Wayne Rooney, the current head coach of a slowly improving D.C. United, has released a candidly extensive interview with The Athletic today.
Speaking to David Ornstein, Rooney opined upon a variety of subjects; Marcus Rashford’s ascension, Harry Maguire decline, Mason Greenwood’s “bad position” and the future of Everton were all discussed with a refreshing openness.
The former United man would also provide his assessment of the current state of Old Trafford’s ownership, revealing how he believes “a change is needed.”
Rooney asserts the Glazers should be “bringing their ownership to a close” with the Americans seeming like “they want to go in a different direction”, admist months of a protracted takeover saga which can be fully recounted here.
He underscores the progress he expects to see in relation to investment in youth facilities, as well as the re-establishment of a winning ethos, where every game and competition is approached with a baseline expectation of success. Rooney believes the club have “come away from that a bit” over the past decade.
These words will echo the feelings of large swathes of the Old Trafford faithful, who believe, correctly, this competitive decline has been engendered by decisions made at the board level.
Rooney provides an interesting defence of the Glazers, however. He describes the American owners as having “been very successful” and contends:
“I’m sure they will get the credit they deserve for the job they have done, but also they’re going to get the negativity from fans who never seem to acknowledge what they’ve done for the club.”
While these words will run antithetical to the vast majority of fans, some consideration should be given to a player as intimately entwined with the club as Rooney. Particularly given his presence in both the Fergie and post-Fergie eras.
It remains hard to accept any positivity about the Glazers’ ownership of the club however.
A far more accurate assessment of a “very successful” ownership tenure from a fan’s perspective would be the Glazers were in charge as Sir Alex Ferguson single-handedly led a “very successful” period in the club’s history. Once the great man was removed, so too was the success.
It feels safe to assert the Glazers have extracted far more from the club than they have injected. Any success or progress on their part is incidental; profit and prestige are their primary purposes.
Rooney does acknowledge these feelings of discontent amongst the fanbase however, contending it’s reached a point “where the fans really want a change.” Hopefully these words will manifest themselves sooner rather than later.