Rooney’s form should eventually over shadow thoughtless celebrations.

I’m sure for most of you at home watching, a third goal for yourself that meant a hatrick, a lead & a goal that went some way to securing a 19th league title would have been a splendid little triumph. Wayne Rooney scored the goal in question, but it wasn’t his side’s comeback from two goals down to beat West Ham 4-2 at Upton Park that made the headlines; his foul mouthed rant at a Sky TV camera was the alarming talking point. As he approached the away supporters who were in subsequent uproar after the comeback was complete, Rooney looked angry, relieved to be back in the goals but his crassly reaction was evidence that his boiled attitude can be a problem for him at times.

That is not to say we want him to change. On the contrary, Steve McClaren, former Manchester United assistant, spoke about Rooney’s attitude on TalkSPORT. “Every player has his upsides and his downsides within a team and Wayne Rooney’s no exception – but you know he can win you football matches. That’s what everybody at Manchester United work towards.” McClaren is adamant Rooney’s characteristics are what fuel his successful performances.
“He’s competitive, he’s aggressive, he’s a winner. You can’t take that away from him. You can’t change them too much.” McClaren is right, but Rooney has to continue to calm his attitude as he ages into what we hope will be a model professional. That would be some feat for Rooney who already has 70 caps for England at just 26 years of age, and maybe the two game ban that he has received from his outburst will discipline him for the future. The second game in the ban is the massive FA Cup semi final showdown at Wembley against rivals City, and Rooney will obviously be aggrieved by the ban. The FA’s action was described on the PFA’s website as ‘unprecedented’. They feared that if a ban wasn’t put into place, behaviour of the like would continue and that is the last thing the FA want in the game.
The fact that West Ham fell apart in the second half is not a worry for Avram Grant (left), who believes one game will not disrupt his side’s run towards safety. “We need to be able to do what we’ve been doing up to today; this game won’t change anything.” But West Ham’s defence looked worrying throughout. They consistently missed vital tackles and the central pairing of Upson and Da Costa lacked communication as the returning Antonio Valencia ran Wayne Bridge raged. They may feel they have dropped 3 points having been two goals to the good, but it will be the games against the teams around them that determine whether West Ham are a Premier League club next season. After all, there remaining three home games are against Aston Villa, Blackburn and Sunderland, all three of whom are struggling massively. If West Ham can win just two of these games, it could pull them away from the drop zone in light of how tight it is down there this season.

Manchester United are starting to show the form that has seen them win three of the last four league titles, Ferguson describing their second half performance at Upton Park as ‘Champions’. The Scot would have been further pleased to see Javier Hernandez (below) score near the conclusion. Staggeringly, the little Mexican has scored 10 goals from 15 SHOTS this season, and his work rate and effort are further attributes to suggest he is the long term solution to partner Rooney. This news won’t please Dimitar Berbatov, who despite being the leading goalscorer in the league this year with 20 goals is now a regular substitute at Old Trafford.

Yet again the referee was under scrutiny in this game. Lee Mason failed to show Nemanja Vidic a red card after blatantly shoving Demba Ba to the floor who was in on goal. Instead he showed Vidic a yellow, and in the second half failed to send him off for the second time when the Serb produced a rash challenge on Mark Noble. United took full advantage of their 11 men but the penalty that put them ahead should never have been awarded; Mason pointed to the spot despite the ball striking Matthew Upson on his arm which was down by his side, whilst standing only a yard from Fabio who crossed the ball. It showed more bias towards the bigger sides, and maybe Mason acknowledged the wrath he would get off Fergie if he didn’t compromise the penalty, after awarding West Ham two in the first half.

It is now a case of two completely opposing journeys for the clubs. While both managers are in the middle of their bans for slating referees, that is the sole thing Grant and Ferguson have in common. Ferguson is squeezing everything possible out of his side as Rooney returns to top form and they grab a stranglehold on first place, while Arsenal continue to slip up having drawn their last four games in the league. For Grant, his Hammers must forget how good United were in the second 45. They must themselves perform for 90 minutes in the more important games coming up against teams in and around them, for these will surely be the challenges that really decide their fate.