Wayne Rooney smoking

[nrico2006]

Slowly turning into the next Gazza.

Gazza was a far superior footballer.  Young lad on the lash after not really getting a break( ) before he goes back to the trudge of daily grind, slow news day.

I would look at what Rooney has done on the pitch already in his career as being more than what Gazza ever did in his career.

Back to the original issue, whats the big deal if he is having the odd fag?  When you look at the players accused of smoking then it seems maybe more should try it, because Cashley and Rooney would cover more ground in a match than most players.

[The Real Laoislad]

Give the fella a break, sure we have all had a piss in a street corner or side alley after a feed of beer.
It's  not like he was out riding 65 year old prostitutes are anything......

Laoislad, who's that in your avatar, and will she be playing in the GAA Board event?

Natalie Gulbis, LPGA Golfer

[NAG1]

Have to say on the Gazza comment couldnt let it slide, Rooney is twice the player Gazza iever was and that is from a united fan admittedly. But there is no comparison. Rooney can score all types of goals, beat players and can actually pass the ball.

Gazza was a skillful player in an era devoid of much skill so he stood out. End of,

On the smoking thing he must have picked it up from Berbatov 
Suprised actually from a PR point of view that he was silly enough to get caught out but he is a young lad and can basically do what he wants. Though wouldnt be suprised if Ferguson didnt have a word in his ear at some point.

[Minder]

Gazza performed on the biggest stage.

[Geoff Tipps]

What's the big deal?? Often saw BOD in Kielys having a smoke. He turned out ok!

[sammymaguire]

no-one up in arms then, good on you Wazza  its a forgiving world out there

[laceer]

Michael Jordan smoked 20 a day

Think it was Nigel Worthington who said one of the best sights he had seen in soccer was Socrates standing in the tunnel having a smoke at half time of a Brazil v n Ireland friendly years ago 

[Geoff Tipps]

Michael Jordan smoked 20 a day

Think it was Nigel Worthington who said one of the best sights he had seen in soccer was Socrates standing in the tunnel having a smoke at half time of a Brazil v n Ireland friendly years ago 

Zizou and Cruyff were fond of a smoke in their playing days too.

[nrico2006]

Michael Jordan smoked 20 a day

Think it was Nigel Worthington who said one of the best sights he had seen in soccer was Socrates standing in the tunnel having a smoke at half time of a Brazil v n Ireland friendly years ago 

Just about sums up how exciting Worthington really is when seeing a man smoking is one of the best things he seen in football.  Did Mark Hughes not smoke like a train for a good while though?

[magpie seanie]

Give the fella a break, sure we have all had a piss in a street corner or side alley after a feed of beer.
It's not like he was out riding 65 year old prostitutes or anything......

Good to see the obsessions not been blunted over the summer, the YOUNG lady in question was 48 .

On a more serious note the standards on this board are slipping, this story was on other forums nearly 48hrs before it appeared here. Shoddy

Actually its a compliment to the DB that this story has received such little notice. Maybe its cos we're Irish.

[Doogie Browser]

Who gives a fcuk really, you can't polish a turd. Rooney has no class and he happens to earn 130k a week.  He would still be a tr**p, pissing on the street on a night out with his bird if he was penniless.

[pintsofguinness]

I hate to see anyone pissing on the street, vile!

[boojangles]

Have to say on the Gazza comment couldnt let it slide, Rooney is twice the player Gazza iever was and that is from a united fan admittedly. But there is no comparison. Rooney can score all types of goals, beat players and can actually pass the ball.

Gazza was a skillful player in an era devoid of much skill so he stood out. End of,

On the smoking thing he must have picked it up from Berbatov 
Suprised actually from a PR point of view that he was silly enough to get caught out but he is a young lad and can basically do what he wants. Though wouldnt be suprised if Ferguson didnt have a word in his ear at some point.

Irrelevant. Both will go down as big wastes of talent.

[mylestheslasher]

I hear only half of this vital story is out in the open. Apparently Rooney went home that night and took a dump in his en suite and then realised he had no bog roll! He then walked with his jocks down to another toilet downstairs where unbelievably he wiped his arse without locking the door. I can't see any future for Rooney in the premier league when this gets out - he may have to move abroad to avoid  the shame along with Gerrard.

[Dag Dog]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cdx0yp665e5o

Brady queries Rooney's 'work ethic' at Birmingham
Wayne Rooney lasted just 83 days in charge at Birmingham City

30 July 2025
NFL legend Tom Brady has questioned Wayne Rooney's attitude during the ex-England captain's tenure as manager of Birmingham City, where Brady is a minority owner.

In a new Amazon Prime documentary series, due to air on Friday, seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady tells colleagues: "I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic," before adding: "I mean, I don't know, I don't have great instincts on that."

Brady, who also calls Blues players "lazy and entitled" in the series, made his comments about Rooney following a visit to the club's training ground in November 2023.

Filmed conversations between the former quarterback and then manager Rooney appear awkward.

In one exchange, the ex-Everton and Manchester United striker tells his employer about some of the cultural problems he perceives at the club.

"Why they're playing in the Championship and not the Premier League," Rooney says, "is because... we've all passed a ball, kicked the ball and run, but it's a focus, concentrated for 90 minutes."

In scenes that follow, Brady is filmed watching a training session, saying: "We've got a long road ahead."

The retired quarterback - widely considered the best player in NFL history - became a minority owner in the club in August 2023, following a takeover the previous month by Knighthead Capital Management LLC, co-founded by financier Tom Wagner.

The club were relegated to League One in the first year under their new ownership after going through seven managers in 10 months.

Two months after Brady arrived in 2023, manager John Eustace was controversially replaced by Rooney, with the Blues sitting sixth in the Championship.

However, with the club then plummeting to 20th in the table, Rooney only lasted 83 days in charge at St Andrew's.

At the time, Rooney said that he did not feel 13 weeks was "sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed".

During the series, Blues fan Paul Collins speculates that the appointment had been based on a desire by the ownership to hire "one of the most recognisable English footballers of the last generation" in order to "put a load of eyes on Birmingham City".

Collins asks: "What qualifies Wayne to manage Birmingham City? Nothing."

Brady also reflects on the owners' disastrous first season in charge.

"There was some good advice that I got that was like, 'listen, don't go in there and make these big, sweeping changes - you guys have time'," he said.

"And of course we make sweeping changes."

Relegated players 'lazy and entitled' - Brady
Relegation from the Championship at the end of 2023-24 meant Birmingham dropped out of English football's top two tiers for only the third time in their history.

During the series, Brady reflects on where things went wrong, blaming the players.

"Well we've already changed the coach, so it's really the players because the coach doesn't go out there and put the ball in the goal," he says.

"They were lazy, they were entitled and when you're lazy and entitled, you don't have much of a chance to succeed.

"We've got to change all the people that are associated with losing, so I think this summer there's going to be a lot of people gone."

That summer, the club invested £30m in transfers, an unprecedented figure for League One.

The following year, Birmingham broke the Football League record for most points in a season, finishing top of League One with a tally of 111.

Brady struggles to find the Blues' training ground
During one scene, on his way to visit Birmingham's training ground, Brady's manager Ben Rawitz jokes about the NFL legend struggling to locate the club's Elite Performance and Innovation Centre on a map.

"That's the owner right there, he doesn't know where his training facility is," Rawitz says, later comparing the facilities to a "high school".

In another scene, during a separate visit to the city, Brady asks a colleague "What's the other team here?", following up by asking "is Aston Villa in the Premier League?".

Ambition 'bigger' than Wrexham's - Wagner

Birmingham City v Wrexham is a star-studded fixture - off the field at least

There are comparisons throughout the series to fellow Championship club Wrexham, who have enjoyed three consecutive promotions since the Welsh club's £2m takeover in February 2021 by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Wagner dismisses the idea that the two clubs should be considered in the same bracket.

"They've done a spectacular job at bringing attention to a small club," he says.

"I think what we have here is a club that's already a very big club and so, from our perspective, it's a bit different. The ambitions for us in the context of what we'll build is bigger than what they'll do at Wrexham."

In a separate scene, he says: "Our target's not Wrexham. Our target is to play Premier League football against Villa."