| Wayne Rooney will find long-term gain from public scrutiny, says Ryan Giggs Manchester United team-mate believes public exposure could ultimately make the 24 year-old striker a stronger character telegraph.co.uk |
Rangers' Naismith breaks Hearts' comeback Few onlookers can deny Rangers merited this victory in Edinburgh. Yet it arrived late, and in acrimonious circumstances, in the most incident-packed game of the Scottish Premier League season to date.Steven Naismith was the defending champions' hero, with a 94th-minute winner that left Hearts shattered and maintained Rangers' flawless domestic record. It also upset the home fans to a potentially serious effect: Naismith's celebrations, as inflammatory as they were, prompted a needless barrage of missiles from the enclosure of Tynecastle's main stand.The assistant referee Willie Conquer, literally caught in the crossfire, was hit by a pound coin, a matter which will lead to an investigation from the Scottish Football Association and the SPL. Three lighters were also among the foreign items collected from the pitch after the dust had settled. This should, at least, dismiss the ridiculous notion that Hearts versus Rangers matches are friendly affairs.Hearts harboured a grievance over a free-kick given against their full-back Craig Thomson for a high challenge on Sasa Papac, which ultimately led to Naismith's goal. "From where I was, the legs of Craig and Sasa were at the same height," said the Hearts manager, Jim Jefferies. "We are the ones who were pulled up for it, and it cost us."Even if the hosts have a case with that, they switched off to a criminal extent in allowing the Rangers player to maraud 60 yards with the ball before he slotted home to win the match."I felt we got what we deserved," said Walter Smith, the Rangers manager. "We controlled most of the game and had, by far, the more attempts at goal."Hearts defended exceptionally well. Even when we did get through, their goalkeeper made some fine saves. There was a great deal of delight for us at the end but there would have been frustration if we hadn't won."The irony of Rangers' inability to break Hearts down earlier is that Jefferies has been beset by defensive woes all season. The Hearts manager has been left frustrated by an insistence from the club's hierarchy that he cannot select the captain and central defender Marius Zaliukas amid a contract dispute. Jefferies broke with tradition in adopting a 5-3-2 formation here. That system worked during an enthralling opening half, with Hearts opening the scoring. Rudi Skacel collected a Kevin Kyle flick-on and knocked the ball beyond Allan McGregor at the second attempt.Rangers' most meaningful response arrived from Nikica Jelavic, whose powerful overhead kick was met with an equally impressive save from Marian Kello. Papac volleyed against a Hearts post and Steve Davis fired over from close range as the visitors pressed for the equaliser they were due. It arrived from the substitute Kyle Lafferty, who deceived the opposition wall with a low, curling free-kick.The restoration of parity briefly roused Hearts. Kyle passed up a glorious opportunity to send them back into the lead, five minutes from time, after heading a Thomson cross over the bar from just six yards. A draw looked certain as Kello brilliantly saved a Lafferty volley at point- blank range and the Hearts goalframe was rattled again, this time by Davis. During five minutes of added time, though, Naismith continued his profitable start to the campaign. It was all too much for some disgruntled denizens of Tynecastle to take.Scottish Premier LeagueHeartsRangersEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Has Rooney reached point of no return? The length of the Manchester United striker's slump forces us to revisit our declarations about his potential for greatnessWayne Rooney would take high rank on a scroll of players Manchester United fans hoped would stay forever, behind Eric Cantona and Roy Keane, but ahead of David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy. The attachment is measured by the outrage when anyone dares point to the evidence that a parting may be on the way.Last week some veterans of an area known as the Wembley mixed zone thought they heard intimations of a rift between Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson, who has always extolled the principle that the manager must be the most powerful individual at a properly functioning football club. As speculators and charlatans multiply in our Premier League, Ferguson has grown ever more entrenched in his belief that no single player can be allowed to undermine the authorityof the manager, either through the scale of his fame or a disputatious nature.The comment that set the hare running after England's 0-0 draw with Montenegro was a simple "I don't know". Rooney had denied he was carrying an ankle injury and was asked why Ferguson had made public statements to the contrary. "I don't know" was interpreted as a challenge to his leader.At best it was naive for him not to see that contradicting Ferguson would be seen as provocative. At worst he was asserting his independence as part of a scheme to leave Old Trafford for Real Madrid.The following day a couple of newspapers claimed Rooney had suspended talks on a new deal that would raise his weekly wage from £90,000 to £150,000. Resist the urge, please, to cry media conspiracy, because Rooney's intentions are a matter of legitimate conjecture, given the slow pace of his contract negotiations and the sense that, at 24, he will want to sign one mega-deal before his precocity catches up with him in his late 20s.An Everton debutant at 16, he is not going to be running round like Raúl in his 30s. Nor is he likely to be the face of Barbour or Twinings Tea when he stops playing, so the pressure is on to pile up earnings now. A familiar measure of brinkmanship will be present in his dealings with the United board, but there is also authentic concern that he will court a silly-money move to the more tax‑advantageous haven of Spain.We know Ferguson has refused to indulge him. There was shock throughout the club that his personal discipline should deteriorate so sharply and produce accounts of him drinking, smoking and urinating in the street, never mind the carnal urges that placed such a strain on his marriage. The disappointment at United was not moral in nature. It stemmed from a belief that he had violated the team ethic and Ferguson's unambiguous professional code.Against this chaotic backdrop there was bound to be ambivalence about awarding him a £60,000-a-week pay rise. Some supporters see only the tinsel around the name and think there is no greater duty than bowing to a star player's every demand. But United's past says there is a point of no return, a line which even the most venerated player can't cross. If he does, and the club defer, power is inverted and the pillars crumble.This tenet was applied by Ferguson when Van Nistelrooy became disruptive and detached, Keane tried to appoint himself the de facto manager and Beckham treated the club as a corporate vehicle. In each case the manager risked a counterblast from the supporters but pressed on anyway, sure of his ground, sure that United would always outlast any individual and could renew themselves. After Van Nistelrooy, remember, a new title‑winning side was hewn around Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.Rooney tripped himself up at Wembley on Tuesday night. If he is fully fit – and he says he is – what possible excuse could there be for his listlessness, his poor first touch, his lack of dynamism and thrust? If not the body, then maybe the mind? It stretches credulity to think domestic turbulence depressed his form all the way from March to October. If severely damaged confidence is responsible, Rooney is clearly not the imperturbable street kid with the iron ego we thought he was.For the first time since he became one of the world's top five players, his attitude disappoints, his demeanour raises doubts about his temperament. For technique to desert him so dramatically and for so long is ominous. The length of the slump, with only the occasional flourish, forces us to revisit our declarations about his potential for greatness. He entered yesterday's game against West Brom needing a season‑altering performance to keep these doubts at bay. He ended up playing just 18 minutes as a substitute in a 2-2 draw.He wears the look of one who has told himself he now holds all the power, when the reality is that Fabio Capello would probably drop him if England had any credible alternatives, Real Madrid may be thinking his best years are already behind him and Ferguson would win any power struggle, as he did most conspicuously with Keane and Beckham. Rooney should read some history.Time to tackle the Murphy detractorsSign up here for the Danny Murphy defence league. For having the temerity to suggest some managers are exhorting players to disrupt the artistry of superior opponents with fierce tackling, Fulham's captain has now been assailed by a League Managers Association statement calling his views "inappropriate" and a beasting from Blackburn's Sam Allardyce and his goalkeeper Paul Robinson who, frankly, struggles to be an authority on anything.For the crime of having an opinion, Murphy has been made a pariah by the LMA, who were too quick to respond to their more sensitive members. No one is saying managers instruct their players to inflict grievous injury on such players as Eduardo, Aaron Ramsey and Hatem Ben Arfa. Murphy's point was that the bosses could lay off the pre-match Agincourt oratory and order their players not to fly into tackles like Kato in the Pink Panther films. The only aspect Murphy forgot to mention was the current cowardice of referees.Wayne RooneyManchester UnitedPaul Haywardguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fifa to investigate World Cup 2018 'votes for cash' allegations Fifa look into allegations that two officials - from Nigeria and Tahiti - offered to sell their votes in contest to host 2018 World Cup. telegraph.co.uk |
Merrick offers comfort to Sydney Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick predicts Sydney FC are still a chance of defending their title despite a big loss on Saturday night. foxsports.com.au |