It may seem somewhat harsh to criticise the performance of one player and to place the blame at that individual's feet, but Wayne Rooney is a big reason for England's failure. He has been variously hailed as the nation's talisman, England's Lionel Messi, non-droppable, and the key member of the squad who would make the three lions roar. He didn't though, did he? Asked to play on the left wing against Italy by a horribly misguided Roy Hodgson, he neglected his defensive duties and proceeded to sulk for the majority of the game. There can be no questioning his talent though, as even in a game where he had little interest in putting in a shift he still managed to grab an exquisite assist from a left footed cross. That isn't enough though: for every goal Wayne Rooney produced for England, there were two or three chances against that he should have stopped, and it's all well and good blaming Hodgson for the decision to play him where he did, but the player presents himself as a hero who would bleed for the cause. He just doesn't concede that the caveats have to be that he's in the right position and it's against the right opposition...