Source: Daily_Mail
HATCHET MAN: The devil in ASBO-seeking Rooney will stop him from ever becoming a great player
Wayne Rooney will be 24 on his next birthday but you wouldn't know it from his behaviour at Fulham.
The Manchester United forward looked more like a teenage tearaway who had been told he wasn't allowed out with his mates as his simmering anger erupted last Saturday.
He was throwing the ball back with force because too much time had already been wasted, claim the thoroughly unconvincing apologists who claim he doesn't deserve a football ASBO.
But what of his further fury after he was dismissed. Rooney seems unable to control his language or his temper when things turn against him and constructing a dubious defence on his behalf helps no-one.
Some argue the devil in Rooney is the flip side to his genius, the intensity he needs to drive him on. But when he was tearing Fulham apart in the FA Cup a couple of weeks ago it wasn't down to his aggression.
When he was threatening to get United's title charge back on track at Craven Cottage on Saturday it was skill and vision rather than intimidation which gave him the edge.
The best forwards in the world are known for their skill not their aggression. Brute strength and a fiery temperature are not the qualities which set them apart.
Rooney should be named alongside Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres and co as the leading lights of the last few years, but while his temper remains a flaw in his game he doesn't deserve to be.
