Wayne Rooney linked to Everton return he wanted a year ago as Frank Lampard faces sack
Wayne Rooney wanted the Everton job last year but didn’t want to go through the interview process, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.
The Toffees legend said he had rejected an interview at Goodison Park last January in order to remain at Derby, with Frank Lampard eventually taking charge at Everton.
But with the now-DC United manager being linked to the job again as Lampard’s job comes under increasing pressure ahead of the Manchester United trip in the FA Cup, his suitability for the role has been dismissed.
Speaking live on talkSPORT on Thursday (5 January, 3min) Crook said of Rooney turning down an interview in January: “I was told that Wayne Rooney did want the Everton job but he didn’t want to go through the interview process.
“If Everton had said to him, ‘You’re our man, here’s the job,’ he would have left Derby and taken that job.”
He went on: “I’m not convinced that Wayne Rooney did quite as good a job at Derby as people make out. I don’t think he’s the man to save Everton, I really don’t.
“You remove the personal attachment and the emotional side of it, they need someone with proven Premier League experience, he hasn’t got that and he certainly hasn’t pulled up any trees in America either.”
Hal Robson-Kanu added: “It’s a bit of a fairytale isn’t it? Because everyone knows his affiliation with Everton and to go back there as a manager for him would be a very special moment, but to happen in these circumstances would not be right for all parties.”
Change on the horizon?
It would a real shock to see Wayne Rooney in the Goodison Park dugout any time soon despite this revelation from a year ago.
Lampard was seen as a risk at the time due to his limited experience in the Premier League, all of which was at the opposite end of the table.
Having kept the club up last season and then lost the main reason for that in the summer in the form of £60million Tottenham signing Richarlison, there is an argument that he needs to stay where he is.
But the results are frankly terrible at the moment, the battling draw at Manchester City aside, although Rooney’s record in the past 12-months doesn’t contain anything to suggest he can do more than the current boss, however much he may be interested in it.
Both are huge names in Premier League and England history, so the star power of Rooney is only likely to have more impact on local players than Lampard’s.
Changing the manager at all currently will arguably make the situation worse at Everton, but if the board were to pull the trigger then it would be a massive risk to turn to Rooney who has won only twice in charge in the US.