England's Newest Centurion: Is Rooney an England Legend?

Despite the long history of England's national football team, it comes as a considerable surprise that just nine individuals hold more than 100 caps. The latest of these, Wayne Rooney, has been at the heart of the side for almost a decade, and in recent years we have seen an arguable overreliance on the combustible forward. But a true England legend alongside the likes of Bobby Moore, David Beckham and Bobby Charlton? I'm not so sure.

Though the caps statistic doesn't lie (Rooney follows an elite list of Peter Shilton, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Bobby Moore, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright), it's not the only statistic that matters. As a successful striker, Rooney, as with any other forward in world football, is ultimately going to be judged on goals scored. As of writing this, Wayne Rooney sits 3rd on the all-time England scoring list - just three behind Bobby Charlton at the top.

If we dig a little deeper, however, we see that this achievement is not as impressive as it initially appears. Of the eight other England centurions, just one is a striker - Charlton. This brings us onto an additional point. As well as the volume of Rooney's goals, it is also important that the ratio of goals to games is considered. As of writing this, Rooney's record is an average of a goal every 157 minutes. While this is comparable - even slightly better than Bobby Charlton (193 minutes), he is actually behind considerably more than just the two other England goalscorers for volume. Second in the list, Gary Lineker scored an average of a goal every 136 minutes, while 4th place Jimmy Greaves has an incredibly impressive 117 minutes a goal.

On top of this, Rooney also falls behind Michael Owen (155), Nat Lofthouse (95), Steve Bloomer (74), Vivian Woodward (72), Stan Mortensen (98), Tommy Lawton (94), Peter Crouch (99). And that's just those that have scored more than 20 for their country!

So Rooney as a goalscorer is perhaps not all it's been suggested to be cracked up to be. These is further reinforced when you look at the opposition against whom England's current talisman has scored the majority of his goals. Interestingly, though Rooney has played matches against the majority of the world's top footballing nations, he has only scored against four of FIFA's top ten, and has only scored more than once against one - Brazil. This is despite the England man finding the net on more than one occasion against 15 different opponents in his career.

If we look at those nations he has been most clinical against, we see an obvious pattern develop. At the top of the list, Rooney has scored four goals against Croatia (14 world ranking) and San Marino (208), three goals against Switzerland (12) and Kazakhstan (132) and two against Slovakia (24), Iceland (28) Denmark (32), Scotland (37), Poland (44),  Bulgaria (59), Montenegro (64), Estonia (88), Belarus (106) and Andorra (202). If we find an average ranking of those he is most prolific against, it comes in at 70, or Antigua and Barbuda in the current rankings.

We also don't tend to remember his performances at major competitions fondly. With the exception of his earliest tournament - a four goal salvo at Portugal's Euro 2004, he has been underwhelming. Germany's World Cup in 2006 saw Rooney attempt to stop Ricardo Carvalho from ever having kids (who can forget Cristiano Ronaldo's wink?!), while the less said about the 2010 and 2014 World Cups the better. Even in 2012, which saw England put in reasonable performances on their way to the quarter finals, Rooney failed to live up to his talismanic billing. He himself has said that until he wins a trophy with England, he cannot eclipse Sir Bobby Charlton as England's greatest. Sorry Wayne, but until you win something as the nation's centrepiece, you won't even be up there for consideration, let alone the top. Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton, Gordon Banks and David Beckham have all had tournaments where they were the heart of the team, but all have kept a high level of performance up consistently, which is more than can be said for Rooney.

However, there is one point that works in the favour of Rooney. All of the above have been involved in great England teams, be it the World Cup winners, the 1990 semi finalists or the 'Golden Generation' of 2002-06. Rooney may have seen the very back end of this era, but the majority of his time with the 3 Lions has been in a position of adversity, where the public expects more than is achievable. Though the failures of the last two World Cups go even further beyond that, it's certainly a mitigating circumstance for Rooney, who has had to carry the majority of the team for too many years.

He's certainly not a legend yet, and I'm struggling to see whether he ever can be. He is certainly among the most talented players England has ever produced, but I can't help but think that pressure, and circumstance, has held him back when playing his country. It is this, and this alone, that Rooney needs to handle better if he is to be talked about in the same breath as Charlton, Moore, Banks and Beckham, regardless of how many goals he scores against San Marino.

What Makes A Truly Great Stadium?

Behind every great team, there is an iconic stadium. Be it the Bernabeu, the Nou Camp, or Old Trafford, the essence of every club comes from the ground they play on. People often underestimate its importance in football - I have seen grounds change matches, seasons, and even end championship dreams. But when considering the world's best stadium, there is often a lot of discussion.

The first, and most obvious criterion, is aesthetics. There are many stadia around the world that are beautiful examples of architecture - the Emirates in London, the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City or the Etihad in Manchester. As a Man City fan, it should come as little surprise that I add the City stadium to this list, particularly at night. However, my personal favourite for aesthetics has to be the Allianz Arena in Munich. The perfect blend of modern technology mixed with modern architecture, the Bayern stadium has to be up there with the most aesthetically pleasing of all time.

The Etihad at night - one of the more beautiful stadia in world football?

But it is important to consider that looks are not everything. There are many more components to the perfect stadium, some often as important as looks alone.

Firstly, history plays a part. Certainly not as much as Man United and Liverpool fans like to make out, but it certainly is an aspect behind an iconic ground. Seeing some of the most important moments in world football's history does mean that a stadium becomes one of the world's greats. These are almost always not the most aesthetically pleasing - look at the mish-mashed development that is Old Trafford or Liverpool's rather disjointed city centre Anfield ground. Both have seen some of the greatest moments in football, and should certainly be considered. Outside of the UK, the San Siro and Nou Camp have been at the heart of football's dramas, but neither are, in my opinion, particularly attractive. However, as we have begun to see, football clubs with some of the more beautiful grounds have begun to see dramatic moments - who can forget 'Aguerooooooo'?

And secondly, it is important to consider atmosphere. Though the best looking stadia have their advantages, they are also often not the most atmospheric. As I said earlier, I have seen games and titles decided by the atmosphere created in a ground. Here is where the less attractive grounds often have the advantage. It's strange, but the older grounds in the UK tend to keep the atmosphere within better than the newer builds, and give fans the sense of being closer and more integral to the action. The best example I have of this is last season's critical late season match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park. 3-0 down, the home fans' enthusiasm was relentless, and ultimately dragged their side back into the game. An incredible comeback ensued to secure a 3-3 draw and destroy the Reds' title hopes.

So, with all those in mind, what makes the perfect stadium? In my eyes, a great stadium has to look appealing. I understand that the historic gates at Anfield have their own appeal, and I actually accept that point, even though the ground itself is not necessarily the most beautiful. Having said that, what does put me right off is the way that stadia like Old Trafford have pretty much killed any of the history of the ground by continually extending sections. The core heart of the historic ground has gone, and in my view, if you're going to build, you may as well make it attractive.

On top of this, it surprises me that science either hasn't been consulted or successfully used when creating a new ground to keep the atmosphere within and rival older grounds. I don't know if its simply nostalgia, but there still seems most enjoyable at historic grounds. Whether that will change, I don't know, but I hope so, as the best of both worlds would make it a ground people want to visit and enjoy once they are there.

Having considered all three of these elements, here is my list of 10 top grounds:

1. Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich
2. Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid
3. Nou Camp, Barcelona
4. Estadio do Maracana, Rio di Janeiro
5. Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
6. Anfield, Liverpool
7. Etihad Stadium, Manchester
8. Olympiastadion, Berlin
9. AmsterdamArena, Amsterdam
10. Estadio de Luz, Lisbon