Wayne Rooney has told of a time he was left furious by David Moyes at Everton.
The Premier League legend was given his debut by the Scot all the way back in 2002, starting against Tottenham Hotspur and becoming the second-youngest first-team player in Everton history.
A couple of months later, Wayne Rooney would really announce himself in English football.
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After scoring twice against Wrexham in the League Cup, Rooney then struck against Arsenal in spectacular fashion.
It made him the youngest Premier League goalscorer ever at the time, and the goal also ended Arsenal’s 3-match unbeaten run.
From that moment it became clear that Everton had a special talent on their hands. And not only was Rooney supremely talented, but he was also extremely hungry.
And that hunger sometimes left him frustrated when Moyes overlooked him.
Wayne Rooney shares when David Moyes left him furious
Rooney was speaking about coming onto the scene at Everton on The Wayne Rooney Show podcast.
And he told of a time Moyes did not start him against Liverpool at Anfield, which saw the pair clash.
He said: “Yeah, he never put too much pressure on me. I used to argue with him even at that age. I started the first game of the season in Tottenham.
“I started the first few and then he left me out of the derby in Anfield, and he left me on the bench. I just couldn’t get my head around it and I remember having an argument with him over it.
“And so even then, I was always competitive and wanted to play every game and I felt I was better than the players who were playing.
“But you don’t realise why he’s doing it. He’s obviously doing it to protect you as well. But at that age, you can’t see that.”
No doubt Rooney – who recently said he’d take the Everton job if it came up – is thankful to Moyes for the approach he ultimately took.
Moyes could adopt same tactic with Harrison Armstrong
Ultimately, Moyes’ management of Rooney helped him go on to be the player that he became.
It’s interesting, because Everton now find themselves in a similar situation, with Harrison Armstrong starting to make a name for himself.
Armstrong is probably not quite at the same level as Rooney was all those years ago.
But there is no denying he is an extremely talented prospect and someone with huge potential.
Evertonians have such high hopes for Armstrong and at the moment, many are hoping to see him stick around for the rest of the season, rather than him head back to Preston North End on loan.
We will see what Moyes decides to do.
But perhaps we’ll see him look to protect Armstrong in the same way he did Rooney.
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