Rooney and Kane come in for criticism in former captain’s assessment
England’s Wayne Rooney
Writing in his weekly column for The Sun, former England striker Alan Shearer has expressed his frustration that Wayne Rooney lined up in midfield in Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge of the national side.
Rooney has been playing in a more advanced role for Manchester United this season, but played alongside Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier in the centre of the park in Trnava on Sunday.
“Defences are quite happy to see Rooney sit deep,” Shearer wrote. “This is because he cannot turn them when he is spraying balls about from midway inside his own half.
“At times he was behind Eric Dier and popped up behind Harry Kane only briefly,” he continued.
New boss Allardyce caused consternation after the game by admitting that Rooney can play where he wants to, and that he can’t stop him playing in midfield.
Former England captain Alan Shearer called for Rooney to retire after Euro 2016
Shearer, however, sees Rooney as a goalscorer rather than a creator and has called for the skipper to be played further forward to increase his influence on the game.
The former England and Newcastle striker retired from international duty aged just 29 after Euro 2000, and last week encouraged Rooney to make a similar decision following such a disappointing campaign in France – advice which the current captain hasn’t taken on board.
“He wants one more crack at a major tournament and I respect that,” Shearer said. “But I fear that he will suffer for it at a time when there is huge competition for places at Old Trafford.”
Rooney was not the only England man to attract Shearer’s scrutiny, as Harry Kane also came in for criticism.
Harry Kane’s performance was also held to account in Shearer’s column
Echoing the comments of his former Blackburn strike partner Chris Sutton, Shearer described Kane as looking “very tired, heavy legged and short of confidence.”
The Tottenham striker is without a goal so far this season and hasn’t scored internationally since the pre-tournament friendly against Turkey in May. His rival for the starting berth up front, Jamie Vardy, has netted twice already for defending champions Leicester but didn’t make it off the bench in Slovakia.
Adam Lallana’s last-gasp strike secured a debut victory for Allardyce, and the Liverpool man was identified by Shearer as “undoubtedly our best player on the night.”
Shearer was not the only watching England fan unimpressed with the decision to play Rooney in midfield, as the following tweets show.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
