Wayne Rooney is to be flown over to the U.S.A in his comeback from injury and his attempt to regain fitness. It is hoped that this regained fitness will have the consequence of manifesting the Rooney of last season’s goal scoring prowess. Sir Alex Ferguson has thus wielded his domain of influence over the Manchester United striker and this act can be seen as further reclamation of authority over what seemed a contentious scenario.
The fitness camp based in Portland, Oregon is called Nike World and will serve as the catalyst for Rooney to regain his fitness with state-of-the-art facilities inherent within the complex. The entourage that accompanies Rooney will serve as his trainers that impose a harsh regime upon him in his bid to match the expectations that fans deem necessary after having signed his newly improved contract. The outcome of this decision will be instantaneously evident as Ferguson has explicitly stated that he expects Rooney to be match ready upon his return.
With Rooney’s previous excursion to Dubai having been ratified in order for him to hold conciliatory talks with Coleen over their marriage situation, he has had a busy few weeks travelling. So what are the reasons behind Rooney flying 10 hours across the globe? Well Mike Phelan was on hand to the media and clarified the motivations for this decision: “If it goes according to plan, he’ll be available when he returns. We have the facilities here but, after all the attention he’s had lately, we thought a change of scenery might be best for him and the club. He can go there without the attention he would get around here.”
Let us just assert the fact that this conditioning work will last all of ten days, is this not a rather excessive ploy to try and get a professional football player fit enough to play? Yes the media pressures are visible and all consuming at times, but Oregon, for all of my knowledge, still has television, journalists and the media. For all we know his Shrek-like appearance may cause more problems over there than football related matters at home. He has also been away once already to Dubai to clear his head and rectify whatever it was that needed doing so.
Phelan further states: “He’s going to do some serious work this time…His condition is not too bad. He just needs that extra little bit that we feel we can give him.” Two questions automatically arise from this statement, one being, did he not do any serious work previously and if so why not? Secondly, Rooney’s condition is ‘not too bad’, but bad enough to fly him to the U.S.A in order to undergo a strict training regime. It just strikes me as an extreme measure to have to take; especially amidst the current furore he finds himself enraptured in.
What can be admired is the handling of Rooney by Ferguson and what most people can see as a possible investment for future needs. Ferguson has kept the petulant player and is essentially investing in one of his prime assets for the welfare of the club. This could be reaped at a later date when another club wishes to buy him or when Rooney manages to rekindle his deadly form, if ever. Will this experiment pay off for Rooney or will he gorge one too many delicious, but ultimately forbidden fast food meals?
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