Paul Scholes has revealed some interesting thoughts on a host of topics in what appears to be his first foray into football writing. Readers will be relieved to learn that it has lived up to the standard of his TV punditry debut, during which he laid bare some forthright thoughts on what happened at Old Trafford during the Moyes reign.
In his World Cup column for the Paddy Power blog, Scholes said that Wayne Rooney may already be past his best:
Wayne was in the Everton team at 16 years of age, in 2003. Since then he’s played at Euro 2004, two World Cups, Premier League, and Champions League every year at United. There’s a chance he’s worn out. Wayne’s peak may have been a lot younger than what we’d expect of footballers traditionally. Age 28 or 29 has been the normal ‘peak’. With Wayne, it could have been when he scored 27 league goals in 2011/2012 when he was 26.
He also said that he could see him being the kind of player who would retire in his early 30s.
Wayne might be a player who’d retire come 31 or 32, given the amount of football he’s played. Ryan Giggs has been on the go for ages, but he adjusted his position. Can Wayne do the same? I don’t think Wayne will be able to play centre forward until he’s 34 or 35. But he could play centre midfield, possibly, into his mid-thirties. He’s got all the ability to take over my old position at Manchester United. He has played some games there, but has never gone on an uninterrupted run. Whether he has the discipline to do it, right now I’m not sure.
Regarding his own situation, he said that it's unlikely he will be a part of the backroom staff at United next season:
I’ve not spoken to Edward Woodward. I came back for Ryan Giggs for the last few games to try to help out but I’m not waiting for a phonecall and don’t expect to be at Old Trafford next season.
Speaking of issues managerial, Scholes backed van Gaal and somewhat surprisingly questioned whether a 10-month spell was totally fair on David Moyes:
Louis van Gaal has credentials. He’s been at the biggest clubs in the world but he has a major job on his hands at Man United. It’s a massive task and there’s a big gap to fill to catch Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool next season. United are a long way behind. If van Gaal gets them to the Champions League, it’ll be a start.
The players did not perform last season. The manager was a little negative with the teams he put out but I wasn’t around the place in training until Ryan asked me back, so I can’t judge properly. David Moyes took a lot of stick, but I believe he’s a top manager. I’d question if 10 months was enough time.
He also said that United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward still has to prove himself as capable of heading the off-pitch operations at Old Trafford:
Edward Woodward has an awful lot to prove this time that he’s good enough at his job. He has to bring the players in that the new manager wants. It’s obvious that last year he didn’t manage to do that. If he doesn’t, we are not going to get anywhere near the top.
Refreshingly honest as you'd expect from Scholes, and a world away from the halfhearted, over-cautious 'World Cup columns' we so often see from ex-players every fourth summer. Read the full blog post here.
