Too much hype for Rooney - - The official of Robbie Elliott

Too much hype for Rooney - 23/06/2004

A great player, but to much expectation

After the disappointment of the French game, it was great see the side beat Switzerland and Croatia...and at the same time develop strongly as a team. You can now see the confidence flowing through the side and although everyone would have preferred to win the group and face Greece, we can beat Portugal tomorrow night. It's all about performing for the ninety minutes. Both side are relatively evenly matched, but England edge it - I think we've got too much for them up front and dead ball situations excepted, we've looked strong at the back. More importantly is the fact that we're playing good football and confidence is high, whereas before Portugal scored against Spain they seemed devoid of ideas and were really struggliong to make any impact. It's by no means a foregone conclusion, but on Friday morning we should be looking forward to a semi-final.

...and if that's the case, there'll be even more media hype about the team...especially if Wayne Rooney gets another goal!! You can imagine what the headlines in the papers. It's too much, and whilst he has been excellent for the team, you fear that the pattern is emerging once again - with the press building up a player...how long before the fall? He's a very young player, he will be inconsistent, and it's simply not fair on him. If Everton and Rooney have a similar 2004/05 to the past season, I hope the same people who are building him up don't start to knock him down.