Dramatic Theme

On Monday I said this of something Steven Howard had written, praising Rooney:

Steven Howard puts the praise of Rooney into a Man Utd context, but it feels as if he's just setting him up so that after the next game he plays for us he can have a go at him for not doing what he suggested

And it didn't even take that long. To be fair the international break is now over so Rooney is once again a Man Utd player and thus fair game. Today Steven Howard has one of those outraged articles about Rooney we know so well. One bad tackle equals a crime punishable by death:

as the second-half drew on and both he and his team-mates started to dig themselves into a frustrating hole, the old England — and the old Rooney — started to re-emerge.

The Rooney who is a liability to both club and country.

The Rooney who effectively cost England their place at the last World Cup when he needlessly waded in and stamped on Portugal’s Ricardo Carvalho as the quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen warmed up.

When it finally reached boiling-point, so did Rooney.

Take that, you ****!...

On another day, in a major tournament where the eyes of the world are on match officials, he could once again have cost his country dear.

Certainly, if he tries this sort of thing in South Africa next year, he will not escape anywhere near as lightly as he did in last night’s qualifier.

Jesus wept. "The old Rooney", the Rooney you were slagging off a week and a half ago is a Rooney from some "old" times is he? Talk about overkill.
Capello's reaction was nice though, from The Telegraph:

Capello, though, could see no problem: "The referee said he got the ball. What happened? Nothing. It was a normal tackle. We need strong tackles sometimes."

The Ukranian coach's opinion is also interesting:

Ukraine coach Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko did not see the tackle but said he assumed it was quite "dangerous and ruthless".

Why did he assume it was "dangerous and reckless"? Maybe he's been reading the British newspapers...
So I'm not going to bother looking through the rest of the reports of the game. I have read them, but they're all rubbish. Only 2 make the cut. This from David Pleat on The Guardian blog is alright, praising Rooney, with an interesting acknowledgement of his tackle:

Rooney blotted his copybook with a follow-through after losing possession and it is disappointing that his temperament will continue to be questioned. But whether wide left, up front on his own, or playing off the main striker, his array of skills emphasise the necessity to keep this outstanding talent fit.

Which I read as being disappointed that the papers just won't let it lie... (How funny is David Pleat btw? His comment during the game on one of the Ukranian players was a classic - "He looks quite anemic, with his hair and his dimples and his face.")
The other one I'll highlight is this from James Lawton in The Independent. It has often puzzled me how an Italian coach like Capello doesn't want Carrick in his midfield, I'd have thought Carrick's more thoughtful controlled and precise game would suit any Italian. It's a point James Lawton raises anyway:

with the birth of what had continued to look suspiciously like a real team it seemed more appropriate to say something like: Signor Capello, Excellency, and with respect, do you think it might just be possible that last night's selection was not quite perfect?

It was eminently sound, of course, Capo, but might not a certain Michael Carrick have provided something of an extra dimension?

Was it just possible that he might have given a more consistent rhythm to an England effort that, especially when Wayne Rooney was on the ball, showed more than once a capacity to brush against the sublime? ...

With England a goal ahead and beginning to savour the possibility of a fifth straight qualifying victory, Capello was no doubt looking for a little more ball control. ...
This win makes that [qualification] a near certainty, but there is still room for considerably more conviction when they get on the ball, something that is not so much about good intentions as a certain natural talent. The kind that is, with respect, owned by Michael Carrick.

His words on Rooney's tackle are the most (only) sensible as well:

Rooney also offered another kind of promise, a more hazardous one when he followed through with excessive conviction on Oleksandr Aliyev and fortunately escaped a booking.

"Escaped a booking". Why don't other papers just use words like that instead of making everything concerning Rooney sound so bloody dramatic. "Excessive conviction", not, and I'm looking at you Steven Howard, "Take that you ****!"