Too much, too young?

On his return, Rooney has been hit with a level of publicity not heaped on a young English footballer since Gazza turned on the waterworks fourteen years ago. Yet Gazza was aged 23 when he hit the headlines in Italy, having served an apprenticeship in handling the spotlight as a young player at Newcastle. The last 18 year old to burst on to the scene at a major championship – a certain Michael Owen – did not endure the same kind of immediate media scrutiny upon his return home.

Apparent interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid; deals with The Sun which have provoked controversy on Merseyside; and more column inches devoted to his ability and future in the rest of the press than just about every other player put together.

It all adds up to an uneasy mixture. Certainly, he is a phenomenal talent. Yet he is, still only 18: his ability might eclipse every other aspiring talent of that age, but he remains a player at the very beginning of his career who is still developing as a player and as an individual. If England, Everton, or any other club he might one day sign for are to see him reach his the limit of his potential, his star needs careful handling.

It is interesting, though, to muse over whether that development would be best served by staying at Everton. There’s an argument that moving to a big club, with a vast array of wonderfully talented players, would allow Rooney to mature whilst other star players take the media spotlight: he would be a big fish in a much larger pool at, say, Chelsea, than he would at Everton, where even at his tender age he is far and away the highest profile talent.

To an extent, true. The likes of Lampard and Terry and Duff would, undoubtedly, take much of the spotlight and pressure to perform off Rooney, who carries the burden of inspiring a fairly insipid Everton team on a weekly basis at Goodison. Yet there is much to be said for staying in familiar surroundings, amongst players he knows well and at a club which is unlikely to command as much attention for a little longer, and moving on – should he wish to – after he has adjusted to life in the goldfish bowl. There will inevitably come a time when he will need to escape his comfort zone – but that time has not come. The list of players tipped for stardom who made the big move too soon is endless; the pressure to live up to the price tag, of getting use to unfamiliar surroundings – not to mention trying to secure a regular first team slot – has proved too much for many extraordinarily talented players.

Yet the level of attention that has surrounded Chappy ever since he broke into the starting eleven has concerned me. Although the scale is smaller, he is, like Rooney at Everton, the golden boy, upon whom all hopes for the future are pinned. Chappy is the first young player to have the talent to reach beyond Turf Moor for a great number of years, and this is bringing inevitable adulation from the Turf Moor stands. It would be unrealistic to expect him to get on with his life completely unnoticed, but the level of expectation he faces does seem unhealthy. And the fact remains that at the moment, he remains our most valuable asset - given Robbie Blake’s wage demands.

Should he stay with us next season – as everyone connected with the club hopes he does – he will have to shoulder responsibility beyond his years. At the time of writing, there is no discernible back-up to the first team for him and Tony Grant in the centre of midfield, and it is he and Robbie Blake upon whom the crowd will pin their hopes for any success this season. It is a big burden for a teenager to carry.

But, just as for Rooney, it would seem to be in Chappy’s interests to stick with Burnley for a while longer yet. He is still learning and developing, and to move on now would potentially deprive him of the first team football he needs, or would heap pressure on him to justify a large price tag instantly. Even the speculation which surrounds the possibility of any move cannot be helpful: allowing him to concentrate on his football and improving as a player might be beneficial to himself, and Burnley Football Club.

There is, of course a further factor to throw into the mix. There might be a sound logic to any young player staying with the club which has nurtured him at least until he has hit his ceiling with that club – but that doesn’t necessarily mean other forces won’t try and turn a players head. I refer, of course to agents, those so-called advisors of professional footballers who earn a nice little windfall whenever their client moves clubs. Far be it from me to suggest that they have their own interests at heart, but the chance of a tidy sum for negotiating a move must be very attractive to agents who, after all, must make their own living.

The best policy, for all concerned, is to leave Richard Chaplow alone. Let him focus on becoming the player he could become. And the same goes for the boy Rooney too.