Rooney aims to take control by contradicting Fergie, but to the detriment of his reputation?

Not many people are willing to stand-up against Sir Alex Ferguson and oppose his words; as if they did they’re liable to get a boot flung in their general direction.

Wayne Rooney though has done just that by contradicting Ferguson’s claim that the England star had an ankle injury that kept him out of United’s trip to Valencia and Sunderland.

When asked about any fitness problems Rooney said, “No, I’ve had no ankle problem all season.”

Then when asked as to why Ferguson had said he was injured, Rooney replied: “I don’t know.”

This comes after Ferguson had said ahead of their trip to the north east: “I have to take the view that this injury has been niggling away for a while and he kept on playing.

“I have to be dead sure that I am doing the right thing because Wayne has not been doing himself justice. I think in a week he will be fine.”

Experience has told us that petulant displays of authority by players in the face of Alex Ferguson, usually result in the person in question being swiftly shown the door.

Ferguson has never been bothered by status either when it has come to shipping out non-compliant players, just ask David Beckham, Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistlerooy and ‘big time Charlie’ Paul Ince.

It seems unlikely that the current golden boy Rooney will be subjected to such treatment, but his comments are likely to anger the easily angered Scot.

Time will tell how the situation is handled by Ferguson, who might look kindly on the forward who is clearly suffering from the strains of a soap-opera lifestyle lived out in the public eye.

However, why he has chosen to contradict his authoritarian manager is a puzzler that time may not be able to solve.

It could be an attempt at gaining control of part of his life that has recently been played out by the tabloids on his behalf.

For weeks his mug was splashed across the red tops, as the public was slowly drip fed the sordid details of his extra-marital activities and penchant for £200 packets of cigarettes.

Instead it could just be an act of rebellion or defiance against everything that has happened to him in the past few months, even if it is self induced.

Even if one of these or another unmentioned hypotheses is true, it seems odd not to utilise the excuse of a niggling ankle injury as a reason behind his significant dip in form.

By refuting Ferguson’s claim he now has nothing to hide his recent poor performances behind.

Perhaps this is part of a new vow of honesty he has sworn to take after repeated lying to the missus.

Whatever the reasoning behind his claim, fans of United and England will be hoping that his work on the pitch will soon overshadow his scandals off it and he will soon return to his excellent best, as so far this season he has looked a shadow of his former self.

Posted By Dan Mobbs - Thursday October 14, 2010.
Tags: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United