Premier League - Parker hopes Rooney fights flab
Eurosport - Tue, 15 Jul 10:06:00 2008
Wayne Rooney has come under fire for his rather portly appearance following a summer spent away from the gym, but former Manchester United ace Paul Parker believes judgement should be reserved until the season starts proper.
"We've all seen the photos of Wayne Rooney in the newspapers, squeezed into his United shirt for the friendly up in Aberdeen, along with all the usual 'fat' puns in the headlines and comparisons with other generously proportioned footballers.
Poor Wayne. He's the type of person who is liable to put weight on without too much effort. His body shape will not allow him to do as he pleases and he's one of those players who simply cannot afford to let himself go.
But that is what he has done this summer - he has been pictured smoking fags, eating fast food and drinking pints of lager. Make no mistake, he's enjoyed himself during the off season, but now he has to show a willingness to work hard in training if he is to get himself back into shape before the big kick-off.
He's not alone in having more to do than most in pre-season training. Eric Cantona was a big lad and used to put on weight over the summer, although probably not through drinking too much lager.
But Eric came back in July and worked incredibly hard to get back into shape, so when the season started he was once again at his peak.
That's exactly what Wayne has to do. Forget about how he looked against Aberdeen - something has been made out of that purely because there were television cameras at Pittodrie - his deadline is August 17. And only then will we be able to judge him.
How he looks when he runs out of the Old Trafford tunnel to face Newcastle will tell us a great deal about how much pride he has in himself.
And if he's in good shape, then all the flak he has taken can be shoved right back down the throats of his critics.
But perhaps the most worrying aspect of Rooney's weight gain has been the speed with which he has put it on. The off-season is getting shorter and shorter every year, and this time round he's had barely two months to lose his shape.
Yet he's managed it, with a worrying degree of ease. He must have worked hard at his eating and drinking.
Old pros used to tell me to enjoy the summer and take a complete break from football and the health regime that comes with it, but the body needs to be worked every couple of days.
It's easy to say now, but if I had my time again, I'd work on my fitness more over the summer, if only to make the return to training that little bit easier.
The first session back is a moment every footballer dreads. No matter how prepared you are, that first day can make you physically sick.
We used to get sent out on long runs and sometimes never saw a ball for two weeks as the coaches concentrated solely on our fitness levels.
Of course nowadays they do a lot more ball work but still, there can be few players out there who actually look forward to the prospect of pre-season training.
Certainly, it would not surprise me if Wayne Rooney was slightly apprehensive on his own return."
Related Stories
This site is Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy.
Comment 1 - 19 of 19
Adownunder, Rooney is "lazy" and "doesn't work hard off the ball"?? What planet are you on??!! You obviously don't watch much football, if you did you would know that Rooney's workrate and willingness to graft for his teamates is probably his biggest asset...You've probably also forgotten that that the bloke got married and had a honeymoon during the off season, so he was always likely to come back a little heavy, so what?? Jeez, give the guy a break, he's allowed a pint on his time off, same as you or anyone else.....And i'm not even a United fan.....
Parker dnt know @#$%!who is he to judge footballers hes a sad excuse for a footballer himself.
Rooney is a lazy player, doesn't work hard of the ball like you see with other countries hence why he doesn't score often in international matches. Too much hype with this player. he obviously thinks he doesn't have to work for the ball. I can see Capello dropping this guy at some stage. I am sure there are better english strikers out there that work hard off the ball but don't get recognised by the media, and that is what capello likes the Massaro's and he'll find it some where amongst the foreigner players. Capello doesn't follow the media circus and looks for his players not pick them because the media show and tell more about the ones they like and want to see on the pitch
WHAT MR PAKER IS TRYYING TO SAY IS THAT WAYNE ROONEY SHOULD BE AS FIT AS RONALDO.
Yet more justification for in-disciplined behavior. There seems to be a mentality in Britain which encourages pleasuring the senses to excess. Alcohol, tobacco and junk food? Is this a reflection on his working class background, a lack of consciousness or both?
Peace
DJ
wayne rooooney boy you just enjoy your summer i know how good beer and meat taste after a hard worked season. im sure you going to lose the weigth. Rooney rooney ROOONey
WHAT DID chelsea WIN LAST SEASON? keith g
Guess adding weight can never be a problem to a top rated player like Rooney,since he is not a bench wormer,deffinately he will shed off whats not needed,Parker got to comment on issues that are worth commenting piss!!!!!!!, Nway with the 2 goals at hand in the pre -season match HEY !!!!!!
the boy's just got married...
give him a break!!
he's quality and that will show come the new season :)
Size is not the issue, he plays well that is all that matters. How much did you put on this Xmas???????????? If this is all Paul Parker has to comment on he must write like he played, not that well. I`m an old, very old Utd fan
Tsk,tsk,tsk....why so much hate? Why so easily annoyed..??!!
fat @#$%!!!!!!!
Papalexisp, if the articles annoy you so much then wht read them. Just stick to reading things about your own team. Makes sense, no?
Actually comment number 5 I'm not an England supporter nor am I English... That's a bit ignorant of you hey?
TO Comment no 2. So u arent an ENgland Supporter? Wayne is our best England Player by miles, every pundit/commentator always says it. DO u know why? Its because he always chases balls even if u think its a lost cause, not to mention he is a striker and they dont really need to track back but he still does with the enthusiasm of someone like Gerrard. But its totally normal to put on that much weight after ur supposed "Happiest Day of Your Life". Im not sure on your reference to Cantona because Wayne is a lot shorter but he will definitely be fit intime for Newcastle im sure u could ask Sir Alex whether he would be fit.
wayne rooney has hit his peak now he's matured into a average footballer glad he plays for manu come on the chels
?
If you're going to have a former manu player working for yahoo/eurosport and writing articles about manu the whole time, then you should do the same for other clubs because as a non-manu supporter these articles annoy the @#$% out of me. Maybe he should write articles for manu's website... No offence to Paul Parker or manu (even though I hate manu)
It's ridiculous the way people/media try to carve out anything they can just to make a story. And just because he's "Wayne Rooney" who put on a little bit of weight during his break (don't we all during Christmas?) that now means he's a fatty. If he was indeed unfit and fat, then the Opta Index statistics obviously get it wrong when they prove he one of the fittest players in the Premiership.
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account