The Manchester United legend leaves “special” Plymouth bottom of the Championship
Wayne Rooney has thanked Plymouth Argyle fans for “memories we will share forever” after ending his 25-game reign as manager bottom of the Championship table, four points behind.
Newbie manager Rooney was under pressure after embarking on a 14-game winning streak, including a 2-0 defeat at relegation rivals Oxford United on Sunday, which was Argyle’s fourth consecutive away defeat without scoring.
“Many thanks to the Green Army for making the games at Home Park so special,” said the 39-year-old, who also praised his coaching team, club chairman Simon Hallett and director of football Neil Dewsnip.
“They are memories we will share forever. Plymouth Argyle will always hold a special place in my heart and I will continue to pay attention and interest in their results.”
BREAKING: Wayne Rooney mutually agrees to leave Plymouth 🚨 pic.twitter.com/VkVf2toR56
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 31, 2024
Rooney leaves Plymouth
Rooney, assistant coach Mike Phelan and coach Simon Ireland have left the Pilgrims by mutual consent, with first team coach Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards taking charge of the away game against Bristol City on Wednesday (12.30 GMT) and Daryl Flahavan continues to act as goalkeeping coach.
Phelan had coached Rooney during his time as Manchester United’s assistant coach, first under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2008 and 2013 and later for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick between 2018 and 2022.
Rooney-Plymouth record
United’s all-time leading goalscorer described the move to Argyle as “the perfect next step in my career” when he was surprisingly given the job in May.
Hallett said Rooney’s “ambitions and goals” were a perfect fit for the club, adding that he would provide an “exciting and attacking brand of football that we would all love to see and help us achieve the club’s mission”.
Gaffer just felt like going for a run 🤣
Those scenes on the bench are everything! 💚 pic.twitter.com/OtfV1CZyxG
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) November 23, 2024
Steven Schumacher led Plymouth to promotion in 2023 before moving to Stoke City in December of that year. His successor, Ian Foster, took over for a dismal three-month term before an interim managerial team provided security on the final day of last season.
Starting with a 4-0 defeat at Sheffield on Wednesday as part of a four-game winning streak, Argyle struggled throughout the season and never managed consecutive wins under Rooney.
They claimed back-to-back home wins over Sunderland and Luton Town in September and defeated fourth division side Cheltenham Town to reach the second round of the Carabao Cup. However, they have not won since a 1-0 home win against Portsmouth on November 5th.
Wayne Rooney leaves Plymouth with his team bottom of the Championship table and ultimately not very good at football. pic.twitter.com/KPMK7OtTyy
— Tom Carnduff (@TomCarnduff) December 31, 2024
Rooney’s leadership record
Plymouth were widely mocked for appointing Rooney after the former England striker played a key role in Birmingham City’s relegation from the 2023/24 Championship.
Birmingham were in the play-off places when Rooney was brought in in October 2023, but were forced to sack him after a run of nine defeats in 15 games from which City were unable to recover, with Plymouth among the clubs that fell their costs managed to stay in the league.
Rooney left DC United to join City after failing to lead the club to the MLS play-offs during a 15-month stay in Washington.
His first managerial role was arguably his most successful, guiding Derby County to safety in the Championship in 2020/21 during a period of financial difficulty for the Rams.
Everton player Rooney left Derby, who were relegated a month earlier and conceded a total of 21 points this season for financial reasons, in June 2022.
