Rooney sack, likely Man Utd return talk nonsense as Plymouth boss ...

Wayne Rooney sack? Nonsense. The Plymouth Argyle boss is proving his desperate doubters wrong, but inevitable Man Utd return talk remains premature…

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among the former footballers who have recently faced the wrath of the English media and fans of opposing teams when trying to cut their teeth in management.

Going back decades, there has been a needless obsession with sporting failure in this country, with even some of England’s greatest ever players not immune to a hatchet job whenever they face any adversity.

England internationals have faced such treatment (e.g. Rooney and David Beckham) and recent major tournaments suggest this negativity is not going anywhere.

Rooney and co. could be forgiven for thinking this would ease once they hung up their boots, but they have come under just as severe scrutiny while being brave/stupid enough to give club management a whirl.

Lampard and Gerrard were weighed down by this intense spotlight after perhaps being given Premier League jobs too soon into their development, while critics have been equally as eager for Rooney to fail in the Football League.

While Lampard, Gerrard and – more recently Vincent Kompany – have had the luxury of big budgets and immense facilities, this has not been the case for Rooney, who was dropped in at the deep end and been left to sink or swim.

Amid Derby County’s financial turmoil, Rooney could not have chosen many more difficult clubs to manage in his first job. Admittedly, he was boosted by respected coach Liam Rosenior’s helping hand, but the Manchester United legend came away with caveated success and increased know-how from a difficult experience.

Rooney then raised eyebrows with his decision to return to the MLS to manage former club DC United and the ‘never go back’ mantra rung true as he left after 15 months having failed to guide the Washington club away from the wrong end of the Eastern Conference.

His disappointing second spell in the MLS did not deter American-owned Birmingham City last season, though. They made the baffling move to replace John Eustace (who had the club in the play-off picture) with Rooney, whose dire brief spell at St Andrew’s massively contributed to their eventual relegation.

The Rooney-Birmingham saga was one of last season’s biggest cock-ups; it was terrible timing for all involved. It saw a naive board and young manager attempting to fix what wasn’t broken with a rash and thoughtless change in the dugout and tactical approach in search of an unprepared push for promotion to the Premier League.

Their subsequent relegation was a deserved punishment for this infuriating post-takeover call. Rooney showed his inexperience when he should have been more pragmatic and given his players time to adapt to his methods rather than attempting a mid-season seismic change.

The haters of Rooney lapped up his demise at Birmingham City last season, but he admirably got up off the canvas ahead of this season and landed at Plymouth Argyle.

MORE CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE ON F365…
???? Six sparkling Championship stars primed for January transfer include West Brom, Sheff Utd quartet
???? Six surprising 24/25 Championship early-season standouts include Leeds star, West Brom sensation
???? West Brom, Watford, Middlesbrough sextet in Championship team of the season so far

A larger portion of the blame for Rooney’s marriage failure with Birmingham City laid with their board as the 38-year-old should not have been put in that position in the first place.

Rooney may not have realised this in the immediate aftermath of his exit from Birmingham, but there is a great deal he should take from this disaster as he attempts to right the wrongs of previous spells.

Rooney could have quite easily knocked management on the head after the Birmingham fiasco and most would have considered this a fair verdict.

He really has nothing to prove in football after his playing career – which was underrated and breath-taking in equal measure – but his work post-Birmingham as a pundit for several broadcasters made it clear that his underlying passion for the game is still at his core, so it would only be a matter of time before he had another go at management.

The naysayers who dug Rooney out at Birmingham came out of the woodwork with a vengeance after he was named Plymouth Argyle’s new head coach before this season.

I’ll admit, I’m part of the problem. Especially after Plymouth’s 4-0 opening day defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, I struggled to see how Rooney could succeed on the south coast as I suspected he’d be one of the first Championship managers to be sacked this season.

Last season, Plymouth narrowly saw off Birmingham to survive in the Championship, but their budget in the second tier is one of the division’s lowest. So no matter who was their manager this season, they were always likely to be in the thick of a relegation scrap once again.

This made Plymouth’s decision to appoint Rooney – especially after his name was dragged through the mud at Birmignham – particularly brave. But as things stand, it seems to be working out nicely.

Rooney’s Plymouth were rotten against Sheff Weds last month, but this early wake-up call was a blessing in disguise as his side have gradually improved in their subsequent fixtures.

Back-to-back draws against Hull City and QPR were undermined by a home loss to Stoke City, but their last three games have raised optimism at Home Park.

An acceptable 1-0 away loss at table-toppers West Brom came after the biggest shock result in the Championship so far as they edged out promotion dark horses Sunderland 3-2.

Then on Friday night, Rooney-ball really hit another gear as they earned a much-deserved 3-1 home victory against Luton Town.

Since their opening-day pummelling, Rooney has impressively shored up a defence which was alarmingly open against Sheff Weds, while their young crop of attacking talent – Ibrahim Cissoko in particular – have hit their stride.

Plymouth and Rooney obviously still have a lot of work to do to achieve their sole aim of the season, which is to secure survival. But their outspoken critics need to be as keen to praise them as they were to criticise.

Seven weeks ago, Rooney getting sacked and Plymouth going down with a whimper were considered among this season’s few certainties in the ever-unpredictable Championship. But this is currently far from the case and he’ll likely be linked with the surely soon-to-be-vacant Manchester United job, which shows how quickly a manager’s rep can drastically change.

Obviously, the Man Utd vacancy shouldn’t be Rooney’s this time and he needn’t be in the conversation. But his recent work at Plymouth means his managerial career is at least on an upward trajectory again and this did not seem likely after Birmingham sacked him at the start of this year. So, kudus to him as he warrants being given his flowers.