Will Wayne Rooney be remembered as England’s greatest ever striker?
Wayne Rooney can pass Jimmy Greaves as England’s third top scorer this week, but will he be remembered in the same light as the country’s current top trio?
The answer is probably no, which is, frankly, unfair.
The England captain goes into tonight’s match against San Marino and Estonia on Sunday with every chance of passing Greaves’s 44 mark.
Currently on 41 goals, there is no doubt that the Manchester United striker will overtake Greaves and eventually move closer to Gary Lineker’s 48 and Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49 before he hangs up his international boots.
Rooney turns 29 this month and still has a good two or three years left serving his country, and when you look at England’s opponents over the next 12 months, the striker could potentially pass his half century by the time he turns 30.
However the grumblings have already started and claims that Rooney shouldn’t be mentioned in the same list as his future predecessors will carry on – mainly because England haven’t looked like winning a single thing in Rooney’s era and continue to fail on the big stage.
But Rooney has been a valiant servant for his country. He is three caps away from his century and has already broke records as the youngest player to appear for England and the youngest to score for the Three Lions. And, if he continues to break records towards the end of his international career you can’t argue that he will become an England ‘legend’.
Obviously should Rooney, while wearing the Three Lions jersey, have come within touching distance of some sort of World Cup triumph he would already be relishing in the glory, but is England’s failings his fault?
When he came into the team shortly after the 2002 World Cup, England were slowly declining, which prompted the FA into appointing foreign managers for inspiration.
Rooney’s performances have been fairly consistent for England and while struggling with injuries, especially at big tournaments, England seem a lot lesser force without him.
However, the records of Greaves, Lineker and Charlton should never be forgotten, and although Rooney may take their records, he will not take their glory.
There is no denying that Lineker was a player for the big occasion. The Match of the Day presenter won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup with six goals beating the likes of Maradona while in Italia 90 he scored vital goals in both quarter final and semis.
Greaves’s mark is more than impressive with 44 goals in just 57 games although matching Rooney’s one goal at a World Cup. However gone are the days where England (and other countrys) would turn up against small nations such as Luxembourg and Turkey and win by a huge scoreline.
While Charlton scored goals of World Cup substance and his glory will never be forgotten.
A glory that unfortunately won’t shine over Rooney long after he retires.
By Tom Veitch
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