James Milner and Wayne Rooney: Tale of 2 Teenage Stars and the Virtue of Realism

England cruised to a 2-0 victory at home to Malta in their FIFA World Cup qualifying clash at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening, with Wayne Rooney producing a moderate 90-minute performance for the Three Lions, as stand-in manager Gareth Southgate kept faith in his under-fire captain.

Though Rooney acquitted himself reasonably well in north London, history suggests this will only preserve a long-standing problem within the England setup, with the Manchester United forward serving as more of an albatross than an inspiration.

For Liverpool supporters, the critical microscope is more heavily focused on Rooney’s failings, as the 30-year-old has never been one held fondly by those on the red half of Merseyside—firstly, due to his upbringing with rivals Everton, and secondly, his synonymity with United following a £27 million move in 2004.

But his decline remains a sad indictment of English football, with the burden placed on Rooney’s shoulders from his days as a young talent, highlighting the nation’s demand for glory, despite their last and only major international success coming five decades ago.

At just 30, Rooney looks to be on his last legs as a top-level footballer, while a player who made the opposite switch—from Manchester to Merseyside—at the other end of his career, provides a salient example of how to get it right: Liverpool’s James Milner.

Both Rooney and Milner made their senior club debuts in 2002, both broke the record for the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer and both were revered as bright hopes for English football.

But 14 years later, with both now 30 years old, they provide a juxtaposition of fortunes—and it is Milner, reaching a new plateau under Jurgen Klopp in 2016/17, who is proving the virtue of realism in the modern footballer.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney has certainly been under the spotlight more than Milner throughout his career, bursting into the collective consciousness by scoring a remarkable last-minute winner at home to Arsenal in the Premier League in 2002.

Latching onto a hopeful ball forward from Everton midfielder Thomas Gravesen, Rooney cut onto his right foot 25 yards from goal before curling an emphatic long-range effort past a sprawling David Seaman to make it 2-1 to the Toffees.

“Remember the name: Wayne Rooney,” exclaimed commentator Clive Tyldesley, after the 16-year-old ended Arsenal’s 30-game unbeaten league run, with Gunners manager Arsene Wenger reserving special praise:

Rooney is the biggest England talent I’ve seen since I arrived in England.

There has certainly not been a player under 20 as good as him since I became a manager here.

We were beaten by a special goal from a very special talent.

Wenger’s words encapsulated the public’s view of Rooney, who instantly rose to the fore, and after 67 league appearances and his England debut, the striker made the switch to Old Trafford in 2004.

Rooney has won five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups, four FA Community Shields and one FIFA Club World Cup over 13 seasons with the Red Devils to date.

Among his personal accolades are the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2002 and the European Golden Boy award in 2004, while he was named in the UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament and has featured in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on three occasions.

There is no denying Rooney’s quality throughout his spell in the Premier League, but having achieved so much before his 30th birthday has arguably taken its toll. In dropping his No. 10 to the substitutes’ bench for United’s last two …

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