Wayne Rooney Will Get Manchester United Fans' Love After Boos, Says Bryan Robson

Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson believes Wayne Rooney will receive a rousing reception from Red Devils supporters after being targeted with jeers by England fans during the international break.

The England skipper was booed at Wembley on Saturday as the Three Lions ground out a 2-0 win against Malta. Rooney was then left on the bench for the team’s underwhelming 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday, introduced as a second-half substitute.

With United’s Premier League campaign to resume on Monday in a grudge match with Liverpool, Robson has backed the team’s supporters to get behind the struggling skipper, per Ken Lawrence of the Sun: 

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At least United fans will show him the love and respect he deserves. Wayne’s always given everything for England—just as he has always done for United—and that should always be appreciated.

[...]

Wayne has done great things for England, no matter that as a country we have not achieved what we would want to. Yet whenever he goes through a bad patch some England fans just jump on that bad patch. They don’t stand by him. It’s not right or fair. He deserves better than what he is getting.

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Robson also accused England supporters of making the 30-year-old a scapegoat for the team's recent problems.

“Most of the England fans are fantastic,” he continued. “[…] But in the case of Wayne, some of them seem to have a problem. Whenever things go wrong it is always [Rooney’s] fault—never anybody else’s—and that is not right.”

Harry Sherlock of Goal felt as though the fans' jeering of Rooney was warranted, as he's well out of form:

Given his poor recent displays for club and country, there’s a debate to be had over whether or not Rooney should be starting games at this point. But to target a player who has made 118 appearances for England—scoring 53 goals in the process—with boos seems harsh.

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England fans have acted in a similar way towards other distinguished servants in the past, too. Ashley Cole, arguably the finest left-back in world football at his best, was also lambasted by his own supporters, as was Chelsea legend Frank Lampard; both men made over 100 appearances for the national side.

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand was left a little baffled by the approach some supporters took towards Rooney:

Although there were sections of the Wembley crowd that targeted the captain, the travelling supporters in Slovenia were noticeable in their backing of Rooney as he warmed up during the game. It seems the more hardcore demographic of supporter is a little more appreciative of the forward’s commitment to the international cause.

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While a lot of United fans have been disappointed with the captain's performances, their dissatisfaction with Rooney’s displays has never extended to more than grumbles. It’s rare to see any set of fans turn on a player who's been such a key part for so many years; it's the manager, not the captain, who selects the team, after all.

United supporters will always show respect to their legendary figures, and regardless of Rooney’s current stock, with 530 appearances and 246 goals for the club, that’s a category he’ll always feature in at Old Trafford.