Simon Jordan comments on Wayne Rooney as agenda claims emerge from Derby County man | OneFootball

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Football League World

·13 October 2021

Simon Jordan comments on Wayne Rooney as agenda claims emerge from Derby County man

Article image:Simon Jordan comments on Wayne Rooney as agenda claims emerge from Derby County man

Simon Jordan has stated that he holds no grudge against Derby County manager Wayne Rooney despite criticism of his abilities as a coach last season.

Rooney was thrown in at the deep end during the 2020-21 season as Phillip Cocu was sacked as the Rams’ manager in November 2020, leaving them bottom of the Championship.


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Initially appointed as just a caretaker, Rooney was handed the reins on a full-time basis in January and he just about managed to keep County in the Championship despite a down-turn in results at the back end of the campaign.

The England legend has faced adversity this season having been hamstrung in the transfer market and now he has to deal with the club being in administration, which saw the good start to the season on the pitch negated with a 12-point deduction which saw the Rams plummet to the foot of the table.

Ex-Crystal Palace chairman Jordan has now defended himself after radio host Jim White revealed that he spoke to Rooney at Derby’s clash with Peterborough back in August about Jordan’s thoughts and past comments, with Rooney believed to think that Jordan has an ‘agenda’ against him.

“That’s silly,” Jordan said on talkSPORT when told Rooney felt he held a grudge against him, via the Derby Telegraph.

“The point is, I don’t have an agenda against Wayne, I’m just brutally honest and some people in football can’t take it.

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“Clearly, Wayne Rooney going in there with a coaching staff which is inexperienced, at a club in chaos, is a recipe for potential disaster.

“It’s unfair on Wayne too because he’s been asked to do a job that you wouldn’t put experienced managers into.”

The Verdict

Rooney may have struggled last season, but he’s doing just fine at the minute as he stares adversity in the face.

The current table obviously doesn’t reflect Derby’s good performances this season and due to what he’s been working with, no-one can really criticise Rooney right now.

He was learning on the job last season even though he was probably being groomed for the role when he came to County as a player-coach, and not even he could probably have predicted the mess that was about to ensue.

Jordan has been very critical of Rooney in recent times but there’s nothing to criticise England’s top scorer of all-time about right now whatsoever.

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