United on the Wayne?

'Once a blue, always a blue'.

A cheap shot for Kopites and a source of bitterness for the Goodison faithful. Yet, when Wayne Rooney made the short move up the M62, he became an instant legend. All of a sudden, the blue became a red. And was worshipped.

Don't get me wrong, this would have happened at whatever club Rooney joined, and probably will in whatever foreign clime he ends up in. Which of course leaves the mouthwatering prospect of him teaming up with his old team-mate Carlos Tevez at the Costa del Eastlands. That's probably the only thing that would further anger the fans that made him one of their [Scouse] own.

Rooney is a player of undoubted quality. 30-odd goals last season were a major step forward for him and for Manchester United. At times unplayable, he tortured defences nation and Europe-wide. The 'white Pele' was seemingly the man who would lead United back to title and European Cup success over the coming years. Then came that ankle injury against Bayern Munich, and whatever else besides. And then came that World Cup, and whatever else besides. So what went wrong? Where did communications break down? Step forward Sir Alex.

Sir Alex Ferguson is a master in his era - a genuine legend of the game. Part of me thinks that today's comments were simply another reason to be in awe of this man's many masterclasses. Rooney was well and truly pushed into the Old Trafford limelight without being in sight - go on Wayne, what say you?

Sir Alex has left Rooney with the most difficult of tasks in explaining the situation, and there is simply no easy way to explain why you are leaving the fans who love you and you claim to love. He has also claimed to have left the door open for Rooney, that the ball is in his court. Let's be clear here, Sir Alex rubber-stamped Rooney's exit today.

"The one thing I said to him was 'respect this club, I don't want any nonsense from you'," said Sir Alex. And therein is the one thing that seems to have been forgotten in this furore.

Wayne Rooney needs Manchester United more than Manchester United need Wayne Rooney.

Unless, of course, United are now a selling club. Unless the money paid for his transfer goes towards servicing debt rather than straight into the kitty. United might not need him, but they do need a world-class replacement.

Where else in the world would Rooney have received the guidance and support that he has done at Old Trafford? What other manager in the world would have shown the patience to allow the raw talent mature into a world-beater, even amongst the shows of petulance? Where else on this planet would Rooney have been learning from esteemed team-mates such as Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes? And where else would a manager have shielded him from the outside world in times of trouble as many times as Sir Alex?

Yes, he was superb last season. But let's not forget that until last season, he hadn't come close to scoring 20 league goals in a season. Manchester United have won three league titles and a European Cup with Wayne Rooney scoring no more than 23 goals in all competitions in a season. That can be replaced.

It would be unfair to blame all this on the allegations about his private life. We will all have our opinions, and mine is that Rooney has been so poor this season [and at the World Cup] that it must have had some effect - not only on his performances, but also on his reasons for wanting to leave United.

He may indeed still love the club, but the petulance still exists, as shown when Rooney completely undermined his manager last week. And the subsequent comments by Sir Alex may have just undermined Wayne Rooney's legendary status at Manchester United.

'Once a liar, always a liar?'

Turkish delight for Sir Alex.

What a weekend of sport, eh? It's not over just yet, so here goes with a bumper blog to make up for a relative lack of posts over the last week or so.

Grand disappointment for Wales.

The RBS Six Nations finally sparked into life this weekend, and put a halt to the processionary march of the Irish and Welsh towards a Grand Slam showdown in Cardiff on March 21st. Wales travelled to Paris for the first ever Friday Six Nations match, and although they got off to a great start, France showed much more passion and spirit in levelling things up by half time. This trend continued into the second half, and France had enough in the tank to hold off resurgent waves of red. Scotland also got their campaign running with a comprehensive win over Italy at Murrayfield. Although coach Frank Hadden believes Scotland can cause the Irish some problems, his claim that they are back in the title hunt are a little optimistic, to say the least.

Perhaps the most tense, and definitely the worst, game of this year's championship was saved for last this weekend. For England, discipline is a huge problem. As if giving away penalties for fun wasn't bad enough, continuing the ridiculous trend of needless yellow cards ensured that England's winless run in Dublin will be at least 8 years. Ireland weren't much better, but they were more disciplined, conceded less penalties, and Ronan O'Gara managed to fluke a few kicks, given the fact that he seemed to be wearing flippers. One man stood out, however, and for the second time this year captain Brian O'Driscoll produced a magnificent performance to lead his side home. His drop goal was sublime, and his try proved to be the difference. England will be left to rue the fact that had they kept 15 men on the pitch at all times, their late surge might just have been a winning one.

Premier League, you're having a laugh.

If there is one man who will be delighted with this weekend's footballing action, it is Sir Alex Ferguson. Without having played in the Premier League, Manchester United have tightened their grip on the trophy. Chelsea had to leave it late to keep their remote chances alive, whilst Aston Villa threw away 2 points at Villa Park, but the big news comes from the Riverside Stadium where Liverpool showed the ruthlessness of a Paul Scholes challenge in succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough.

Liverpool dominated the opening proceedings and had a number of chances after Xabi Alonso's own goal, but the truth is that the winning margin could have been even greater for a Middlesbrough side who wouldn't be half bad at home if they could always attract larger attendances at the Riverside. Liverpool fans may well have taken a 1-0 win in the League rather than their win at Real Madrid, but Europe looks to be the focal point of yet another season. One thing is for sure - those fans longing for a league triumph now appear to have been put out of their misery for another year, thanks to Sanli Tuncay.

Spurs pay the penalty.

Sunday's Carling Cup Final was a brilliant game despite the goalless scoreline. Both teams had a go in an opening and entertaining game and both had chances to win it. Aaron Lennon was inspired for Tottenham Hotspur, and was only denied by a top-class Ben Foster save in the closing stages of normal time at Wembley. Lennon should be disappointed with his end product though, as too many times he worked himself into decent positions and failed to produce one worthy cross.

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, was nowhere near his best but showed why he is the reigning World Player of the Year in stoppage time, hammering a sweet strike against the post. Extra-time was a predictably dull affair, and whilst penalties is a lottery, United's takers were much more confident, inspired by Ryan Giggs' stunning effort to kick things off. United now have two of a possible five trophies. That is a long way off, of course, but Ferguson will wake up on Monday morning with a smile on his face, and there is no reason why he shouldn't.

Ashes nations face difficult final days.

England's cricketers have endured a terrible weekend at the hands of an assured West Indies display. Ramnarest Sarwan, in the form of his life even before he began his majestic innings at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, was the catalyst in leading the Windies past a first innings target of 600. A stunning 291 for Sarwan was ably backed up by Ramdin (166) and Chanderpaul (70) as England's lack of a strike bowler in the absence of Andrew Flintoff was brutally exposed. England now need to bat through most of the final day to avoid an unlikely defeat, and the West Indies will be confident of going into the final Test needing only a draw to secure the series victory.

I've also been keeping an eye on South Africa v Australia in Johannesburg, an altogether more entertaining and exciting Test Match. South Africa's fielding heroics on day 4 and a solid start from openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith have ensured an enthralling final day on Monday. Set a world record target of 454 to win, South Africa ended the fourth day on 178-2, needing 276 to win. With less than 100 overs to face, the Proteas need to score at an average of just over 2.8 per over for another famous victory in this latest clash between the world's two best (and by quite some distance) Test nations.