England 'incredibly bad' at honouring greats amid Wayne Rooney discussion, say The Debate panel
Wednesday 14 November 2018 23:27, UK
England are right to give Wayne Rooney a final cap having been "incredibly bad" at thanking players previously, The Debate agreed.
Liam Rosenior, the Mail on Sunday's chief sports writer Oliver Holt and former USA international Taylor Twellman told The Debate they were all in agreement Rooney deserved a 120th and final cap, which will be awarded to him at Wembley on Thursday.
The decision to call up the 33-year-old has caused some controversy, after he retired from international football more than two years ago and has spent the past few months playing his club football in the MLS.
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But Holt and Rosenior agreed England - and the English culture - should do more to recognise its greatest players, including tributes like Thursday's game with the USA, live on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm.
Holt said: "I think it's great we're doing it. In contrast to the USA, we're incredibly bad at saying thank you to our greatest players.
"The other day, when Frank Lampard went back to Chelsea with Derby as manager, he wasn't moaning but made a casual mention of the fact he never got to say goodbye at Chelsea - we are very good at just booting players out of the door.
"We pay lip-service to being loyal to players, but the clubs just boot them out of the door when they're finished. Frank Lampard is one of Chelsea's greatest ever players, and it's the same here with Rooney."
Rosenior added in addition to serving as a tribute to Rooney, the forward's link-up with the England squad this week had provided players, as well as fans, with a surge of anticipation.
He said: "I've had the pleasure of meeting Wayne on many occasions, and he has worn that England shirt with pride.
"Lewis Dunk, I see him every day. He's absolutely delighted he gets the chance to train with someone like Wayne Rooney. We have a young squad, in terms of our England squad.
"Sometimes I don't think we realise those figures in our games influence other players coming through. For Lewis to train with Wayne, and potentially be on the pitch with him tomorrow, is a huge thing for Lewis and his family."
Twellman said in his native USA the move to recognise Rooney would be seen as more run-of-the-mill, and added the special circumstances surrounding Rooney's career warranted a tribute.
He said: "When you look at the great footballers in the world, I always find the jersey number, retirement thing kind of odd.
"However, the first thing I thought when I heard about this was hang on - this is the all-time top goalscorer, with the most caps for an outfield player.
"It's against the USA, where he's now playing his club football, and I had no problem. I understand the narrative of not giving out caps cheaply, but I don't think it applies to Wayne Rooney here - we're capping a lot of new players in the USA, trying to work out what fits, but this is different.
"I was there when we gave a tribute to Landon Donovan, and two years later Clint Dempsey retired but didn't want a tribute. The question of when does it stop is a real conversation, but at this moment Wayne Rooney is the all-time top goalscorer, and outfield capped player. I don't think it's that big a discussion."
