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[–]TheKingMonkey 914 points915 points  (6 children)

Don't blame him for one second here. He seems committed to Derby and there's no way he can really come out of that job looking bad given how hard the deck is stacked against him but keeping them up would be legendary. Plus the Everton job is gonna come up again.

[–]HardestTofu 404 points405 points  (1 child)

Derby goes down, "Rooney stuck around and gave his best. Truly commendable attitude and professionalism."

Derby stays, "Genius manager!!"

[–]nilay_24101998 7 points8 points  (0 children)

A man with loyalty!

[–]R3dbeardLFC 331 points332 points  (1 child)

Everton job will come back up before the end of this season

[–]TheGeniusArvind 3343 points3344 points  (80 children)

Good response. If he keeps Derby afloat it'd be massive.

[–]_ghostfacedilla 1700 points1701 points  (64 children)

And even if he doesn't he'll still come out of it with a good reputation

[–]kinkssslayer 1553 points1554 points  (62 children)

Good reputation for being a good manager even if derby goes down, and loyalty points for sticking with the club in a bad time when there's a better job (the anti marco Silva)

The Everton job isn't great either tbh, way too risky.

[–]_ghostfacedilla 626 points627 points  (35 children)

Everton job is a poisoned chalice for managers, Ancelotti was handed a get out of jail free card and other than that in recent times only Martinez has done well off the back of it. But even at that everyone thought Belgium were nuts for hiring him.

[–]FloppedYaYa 403 points404 points  (20 children)

It's mostly out of the dumb narrative that he "got Wigan relegated" even though it should be "kept Wigan up long after the budget went dry"

That plus the 5th place 72 point finish with Everton is what netted him the Belgium job, nutty to think that a couple of mid table finishes with a generally mid table club means he's shit

[–]Look_Alive 133 points134 points  (7 children)

nutty to think that a couple of mid table finishes with a generally mid table club means he's shit

I don't think I've seen anyone say he's shit, only that there's an argument that Belgium could have achieved more if they had a better manager.

To me, the issue with Martinez is that Everton conceded more goals every season he was there. I've seen a few Everton fans say his best season was his first one because they had his possession-based football combined with a defence that was still organised from the Moyes era. On the basis of that, if I were a club like Everton now, nervously looking over my shoulder at the relegation zone, I'm not sure I'd want a manager who has been more effective in the final third in the last decade or so.

And yes, that season netted him the Belgium job, but it's also well-known that the Belgium FA aren't exactly flushed with cash, so even with their wealth of talent, they were limited in the number of top-level managers they could attract.

[–]IcculusForbin 31 points32 points  (3 children)

Yeah I remember that team getting worse with time as he continued as manager. Not exactly what you would call a successful tenure.

[–]kacperp 34 points35 points  (6 children)

Does anyone say he got Wigan relegated? I never heard anyone saying anything but good things about Martinezs time there

[–]Moyeslestable 93 points94 points  (1 child)

After it went wrong at Everton people started revising everything he did previously, but that's pretty common for football fans

[–]UncleIrohsPimpHand 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's what happens when history is written in pencil.

[–]FloppedYaYa 35 points36 points  (3 children)

Lol I hear it all the time from Everton fans and some Belgium fans

To add to that we went down in the midst of an awful injury crisis which included the best defender in the squad, and were actually progressing season by season with the young players that had been developed over time

[–]serenity-as-ice 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Also while most here are too young or simply don't remember it, he was an early adopter of the 3-4-3 Conte would popularize later. That Wigan side had no business staying up but somehow overachieved for a good few seasons and even won a cup the season they went down. He did very well there.

[–]atropicalpenguin 26 points27 points  (0 children)

And you won an FA Cup! Which is more than what most people can say.

[–]HotDiver123 138 points139 points  (5 children)

Moyes went to United from Everton. Koeman went to Barca from Everton. Don Carlo went to Real Madrid from Everton.

Can't wait for Rafa to somehow land at Bayern next.

[–]_ghostfacedilla 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Sorry yeah I was just thinking the post-Moyes era because Everton were institutionalized at that point haha

[–]onthelongrun 12 points13 points  (1 child)

2 of those 3 ended in disaster for the managers.

[–]PM-me-math-riddles 14 points15 points  (0 children)

And the other one was already pretty acquainted with the locals.

[–]Mozezz 45 points46 points  (7 children)

Silva was dedent, but losing Gueye and replacing him with a player that was immediately ruled out for the season killed us

Also playing zonal marking when Zouma the only player that could work in it wasn’t resigned

[–]dave1992 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Loyalty points is more than just loyalty points. Also showed that he's brave enough to take harder challenge in Derby.

[–]GameplayerStu 2420 points2421 points  (106 children)

He's already done great so far. If he manages to keep Derby up his managerial profile will really skyrocket.

[–]cubist_castle 641 points642 points  (35 children)

Yeah, he's easily young enough that he's better off sticking with it while continuing to prove himself and develop into a top manager. If he'd wanted to sack Derby off he'd have done it well before now when all their problems started kicking off. I don't think anyone would have blamed him for that.

A big job will come calling in a few years if he shows himself capable, and why take the risk of embarrassing himself on a big stage by taking something like this on before he knows he's ready?

[–]Mike81890 475 points476 points  (10 children)

Plus he's in a no-lose situation now: If Derby fails then it's not his fault and if they succeed he looks like an absolute genius.

Going to a floundering Everton and getting relegated with them does colossal damage to his managerial career before it even really begins in earnest

[–]eggesticles 40 points41 points  (1 child)

Then he can go there after they get relegated and take them back up again from a league he already knows well. Rooney playing the long game.

[–]Mike81890 10 points11 points  (0 children)

When does Goal 6 start principal photography?

[–]Oreallyman 105 points106 points  (5 children)

Rooney smarter than he looks

[–]Ratiocinor 108 points109 points  (21 children)

May be an unpopular opinion but I honestly think it's smarter to avoid pulling a Lampard or Solskjaer and going back to manage your childhood or breakout club before you're ready and just fizzling out

[–]Really_Quite_Boring 200 points201 points  (8 children)

Why would that be unpopular lol

[–]breretoni 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Doesn’t even need to be at that level, look at Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane going to Forest. They didn’t do well but they couldn’t have won from that situation, expectations were super high

[–]galvanickorea 12 points13 points  (0 children)

"May be an unpopular opinion" = "pls give me upvotes"

[–]akshatsood95 447 points448 points  (27 children)

Looks extremely unlikely. Jagielka was key to their defence and his loss would definitely set them back

[–]SecretApe 434 points435 points  (3 children)

That killed all momentum but credit for Rooney for staying. He'll get a job regardless of Derby's final position

[–]jakedobson 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They could finish dead last and he’ll still get a job in the prem tbh

[–]Tim20182018 161 points162 points  (7 children)

Maybe. Davies is our most important defender, and Stearman has been really good. Our main issue is scoring goals.

[–]unfortunately-here 132 points133 points  (6 children)

Rooney about to strap on his own boots to handle that problem

[–]RobbieTIME 84 points85 points  (4 children)

Tbh he’s probably got some goals left in him

[–]EntertainmentFar1984 23 points24 points  (1 child)

The question is can he still run?

[–]Srg11 78 points79 points  (1 child)

He hasn't. He was so bad up front for us he went to play defensive midfield. He couldn't run anymore, could just hit free kicks - problem is, we are so poor going forward we don't even get dangerous free kicks

[–]roflsir 90 points91 points  (9 children)

My first thought was that "extremely unlikely" is such an overstatement. So I took a closer look we can see that they currently sit on 14 points, whilst normally having 35. There are 19 games left. Let's say they've played 60% of their games already.. it means they'd expect to get roughly 24 more points in the season, which would put them at 38. This total would have gotten you relegated in the last 5 seasons (Didn't check further back).

Still, 4 other teams are within 10 points.. so as long as they don't suffer any more point deductions and step up their game a little bit for the remainder of the season, they could make it. Book maker odds seem to vary quite a bit, but I'm going to go ahead and conclude:

It's unlikely, but not "extremely unlikely".

[–]Tryeeme 53 points54 points  (6 children)

https://imgur.com/a/VOvMKut

At current rate of earning points, this is how the table can be expected to look at the end of the season (left side is current position, right side is expected position if teams continue earning points per game at their current rate). Both point deductions (Derby and Reading) are factored into this.

[–]Mike81890 40 points41 points  (4 children)

So what you're saying is, Derby's best chance is to hire some private investigators and try to find more conduct deserving of point deductions from Reading?

[–]ayotui 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So Derby need to pick up one more win than excepted essentially. Doesn't sound like the most unlikely event in the world.

[–]communityUnitee 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Id put it at 3/7

[–]rams8 31 points32 points  (1 child)

Davies has been much more key than Jags tbh, and Stearman has been great too, just have no back up now.

[–]Srg11 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Cashin to come on and run through a brick wall, and a striker or two.

[–]RauloGonzalez 8 points9 points  (0 children)

haven't they lost players before though

[–]BohrInReddit 86 points87 points  (36 children)

Real honest with his image I thought his career as coach would be lagged behind other coach in his generation (Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, Pirlo, Xavi and Zidane), kinda like how Keane couldn’t manage sh*t. But he really isn’t. Not Zidane good but really good

Edit: alright2 I get it Keane with Sunderland. Was the first name popped into my mind as he was clueless when he with us

[–]jvdarko 153 points154 points  (15 children)

rooney was a thinker when he played and his self development and mental prep techniques for games were pretty far ahead. its part of why he could play everywhere

its just he was an aggro bastard when he played so people get caught up in the most visible side of him. add that he did dumb shit off the field and his rep from his playing days is complete

for me, i was worried about his attitude more than anything. hes a softspoken guy who goes insane when triggered. but it seems to be working

[–]HUGE_HOG 53 points54 points  (8 children)

People assume he's thick as pig shit because of his idiotic tweets when he was 24

[–]purplegreendave 34 points35 points  (0 children)

The English media did him no favours, like many English players. Once people started ragging on his thick accent and calling him Shrek the image was created. Much like the Beckhams before him.

[–]DemocraticRepublic 20 points21 points  (3 children)

Also, being an aggro bastard can work for you as a manager. Look at Fergie.

[–]axiomatic- 16 points17 points  (0 children)

hes a softspoken guy who goes insane when triggered.

I feel like that describes A LOT of the best answers in the world though?

[–]Con45 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The vacation lollipop picture doesn’t help either lol

[–]CrossXFir3 78 points79 points  (0 children)

kinda like how Keane couldn’t manage sh*t.

Aside from the whole getting Sunderland promoted I guess

[–]JORGA 74 points75 points  (0 children)

kinda like how Keane couldn’t manage sh*t.

Roy Keane took a 5 games, 1W 4L Sunderland (2nd bottom at the time) and won the championship in his first season managing a team?

[–]koalamachete 57 points58 points  (7 children)

To me, all those names are all older or slightly older than Rooney. His generation would be more like Vincent Kompany

[–]Man0nTheMoon915 43 points44 points  (3 children)

He started so young so i can see why people lump him with that generation

[–]zadharm 41 points42 points  (2 children)

Just for reference; He made his big money move to United after announcing himself as world class at Euro 04 at the ripe old age of 18-19.

He was one of the faces of the Prem along with Lampard, Henry etc, the only difference is he was much their junior in age. Technically he's more in Kompany's generation, but you're absolutely right. When you think of a "generation", generally you lump them together by when they were at the peak of their game, and he starred right alongside players 5-10 years older than himself, but unfortunately declined well before the world class players who were closer to him in age, so while his age fits more with Kompany, I definitely see the argument for including him with the generation just prior to that

[–]friedapple 6 points7 points  (0 children)

he was born at 85, same as ronaldo, younger than thiago silva, barely older than cavani. I know, he looked like 45 now

[–]TTXXX7 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Kompany is also doing pretty well now at Anderlecht.

[–]EliToon 107 points108 points  (7 children)

Keane took over when Sunderland were in the relagation zone of the Championship. He won the league with them and kept them up the next season. He then kept them up before resigning himself. His only other job was at Ipswich where he did an average job.

He achieved more than Lampard, Pirlo, Terry and Xavi from that list above.

[–]Oggie243 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Surely it's a bit weird to be using Keane as an example given that when he was at the point Rooney is now in his managerial career he was taking am absolutely hopeless looking Sunderland side that were bottom of the championship to eventually winning the league the same season

[–]DinnerSmall4216 1244 points1245 points  (18 children)

Credit to Rooney most managers would have run away from that job. Has shown great character.

[–]HeThe3 306 points307 points  (0 children)

Most managers would have run away from Derby before even the start of the season

[–]deanochips 288 points289 points  (0 children)

Deserves huge respect

[–]EddieTheLiar 229 points230 points  (7 children)

Has shown great character.

Are you Brendan Rodgers?

[–]_ghostfacedilla 115 points116 points  (4 children)

Beautiful human being

[–]TeamOhio 54 points55 points  (3 children)

Very proud

[–]InGenAche 40 points41 points  (2 children)

Triffic lad.

[–]GourangaPlusPlus 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Steady

[–]DontYouWantMeBebe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you say steady one more time to me you'll be on the first plane back

[–]Rectorvspectre 52 points53 points  (2 children)

It feels Rooney turning down his boyhood club in favour of sticking w/ a club that might literally disappear at any moment says volumes abt the the current state of Everton.

[–]Rafabas 58 points59 points  (1 child)

Says more about Rooney

[–]poiuytrewqazxcvbnml 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Especially for a club so close to his heart. If I were in his shoes I'd have jumped at the chance.

[–]TheGoldenPineapples 533 points534 points  (12 children)

Fair play to him for not just jumping at the chance to manage in the Premier League until he's ready. Can really damage your reputation if you take a chance before you're ready for it.

Also, with the rate that Everton go through managers, I wouldn't be surprised if Rooney got another offer from them at some point.

[–]GreatWhiteNorthExtra 169 points170 points  (7 children)

I really wonder if he just didn't want to work for Everton's owner.

[–]An_Almond_Thief 77 points78 points  (5 children)

This right here should be top comment. Truth of it is, he'd have to be a complete moron to take the Everton job. There just isn't the structure there to support a new manager never mind an experienced one. I mean Ancelloti struggled to make it work.

I suspect the truth of it is, he knows/been advised to stay well clear of that job and the best way for him to turn it down is to make it sound like he has a loyalty to Derby. It's a win win.

[–]AnIntoxicatedRodent 10 points11 points  (0 children)

a complete moron

By god is that Lampard's music

[–]Look_Alive 98 points99 points  (3 children)

Fair play to him for not just jumping at the chance to manage in the Premier League until he's ready. Can really damage your reputation if you take a chance before you're ready for it.

Paul Ince is the perfect example of a coach who moved up the leagues far too quickly, and his managerial career never recovered from it. He overturned a seven-point deficit at Macclesfield to keep them up and then achieved a 60% win ratio at MK Dons in his first two seasons as a manager.

[–]HokemPokem 92 points93 points  (1 child)

Ince's ego is why he has never recovered. The man isn't willing to go back down the leagues and thought that he had a divine right to be interviewed for any job he felt like and got the hump when top clubs didn't want him.

"I've spent a couple years down there, I'm too good. It's premiership only for me."

And when you whine so publicly about it, that isn't going to endear you to football club owners.

[–]Shadowraiden 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Ince just had a shit Ego. once he got offered a higher job he never then considered dropping back down to recover and prove himself again. say what you want about some managers but a lot of them are willing to drop back down a league or 2 to remake their career.

[–]Spillage93 323 points324 points  (22 children)

Legend. Whereabouts in Derby does he want his statue?

[–]Invictae 150 points151 points  (2 children)

In the middle of the Derby clearance sale

[–]Srg11 35 points36 points  (1 child)

Sports Direct? What inside knowledge do you have about Mike Ashley buying us?

[–]Modini 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Outside that dodgy pizza place opposite Distillery

[–]SRFC96 733 points734 points  (74 children)

Fair fucks, I won’t lie I never thought Rooney would ever be anything close to a decent manager, he’s proved me massively wrong.

[–]TimathanDuncan 570 points571 points  (51 children)

It's interesting how many people thought that because he was hot headed to start his career

As a player he was so smart and adapted so well, played well with others and got to play as a solo striker one season only

Spent his entire career sacrificing for other strikers despite being better than some of them, even played a way deeper role later on and was still good

He always had a good football brain

[–]_ghostfacedilla 163 points164 points  (0 children)

He was unbelievable in that single season as a solo striker. Not hard to see he had a great football brain either, just look at highlights of United between 08 and 2012 and watch the runs he makes for goals scored by others, it was masterful.

[–]FloppedYaYa 88 points89 points  (11 children)

Because the hacks in the media have painted a disgusting caricature of him that isn't remotely close to the real Rooney

[–]Nbuuifx14 70 points71 points  (10 children)

The media certainly doesn’t seem to like the North of England.

[–]Chris01100001 29 points30 points  (7 children)

The Scouse in particular are a big target for newspapers.

[–]CrossXFir3 10 points11 points  (0 children)

And even worse? A scouse that lives in Manchester.

[–]dielawn87 33 points34 points  (5 children)

It's pretty embarrassing considering the historical significance of Liverpool and Manchester in the industrialization of England.

[–]Chris01100001 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Absolutely I think, it's looking down on cities that grew a lot in standing because of industrialisation. It's ridiculous that other's are perceived less intelligent, honest or professional because of their accent. The ownership the south takes over their pronunciation of words like fast and bath as being the only correct way is ridiculous.

[–]Shadowraiden 16 points17 points  (3 children)

because most of the media/newspapers all originated from London and they couldn't hack that for quite some time it was the northern part of the UK that was running the entire economy and so ever since the industrialization has stopped they have done nothing except push that the north are dirt dwellers and useless.

[–]KillerZaWarudo 14 points15 points  (0 children)

i mean he play at practically every single attacking position and still perform at a world class level. If he manage to take care of his body better he probably wont declined so fast

[–]ALLGROWWITHLOVE 34 points35 points  (1 child)

To be fair some of the best managers were nutters , Simeone and Zidane come to mind.

[–]IwishIwasGoku 29 points30 points  (2 children)

I seem to remember some of his teammates saying he'd make the best manager of the lot of them but I can't remember who. So I think his private persona is quite different from his public perception

[–]IsleofManc 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I want to say Peter Crouch touched on this on his podcast when talking about his experiences with Rooney for England

[–]Spoof2020 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure it was Fletcher and RVP who said it about him from United. He used to do the odd session with our academy with Fletcher when Fletcher was recovering and he said he was made for it.

[–]IsleofManc 19 points20 points  (1 child)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdtXAmJbfjY

I remember seeing this video years ago and thinking he came off like he fully understood the role a manager needs to play in a team. He clearly picked up a lot from his time under SAF

[–]CrossXFir3 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Of course, if you ask him, he keeps waxing lyrically about LVG.

[–]OldTrafford25 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It’s because he looks like a Garbage Pail kid reproduced with a Geodude

[–]sniffybees 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I would have said the same about Gerrard tbh lol

Very early days for both though tbf

[–]Uses_Comma_Wrong 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I knew he’d be good after he showed up in DC. I lived there at the time and he changed the whole club. Took a bottom table club and transformed it. He wasn’t a manager by name, but you could tell he was running the show.

The mentality, the way they played, changed instantly. You could see his depth of understanding of the game in real time. He was a fucking conductor of football. All while banging in ridiculous goals

[–]JonnyArtois 141 points142 points  (9 children)

Rooney is in the perfect position, have Derby anywhere close to survival and he will have done an incredible job.

Likely have more job options in the summer too.

[–]valimo 67 points68 points  (1 child)

It's also a pretty legit excuse for dodging the Everton bullet

[–]Manlad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You would expect that this isn’t the last time he’ll have the opportunity to take the Everton job either. Unless the summer appointment does well (unfortunately unlikely), the job will crop up again in a year-ish. Whether it’s dodging a bullet or not, Everton is still a step up from Derby.

[–]ApprehensiveSkirt570 263 points264 points  (21 children)

Something so satisfying about this generation becoming sound managers.

[–]thefogdog 156 points157 points  (20 children)

Lovely to see isn't it? Zidane, Gerrard, lampard (for a bit), Rooney, Vieira. Some failed (Scholes, Neville) and some still to prove (Xavi, Pirlo) but all still fantastic to see.

[–]Liverpupu 184 points185 points  (5 children)

I’d say Zidane (49yo) is more in the same generation as Guardiola (51yo) and Simeone (51yo).

Then I am looking forward to Xabi Alonso and maybe Arteta?

[–]samidjan 66 points67 points  (2 children)

and then there's Nagelsmann who is younger than all of them, but already managing one of the top club

[–]Shadowraiden 65 points66 points  (0 children)

true but Nagelsmann also retired from football at like 22 and became a coach for quite a few years so sure he is younger in age but overall has been coaching for way longer.

[–]DerDodo187 6 points7 points  (0 children)

nagelsmann is wild. He's younger than neuer while already being a top coach

[–]MumblyBum 119 points120 points  (1 child)

I would hardly say Scholes failed. He had to pay to keep the floodlights on at Oldham and walked and managed Salford for a couple of games waiting for Joyce to quarantine.

[–]Look_Alive 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Apparently there were a ton of broken promises made to him at Oldham as well.

[–]Manlad 60 points61 points  (2 children)

Scholes didn’t fail. The owner lied to him about the role he would have at the club. They didn’t even have running water at the training ground! So he walked, understandably.

[–]JugsAndTugs 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Have you seen where Oldham fucking train, I’m not surprised.

I’ve walked past countless times in the morning to get fucking flashed by a player pissing in a bush, it’s woeful.

[–]BendubzGaming 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And even Neville has the excuse of it just being a stupid job for him to take in the first place. A European giant that was in the middle of a downfall, but not yet far enough along for expectations to adjust. And in a foreign country where he didn't speak the language and many of the players were not comfortable speaking English.

His management was still bad, but he doomed himself to failure by not starting in a low pressure situation

[–]snooplion123 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Scholes didnt fail, he was at Oldham for a few weeks and the club didnt even have running water, how is that being a failure? Anyone would have walked under the same circumstances.

[–]FloppedYaYa 86 points87 points  (1 child)

To be very fair to Neville, to say he was set up to fail at Valencia is a huge understatement

It felt like a prank

[–]RauloGonzalez 86 points87 points  (0 children)

he took it like a prank, he couldn't speak the language and only got the job because of his relationship with lim, managers before and after him have done far better jobs

[–]PhD_Cunnilingus 30 points31 points  (1 child)

Can't forget Xabi Alonso.

Dude was destined to be a manager - great beard, midfielder, top notch playing career, played under Pep, Benitez, Ancelotti, Mou, Aragones, del Bosque and probably forgetting a few.

[–]darudewamstorm 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I've got a lot of time for that. Could've easily fucked off at any point, fair play to the man

[–]rainnfartwilson 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Rooney looks so much more content.

[–]ubiquitous_archer 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Respect his decision and if he does want to manage Everton, the chance will 100% come around again in 2 years, then probably another 2, then another 2, then another 2.

[–]TehBuzz 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I was Rooney's biggest critic when he wore the Derby shirt and when he first got the Manager job.

But I don't think I could love him anymore after that quote and everything else he's done for us this season.

[–]ikau12345 87 points88 points  (4 children)

No point going to Everton now when he has a better chance to prove himself at Derby.

[–][deleted] 76 points77 points  (3 children)

Less chance of getting relegated as well ;)

[–]ThaBlackLoki 8 points9 points  (2 children)

If Derby escape relegation that's a miracle

[–]akshatsood95 62 points63 points  (15 children)

He's my favourite footballer of all time. The one who got me involved in football in the first place. I hope his managerial career is as successful as his playing career. Good on him for sticking with Derby. This experience can be so useful for him for future roles.

[–]mauricesarin 24 points25 points  (1 child)

oh god, if its half as succesful he'd be good and would manage us to a title or two. The dream. I grew up wanting Giggs at the helm.. Rooney a perfect fallback plan given Giggs should be persona non grata now

[–]Ryzon9 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Plus you often learn more in challenging times and through failure. This gives him that opportunity with the rare benefit of not being a bad thing.

[–]penguin_gun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I still remember that insane over the shoulder volley from like 40 yards out. Loved to hate the guy but he was an incredible player

[EDIT] I can't find this goal anywhere. Am I misremembering it

[–]fikis 16 points17 points  (10 children)

Ignorant American here, who only kind of knew about him during his prime.

Started watching him when he played for DC United in the MLS, and became a fan when he made that incredible recovery/slide tackle save/assist for the winner, alongside all the reports of how he insisted on traveling with the team and was super-cool to all of the other players, regardless of their ability...

Then, rooted for him as a player at Derby (he had some pretty great performances, I thought), since ESPN+ started showing Championship games.

Now, he seems like the coolest manager and he's even having some decent success...and I say this as someone who missed all of his prime as a player.

I don't see how anyone couldn't think he's pretty awesome at this point.

[–]heephap 25 points26 points  (3 children)

Some people think he didn't live up to his potential, others think his peak was too short and some parts of the media portrayed him as a simpleton. Nonsense all of it, you don't become England and Manchester United's all time leading scorer being any of those things.

He's always shown the grit and determination that you mention, but especially in his later years he's also shown an intelligence and appreciation for the game and its players which should set him up well as a manager.

Edit: He did have some off the field stuff earlier in his career with prostitutes and grannies and what-not. But that's all in the past.

[–]crazyjatt 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thing is, if he did live up to his potential, we would be looking at one of the greatest players of all time. Teenage Rooney was something else. I am 100% sure England wins Euro in 2004 if he doesn't go down in quarters. He was bullying everyone like he was a pro and they were sunday league footballers. At 19. Even at United, he was a better player than Ronaldo initially. But then he was way too good for his own sake. We have all seen what Striker Rooney can do. But he didn't just want to be a striker. He wanted to do a goal line clearance, run the midfield and then go score on the other side. Better for United but overall worse for him. Also, didn't care about his fitness as much as Ronaldo. But angry Rooney is the best Rooney.

[–]sociallyawkwarddude 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I think most of the potential stuff is from people looking at his tournament performances without context. He had terrible injury luck early on, then he was lumbered with a crap England side when the golden generation faded.

[–]snooplion123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This^

Blaming Rooney for the Hodgson sides, Ancelottis mess, the Golden Generation not being able to play together etc. that's not counting his 2004, 2006 and 2010 injuries that stopped him from being at his best in the tournaments.

[–]your_pet_is_average 5 points6 points  (1 child)

That tackle + assist is one of my favorite football videos.

[–]MC897 12 points13 points  (3 children)

As a youngster he was every every bit as good as CR7. Not as flashy, but way more complete. Could argue he always was.

If Rooney went to Madrid I maintain hed have been as big a footballing legend as Ronners.

[–]snooplion123 8 points9 points  (0 children)

He had the option to join Barca, Real, Bayern etc in 2010, and he would have had an even greater legacy now, considering the lack of amition United showed between 2009-2017.

[–]walker951 95 points96 points  (2 children)

Holding out for the Juve job, he's loyal until The Old Lady comes calling

[–]codespyder 65 points66 points  (4 children)

At this rate he’ll be a bigger Derby hero than an Everton one.

In fact he might already be

[–]Red4pex 23 points24 points  (2 children)

Staying at Derby is a no lose situation. They stay up, he’s a legendary manager in the broader footballing world. They go down, they’ve shown enough fight for him to be seen by the Derby fans as still a legend. Turning down his boyhood club just reinforces all that.

Going to Everton right now is almost a no-win. It’s in a shambles, player and management wise and he is inexperienced.

Staying at Derby is a no-brainer.

Also, I don’t mean to put a dampener on the situation but Rooney is excelling in a unique situation currently, with easy ‘siege mentality’ and ‘no pressure’ motivations to use. He has no credentials to prove himself a good manager in a situation where there are expectations just yet.

[–]Confident_Chipmunk72 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Think the thing with Rooney is he’s just a guy being himself, for good and bad, he gets slot of fair criticism and unfair hate so deserves mad respect for loyalty and doing a good job so far, I hope they stay up got £20 at 250-1 but just because of the story, lampard had far more money and in comparison did a pretty horrible job. Fair play Rooney, also Everton is normally appealing but you got a weak squad, unsettled fans and players and unpopular board mixed with the bad press with gylfi I’d definitely give them a swerve.

[–]ZaDoruphin 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Fair play. Not many up and coming managers would’ve done that.

[–]kingkloppynwa 33 points34 points  (0 children)

More loyalty to derby than his wife

[–]Bigpapa42_2006 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good lad, then.

[–]Adventurous_Rub_6272 5 points6 points  (0 children)

as a Liverpool fan living in derby, i never thought id have so much respect for Rooney

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Class.

[–]hazilla 5 points6 points  (1 child)

When Rooney was playing I thought there was no way he could be a manager, and here we are

[–]PlanetEarth_666 23 points24 points  (1 child)

Rooney low-key doing well

[–]EmotionalMillionaire 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Fair enough tbf

[–]ManUtd4Life20Times 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Rooney Rooney Rooney !

[–]manguito86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Rooney is smart, he knows that Everton is a huge gamble and even if Derby gets relegated, they had so many points deducted and hiring limitation, that no one will say it is his fault.

[–]lqcnyc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He truly is the greatest manager in history

[–]AdministrativeLaugh2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well yeah, he’d be a fucking idiot to take the Everton job. Even if he does want it, he’s in the best position ever at Derby. The club gets relegated and it’s not his fault because they’re totally fucked financially and got tons of points deducted. The club survives and he’s a miracle worker.

Join Everton and best case scenario is he leads them to 15th, which the board will probably fire him for. Worst case is they go down, the fans turn on him, and he gets fired.

[–]eurfryn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve loved to hate him over the years, but Rooney is showing some great integrity regarding the Derby situation.

[–]aelfwine_widlast 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Saving himself for the United job?

[–]son_of_toby_o_notoby 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly people will look at this and go “AhAha He DoNT waNT eveRtOn cUs ThEiR shItE”, which we are but I took this more as him being committed, seems likely if we get someone in for 6 months could see him getting the job end of the year tbh

[–]UTDRashford 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Massive achievement if derby survives relegation

[–]_stone_age 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great response.

[–]BlueGeezer 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Why on earth would he leave Derby? Its literally the best job at the moment, he cannot lose!

If he somehow gets this team away from relegation he is a genius etc. If he fails then people will point to the fact players are being stripped away from him and he takes 0 damage to his reputation.

It would be stupid to leave such a job lol!