Wayne Rooney was outstanding football playermainly associated with Manchester Unitedwhere he played in the years 2004-2017, won five English championships and the Champions League. For a long time, Rooney was the top goalscorer in the history of the England national team with 53 goals, but then he was overtaken by Harry Kane. Ronney is also the third most scoring player in the history of the Premier League (208 goals), after Alan Shearer (260) and Kane (213).
For now, however, it cannot be said that Rooney's coaching career is as fruitful as his football career. Rooney started in November 2020 as Derby County's interim coach and was then made permanent until June 2022. Rooney later worked at DC United (2022-2023) and Birmingham City (2023-2024). The best results he achieved in Derby, where he averaged 1.16 points per game. “Rooney is just an idiot who hates Birmingham,” wrote Birmingham fans in December last year.
From May 25 this year Rooney is the coach of Plymouth Argyle, a team playing at the Championship level. Plymouth has never played at Premier League level in its history. -Becoming a coach of this club seems to be the perfect step in my career. The club is on an exciting long-term journey with a plan in place. I'm grateful to be part of it, said Rooney, quoted by Argyle's official website.
What is Rooney's current job at Plymouth Argyle?
“Rooney is unfit for the job.” The fans are calling for the coach's head
The start of the season for Plymouth Argyle looked quite good, because after ten matches in the Championship, the team had three wins, two draws and five defeats. This placed him near the middle of the table. Argyle's last victory league is a clash with Portsmouth (1-0), which took place on November 5 this year. Since then, Argyle have drawn 1-1 with Derby County, 2-2 with Watford and lost two more matches1:6 against Norwich City and 0:4 against Bristol City, respectively. Plymouth Argyle's goal balance after the last two rounds is 1:10.
This leaves Plymouth Argyle in 21st place with 17 points, just two points clear of the relegation zone. – We weren't good enough. If players want to join and stay in this team, they must perform better. I probably could have fielded an U-18 team in this match and they wouldn't have conceded six goals, so I'm very disappointed and frustrated,” Rooney said after the 6-1 defeat to Norwich.
“Rooney was embarrassed after the last two defeats, in which he conceded 10 goals. The fans are calling for his head. Things are not going Rooney's way. The fans are fed up, and the chants against the manager are becoming louder,” wrote the Spanish daily “AS”. “How many more Championship clubs will trust Rooney and destroy their reputation?”, “Rooney's fall is always nice to watch”, “Rooney is really not suitable for managerial work” – these are some of the comments of Internet users on the X website.
Rooney's contract with Plymouth Argyle expires in June 2027.