The former Manchester United legend believes multi-talented Wayne Rooney is spreading himself too thin
Norman Whiteside moved from United to Everton in 1989. He believes ex-United boss Alex Ferguson picked up one of the bargains of the century when Rooney moved the opposite way, in 2004. The Northern Irish international would prefer, however, if Rooney would settle on a position.
‘People call it ‘Number 10′ but I like him behind the front two,’ he told us, ‘Don’t get me wrong, I like him as a striker. I like him up there. But, what I see about Rooney is, he wants to be Rooney up front, he wants to be Scholesey in (midfield) and he wants to be Rooney in between. He wants to be in the middle and ping balls out to the wing, and he wants to be Rooney up front; to score.’
Whiteside continues, ‘Rooney wants to be all three – the man who provides the balls, who crosses it, and who scores it. I much prefer him up there (No.10) as he sees the big picture. He’s a semi-Scholesey. He can pass the ball, sees the big picture and scores the goals. Simple as that.
It is 35 years since Whiteside, as a talented 16-year-old, made his United debut. He was one of many players heralded as the ‘next George Best’ but says Ryan Giggs ended such talk. Now Belgian teenager Adnan Januzaj must live up to the hype of being the next Ryan Giggs.
Whiteside says, ‘Only Louis van Gaal can answer the questions about Januzaj, but the kid has got talent. I personally would like to see more of him because the manager has always said he wants to introduce youth. I like young James Wilson but Januzaj has gone quiet… It’s always the danger with a new manager when he comes in that you don’t know what way he’s going to go.’
Whiteside feels, although their was no First Division title breakthrough during his time at United, the squad possessed great unity. ‘We had a good bond but if I’m honest it wasn’t the whole 11 or the whole 15. You would have your cliques – Bryan Robson, myself, Paul McGrath, Kevin Moran and Gordon McQueen. They would be the ones who would go and have a couple of beers in Paddy’s pub and have a bit of a get-together.’
Whiteside shared digs, in Manchester, with McGrath, Moran and Ashley Grimes. There were nights in, watching Coronation Street, but they were rare. Indeed, Whiteside recalls the lead-up to an incident, described in McGrath’s book Back from the Brink, when the Ireland defender crashed his car while intoxicated.
He says, ‘I was supposed to be in the car… I had brought my father-in-law out because he had done a lot of work in my house. I took him and all his workers out for lunch and I rang Paul. I said, ‘Paul do you want to call in on your way back and say hello to the guys?’
‘We had a few in the afternoon and next thing we knew where’s he gone so his missus rang me. Then the police were ringing, going mad, wanting to check bloods. So, I went down to the hospital to see him. But I lived with him and didn’t know half of the stuff. He kept so much behind him.’
The former teammates remain in touch to this day and are never short of a tweet, back and forth, about old times and future plans.
Whiteside was only too delighted to reflect on his FA Cup triumphs, in 1983 and ’85, with United. Following a replay win over Brighton in 1983, the Red Devils were beaten in the third round in 1984.
He says, ‘We went down to Bournemouth, who were in Division Three, and we lost 2-0. It was the worst day of my life. We can back (to Manchester) and Big Ron (Atkinson) said, ‘Go into the gym and run from wall to wall’ and he left us for about two days. He ran us into the ground. Bournemouth beat Manchester United, the holders.’
Redemption arrived, for Whiteside, a year on, and in spectacular fashion, as 10-man United beat Everton 1-0 in extra time. The former Northern Ireland international recalls receiving the ball on the right wing, raising his head and beginning a gallop towards the Toffees’ box. ‘I looked up and seen Neville (Southall) in goal,’ he says. ‘Neville can see the ball from the near post so I threw my leg over the ball and at that time [Everton defender] Pat Van Den Hauwe obstructs Neville and he can’t see the ball so that’s when you go and hit it.
‘Once I’ve hit the ball, Neville can see it once it’s gone around the defender. That’s the distance you buy. He was never getting his hand to it because he’s too late. If you look at his hand when the ball goes in the net, that’s the distance I’ve bought. I used the defender as a screen.’
*Whiteside was in Dublin, this week, to highlight the upcoming FA Cup fixtures on the Setanta Sports pack. The weekend’s action includes Manchester United’s trip to Cambridge United, on Friday, the matches between Manchester City and Middlesbrough, and Liverpool and Bolton on Saturday, as well as the game between Brighton and Hove Albion and current FA Cup holders Arsenal on Sunday.
The Setanta Sports pack has five channels in total including Setanta Ireland, Setanta Sports 1, BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN.
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