On the eve of the 15th anniversary of Paul Gasgoigne's England debut, Chief Football Writer Clive Hetherington reflects on the emergence of Wayne Rooney, the biggest English-born talent to hit the big stage in this country since Gazza.

IF Sven-Goran Eriksson needs any guidance on how to handle the talent of England wonderboy Wayne Rooney, he would do well to have a word with Sir Bobby Robson.

Fifteen years ago tomorrow, Robson bowed to public pressure when he finally introduced Paul Gascoigne to the international arena.

The effervescent Geordie midfielder, who two months earlier had moved from Newcastle to Tottenham in a then-British record £2m deal, made his England debut as a late substitute in a Wembley friendly against Denmark.

At the time, Rooney was a toddler, just over a month short of his third birthday.

Now he is England's biggest footballing phenomenon since Gazza first burst on to the scene.

Comparisons between them are obvious: abundant flair and passing ability; strength on the ball and an eye for goal; and the same cocksure assurance which borders on arrogance.

But Rooney clearly has more to his game than Gazza. The Everton starlet, whose sensational emergence at the start of last season ironically followed Gascoigne's release from Goodison Park, is after all a striker in essence.

And his finishing instinct has led Newcastle manager Robson to champion Rooney as England's long-term successor to Alan Shearer.

This afternoon, the young gun and the old gunslinger confront each other in a Goodison shoot-out. Three years after Shearer retired from the international game, Rooney is indeed launching his claim to the former England captain's attacking mantle.

A week ago, Rooney broke Michael Owen's record when, at 17 years 317 days, he became England's youngest-ever scorer in the Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia.

On Wednesday, he made it two goals in as many games as England claimed another Euro qualifying victory over Liechtenstein at Old Trafford.

Such are his precocious skills that Eriksson, hindered by a dearth of players of real class, has readily thrown Rooney in at the deep end despite his tender years.

Robson, on the other hand, was blessed with a squad of greater quality and was consequently prepared to be patient and cautious with Gascoigne.

Whereas Gazza's international bow had to wait until after England's disastrous Euro '88 finals campaign when he was 21, Rooney will be the heartbeat of the team if Eriksson's men make it to Portugal next summer.

But whatever the relative merits of their abilities, Rooney's demeanour is undoubtedly redolent of that of Gascoigne.

The maxim that a talent unfulfilled is the greatest waste of all, certainly applied in the sad case of Gazza.

Italia '90, of course, witnessed his arrival on the World stage.

But there were signs then, when he shed tears in Turin after England's World Cup semi-final elimination by West Germany, that Gascoigne would struggle to cope with his new-found fame and status.

Unfortunately for him, his association with Robson at international level was short-lived as Graham Taylor took charge that summer.

To this day, Robson admits: "It's a personal sadness to me that Paul isn't sitting on 100 caps.

"At 23 in the World Cup he was, in my opinion, the best young player in the world.

"I knew when I picked him he would go 'whoosh'.

"Had he stayed fit and kept at that level he could have played for England for ten years.

"He played 57 times but he could have doubled that - think of the years he missed.

"At his best he was one of the top players in the world.

"Gazza was as daft as a brush but a lovely kid and nobody loved him more than me.

"I tried to teach him the game and he was brilliant in that World Cup.

"He was the finest young player of that tournament; he was a truly brilliant player at just 19.

"He was confident and arrogant, in a way, wanted the ball all the time and wasn't afraid of anybody. He was fantastic. It's just a shame he had so many injuries."

Rooney's sublime display, albeit against the part-timers of Liechtenstein, drew similar praise from Robson.

"Rooney gave a performance not to be forgotten,'' enthused Robson. "He's certainly got an old head on young shoulders.

"His positional sense is terrific for a kid - he seems to pop up everywhere.

"He never seems to make a mistake on the ball and he's like an express train when he's in full flow.

"He's going to be around for at least 12 years.

"He's a marvellous diamond Everton have unearthed and we should be pleased we have a player like him.''

While Gazza, at 36, drifts aimlessly in his twilight world, Rooney revels in the adulation of a nation.

The fervent hope of every Englishman must be that Rooney learns the lessons of Gazza's wayward ways.