ideal situation. Then, at Birmingham he was on a hiding to nothing after John Eustace was oddly sacked. Birmingham’s owners put pressure on Rooney to get the team playing a certain way, but then didn’t even give him a transfer window to bring in the players required for the team to play that way. I’m not saying that he did well at either club, but there are reasons that suggest he was on a hiding to nothing.
John Percy of the Telegraph recently reported that the Argyle board were looking for someone with experience. I’ve covered the fact that he didn’t do particularly well at Derby or Birmingham, but it’s still “experience”, and I’d hope he’s learnt a lot. It’s also worth noting that Rooney has spent the entirety of his playing and managerial career in and around professional club environments (contrary to Ian Foster). He has played in the Championship, he has managed in the Championship, and that will hopefully stand him in good stead.
Money and Motivation
I’d like to talk about money and motivation as well. I’ve seen a few comments from people which seem to suggest that we’re going to have to pay Rooney a fortune. I don’t think that’s true. Wayne Rooney is a very wealthy man. I highly doubt that money is going to be a motivating factor for him. It would be quite easy for Rooney, given his experiences at Derby and Birmingham, to say no.
He could take the easy option and remain as a pundit, spend his days playing golf, holidays abroad, go and sit on sunny beaches. But he doesn’t want that. He wants to be a successful manager and he is prepared to come to the most southwesterly club in the UK to prove it.
The Rooney Pull
What about his ability to attract players? There’s still something to be said for “Playing under Wayne Rooney”. Players, in particularly younger players, will want to sign for him. It might make Jimmy Dickinson’s (Head of Recruitment) job easier. Rooney will undoubtedly have a good book of contacts, could we get a few gems on loan from Manchester United?
I’ll also going to tag potential investment onto this point. It is likely that having Wayne Rooney as our Head Coach will make us more attractive to investors – whether they’d be the right type of investors, well we can debate that until the cows come home. Regardless, current rumours suggest that’s something to watch out for in the very near future.
Underrated Intelligence
Wayne Rooney might be smarter than you think he is. I chuckled a little writing that, but it’s true. I think people are guilty of a little bit of unconscious bias here. Just because someone looks or sounds a certain way, that doesn’t tell you everything about them. I implore you to take an hour of your day to go and watch the Stick to Football podcast on the Overlap (the episode featuring Wayne Rooney). I’ll let you make up your own mind, but I thought he came across really well.
Furthermore, I’ve seen a few comments regarding Rooney’s character that I think may be unfair. I doubt those making them have ever met Wayne Rooney. I certainly haven’t. I have no idea what he’s like. He was a global superstar for a time. There aren’t many global superstars who haven’t committed a transgression or two at some point during their career.
Wayne Rooney actually helped to pay Derby’s players out of his own pocket when they were struggling, that’s a pretty great thing to do, right? Don’t we love Peter Reid for doing similar when we were in trouble? Another Evertonian, by the way!
Tapping into his Playing Days
Who can deny that Wayne Rooney was a brilliant footballer? OK, this is probably the least relevant point because I’m more than aware that other top footballers have gone on to flop as managers. But he really was. He displayed a high footballing IQ as both a forward and in midfield. The fact he was a striker for most of his career might also make him more inclined to play the attacking football that we all crave.
The Football on Offer
Talking of attacking football, earlier I mentioned that Birmingham’s owners wanted Rooney to play a certain brand of football. He was on board with that. That brand consisted of high creativity, high risk and high reward football. I’d argue that is what we are good at, that is what made us successful under Steven Schumacher. It’s certainly what fans craved to see again during the short-lived Foster era.
Remind me of the song that Millwall fans sing? Ah, yes. “No-one likes us, we don’t care”. I often think for a club to overachieve, you need to have a siege mentality. Sometimes, it helps when you aren’t liked. Neutral supporters and the media will be closely watching us, almost hoping we slip up. Could that work in our favour? Could we run that little bit harder? That little bit faster? It’s a possibility.
The Interview Process
I’d also like to touch on the recruitment and interview process itself, and there are two parts to interviewing a candidate for a job. The first part is to analyse the candidate’s history/record, this is probably an area in which Rooney fell down, at least in comparison to someone like Paul Heckingbottom (who was reportedly interviewed alongside him).
But the second part is to analyse and dig into the candidate’s plans for the future. I think it’s reasonable to assume that this is the part of the process where Rooney excelled. Simon Hallett has said that Rooney demonstrated a “real plan on how to lead the football club forward.” That plan will be our blueprint, and that plan was enough to convince the board that Rooney is the right man. Whatever that plan entails, I’m looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.
Ultimately, the truth is that Wayne Rooney has to succeed as Plymouth Argyle Head Coach. If he wants to make a career as a manager, this could be it. This might well be his final chance. He’ll be invested and he’ll be driven to ensure the continuity of his career. That is a powerful thing, don’t underestimate it.
It’s time to get behind him.
What do you think of Argyle's appointment as Head Coach?
Happy? Concerned? Excited?
Just watched that episode of The Overlap you recommended - very interesting and illuminating. WR is clearly a thoughtful, intelligent man with ambition. I can see him getting on particularly well with the chairman and directors as well as staff and players. He’s down to earth, modest and clearly very hard-working - great qualities. He’s humble enough to say he realises that his playing credentials mean nothing in terms of being a manager and that if necessary he would drop down to a league 1 or 2 club to gain the necessary experience. That impressed me. Just thinking about the various managers he’s worked with though as a player - what a list! If he only picked up a little of what they had to offer he’s got the perfect grounding for a successful management career. Good luck WR - I really hope you succeed.