Rooney – The Documentary

Anybody read Rooney's interview in the Daily Mail talking about his drinking issues?

Says he used to drink heavily to deal with pressure, but the problem resolved after his first kid was born in 2009.

Ummm... yeah, right, except for the Cheshire DUI and the public drunkenness at the DC airport and that little thing with the waitress and the Volkswagen.

So much for his new maturity and accepting responsibility.

Mike, there’s also a piece in today’s Times, to publicise a Rooney documentary that’s on Prime Video from Friday.

That Rooney interview got under my skin a bit. “I come from a council estate so I drank to cope with the pressures of fame.”

Not only does that denigrate everybody that comes from a council estate - that we somehow grow up incapable of coping without alcohol - but it seems to also play the victim card. Poor little rich boy.

I shall reserve final judgement until after the documentary airs but I’d probably have had more empathy if he’d just said, “I was young and stupid.”

Apart from bullshit in media/social media (if you're dumb enough to read and give credence to it), a loss of some privacy and maybe an increased risk of burglary... what are the pressures of fame? As when balanced with the benefits.

Most if given the ability and chance to be in high level sport (and the dosh) would grab it without a second thought. 99% of famous people never seem to mention the pressures of fame either.

However it is a fact that some people are simply more vulnerable to the recreationals and to addiction, irrespective of their position and circumstance.

Maybe Rooney just expressed himself badly, or is using what he perceives as prevailing meme.

With the massive wealth he has and the unlimited opportunity to do what the hell he wants, he is still working diligently in the game, so the guy is trying to live it steady in something that matters to him. Nothing wrong with that.

Thank goodness this isn't coming out just after he's returned to the club as manager. Not what we would have needed at all – and I say that as somebody who thinks Rooney may well prove to be a very good manager.

From George Best to Wayne Rooney, what is it about these Manchester United players?

He must have been drunk when he kissed the Man Utd badge then, I guess! Poor him, having to turn to drink because of his fame and richness.

Meanwhile, in the real world of Liverpool council estates, I'm sure there were plenty of people drinking cheap alcohol to make the best of a shitty week at work whilst picking up $200.00 in wages.

They should rewrite The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists based on poor Wayne's story.

I'll watch this as I followed Rooney's career. I always thought had he looked after himself better, he was more of a natural than Ronaldo, who simply worked harder and will go down as one of the game's greats as a result.

On one hand, coming from a humble background and family turbulence to the point of break-up and joining the Army at a very young age, effectively with no home address, I do understand some of the sentiment above.

But I also empathise somewhat. He was a 16-year-old boy taken off his council estate and thrust into the national and international media literally overnight. That's a fucking huge societal gap to cross. it's not like he was coached through his time in Eaton and it wasn't like he had time to prepare himself or his family.

Yes, footballers are well paid, but personally I don't judge people on salary and modern footballers sacrifice a lot of normal things that we often take for granted that they probably crave for. Life in the spotlight.

Stupid? Of course he was over the years. But so was I and probably everyone who posts here. Air of arrogance? Most of the great footballers have that. Especially strikers. They, above all other players on the pitch, are the most selfish. They have to be in my experience and opinion.

Aside from his iconic "remember the name" goal against Arsenal, I think my favourite was for United against Newcastle. Chasing the Ref around in a tantrum, ball bounces and suddenly, full of temper and being pissed off, his instinct kicks in and he takes his fury out on the ball to score a belter!

I lived with my family in my Aunty's on Middle Way for a period while we were waiting for accommodation. Tough place. Wayne done well for himself, but I'll reiterate, to leave a place like that at 16 is hard enough. To leave it and become owned by the national media overnight adds additional pressures that us mortals wouldn't understand because we've never experienced it.

There are a lot of broken talents in football. Football was possibly the escapism they needed in childhood, which is what made them love the ball and the game.

Clubs have generally treated people as though they are all made from the same stern stuff, which makes life very difficult or even impossible if your mind doesn't work that way. Some of these kids are effectively entering adulthood with PTSD or other issues that never get resolved.

A lot of these players let themselves down. Rooney, despite enormous success, probably underachieved because of drink.

But what are clubs doing to support these very young men and boys who are not emotionally or mentally equipped for a life in the spotlight?

Any club that makes a breakthrough in this respect will likely rescue a few human beings and get a much better tune out of the playing staff.

That's very poignant, Robert. The British Army has made great strides in not just dealing with the early symptoms and after-effects of PTSD. But preparing people to spot the signs early and deal with it. Like you say, equipping young people to deal with the signs and open up before it becomes a bigger issue rather than try to "man-up" and deal with it later. Football could learn a lot from the military's experiences and mechanisms.

Sorry to go deep, it's a subject close to my heart. I know this is my thing, but I'll give a plug for the Veteran's Lottery here.

£10 a month. Never won a thing, but a worthy cause helping people recover from both physical and mental challenges.

Back on thread. Rooney. This sounds ridiculous considering what he achieved. But how good could the boy from Croxteth have been? I believe he could have been one of the greats. Genuinely.

The day he scored that goal against Arsenal was a day I truly thought Everton were back in the spotlight and big time.
Unfortunately, Silly Bill got his mits on the situation and instead of building a team around young Wayne he decided to let Man Utd rip us off. That along with a poor parental decision to let him go and play for a club whose supporters take great pride in belittling us scousers has really left a bad taste in my mouth forever where Rooney is concerned.
Danny. I love your posts and enthusiasm for the blues and also understand the issues you servicemen and women have due to the nature of the profession. Hats off to you all for what you guys have done and will go through.
Wayne Rooney never had a say in what went on with his move from Everton but he has lived a very good life because of his fame and fortune doing stuff we can only dream of. He can’t start complaining now.
Most of us have done plenty of wrongs in our lives and a lot of this probably when we hit the booze so I understand part of his general life’s issues but I have zero sympathy with him because of what he did at Goodison. That I can’t forgive.

I can't believe most on here. Not a single bit of empathy towards Wayne Rooney.

He was from 16 years of age the biggest football star in the world. The pressure of all that fame must have been immense.

Mental health issues hit people in different ways. It seems drink was his way of escape. Let's be glad it didn't get that bad he took his life.

Shame on those who still can't get over his being sold to Man Utd.

And Danny @8,

Brilliant post, well said.

Fully agree Bobby and Danny, re Rooney. What's that old saying about casting the first stone?

Saw a clip on BBC earlier of the Netflix documentary on Rooney. He speaks well. He speaks intelligently. He ain't doing a bad job at Derby. He apparently pays for all the team's away travel and hotels, given Derby's financial problems.

I wouldn't have been against him managing us.

Saw the bit about him getting it down his neck for days on end and said out loud "It showed, mate".

He never reached the heights at Old Trafford that his potential hinted at here. He stopped going past people and was blowing for tugs after a sprint. Fortunately he had a dominant team around him so could take "spells" till he got his breath back.

Good player and clever in a football sense and won loads in a dominant team but never became the player he looked he might become.

He would have absolutely imploded if he stayed here.

Wealth alone cannot protect you from the stresses and demands of being a high profile global personality, whatever your walk of life.

It shows what incredible innate football skills Wayne Rooney possessed to perform to the levels he did whilst living with the mental duress and escape into alcohol he did.

With CR7's discipline and dedication, Wayne would have been up there in the highest of football's pantheon. He didn't do too badly, as it was.

Personally, I didn't care for much of what I read ahead of this documentary airing, but this piece by the always excellent Jonathon Liew (no matter what sport he writes on) was a standout:

Wayne Rooney: Seeking Redemption

The conflicted devout Catholic angle Liew references about Wayne I found fascinating.

Yes, Jay. A fine article on Rooney, that.

Barry (15),

I think Wayne could have done better at Man Utd, as Danny (8) indicates, by staying behind after training and improving his skills as Ronaldo did.

On the other hand, Rooney was much more of a team player than Ronaldo ever was and sacrificed himself for them by playing every position that Ferguson asked him to play in and giving 90 minutes in every game.

That I imagine shortened his career by a few years and he was past his best in the last two years of his time there. When we got to see Wayne the second time, it was embarrassing at times to watch the player he had become.

Sadly he couldn't handle the fame that came his way and I doubt he was the sort of lad who wanted or embraced that to be a part of his life. Some people are happier without a lot of fuss in their lives, I think Rooney might have been one of them.

For fuck's sake, we set a high bar here on TW.

Reading the above, Rooney sounds like an average player. Isn't he his club's and country's all-time leading goal scorer? I wish we had some of that average stuff in our sides over the years...

Most of us who, had we been thrust into the limelight like Rooney, would have had problems. Fortunately his wife stuck with him through thick and thin, or it could have been a lot worse.

She came from the same area as him, so she had been on a similar steep learning curve for years and has managed to maintain some semblance of being grounded.

As Billy Connolly said "What I got from being raised a Catholic was an A-Level in guilt. " From what I have read regarding his documentary, Rooney has a similar A-Level.