‘Wouldn’t feel like much of a surprise’ – Wayne Rooney’s future at Derby County: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more

Derby County fans have been hit with the devastating news that the club have entered administration.

The EFL confirmed in a statement last night that the club would be handed an automatic 12-point deduction, after Derby filed their intention to appoint administrators.

A nine-point deduction is also hanging over Derby’s head for reasons regarding financial breaches, meaning that the club could well find themselves being deducted 21 points.

This, obviously, is a major blow to their chances of looking to avoid relegation this season, having only just avoided the drop on a level playing field last term.

Wayne Rooney has always insisted that he is a fighter and would never quit Derby, despite having contended with failed takeovers and an inability to bring in new players due to a transfer embargo.

But could this be the final straw for the manager? Here, we discuss whether we think he will leave or not…

Toby Wilding

It wouldn’t feel like much of a surprise if Rooney was to leave Derby in the not too distant future after this latest update.

Rooney had already found himself in a really challenging position this season with the restrictions he has been forced to work with while trying to put a squad together, and that is not going to get any easier now the club are heading into administration.

Indeed, such a position as the one that Derby now find themselves in would be a huge challenge for a manager who has been around for quite some time, let alone one as relatively inexperienced in the dugout as Rooney.

As a result, you do wonder whether Rooney could be tempted to cut his losses here, given he may not want the likely relegation on his CV so early in his managerial career.

It is also worth noting that the administrators themselves may look to move Rooney on, given they may have to cut costs once they come in, so it could make sense for the current Rams boss to be thinking about a future away from Pride Park right now.

Billy Mulley

It has been a very difficult situation for Rooney to walk into, and whilst the vast majority of Championship followers, were tipping Derby to go down (even before the points deduction) they have started the season well enough.

The Rams have played some attractive football and have introduced some promising youngsters into the side, two characteristics that suggests that he is doing a good job.

However, this latest development changes the picture entirely. Surviving after suffering this deduction will be a massive achievement, and if it is extended to -21 then that would be unbelievable work.

The club entering administration really changes everything for Rooney. He cannot be sure how long he will have certain players for, making it extremely difficult for him to install his philosophy into his players.

It will be no shock if Rooney does depart and there should be no heard feelings if Rooney walks away from this situation – it is not what he would have been promised.

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No one could blame Wayne Rooney for walking away at this stage with the off-pitch uncertainty at Pride Park. The former England international has endured a tricky spell at the helm since Phillip Cocu’s sacking, surviving relegation on the last day of the 2020/21 season.

Rooney’s most impressive run has come at the start of this campaign, through adversity he has been able to inspire a young group of players to pick up seven points from as many games, six more than rivals Nottingham Forest.

After a glamorous playing career it would be refreshing to see Rooney stick with it at Derby, it remains unclear whether his wages still come from sponsors or the club so it is hard to make an educated guess if that will be affected or not at this time. I can see him walking for sure, but I would like to see him stick it out.