Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has received clear-cut advice from fans after he was sacked by Championship side Plymouth Argyle.
Wayne Rooney made his stunning return to management with Plymouth Argyle back in May after his ill-fated spell with Birmingham City ended.
The 39-year-old former Manchester United striker’s spell at Birmingham City lasted only 15 matches after he replaced John Eustace in October 2023.
Rooney’s stint was only 83 days and the United legend oversaw ninth defeats in his 15-match run at the St Andrew’s before he was axed back in January.
The ex-England and United captain took his first steps into management with Derby County after he called it time on his legendary playing career in 2021.
Rooney is dismissed by Plymouth
Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday announced that Wayne Rooney had left the Championship club after a poor start to the 2024-25 campaign.
Rooney’s stint at the Championship strugglers saw Plymouth manage only four league wins and the Pilgrims suffered 13 defeats in 23 league matches.
The England and Manchester United legend’s final match at Plymouth was the club’s 2-0 defeat to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday.
Plymouth are bottom of the Championship table and the Pilgrims are two points behind 23rd-place Portsmouth and three points adrift from 22nd-place Cardiff City.
The Championship club confirmed that first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards will take charge of Plymouth after Rooney’s departure.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of Plymouth Argyle Football Club, in particular Simon Hallett and Neil Dewsnip who I shared great relationships with,” Rooney told Plymouth’s official website.
“Thanks also to all the staff who made me feel welcome and who make the club such a special place, the players and fans for their efforts and support during my time as head coach and I wish them all the best for the future.
“To the Green Army, thanks for making the games at Home Park so special, they are memories that we will share forever.
“I would also like to give a special mention to my coaching staff Kevin Nancekivell, Simon Ireland, Darryl Flahavan and Mike Phelan for their knowledge, dedication, help and support.
“Plymouth Argyle will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will continue to look out for and take interest in their results.”
Fans react to Rooney’s Plymouth exit
Former United assistant manager Mike Phelan, who was an assistant to Rooney at Plymouth, also made his exit from the Championship club.
Kevin Nancekivell and Joe Edwards will oversee Plymouth’s Championship match against Bristol City on New Year’s Day at the Home Park.
Fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have urged Rooney to transition away from becoming a manager and instead take up a role as a pundit.
One X user wrote: “Wayne Rooney just needs to turn it in now. Put his feet up and freelance as a pundit. Management is absolutely not his game.”
Another added: “Rooney can never be given another managerial job, unbelievable player, but a horrendous coach. Stick him on TNT [Sports] or Sky Sports as a pundit.”
A third tweeted: “Wayne Rooney should just leave the coaching job and focus on being a pundit. He’s just embarrassing himself by getting sacked after a few months. Not all great players would become a great coach.”
“Rooney should just start his punditry immediately, he will do well there,” somebody else posted.
While a fifth said: “Rooney could be a great pundit if he’d just let go of his need to be a mediocre manager.”
And a sixth suggested: “[It’s] like coaching is not for Rooney, he should just follow Gary [Neville]’s path and start punditry.”
Someone else wrote: “Probably time for Wayne Rooney to do punditry or something as football management just isn’t working out for him.”
An eighth fan tweeted: “Wayne Rooney gotta leave the management ting [sic] and focus on punditry 2025 onwards.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
