But is he? Fabio Capello thought that, too, but quickly became convinced that Rooney was no Luca Toni. Capello wanted to find England’s equivalent of the Italian target man and sought an imposing figure to play at the top of his 4-2-3-1 formation. Yet Rooney’s best spells in an England shirt, even when he was leading goalscorer in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, have never been as the spearhead.
Wonder strike: Rooney scored against Brazil on Sunday but his best spells for England have not been as the spearhead in attack
Rooney has truly excelled in two periods for England: as a teenage sensation at the European Championship in 2004, and then en route to South Africa in 2010. Both times, he was played as the second striker, with another forward taking the heat. In 2004 it was Michael Owen, who was frustrated by his role, saying privately that he felt like a traffic cone, stuck high up the pitch for other players to circle around.
In fact he was performing a vital duty. Sven Goran Eriksson knew that Rooney was England’s most effective player, and wanted to create the space where he could cause greatest damage. With Owen played high, the gap between midfield and the forwards was perfect for Rooney. This thinking was what Gary Lineker alluded to when he accused England of failing to play between the lines against the Republic of Ireland.
Rooney’s next purple patch came after Capello had tried, and failed, to implement the very plan Hodgson is now considering. Against France on March 26, 2008, he deployed Rooney as a lone striker with Steven Gerrard behind, the farthest forward of a five-man midfield. England lost and the experiment was abandoned, Capello becoming convinced that Rooney was best at No 10.
His solution was to play Emile Heskey as the target-man, with Rooney behind and Gerrard and Theo Walcott wide. Heskey was rarely a scorer, but Capello did not care with Rooney scoring for fun. Heskey had the physical power to occupy the central defenders, making Rooney harder to track when attacking from deep. He collected nine goals in that campaign, second only to Theofanis Gekas of Greece (although Rooney can claim the moral victory as nine of Gekas’s 10 were against Luxembourg, Moldova and Latvia).
It may be that Hodgson’s 4-5-1 suits England, and Rooney has to live with it, but he has grown frustrated with the role in the past. For his part, Hodgson is not blessed with a surplus of goalscorers, but if this compromise is the way forward, it remains a gamble for all concerned, with huge consequences if misjudged.
The problem against a stronger defensive team than Brazil is that playing Rooney high and alone puts him up against the best two defenders the opposition has. No problem about how to pick him up, then: he’s there, and surrounded. Fine, if as at Manchester United, goals are spread through the team, but England are not built that way….
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