It was a flicker of delight which lit up a dreary and drizzly Manchester day. Sat in the directors' box, Sir Bobby Charlton face broke into a smile of spontaneous pleasure and he led the applause, one Manchester United great acknowledging another.
Wayne Rooney may never be quite so lovingly embraced in the collective national consciousness as the man whose record he equalled yesterday. In fact it would be hard for Rooney to match Sir Bobby in any other respect than his goal-scoring record. This, after all, is a survivor of the Munich disaster and a World Cup winner.
Yet, in recent months, when Rooney has drifted towards the periphery of teams, it has been easy to forget just how significant his career has actually been. As such, yesterday afternoon, albeit against an incredibly open Reading side in as straightforward a FA Cup third-round tie as you will see, was an abrupt reminder.
Comments
Post a Comment