Wayne Rooney: You Can Ban the Player, but You Can't Ban the Talent

I was not surprised when I got up this morning and found the FA had held up Wayne Rooney's two-match ban for swearing into the camera during Manchester United's 4-2 victory over West Ham last weekend.

Rooney will never be the shining star of the public opinion.  He will probably go down as one of the most controversial players of his generation, but that doesn't mean he won't go down in history as one of the greatest players of the Premier League era in English Football.

The ban means Rooney will not be featuring against Fulham Saturday nor at Wembley against Manchester City next weekend.

The problem is that Rooney is going to be lining up against Chelsea for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday and he'll be back in the squad for domestic action against Newcastle a week later.

Rooney is quoted as being absolutely "gutted" over the ruling, but I don't think it's going to have the long term effects that many are touting right now.

Rooney's Game Is Based Around His Aggressive Nature, You Can't Take That Away

The young English international is an incredible talent with a terrible personality.  Rooney's game is a mixture of modern technical prowess and good old-fashioned dirty play.

Steve McClaren made a great comment on the matter in a recent interview with Sky Sports.

McClaren said, "He [Rooney] is competitive, he is aggressive and he is a winner. You can't take that away from him.

"I remember once trying to do that with Roy Keane. I said 'Look, you are missing five or six games through suspension every season, calm down a little.'

"He [Keane] did for six months and it was hopeless. [We said] 'Get back to normal, we'll miss you for five or six games.'"

Guess what?  As long as Sir Alex Ferguson is the manager at United, they will most certainly continue said policy.  I highly recommend it to any future managers.

If you tell Rooney to calm down and play like someone he is not, you are not only hurting the player, but the team as well because you are depriving it of one of its most dangerous assets.

Roy Keane was a thug on the pitch and had his fair share of suspensions for terrible tackles and equally terrible tirades, but he was the driving force behind the Red Devils' early Premier League dominance throughout.

Like the Keane in the past, when Rooney is fit and on form, he is one of the best players on the pitch.  He makes the players around him better while leaving the opposing sides looking worse for wear.

For every batch of goals scored or opportunities created, Rooney is going to make a bad tackle or an off color remark, but that is just the nature of his game. 

There's no excuse for his deplorable behavior both on and off the field, but I just don't see how a two-match ban is going to "fix" Wayne Rooney or any other ill-tempered talents throughout the league.

The Ban Will Not Have Any Immediate Effect on the Game or How It's Played

Rooney's suspension is nothing more than a belated red card suspension.  I'm sorry, but the FA comes off as hypocrites when the whole dog and pony show the media creates calms down.

They do not suspend him for his forearm challenge on James McCarthy last month because the referee made no kind of on-the-field ruling on the matter, but they then turn around and suspend him for swearing into a camera with an international live feed even though the referee made no on-the-field ruling on the matter.

The league just can't send out a memo this week telling the refs that all swearing or expletives are punishable offenses. 

This is a matter that they really need to sit down and discuss for quite some time, writing out specific guidelines for players, managers and referees.  Then add it to the rulebook and make a point to enforce the matter from here on out. 

It'd probably be best to wait until the start of next season, but if they can grind it out and get all the referees and clubs up to speed in a matter of a few weeks, then sure—throw it out there and see how it goes until season's end.

If the FA really wanted to make a statement though, they should have banned him for the rest of the season.  It still comes off as too little, too late in my opinion, but it would bottle up the issue in no time whatsoever.

The two-match ban is by no means a slap on the wrist, but it really is no better than a good smack to the back of the head.  The FA has failed to remember that Rooney has a thick skull.

Closing Comments

First, it you are a parent who has a child who looks up to Wayne Rooney as a role model, then please point out that he is an immature idiot and the only thing worth emulating is his playing style.

If you need a role model for your child, then be one yourself or point out a hard-working class act like Ryan Giggs—not Wayne Rooney.

Also, I wouldn't go so far as to call Rooney an antihero like others have.  Antihero's have redeeming qualities and Rooney's are few and far between. 

Rooney is more like Frankenstein's monster.  He was forced in front of the general population before he was ready, and as a result, failed to find the time to grow into a proper young man. 

He will have to answer to angry mobs for the rest of his professional playing career and beyond, but the only thing bigger than being famous is being infamous—something Rooney should have no trouble achieving.

Finally, to the Football Association: Keep working on trying to weed out all the hooligans and racists—we don''t need them—but don't get rid of Wayne Rooney.  He's a child trapped in a grown man's body right now, so next time just wash his mouth out with soap and send him to bed without his supper.