Sunday 3 September 2017 22:34, UK
Everton should feel let down by Wayne Rooney's recent off-the-field antics, according to Dominic Fifield on the Sunday Supplement.
The former England captain was charged with drink-driving after he was stopped by police in the early hours of Friday morning.
The 31-year-old has now been charged and is due to appear at Stockport Magistrates' Court on Monday, September 18 - the day after he returns to Manchester United with Everton in the Premier League.
This comes after a promising start to Rooney's Everton return with the striker on target in his first two league appearances this season after rejoining his boyhood club from United.
And The Guardian's London Football Correspondent, Fifield, thinks Everton boss Ronald Koeman, who re-signed Rooney on a two-year deal in July, must be wondering what he's let himself in for.
"There's that self-destructive streak in him, there always has been," Fifield told the Sunday Supplement.
"There is an irony that this is probably the first international break where we shouldn't be talking about Wayne Rooney and this has flared up. I'm sure this has prompted a fair amount of dismay at Everton, not least dismay within the Rooney household.
"Ronald Koeman must now be wondering what he's let himself in for by bringing him back to Everton and it's just a sad story.
"This is a player that looked as if he was revived, who was back at home but 53 days after re-joining Everton it's all gone wrong already. Now there's the prospect of a court appearance potentially 24 hours after his return to Manchester United. It's a mess but it's a self-inflicted mess."
When asked if Everton should feel let down by Rooney, Fifield added: "They should do and I'm sure they do.
"They thought they were bringing back the consummate professional, the figure that had established himself at United as the club's record goalscorer, England captain and a man with 53 goals for his country.
"They didn't think they were bringing back the tearaway teenager that there were issues with way back in 2003 and 2004 when they had him last time. They thought they were bringing back someone very different but during the first break Wayne has had in a very long time, this has happened.
"It's a reminder that the self-destructive element is still there."
It's not the first time that Rooney has hit the headlines for his misdemeanours off-the field and Fifield thinks Rooney, who announced his international retirement last week after scoring 53 goals in 119 appearances for England, could have achieved more were it not for his 'laddish' tendencies.
"You do wonder what he might have achieved had he not had the laddish tendencies," Fifield added.
"I don't think he was ever going to be the Lionel Messi or the Cristiano Ronaldo but I was lucky enough to be at the game against Arsenal when he scored that wonderful goal against David Seaman in the last minute.
"He just took you off your seat and you thought this is a player that could tear it up for club and country. The records and the numbers are great.
"The achievements of record goalscorer for club and country are fantastic, but could he have achieved more? Possibly."
