Love him or hate him, it’s time to accept Rooney as Manchester United captain

As Manchester United celebrated a much needed win, and Wayne Rooney himself celebrates a decade at Old Trafford, the media chose to focus on the red card Rooney picked up during the clash with West Ham.

You either love or hate Wayne – and it seems a significant number hate him.

Despite being named captain for both his club and country, it seems Wayne Rooney can do no right in football. The straight red he received hasn’t made things any easier for him.

But why is he so scrutinised?

In the past, Rooney has gotten on the wrong side of United fans due to his transfer requests and wage demands. But he has lasted ten years at United and his stats are pretty incredible. At present, he has now scored more Premier League goals than Thierry Henry.

The red card is very obviously not Rooney’s shining moment.

He himself admitted he was in the wrong and the punishment was justified. In recent weeks, you cannot deny that he has showed passion on the pitch, as you would expect from your captain.

Consider the previous captains at Manchester United – they were not known for being the cool, calm and collected types.

Think about Roy Keane, and more recently, Nemanja Vidic. They were sent out on the pitch to lead their team and more importantly, call them out when they made a mistake. Are we forgetting that Vidic’s chant included lyrics about murdering the opposition? Not to mention his four red cards against Liverpool alone.

When Wayne Rooney decides to show his passion and shout at his team mates, he is labelled as the worst in the world. He simply cannot win!

For me, Rooney is the perfect choice as United captain at the minute. During his suspension, the only other choice I feel would be David De Gea as captain. But for the next three games, it would be expected that the more obvious choice of Robin van Persie will be captain.

Manchester United fans. Do you rate or slate Rooney? Is he captain material? Let us know your thoughts below or tweet us @LaFootyettes.