Wayne Rooney has left Plymouth Argyle after just four wins in 23 Championship games in another hit to his CV, which doesn’t compare well to Steven Gerrard’s and Frank Lampard’s
Wayne Rooney’s managerial record continues to lag behind fellow England legends Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard after his departure from Plymouth Argyle.
Rooney mutually agreed to leave the Championship club following a dismal run of just four victories in 23 matches, leaving them languishing at the bottom of the league table halfway through the season. It’s his fourth stint in the dugout, which has ended in disappointment.
Rooney’s coaching journey began promisingly at Derby County, despite numerous off-field issues. He managed to steer the team clear of relegation in the second tier after initially taking over as part of an interim team in November 2020.
However, the Rams were hit with a 21-point deduction the following season, which would have seen them finish 17th without the penalty, leading to their relegation. Rooney resigned with an average of 1.14 points per match (PPM) after being given the full-time job in January 2021.
The former England striker then moved to DC United in the MLS, where he lasted a season and a half. In the United States, he only managed to win 14 out of the 53 games, resulting in a PPM of 1.04.
After parting ways in October 2023, Rooney quickly found work again at Birmingham City, backed by US investors. This developed into his worst spell yet, with the Manchester United legend losing 14 out of his 25 matches (0.67 PPM) with the then-Championship club.
Rooney, who joined when they were in sixth, left on January 2, 2024, after taking them to just one place above the drop zone – a fate they ultimately succumbed to. Despite that, Plymouth handed him a three-year deal in the summer.
He now departs the South Coast after 0.84 PPM, with his overall statistics reading 177 games, 46 wins, 44 draws, 87 losses, and 1.03 PPM. While both Lampard and Gerrard have also struggled to translate their successful playing careers into management, they each have better records than that.
Chelsea hero Lampard also started at Derby in 2018, guiding them to the Championship play-offs. That earned him his return to Stamford Bridge, but he was sacked 18 months later with the worst PPM of any Blues boss in the Roman Abramovich era (1.75).
His near-year in charge of Everton from January 2022 to January 2023 turned into a bigger disaster, with an average of just one point per game. A second stint at Chelsea, this time in interim charge for the last 11 games of that same season, saw just one victory.
After over a year out, Lampard returned to management last month, heading back down to the second tier with Coventry City. He’s won three of his first six games to move his overall PPM to 1.48 from 86 wins, 41 draws and 75 losses in 202 matches.
Gerrard’s is an improved 1.87 from 173 victories, 69 draws, and 73 defeats in 315 matches. The Liverpool icon had a strong start at Rangers, clinching one league title during his tenure of over three years. He left with a 2.15 PPM when Aston Villa cherry-picked him in November 2021.
However, like Lampard, his Premier League comeback didn’t go as planned. Villa gave him the boot in October 2022 after nearly half of his 40 matches ended in defeat.
Since July 2023, Gerrard has been at the helm of Saudi Pro League team Al-Ettifaq, where a 1.35 PPM hasn’t done much to lift their mid-table status. But his record is still better than his former Three Lions team-mates.