Intentionally or not, Sir Alex Ferguson put out a clear message in his radio interview to the New York-based Sirius XM that he, rather than Fabio Capello, is the man who knows Wayne Rooney best.
Relaxing on holiday in France, there was no expectation or demand for Ferguson to vacate his sun-lounger in order to address the issue of England’s faltering World Cup campaign for the benefit of an American audience.
But Ferguson is a master of perfectly timed, well-placed observations and he knew that his comments would quickly find their way back across the Atlantic.
And by revealing that he told Rooney to ‘relax and enjoy’ the World Cup last week, the Manchester United manager instantly relegated Capello to nothing more than a guy who has taken only temporary care of England’s leading footballer.
Ferguson spoke to Sirius on Saturday evening, before the storm clouds began to gather on Sunday morning following John Terry’s outspoken comments about the need for the squad to ‘get things off their chest’ in a meeting with Capello.
But even then, before the apparent disharmony became public, Ferguson let it slip that he ‘sensed tension’ in the camp.
Ferguson was not attempting to undermine Capello’s authority from afar, far from it.
His only objective was to throw a protective blanket around Rooney, knowing only too well that the 24-year-old would be subjected to vitriolic criticism as a result of his televised rant at the England fans following the 0-0 draw against Algeria last Friday.
So Ferguson has not only spoken to Rooney to offer him a pep talk – a job which Capello would have been expected to do as England manager – he has also revealed the tensions that might just have sparked Rooney’s anger.
Ferguson has done for Rooney what he has done in the past for David Beckham, Phil Neville, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo when their actions at major tournaments left a sour taste in the mouths of supporters.
He has acted swiftly to show his support when an unforgiving nation threatened to focus its anger onto one player.
Certainly, with Beckham and Ronaldo, Ferguson’s backing in their hour of need was rewarded with trophy-winning performances.
Rooney is likely to repay the favour in the same way, but Ferguson already knew that.
Yet by revealing his thoughts and concerns for Rooney, Ferguson has only reinforced his position as the man who knows better than anyone just what makes him tick.
No comments:
Post a Comment