Its the modern thing of build them up over the top early doors only to knock them for the rest of their career.
Excellent player Rooney is
I think Rooney is massively overrated, and it's not because of this.
You look at his early career, and he had the potential to be as good as Messi or Ronaldo are. But he didn't do that. Instead, he decided (or was convinced) that working 'for the team' was the way forward, and so his own game has suffered as he has become a bit of a jack of all trades. If he had worked on his own game like Messi and Ronaldo have, instead of spending most of his early to mid-twenties carrying an overhyped United side, he could have achieved the same sort of recognition. Some people think the team comes first, but if he had fulfilled his potential, it would have been of even more benefit to both club and country.
If you watch him now, I don't think he's even as good as he was in his early career. He doesn't seem to be moving as freely or easily, and he has the first touch of a brick wall - it just bounces off. His last piece of 'magic' was now a good couple of seasons ago.
I know people still think he's fantastic, but not for me. He will probably break all kinds of records, but I think having been the first name down on the team sheet since he was a teenager (regardless of whether he should have been or not) gives him the time to do so.
He may get more goals than Charlton, but Sir Bobby has something Rooney never will; a world cup winners medal.
