Wayne Rooney Slammed by Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher for 'Stupid' Tackle
Former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville believes Wayne Rooney's decision to kick Stewart Downing during the Red Devils' recent win over West Ham was "stupid" and "instinctive."
Rooney aimed to break up play as the Hammers launched a counter during the Old Trafford fixture. Instead of clipping the winger's heel, he lashed at the back of Downing's legs and received a straight red card for his actions.
United were forced to defend their precious 2-1 lead with 10 men—including young debutants Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair—but showed decent fight to exit the game with three points.
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Neville, speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show, suggests Rooney can have no complaints, reported by Nik Simon of the Daily Mail:
"Rooney can have no arguments whatsoever. You do want to break play up but the mistake Rooney makes is the height of the contact. It's stupid, it's instinctive. United can't afford to lose any more players and he’s going to be missing for a month now with a big game against Chelsea coming up.
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Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher also weighed in, saying, "Just tap Downing on the ankle and you'll be fine. It's a stupid tackle, it's reckless."
Rooney has since apologised to his team-mates, reported by United's official Twitter account:
The newly installed captain is due to miss matches against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea, providing manager Louis van Gaal with greater squad problems than he ever could have imagined when he took over. Defenders Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling are currently injured, as reported by David McDonnell of the Mirror, as the lack of top-quality centre-back signings during the summer continues to plague the team.
Rooney dropped back into midfield to add bulk to United's centre against West Ham. Although he scored an excellent goal, the Englishman's general passing game and first touch was defined by sloppiness. He was meant to break up play and launch counters from deep but struggled to positively influence the match beyond his opening strike.
Juan Mata is now expected to take on the No. 10 role in Rooney's absence. The Spaniard can feel hard done by after his recent dropping, especially considering he has netted two goals in four starts this season, per WhoScored.com.
Mata's ability to link play helped United post their most impressive performance of the campaign against Queens Park Rangers. Fluidity has been missing since he dropped out the side, so now is his chance to highlight his importance to the team. Speculation continues to surround his future, per The Guardian's Barry Glendenning, meaning he must perform.
The former Chelsea man's lack of defensive ability may leave United further exposed at the back, but he is unlikely to thrust his team into trouble like Rooney did on Saturday.
Interestingly, Carragher believes United have enough to topple Liverpool in the battle for fourth place. The former Merseyside favourite said he would "probably side with Manchester United" when predicting which of the two are more likely to qualify for the Champions League, per Monday Night Football and via 101 Great Goals.
As noted by the latter publication's Twitter account, Carragher's reasoning doesn't suggest United are the superior side:
Fourth would be an excellent result for Van Gaal and his men. United have won just two of their opening six Premier League games and face a difficult run as Christmas approaches. Trips to face Manchester City and Arsenal offset the home ties with Everton and Chelsea before the end of November, ensuring performances must collectively improve if embarrassment is to be avoided.
Rooney is set to return against City on Nov. 2. Should Mata put in the performances he is capable of, many United fans may wonder why Rooney should start again at all.
