Fans Comment
Dave Crummey

Why we musn't sell Rooney
27 August 2004

With the current saga concerning Wayne Rooney's imminent departure from Everton FC it seems to me that people and press are overlooking one basic fact that is in our favour. Namely that Rooney still has two years left to run on his present contract.
I would agree that were we in the situation where he was in his final year and showed no inclination to re-sign for us then we would have to cash in and sell him to the highest bidder. But he is not and I therefore believe that we are in the perfect position to strike a blow for the whole of the footballing world against the scourge of the modern game,namely the agents.

We all know that since Rooney has come under the representation of Paul Stretfords company that he has had his head constantly turned in the direction of so called 'bigger clubs' or 'better managers' who will develop his game and his career,but it should be remembered that he is still only an eighteen year old lad.Yet under the guidance of firstly Colin Harvey and now David Moyes he has already established himself as England's first choice striker and currently the most wanted footballing property on the planet. This should be recognized as outstanding player developement procedure on the part of Everton and all of their staff.

If his agents truly had any personal concerns for the players welfare they would recognize the fine job that Everton have done over the past few years and be encouraging him to accept the outstanding contract he has been offered to continue his education at Everton for the next few years at least.

If Rooney were a true Evertonian he would realize that he owed his club at least this. It is they who have nurtured his natural ability and given him the platform upon which to perform and now deserve some loyalty in return. Even if he stayed with us till he was 22 and gave Moyes an opportunity to try to build a successful side around him then I believe that most Evertonians would then accept him leaving if we were not by then in a postion to achieve success. It would still hurt but at least we would see that he had at least some interest in Everton beyond the size of his paycheck.

So here is the opportunity I have spoken about. If Rooney does not want to play for the first team then Everton should take a trememdously brave footballing and not financial stand.We should dispense with his services immediately,withdraw our new financial offer and relegate him to the reserves for the remaining duration of his current contract. We should also make him train with the kids as this is patently what he still is. Lets see how he fares for two years travelling to unglamorous parts of the country with no adoring fans to boost his ego whilst having lumps knocked off him by lower league players. Who knows if he would be the same mercurial player at the end of his contract or even if he would still be in the England squad but it would certainly cause his agents to re-evaluate their disgraceful behaviour as they were forced to watch their golden egg disappearing over the hill as a result of their own machinations.

Now this may seem like spite but it is not.Obviously at the end of his contract he would still be able to leave but I believe that it would instantly send an irrevocable message to the low life agents plus all other clubs that we do not have to automatically rip up our players so called 'contracts' the minute some other supposedly larger club comes calling or a lucrative move is crafted by the players representatives. I also think that we would still be entitled to a fee for the player under the development clause as he would still be under 24 years old.

I know that this would potentially cost Everton football club a large sum of money but I would rather have that and be able to stand up proudly and say that we at  Everton were the ones to finally make a stand against the naked avaricious money grabbing practises of the agents.

I don't believe for one second that this will happen but rather we will succumb to the advances of Manchester United and accept the easy money,but I firmly believe that agents have to be brought down to earth and made to realize that players who fans pay to see week in week out and the clubs themselves are not mere playthings for them to manipulate whenever they feel the need to generate more easy revenue for their portfolios.

So come on Everton, see the bigger picture here and make a stand for the whole of the game.In the long term it is something that we will always be remembered for. Being a strong, proud, moral club who were the first to take a stand against the agents ruining the modern game and whose fans always come first.

Dave Crummey