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6 months ago
43 Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney could return to management ahead of talks with Championship side Plymouth Argyle about their vacant head coach role.
Rooney, aged 38, wants to re-establish his reputation after a disastrous spell at Birmingham City last season, where he lost nine games out of 15.
The spell at Birmingham lasted just three months.
Argyle are searching for a new manager following the dismissal of Ian Foster towards the end of last season, and now one of England’s greatest-ever players could take over as his successor. It’s not something their fans would have expected when their previous manager left after losing nine games out of 15.
Although Rooney’s reputation as a manager has took a hit, the former United striker oversaw 85 matches at Derby Country before moving back to become manager of former MLS club DC United.
I refuse to believe the return to America was nothing more than an opportunity to experience the game in another continent, as a coach. Rooney has a mammoth challenge with a weak squad before returning to the UK to his family.
It would be fantastic if Rooney turned things around by becoming a successful manager – even at Argyle, with talks scheduled to take place, as per BBC Sport.
Nobody should fault his sheer unwillingness to throw the towel in or forget the decent job he did at Derby, despite the obstacles put in place.
Could new job put Rooney’s role on The Overlap in jeopardy?
Talk of a potential return to management comes less than a month after Rooney seemingly found himself a new team.
Well, sort of.
It was announced that Rooney would be joining The Overlap podcast, featuring the likes of Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Jill Scott, and Jamie Carragher.
Many fans watch The Overlap – established in 2021 by Neville and Sky Sports — on YouTube or listen to the weekly episodes on various podcast platforms.
“I’m excited to announce that I will be joining my good mate Gary Neville and the team at The Overlap to appear on the channel across some of their brilliant shows on YouTube and the podcast,” Rooney wrote on X.
“I can’t wait to get started.”
Welcome to the team @WayneRooney 🤝🤩 https://t.co/hxdruKy2db
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) April 30, 2024
This, of course, didn’t rule out the possibility of Rooney searching for new endeavours in the football world.
Rooney has featured as a pundit for multiple broadcasters, including Sky Sports, TNT Sports and BBC One in recent months. But he doesn’t seem cut out for the studio as Rooney has always preferred to be part of the dressing room, deeply rooted in the game.
So, do we think a new job for Rooney could put his role on The Overlap in jeopardy?
The answer is no. It may just limit the amount of appearances he can make next season, but I’m sure they will find time to squeeze some United-related quotes out of Rooney throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
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