Alan Shearer: Wayne Rooney should quit England to give his best remaining years to Manchester United
The Newcastle hero retired from Three Lions duty at 29 and scored goals for his boyhood club until almost reaching 36
THOSE who doubt Wayne Rooney’s presence in the Manchester United side need only look at how he set up the winner at Hull.
Having been shifted out wide, he brilliantly ghosted past Ahmed Elmohamady and rolled the ball onto Marcus Rashford’s toe for Saturday’s winner.
I don’t think there was anyone else on the pitch who could have done that. Rooney still possesses magic in those boots, even if they don’t go as quickly as they used to.
But this is a Manchester United squad of real depth and power and Rooney needs to be producing at the highest level to make sure he stays in it.
It is time for Rooney to be selfish and start thinking just about himself.
And that, I really regret to say, means his retirement from international football.
I don’t say this in the belief that he is no longer good enough for England — he is.
But he is 30 now and captaining your club and country, satisfying the demand to play at the top level for both, gets harder.
I retired in 2000 aged 29. Much of that was down to three serious injuries. Some people said I was being selfish.
I knew my body better than anyone and simply could not do it any more for club and country.
If I had gone on there would have come a time when I would have been dropped because I couldn’t satisfy the physical demands.
So I decided to cut my England career short to avoid that day and also so I could give my best to Newcastle.
I played on until I was almost 36 and would not have been able to do that had I played any longer for England.
People will question what the big problem is about playing one more game during an international break.
But there is more to it with all the travelling and that extra game can make a difference when you hit the 30 mark.
I certainly felt fresher going into the next league game having not played for England.
Rooney can feel no shame if he takes the decision.
He has been selfless in his approach to England, often playing through injury to make sure he represents his country.
He is our all-time record goalscorer and wears that shirt with pride.
It has not gone well for him in major finals, not least in France at the Euros. But there has never been a lack of effort.
He has not just been playing for club and country for over a decade now, but of late has captained both. That can mentally take its toll.
You feel that extra responsibility, particularly when the profile is so high at Old Trafford.
It is time for him to acknowledge that he simply can’t keep doing both — and I mean that for his own good.
RELATED STORIES:
What Rooney has to think about is not necessarily how he is feeling now, but how he will be in two years’ time.
That is when the next finals will be in Russia and England can get there without him.
But can he still have an influence in Russia 2018 if he keeps playing for both until then?
Then he has to think about the fierce competition for places at Manchester United.
The days are gone when he was the first name on the team sheet no questions asked.
Competition there is huge now and he needs to be at his best to have a claim, not only to the armband but a place in the side.
Lothar Matthaus said in this paper he should go after the Iceland loss, but that would not have looked right.
Having had time to reflect, the decision in the cold light of day now seems right.
He has answered the call for club and country for so long.
Our all-time record goalscorer, only goalkeeper Peter Shilton has played more times for the Three Lions.
He has adapted to different positions to suit various managers. Now it is time to think about himself.
No matter how painful it might be, that means retiring from England and international football.
SHEAR MAGIC
IT must have been difficult in the opening weeks of the season for Marcus Rashford to have been mainly a spectator from the sub’s bench at Manchester United.
But in 20 minutes at Hull on Saturday he reminded us all of his outstanding ability.
United are very fortunate to have this talent at 18-years-old.
And there is no doubt he can go on to be an outstanding performer for them.
SHEAR TRAGIC
HOW has it come to this for my old club Blackburn?
Think about where we were between 1992 and 1996, the best team in the country in 1995.
Now Rovers are not even the best team in the North West!
They sit bottom of the Championship with just one point from their opening five games.
Those fans who have stuck by the club are angry and frustrated.
The Venky’s have devastated Rovers and the sooner they sell up and leave the better.