Given that Rooney has just equaled the goalscoring record held by Bobby Chartlon, do you think that Rooney is the best England striker? If not, who do you think it is the best England striker (ever)?
I think Rooney is a top player but he has not turned into the player he should have, but him playing off Lineker would have been a great partnership IMO
Surely Jimmy Greaves is the best striker ever to grace the shirt, nothing against Rooney but Greaves record is Insane, 44 goals in 57 games takes some doing.
Rooney is one of the most overhyped and overawed players in English football history. People have acted in the past like he's up there with the best in the game, but he has never been close to ronaldo/Messi level and even suarez is infinitely better than Rooney peak He's had one prolific season and has not been that harrying deeper forward for years which is no suprise, his body must be knackered. The goal scoring record is padded by goals vs miners from eastern block countries and has only performed in 1 major tournament He's been a very good player in the past but imo he's done and I would've taken shearer over him if u compare both
If your comparing Shearer and Rooney, its no contest, would have Shearer every day of the week imo. Its quite interesting looking at Shearers stats and I wonder if he would have been snapped up like a top team like Blackburn in its short time at the top in the current climate. I mean 23 goals in 118 games for Southampton is hardly that prolific. I mean if someone like Benik Afobe was around when Shearer was and with his current record, he could quite possible be playing for a top ten Prem team. #Give youth a chance!
Bobby Chartlon, Alan Shearer, Gray Linker, Jimmy Greaves, Kelvin Keegan have better goal per game scoring records than Rooney. Surely you jest . . .
IMO Rooney should have already broken it if it wasn't for injuries eariler in his career and several missed chances in games. Rooney should have around 60 goals with 90 some odd caps.
Precisely why he shouldn't. He wasn't good enough. He deserve his numbers. A great servant to the country, but not near the best there ever was.
Great striker. Better for club than he has been for country. It seems he has tons more goals against smaller teams. Though as they say you can only score against those you play. Maybe its the talent around him or something about him but he's never fully clicked at any WC Ive seen
He's certainly the best of his time. I've been watching football since 84/85, and there has been four strikers that stand out above the rest, namely, Lineker, Shearer, Owen and Rooney. Without the terrible injury's he suffered, I think Michael Owen would have been the greatest player the country has ever produced. He was World class at 17 and 18 years of age, he was terrifying Premier league defences and International defences at that age, I've never seen a more confident player between the age of 17 and 22 than Owen. Lineker and Shearer both produced for their Country in big tournaments (Lineker 86 & 90 WC, Shearer Euro 96). Nowadays there are far more International games for Rooney to top up his goal tally, so I wouldn't read too much into the fact that he's the all time goal scorer, although at the same time you can't take that fact away from him. Rooney just hasn't hit the high expectations of his teenage potential, although he's still had a fantastic career and has been his Country's talisman for the past ten years, which shows how high the expectations of him were.
^Great post Sometimes what I ponder today is just how international the game is and whether the importance of club ball leaves the commitment of matches for your country lacking. Like at a club like Man United you need to give 100% or you will be benched. Not only that you wanna win the league and the CL. Maybe you give your less than in the Capital One Cup. Now whereas for the dozens of friendlies you play each a year, you don't have that killer edge that is required. And maybe it's the same for qualifiers. Players are on their S*^% for a tournament but don't always show that when it's the road to the tournament. Just a thought I've been pondering. I wonder what year was it that he and Ronaldo diverged. Both performing at a high level and great consistency but Ronaldo just went into high gear and never let up while Rooney had highs and lows.
Jimmy Greaves, his scoring record for Chelsea, Milan, Spurs and England is fantastic, I do wonder how the world cup final in 66 would have panned out if he wasn't injured!