Rooney Too Young To Be United Captain

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Wayne Rooney has all the attributes to captain Manchester United, but not in the near future.

"You can see the qualities Wayne would give as a captain: his determination, hunger, desire to do well. He always tries, no matter how the team is playing. He always gives 100 per cent and these are wonderful qualities for a captain. He exemplifies the spirit of the whole team and other players can take that on board. So there are good reasons for making him captain."

"But Wayne's not in my thinking to be captain at the moment. He's young and I prefer older players and I've never been a real advocate of centre-forwards being captain. You tend to look at central defenders, midfielders or even goalkeepers who have made some great captains, like Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van Der Sar and Dino Zoff."

"They are in such a good position to watch a game but Cantona was a terrific captain for us. I knew he would be an inspiration to the younger players, which he was. He imparted a great experience on the young lads and they loved him. He spent time with them after games. His role as captain was a little bit different from a normal captain."

"There was one game when we were short of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van Der Sar. I was thinking of Wayne but I made John O'Shea captain, simply because of his longevity. He's been with the club a long time and been a great servant. John's a good type, captain material, which is why I chose him. But the next one in my mind in that game was Wayne."  

"I think Fabio Capello made him England captain against Brazil because Wayne was the one regular player left. That was the key to it. But top players can take that responsibility. They've got their ego, reputation and pride to defend in that respect. As captain, you don't want to let anyone down. And Wayne would be very much like that."

On the other hand, Sir Alex is not happy with the FA's handling of Rooney, particularly his extensive media exposure.

"Every time England go on a trip, who gets on the television? Wayne Rooney. Every blinking time."

"He must get bored answering the same questions, but that's because of his sponsors and the FA. They love that kind of thing. But it's not fair on the same player continually having to go on television and do the Press."