“Playing at right-back has helped me understand how a defender thinks”, he muses, “but I’m a winger and my style of play is different to the way a lot of people play”.
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The 61-year-old might also have mentioned the lack of obvious alternatives, with Joe Hart and Chris Smalling now out-of-favour at their clubs, while the likes of Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Harry Kane are still making their way with England. We have to put it behind us. The new manager has also confirmed that Rooney will be occupying the same number 10 role he now plays in at Manchester United under José Mourinho.
“I have had a fantastic worldwide career, played a lot of games and I’ve enjoyed every minute but at some point it has got to come to an end”.
With Dele Alli included in England’s squad, it appears there was no room for another attacking playmaker.
“We’ve seen some fabulous players in cricket who couldn’t handle the captaincy”.
“He’ll want to find out why we keep tripping up”. “We’ve walked around saying, ‘What can we do to make more of an impact on the players?'”
Rooney has been a fixture in the Three Lions set-up since 2003 and has played under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello, Stuart Pearce and Roy Hodgson. As qualifying for the finals gets underway this week both captain and coach will be under intense scrutiny against a side that has lost just five matches since January 2014 and beat Spain in qualifying for Euro 2016.
Not West Ham’s Michail Antonio.
Alan Shearer recently made the bold claim that Rooney ought to retire from global football in the interest of consolidating his Manchester United career.
“Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue”, said Allardyce.
“Then I went to Sheffield Wednesday and then Nottingham Forest and I managed to get to West Ham, where I always wanted to be – the Premier League”.
He said: “He’s a very good player”.
The 30-year-old Manchester United forward made the announcement in a press conference Tuesday ahead of the team’s first qualifier Sunday in Slovakia.
Allardyce said the 18-year-old’s inclusion in England’s Under-21s “will be invaluable for us later down the line”. It has been the case with a lot of experienced players who have played at the top level for many years.
England reached the last 16 at Euro 2016 before being humiliatingly eliminated by minnows Iceland. We have bad memories from the last game obviously.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere also missed out and Allardyce explained: “Jack just hasn’t had enough game time”. “If he plays for Manchester United on a regular basis, he would certainly – if he is breaking into the Manchester United team – be in my squad”.
Antonio began his career at non-League Tooting & Mitcham in 2007 and joined Reading a year later but his career stalled at the Madejski Stadium, triggering a series of loan spells at Cheltenham, Southampton, Colchester and Sheffield Wednesday. He has scored 53 worldwide goals. Antonio moved to West Ham previous year and has impressed as a right-sided midfielder, especially in the air.
“Big Sam”, as he is known, wants to create an environment where his players feel comfortable and relaxed when they report for England duty.
Alan Shearer, among others, has suggested it is time for Rooney to call time on England to help extend his club career.
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“It’s an important one for us”.
