For most of the time Sir Alex Ferguson excels in his role as the wise old man of English football.
As arguably the most successful English manager of all time, we tend to take what he says seriously. He speaks, we listen. And most of his comments, at least when he is not busy winding up an opposing manager, are right on the mark.
However, every so often he lets himself down by coming out with a theory that holds not the smallest drop of water. And last week was one of those not-as-rare-as-they-used-to-be occasions.
Sir Alex, in trying to explain why Wayne Rooney has lost all confidence and form, decided the blame lies firmly at the feet of the media.
“The boy can’t turn without a camera being on him but for a young person, that is not what you want. You want to play and enjoy your football without that attention to you as it can be quite exhausting,” he said.
What a load of cobblers.
First and foremost, Rooney is struggling at the moment because his private life is a mess. And his private life is a mess because he has been cheating on his wife.
I don’t think it was the media that withdrew the cash from the ATM to pay for his prostitute. And I don’t think it was the News of the World that was doing the ‘romping’ with the young lady in question.
Rooney made some bad life choices and probably hoped they wouldn’t be uncovered. But when they were, you can’t then turn round and blame the people that did the uncovering.
If the player’s form has gone to pieces it is probably because his wife thinks he’s a slug. And I am sure at least some of his friends, family and colleagues are equally unimpressed by his behaviour.
The second thing about Sir Alex’s comments that annoyed me was the suggestion of intrusion. Yes, the English media are intrusive when it comes to the private lives of footballers. But generally speaking, that only happens because they are invited in, in the first place.
Rooney and his wife Coleen chose to court the media and use it for all it was worth to help build their personal fortune. If a player isn’t seen regularly in the papers or on TV then his endorsements, sponsorships and personal appearance payouts will be dramatically diminished.
You cannot expect to throw yourself in the media glare for your own personal gain unless you are prepared to deal with the same media when they catch you with your trousers round your ankles.
I agree with Sir Alex in that it probably isn’t the nicest thing to have your every move scrutinised by the press, to have cameras lurking round every corner waiting for you to do something wrong.
But if you don’t want the bad press, then it’s up to you to make sure you don’t give them the ammunition. Like staggering out of nightclubs in the early hours of the morning with a fag dangling out of your mouth. Or paying for extramarital sex. That kind of thing.
If he wants to know how it can be done then he should just take a look at two of his current Manchester United colleagues, and I am thinking of Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen here.
They both had the world’s media spotlight focussed on them at an incredibly early age. And they too chose to cuddle up to the said media and use it to their advantage.
But equally, they both chose to keep their noses clean and, while I could be mistaken, I don’t ever recall having read anything too disparaging about either of those two in the newspapers.
The truth is that whatever situation Rooney finds himself in right now is of his own doing. The press may have made it public but they didn’t force him to do it.
In a lot of ways Rooney reminds me of Paul Gascoigne 25 years ago, although without the mental instability and booze issues. But you can’t help but notice the similarities in the way their obvious love for football brought with it distractions and wealth they just weren’t mentally prepared to deal with.
I have absolutely no doubt Rooney will bounce back from his current predicament, regain his form and one day go on to become the football legend his talent deserves.
In order for him to do that, he needs to get his own house in order first and foremost. Being a multimillionaire footballer is not a burden, it is an honour, the sort of career most of ordinary folk can only dream of.
But it is one that needs managing properly because by default, the fortune comes with lashings of fame and a life in the spotlight.
If the young lad can’t do it alone, he needs to get some proper friends and advisers around him who can help him manage his life.
Oh, and keeping his zipper fastened would help too.
Andre on the up
It looks like this could be Andre Schembri’s season to shine.
The attacking midfielder is currently on the books of Ferencvaros in Hungary where he has linked up with fellow Maltese international Justin Haber.
And Schembri has been in superb form so far this season, scoring five goals in five games for Ferencvaros, Sheffield United’s sister club.
The 24-year-old will be busy on international duty for Malta this week before returning to Hungary where he will be looking to keep up his good spell, which included an apparently impressive hat-trick.
Schembri is the latest Maltese player to prove himself overseas and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up playing in England for the Blades next year. After all, what is the point in buying a sister club if you can’t take advantage of the stars they unearth?
And from Bramall Lane, who knows? Maybe he can stay there and help the Blades into the top flight. Or maybe push on even further up the football ladder.
I have to say, all these Maltese players establishing themselves in foreign leagues does bring a smile to my face. It’s only a matter of time before one of them makes a really big breakthrough.
Your say
“I agree entirely on your point as to why Roy Hodgson is being excluded from blame after Liverpool’s shambolic start to the season. If this isn’t the utterly xenophobic and classless English media we’re talking about it would be unreal.
“The mind boggles when I hear that the loss at Northampton is due to Rafa Benitez managing Inter. Hodgson is quickly deteriorating from an ‘average manager and a good fella’ to ‘clueless on all fronts’.
“My astonishment is at how quickly we have become the new Fulham, sitting deep and inviting pressure, even at home, getting outplayed and out-thought against mediocre opposition, employing negative tactics and having no plan B. Hodgson is really pressing the wrong buttons at the moment, and this came to a head with him criticising the fan protests.
“It is clear to every sane football enthusiast that if Liverpool FC were not decorated with bankers and businessmen on the board Hodgson would have never come near the club.
“Oh well, I suppose there are advantages to being English, using man-marking and the 4-4-2; let’s all blame Benitez.
“Thank God for the fan campaigns against the owners.”
Kevin White, Żurrieq
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com