Ding Dong Rooney’s Gone: Reaction

Bigger Questions Need to Be Asked in Wazza’s Wake

And that’s the end of the Rooney experiment, as weeks of inevitability come to pass.

It’s been tough to find time to write about the current state of Argyle. The congested calendar has meant a change in the situation every couple of days. I was at the Middlesbrough game and felt the first half was one of the best performances of the 2024 calendar year—two weeks later at the foot of the table, all hope felt lost.

The ‘Boro game was bookended by appalling away performances, a lack of character on the pitch, zero leadership or ideas, a lack of tactical clarity, and mounting injuries.

But rumours online painted a darker picture. They pointed to an alleged lack of professionalism and standards throughout the camp, much of which would explain the on-field problems. #RooneyOut was the only outcome.

I’ve been working up a piece (that I will still write soon) on the unanswerable questions around Argyle and Rooney since his appointment.

What exactly was the underlying data that showed that Rooney was a good fit as manager? Why were we the right club to champion his career? Why were we so wedded to it working?

The truth is, as I have written many times, that Rooney was an appointment designed to unite the fans and club after Foster. His strengths were his warm nature and candour, which certainly did unite fans and the club and was present even up to his classy departure.

But October’s sudden uptick in form masked terrible underlying data. And it seems that Rooney’s weaknesses—a lack of attention to detail, and seemingly the standards needed to keep a squad fit and firing—were slowly ebbing away at the set-up.

All the concerns about his appointment at the start came true. And huge questions need to be answered by decision-makers.

Who was overseeing the standards of training and discipline within the squad? Who at the executive and board level is accountable for the (apparent) circus at the playing level?

Removal of the manager will not be enough this time. There was a need for self-reflection and scrutiny after Foster; now there needs to be a complete overhaul of the structure and accountability of this football club.

There’s a time and place for discussion of who will come next. A hasty newsletter penned on NYE isn’t it. I second Mark Lovell in the case for Steven Schumacher to finish what he started—but we have to be realistic that the reality on the ground isn’t even that appealing for him now.

We are overwhelming 1/10 favorites to be relegated. One eye needs to be on a manager who can rebuild this squad, as well as giving us a chance to stay up. We have incoming investment (allegedly), a good XI, and more home games than away to play this season.

But escape this time would truly be the greatest of escapes.