'No people talking on the pitch and helping each other': Rooney blasts phones for lack of leaders in football

"I speak to players about it all the time – communication," Wayne Rooney said as cited by the Daily Mail. "Not just here [in Birmingham] but with every team, you see a real lack of people talking on the pitch and helping each other.

"The amount of time you see people on their phones, social media… it’s so easy to have conversations on your phone and through those platforms rather than the most important one which is actually speaking to someone face to face.

"Certainly, on a football pitch that has changed over the years, there is no doubt about that.

"It’s trying to get the players to speak more. The more you speak the more you help your team-mate, the more you wake up your team-mate on the pitch, just by communicating.

"When you’re a defender you need to be talking to your midfield players, whether you ask them to shuffle left, right, get to the ball. When you’re a midfield player you need to be talking to your attacking players and that helps your team-mate. That’s how football works and how it’s always been."

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