The Athletic - Rooney

Sorry if this has been flagged in one of the 732628 threads, but there's an article with some insight into yesterday's events on The Athletic today: [theathletic.com]

For those too tight to take out a membership:

- Rooney was shocked; lots of open comms between he and Cook, no hint that faith in him from above was waning
- Players told ahead of training yesterday; news was greeted with surprise, but relief by a few
- The squad had felt the sacking of Eustace had been unnecessary.
- Rooney wasn’t unpopular with his players, despite the results and some strong public criticism of them from the manager. Criticism of their mental strength, ability and personal pride had stung a few.
- Like many great players who become managers, Rooney had become increasingly frustrated when his players seemed unable to do what he found simple and second nature on the pitch
- Rooney not overly hands-on in training, with most work left to Carl Robinson and O'Shea. Rooney took a watching brief and intervened when he saw something he wanted to tweak or press home.
- Cole worked on set pieces.
- Squad surprised Rooney didn't do more with our attacking players 1v1
- Rooney struggled to get the rest of his group fully on board with the game plans, which frequently changed as he simplified them again and again.
- Eustace felt that a switch to no-fear football was too soon for a young group of players that were just getting used to a way of playing he felt was best suited to them
- Rooney quickly realised they weren't ready to play out from the back with high full-backs.
- Before Christmas, Rooney invited media to watch training to show them that players were capable and they just weren't replicating it in matches
- Whilst some players wanted to push on, there was a sense that others were coasting along
- Many staff members at the training ground disappointed Rooney has left
- Cook spent yesterday assessing options, but no immediate decision is thought to be occuring.
- Cooper and Potter mentioned, but dismissed quickly.
- We won't go back for Eusatce
- Lee Carsley gets an interestingly long write-up
- "England under-21 head coach Lee Carsley could be a candidate that ticks many of the boxes. Born in Birmingham, the 49-year-old has played and coached at the club in the past and would be popular with the fans. The way his young England side play is also in line with the club’s vision and he has experience coaching young players. Cole also works with Carsley in the England set-up."

Don't say I don't do anything for you.