Wayne Rooney: The MLS Perspective

MLS journalist Joe Chatz gives Argyle Life the lowdown on Wayne Rooney's time in the USA at DC United.

By Joe Chatz // Image from DC United

Wayne Rooney’s stint  as head coach of Major League Soccer’s DC United was, simply put, not great. He was unable to get his side into the MLS Playoffs in 2022 or 2023 and was let go after his first full season in charge of the club that calls Audi Field home. 

In fact, Rooney’s name recognition was the only thing of note that he brought to DC United throughout his coaching tenure there, as he was forced to navigate a variety of issues both on and off the pitch.

He was relieved of his duties after the 2023 MLS season and nobody at the club was upset about it. I’m not really sure why anyone with Plymouth Argyle thinks anything will be different for them, especially given the club will have a much smaller budget than DC United had during Rooney’s tenure. 

What did Rooney arrive to?

When he arrived at DC United, Rooney inherited a squad in July 2022 that ended up finishing the season dead-last in Major League Soccer. He had to deal with the chaos of Taxiarchis Fountas that eventually led to the termination of the goalscorer’s contract in August 2023.

While he arrived at a club needing a project, in the MLS it isn’t difficult to reach the playoffs. Ultimately, he was unable to do so across both seasons at the club. 18 of 29 qualify for the playoffs each year and so finishing 28th and 23rd overall in two seasons is extremely unimpressive.

His arrival was greeted with excitement from all levels of Major League Soccer, simply because Rooney’s name helped in terms of marketing the league to a larger audience. This was especially true after the MLS signed a new broadcast deal with Apple ahead of the 2023 season.

What did he do at DC?

Rooney came back to DC and brought Ravel Morrison with him after the pair endured the off-field chaos that was Derby County, when they navigated a campaign that ended in relegation from the Championship in 2022. 

The first major move that Rooney made was to bring in former Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke on a salary of over $4,400,000 annually. He followed that up by signing former Leeds midfielder Mateus Klich on a transfer in the January 2023 transfer window. Lewis O’Brien also joined on a short-term loan that Rooney wasn’t able to extend to the end of the MLS season despite a desire to do so.

Despite a host of former or present Premier League players, Rooney’s league results remained sub-par and many in DC were frustrated to see him have the opportunity to finish out the season. This is despite actually improving the club’s results, with a 23rd place with 40 points in 2023, a 13-point improvement from 2022.

Rooney got a bit lucky because DC only dropped a single match in September 2023. He did help DC qualify for knockout rounds of the inaugural Leagues Cup tournament between Major League Soccer and Mexico’s Liga MX but they were eliminated on penalties in the Round of 32. 

What will he bring to Argyle?

Ultimately, he is still Wayne Rooney and he has shown that his voice can help in recruitment. Clearly there is still some draw to his name for some players.

However, one thing DC United had that Plymouth Argyle does not is a large budget. DC United’s 2023 wage bill was around double the 2023-2024 wage bill for Plymouth and is a the reason why he was able to sign bigger names such as Benteke and Klich.

Do I think it will work?

Absolutely not. Rooney has not shown he is a capable manager at any point during his coaching career. This is despite working at clubs that have much larger budgets than Plymouth Argyle, excluding Derby County during their time in administration.

The biggest issue when top-level footballers move into the manager’s box is that they struggle to create game plans that suit players that aren’t close to the level that the manager played at as a professional. Rooney’s skill set is not something that can be replicated but he’s continually tried to coach his players to play as he once did. That’s not sustainable for any team.

Also, do I think Rooney is in it for the long haul with Plymouth? I don’t. I’d expect him to jump at the first opportunity he has in management or perhaps even television, likely leaving the club high and dry in the process. 

Birmingham City got better once he left. D.C. United got better once Rooney left. Unless he recruits a few diamonds in the rough to push Argyle to the top-half of the Championship, it’s going to be another relegation battle and Rooney is unlikely to wait to see how it all finishes.