Like so many talented English players before him, Wayne Rooney stands at a crossroads in his career.

Down one path is international superstardom, fame, glory and a glittering career. Down the other lies a Gazza-like route to self destruction

The lad is only 19 but his temperament is obviously a major problem. His sending off on Wednesday night was only the latest in an ever-increasing list of incidents when his failure to keep his composure has cost his team dear.

Rooney was lucky not to get sent off for England against Northern Ireland a couple of weeks ago but that luck ran out when he decided to sarcastically applaud the referee for booking him during the Villarreal match.

Wayne oozes natural talent. He has the ability to become a world-beater in the Maradona, Pele, Zidane mold. But it will all be for nothing unless he manages to control his temper and let his feet do the talking.

When you watch him play you know he is only a badly timed tackle or a questionable refereeing decision away from losing his cool and that leaves you on edge.

Now it is up to Sir Alex to teach the boy a lesson. Leave him out for a couple of matches as punishment for his petulance. Make him realise the errors of his ways by doing the only thing that hurts someone with his sort of immature personality – take his ball off him.

Ferguson is the only one in a position to shape Rooney into the player everybody knows he can be. You can forget Sven. He doesn’t have the personality to deal with players like Wayne.

So, Sir Alex, get the lad sorted. For his sake and for the sake of England.

The Ashes

What fantastic scenes there were earlier this week as England finally reclaimed the Ashes after 18 extremely barren years.

The performance by the English players throughout the series was truly magnificent and they deserved every ounce of the praise that has been lavished on them by the media and the public.

To beat an Australian side that included the likes of Ponting and Warne was no mean feat and overall the five tests were probably the most exciting there have been in modern cricket.

But, despite the hysteria that has gone with the victory, I have to say those who claim cricket will now overtake football as England’s favourite sport are a few balls short of an over.

Yes it was fantastically exciting – with some even describing the final test as being like a five-day penalty shoot out – but unfortunately that is the exception rather than the rule in cricket.

And while at international level the sport does have a certain civilised appeal to the masses, at club and county level it is far less enticing.

It was only a couple of years ago that everyone was saying rugby would become England’s favourite game after they won the World Cup in such dramatic fashion.

But within weeks, possibly months, the wave of excitement had all but died down as the neutral public realised it was the international version of the game they had temporarily fallen in love with.

Well, I am sorry to burst the bubble of the cricket-lovers but exactly the same thing will happen this time round. Yes, there has been an upsurge in sales of cricket shirts. Yes, kids are as excited by Freddie Flintoff now as they were about Beckham five or six years ago. But it will all fade away with time.

When it comes down to a straight choice between watching Yorkshire vs Lancashire or Manchester United vs Chelsea I think football will win the neutral every time.

What Vaughn and his team did this summer was superb. I, for one, followed every ball with fascination and not a little excitement. But cricket take over from football? Not a chance.

Sheffield Utd

It’s seven wins from eight matches for my boys and we are sitting proudly atop the Championship, four happy points clear of our nearest rivals.

Yet for some reason, and it may have something to do with the fact that we have been languishing in the second tier of the game for 12 years now, I still have that nagging feeling it will all go wrong.

Obviously it’s far too early to even think about promotion. With more than three quarters of the season still to play there are so many things that could happen. But for supporters of most teams a four point lead at the top of the league would be cause for much optimism.

Yet, as a Sheffield United fan I can’t seem to shake this nagging feeling that it is all going to go pear shaped sooner rather than later. Today we take on Watford in what has surprisingly become a top-of-the-table clash. And it could easily be this game when the bubble bursts.

Maybe it’s just so many seasons of near misses, so many failed attempts at the play-offs and so many times of missing out at the final hurdle that generate this pessimism.

If we lose today I promise to try my best to remain optimistic. But the nagging feeling will probably reach unbearable proportions...

Contact James on: [email protected]