I think we all knew that bitter, whisky-nosed **** was lying. As usual.
Wayne Rooney risks feud with Sir Alex Ferguson after contradicting injury claim
Wayne Rooney has taken the extraordinary step of speaking out in defiance of Sir Alex Ferguson by denying that his recent absence from Manchester United teams was due to an ankle injury.
In a move that contradicts his manager, Rooney stressed there had been no injury and claimed that he did not know why Ferguson gave this as the explanation for his omission from the games against Valencia and Sunderland.
“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season,” Rooney said. “I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session so there’s no problem with my fitness.”
Asked why Ferguson had said that he did have an ankle injury, Rooney replied: “Don’t know.”
Rooney has been in and out of the United team since allegations surfaced in September that he slept with prostitutes. Ferguson initially left him out of the match against Everton because he said he did not want to subject Rooney to abuse from fans at Goodison Park.
He then played against Rangers and Liverpool, before being substituted after 61 minutes of the 2-2 draw with Bolton. Ferguson then said that he would be out for up to three weeks with an ankle injury, but refused to go into detail over the precise nature of the problem.
“I think Wayne will be two to three weeks,” he said. “It is a straightforward ankle injury. Nobody likes to be injured but he is. There is nothing you can do about it. What do you want me to say? Do you want me to describe every ligament? Christ.”
Rooney was pictured leaving hospital in Manchester on Sept 29 after supposedly having had a scan.
The striker’s decision to apparently set the record straight not only underlines his frustration at missing games, but risks a significant fracture in his relationship with Ferguson. It also prompts fresh questions over the explanation for his omission from United's last two matches.
Rooney has been well below his best this season, but it would seem unthinkable that Ferguson would drop his star striker for purely football reasons. It leads to the suspicion that Rooney has been left out either because of concern about his psychological state following the recent focus on his marriage or on disciplinary grounds.
However, sources close to Rooney have distanced themselves from claims that he is about to pull the plug on contract negotiations with United.
England manager Fabio Capello was certainly satisfied that there was no problem with Rooney’s ankle this week and he played the full 90 minutes against Montenegro on Tuesday.
Ferguson’s reaction to Rooney’s remarks will be fascinating and, at time when Manchester United are also struggling on the pitch, it represents an unwanted test of his renowned man-management skills.
Rooney is yet to score in open play for Manchester United this season and is adamant that he now just wants regular football, starting with the match against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
“I felt better [in the England game],” Rooney said. “I felt sharp. You need games to get your fitness in. I played a few games and felt I was getting sharp but then missed three or four and then don’t feel as sharp as I thought I would do. I just want to keep playing consistently.”
Asked if he needed matches to maintain his fitness, Rooney said: “I think you need to in this league. You need to keep playing because if you’re not in full fitness it’s difficult to break teams down. I train as hard as I can every day and I do extra training which I’ve done since I was a young boy.
“You just have to keep working hard. I know I’ve been through this before and, once one goal goes in, I am sure I will get more. It’s just getting that goal. There are a lot of games left in the season so I’m sure I can starting scoring soon.”
Various theories have been put forward for Rooney’s poor form during the World Cup, but he also denied that there had been any physical problems.
“Towards the end of last season I was injured but during the World Cup I trained in every session and had no problems fitness wise,” he said. “Last season is in the past. It was a good season for me, but we won the Carling Cup and we should be winning more than that.”
War of words...
Wayne Rooney (Oct 12): “I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season. I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session.”
Sir Alex Ferguson (Oct 1): “He [Rooney] has been playing a few weeks with his niggling ankle injury and he’s kept it to himself, so it comes to a point where it suffers. He thinks he’s fit because he always thinks he’s fit. That’s the problem with the lad.”
FERGIE BUST-UPS - VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS
Sir Alex Ferguson has clashed with several players during his 24-year reign at Manchester United - some have survived, many have not.
VICTIMS
DAVID BECKHAM: Four months after wearing an Alice band to highlight wound sustained after being by a boot kicked by Ferguson, Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for £25m.
JAAP STAM: Stam had been an integral part of the 1999 Treble-winning team, but the Dutch defender was sold to Lazio in 2001 following a series of revelations in his autobiography Head-to-Head.
PAUL INCE: Ince irritated Ferguson with his self-styled ’Guv’nor’ nickname before being sold to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995. Ferguson later described the midfielder as a "big-time Charlie".
ROY KEANE: Keane’s contract was terminated in November 2005 after allegations of an explosive rant on MUTV against his team-mates and Ferguson’s then assistant, Carlos Queiroz.
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY: Scored 150 goals in 219 appearances, but Ferguson dropped the Dutchman for the 2006 Carling Cup Final and then sold him to Real Madrid following a training ground row with Cristiano Ronaldo.
GABRIEL HEINZE: The Argentine defender angered Ferguson by attempting to secure a move to Liverpool in 2007. Ferguson refused to allow Heinze to join United’s biggest rivals and instead offloaded him to Real Madrid.
SURVIVORS
RYAN GIGGS: At 18, Giggs enraged Ferguson by partying with Lee Sharpe during tense title run-in with Leeds. Giggs said: “He charged into the house like a bull in a china shop, red-faced with rage, like some uncontrollable force of nature.” Eighteen years on, Giggs still going strong at United.
PAUL SCHOLES: Refused to 'play with the kids’ in Worthington Cup clash at Arsenal in November 2001. Forced to play testimonial at Barnsley 24 hours later, but remains a key figure to this day.
NANI: Accused Ferguson of "breaking my confidence" last season. Lengthy spell on sidelined followed, but now a first-team regular.
Wayne Rooney risks feud with Sir Alex Ferguson after contradicting injury claim
Wayne Rooney has taken the extraordinary step of speaking out in defiance of Sir Alex Ferguson by denying that his recent absence from Manchester United teams was due to an ankle injury.
In a move that contradicts his manager, Rooney stressed there had been no injury and claimed that he did not know why Ferguson gave this as the explanation for his omission from the games against Valencia and Sunderland.
“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season,” Rooney said. “I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session so there’s no problem with my fitness.”
Asked why Ferguson had said that he did have an ankle injury, Rooney replied: “Don’t know.”
Rooney has been in and out of the United team since allegations surfaced in September that he slept with prostitutes. Ferguson initially left him out of the match against Everton because he said he did not want to subject Rooney to abuse from fans at Goodison Park.
He then played against Rangers and Liverpool, before being substituted after 61 minutes of the 2-2 draw with Bolton. Ferguson then said that he would be out for up to three weeks with an ankle injury, but refused to go into detail over the precise nature of the problem.
“I think Wayne will be two to three weeks,” he said. “It is a straightforward ankle injury. Nobody likes to be injured but he is. There is nothing you can do about it. What do you want me to say? Do you want me to describe every ligament? Christ.”
Rooney was pictured leaving hospital in Manchester on Sept 29 after supposedly having had a scan.
The striker’s decision to apparently set the record straight not only underlines his frustration at missing games, but risks a significant fracture in his relationship with Ferguson. It also prompts fresh questions over the explanation for his omission from United's last two matches.
Rooney has been well below his best this season, but it would seem unthinkable that Ferguson would drop his star striker for purely football reasons. It leads to the suspicion that Rooney has been left out either because of concern about his psychological state following the recent focus on his marriage or on disciplinary grounds.
However, sources close to Rooney have distanced themselves from claims that he is about to pull the plug on contract negotiations with United.
England manager Fabio Capello was certainly satisfied that there was no problem with Rooney’s ankle this week and he played the full 90 minutes against Montenegro on Tuesday.
Ferguson’s reaction to Rooney’s remarks will be fascinating and, at time when Manchester United are also struggling on the pitch, it represents an unwanted test of his renowned man-management skills.
Rooney is yet to score in open play for Manchester United this season and is adamant that he now just wants regular football, starting with the match against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
“I felt better [in the England game],” Rooney said. “I felt sharp. You need games to get your fitness in. I played a few games and felt I was getting sharp but then missed three or four and then don’t feel as sharp as I thought I would do. I just want to keep playing consistently.”
Asked if he needed matches to maintain his fitness, Rooney said: “I think you need to in this league. You need to keep playing because if you’re not in full fitness it’s difficult to break teams down. I train as hard as I can every day and I do extra training which I’ve done since I was a young boy.
“You just have to keep working hard. I know I’ve been through this before and, once one goal goes in, I am sure I will get more. It’s just getting that goal. There are a lot of games left in the season so I’m sure I can starting scoring soon.”
Various theories have been put forward for Rooney’s poor form during the World Cup, but he also denied that there had been any physical problems.
“Towards the end of last season I was injured but during the World Cup I trained in every session and had no problems fitness wise,” he said. “Last season is in the past. It was a good season for me, but we won the Carling Cup and we should be winning more than that.”
War of words...
Wayne Rooney (Oct 12): “I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season. I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session.”
Sir Alex Ferguson (Oct 1): “He [Rooney] has been playing a few weeks with his niggling ankle injury and he’s kept it to himself, so it comes to a point where it suffers. He thinks he’s fit because he always thinks he’s fit. That’s the problem with the lad.”
FERGIE BUST-UPS - VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS
Sir Alex Ferguson has clashed with several players during his 24-year reign at Manchester United - some have survived, many have not.
VICTIMS
DAVID BECKHAM: Four months after wearing an Alice band to highlight wound sustained after being by a boot kicked by Ferguson, Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for £25m.
JAAP STAM: Stam had been an integral part of the 1999 Treble-winning team, but the Dutch defender was sold to Lazio in 2001 following a series of revelations in his autobiography Head-to-Head.
PAUL INCE: Ince irritated Ferguson with his self-styled ’Guv’nor’ nickname before being sold to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995. Ferguson later described the midfielder as a "big-time Charlie".
ROY KEANE: Keane’s contract was terminated in November 2005 after allegations of an explosive rant on MUTV against his team-mates and Ferguson’s then assistant, Carlos Queiroz.
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY: Scored 150 goals in 219 appearances, but Ferguson dropped the Dutchman for the 2006 Carling Cup Final and then sold him to Real Madrid following a training ground row with Cristiano Ronaldo.
GABRIEL HEINZE: The Argentine defender angered Ferguson by attempting to secure a move to Liverpool in 2007. Ferguson refused to allow Heinze to join United’s biggest rivals and instead offloaded him to Real Madrid.
SURVIVORS
RYAN GIGGS: At 18, Giggs enraged Ferguson by partying with Lee Sharpe during tense title run-in with Leeds. Giggs said: “He charged into the house like a bull in a china shop, red-faced with rage, like some uncontrollable force of nature.” Eighteen years on, Giggs still going strong at United.
PAUL SCHOLES: Refused to 'play with the kids’ in Worthington Cup clash at Arsenal in November 2001. Forced to play testimonial at Barnsley 24 hours later, but remains a key figure to this day.
NANI: Accused Ferguson of "breaking my confidence" last season. Lengthy spell on sidelined followed, but now a first-team regular.
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