Wayne Rooney: The beginning of the end

Updated 24/09/2016 at 17:37 GMT

Jose Mourinho’s decision to bench his captain for Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Leicester City marks a new stage in the career of Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United's English striker Wayne Rooney (R) sits on the substitutes bench

Image credit: AFP

It was a point made perceptively by Gary Neville on Sky Sports after United trounced the defending champions at Old Trafford - with Rooney only a late substitute.

If the United captain can accept his newly-reduced status then it is "not the end of Wayne Rooney” as former Old Trafford great, Neville said.

But his demotion to the bench means Rooney must accept that the rest of his career will be one of carefully managed decline.

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How did United perform without Rooney?

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney before the match

Image credit: Reuters

Mourinho made the big call United fans have been crying out for over the past few weeks as Rooney was dropped to the bench for the visit of Leicester City.

Correlation does not always equal causation but it was striking that with Rooney no longer occupying the No. 10 role or dropping into midfield, United’s passing looked much more fluid and quick through the centre of the park.

In his absence, stand-in captain Chris Smalling scored the opening goal; world-record signing Paul Pogba looked liberated in midfield as he moved forward with menace, scoring a goal of his own and causing havoc; Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked commanding up front; and Ander Herrera impressed in the deep.

With no Rooney on the pitch and the usual man off set-piece duty, United also scored from three corners – an unheard of development.

So in short: United excelled in every facet of the game which Rooney influences when on the pitch. It’s a very small sample size but the only conclusion is that Mourinho was, belatedly, entirely right to drop his captain.

What did Gary Neville say?

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney before the match

Image credit: Reuters

Pundits, and particularly those close to Manchester United and Rooney, have been reluctant to acknowledge the decline of the striker but Neville confronted the issue head on after the 4-1 victory.

But although he denied Rooney is finished, his analysis of the striker’s future at the club was still sobering.

“He’s got a game in the Europa League on Thursday night; he had a game on Wednesday. He doesn’t have to play every game,” said Neville. “He’s played 800 games in his career, Wayne Rooney, for United and England and it’s a phenomenal amount of games. I played 650 at the age of 36 – he’s 31, he’s played 800. It’s unbelievable the career he has had so far.

The transition for him in the last part of his career, this moment was always going to come. It’s probably been building up now for a year or so and he should relax. He’s run his race in a way. If Wayne Rooney retired tomorrow, Sky would be running goals shows for the next two weeks, lording him and telling him what a great career he had. The reality of it now is about managing the last three or four years of his career in as good a way as possible, contributing to the team, coming on for 15 minutes, playing on Thursday night and making sure his team-mates are prepared for Thursday night and he plays well.

“He can still have a good career at this club – it’s not the end of Wayne Rooney today, it’s just a different part of his career and if he accepts that, it can be equally as enjoyable.”

What did Jose Mourinho say?

Jose Mourinho has insisted Wayne Rooney is still very much part of his plans at Manchester United after dropping the forward for the 4-1 victory over Leicester City.

Image credit: Reuters

There was a ringing endorsement from Mourinho after the match.

He's a big player for me, a big player for United and a big player for this country. I don’t want to say anything else. He’s my man, I trust him completely and he's as happy as I am at the moment. His team won and that’s normal, he’s happy.

Does Rooney have a future at United?

There are precedents for the kind of transition Neville is talking about. Both Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes came to accept reduced roles in later years as they moved into less dynamic positions and started to miss some games entirely, and start others on the bench.

The trouble with Rooney is that he is being forced to consider this new reality at the age of just 30. Careers are not supposed to wind down so quickly – especially not for a player who is his country’s all-time record goalscorer and almost Manchester United’s too.

Rooney’s political capital at United is huge, if dwindling, and the fact England manager Sam Allardyce has basically surrendered any control as to where and when he plays shows the power that Rooney still commands.

But there will come a time when United seriously consider if spending £300,000 per week on a substitute is good value. Rooney’s experience is not to be carelessly discarded, but his pride and his pay may have to take a hit if he is to remain at the club for too much longer.

Neville's right: it's not the end of Wayne Rooney. But it is the end of Wayne Rooney as he saw himself. The end game is now in play.