Rooney By Name, Not By Nature: The Rise and Fall Of Wayne's Brother John!!

As you may not know, although i am a dedicated Manchester United fan and have been from birth as well as having personal connections with the club, i am actually a season ticket holder at Macclesfield Town.  When i talk to people about Macclesfield, i am constantly asked the same question….”Isn’t that where Wayne Rooney’s Brother Is?”.  This is usually followed by “is he as good as his brother?.

John has had a very roller coaster career. John was signed by Everton at the age of 6 and proceeded through their youth system before being released 6 years later at the age of 12. After his release he was snapped up by League Two Macclesfield Town and made his professional debut against Barnet on 24th March 2008. Following his debut, Silkmen fans held him with the highest regard. The player seemed to be blessed with the same vision as his older brother and had some raw ability in his locker.  John came a firm fans favourite in his debut professional season with fans frequently chanting his name.  Things were looking Rosy at Macclesfield for the young starlet, but suddenly everything seemed to fall apart at once and the love affair soon diminished.

With John’s contract ending at the end of the 2009-2010 season, from a fans perspective he clearly had his head turned. Rumours and speculation mounted of a series of scouts attending the Moss Rose to witness Wayne’s younger brother. Soon, mid-season John went on trial at Derby in February of 2010. Derby boss Nigel Boss believed the boy had talent, performed ok in training and wished to have a look at John in a further trial. No second trial did occur, but the damage had been done. John came back with his head turned, the perception from the fans were he was starting to believe his own hype. He apparently was a big personality in the dressing room with rumours being based around the wrong reasons. With this in mind, the fans felt a sense of lack of respect from the young lad who had been treated so well and given a second chance at a professional career in the football industry.

At the end of the season, John was left out of contract with John’s contract expiring, Macclesfield offered him a new and improved deal according to manager Gary Simpson. John, instead of signing the new deal decided to try and seal a deal with a bigger club elsewhere. Since the end of the season, John has had rumoured unsuccessful trials at Huddersfield, Accrington, Doncaster as well as rumoured interest from Sheffield United and Preston North End. Unfortunately for John, nothing came about. He has since had an unsuccessful trial at MLS side Seattle Sounders and now is on trial at  USSF Division 2 American Professional League Side, Portland Timbers, a huge step down from the dizzy heights of the English Football League.

Where did it all go wrong and what next for John Rooney?

If the rumours are true, the boy seems to have been given bad advice from advisors. Furthermore, instead of knuckling down and letting his football do the talking, he has believed his own press. There is no denying that the lad has a lot of talent. His vision, technique when at Macclesifeld was arguably second to none. But, recent history has shown that maybe he is not as good as he thinks he is which is such a shame. Even with the Macclesfield contract still available to him, he has shown a total lack of respect to the club and its supporters and seems to have finally burned his bridges with the Cheshire club. He has shown no dedication and clearly does not want to be a Macclesfield Player which is fine for him, but he should not be allowed to come sulking back to the club with his tail between his legs. In my opinion he would not even make the bench of the current Silkmen squad.

John is clearly living off his brothers name. When transfer rumours were being speculated at fees around £250,000 for him, it was clear that it was a figure based around name rather than skill. If he was called John Smith would he still be worth the same amount? I think not.

I wish John the best in his future career, i just hope the club cut their losses and move on. In the future when asked “is he as good as his brother?” i will unfortunately have to reply, “with a heavy heart, saddly not!!”.