Plymouth Argyle thumped on Rooney debut
Sheffield Wednesday ran riot against Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, starting their Championship campaign with a 4-0 victory.
Wayne Rooney's reign as Plymouth Argyle boss got off to a miserable start as his side was thrashed 4-0 by Sheffield Wednesday in its first Championship game of the season.
The trip to Hillsborough represented Rooney's first match back in management since he was sacked by Birmingham City in January.
Any hopes of a flying start to his time on the south coast were quickly dashed as Danny Rohl's team dominated from the off, eventually racking up 4.85 expected goals (xG) from 30 shots at goal.
Jamal Lowe converted Svante Ingelsson's cross on the slide to hand the Owls a 35th-minute lead, then the new striker saw a header deflect in off the unfortunate Brendan Galloway for 2-0 shortly after the break.
Wednesday added further gloss to the scoreline late on, Josh Windass stabbing home an 82nd-minute third before Michael Smith came off the bench to finish from close range in stoppage time.
While the resounding victory takes Wednesday top of the early-season standings, Plymouth props up the second-tier table ahead of Tuesday's match between relegated Premier League clubs Luton Town and Burnley.
Plymouth was thoroughly outclassed by a Wednesday team it finished just two points behind last season, leaving its new boss with plenty to think about.
The Pilgrims only managed five shots to the hosts' 30, facing a huge 24 efforts from inside their own area.
Since returning from a spell in MLS with D.C. United, Rooney now has a record of two wins from 16 Championship matches with Birmingham and Plymouth (four draws, 10 losses).
