[SirWayne]

As you can probably tell from my name I'm a pretty big fan of Rooney but even though I may be looking through tinted glasses I think that Rooney comes in for some unfair criticism a lot of the time.

The latest thing is that he is not selfish enough. I'm not a massive statistician but I do know that over the last couple of seasons Rooney is only behind Ronaldo in the combined scoring and assists table which rightfully explains our success over those 2 seasons. I am also aware that during these seasons Rooney has been criticised for his poor performances. Something about this doesn't add up.

Expectation has been high for Rooney since bursting onto the scene at Everton and some magical performance for England up to when he got injured at the Euros 04. Then when he came to United everybody thought he would become the best player in the world. It is the high expectation that is his achilles heel.

When United don't play well critics especially, but supporters also, often blame a poor performance of Rooney as the cause. The pressure this puts him under must be massive.

I think we all look to players like Rooney for inspiration and are disappointed when he doesn't play to his best. But I believe the best of Rooney is still ahead but no matter if he makes no further improvement because he is still a very good player and one of our best.

 

[Ritesh MU]

Rooney is a very good player he always come back to collect ball tackle player for ball he score or not but work as a great player he is very good perhap this year he will be more selfish for ball and score goals

 

[TheManc]

Rooney is as good as he's always been. Just these days he is more of an 'influence' instead of an 'impact' player like he used to be.

I do prefer the Rooney of 04-06 mind.

 

[ScholesHeScoresGoals]

Yeah i agree, he just needs to be a wee bit more selfish and then he'll be fine and also keep him in d right position!

 

[Jazz 16]

Nice thread mate and I see what you are saying. He is an important cog to our
team and I think we ALL agree that we play much better with him in the team
then out of it. Take the last 2 seasons for example...he hasnt been himself
and he has under performed imo. I still love watching him play and he will
become a legend but he needs to sort out his finishing if he wants to be
considered one of the best strikers in the world. I really hope he can do it this
season....This WILL be his year.

 

[versa]

[Edit: Just realised the links have failed so re-posting again.]


I posted these articles in another thread but decided to move them here as nobody commented on them at all!??? What do you guys think? I thought these would be controversial but most integral to the 'problem' of Rooney.


Rooney pours his heart out, but in the wrong places

His work-rate can disrupt opponents, but Wayne Rooney would help England more by contributing as a forward should....

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/08/21/rooney_pours_his_heart_out_but.html


Rooney admits he must be more selfish....

There remains something of the street footballer about Wayne Rooney, a desire to be at the heart of everything. It is particularly apparent in times of trouble. He cannot bear to stand idly by.

Yet the striker has admitted he might have to heed the advice of Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager at Manchester United, and curb his natural exuberance. He is beginning to accept that a slightly more selfish edge to his game might benefit both club and country..............

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/22/englandfootballteam


An inconvenient truth: Rooney is not a natural centre-forward

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...-is-not-a-natural-centreforward-13947866.html

 

[Justice]

I have absolutely no problem with Rooney tracking back and running his heart out all over the place, as long as his strike partner stays up top! Another reason to get Berbs, no chance of that lazy sod tracking back with Rooney!

 

[SirWayne]

I think everybody would agree that Rooney needs to work on his finishing if he wants to be considered as one of the best strikers but is he a striker? There are not many players like Rooney in the world strangely we have the player that is most like him in Tevez which is of some concern to me but that's another story.

What I'm trying to say is the Rooney of old was never a goal scoring machine but more of a link up player that scored goals many of which were amazing. Rooney works best with a target striker not as the target striker. I think that is why Sir Alex has played him off the right or left so much in recent times.

The difficulty for Sir Alex is who to play our team around. Last season Ronaldo made this a very easy choice but this year I don't think it will be that easy especially if Berbatov comes. I've tried to work out how you play Rooney Tevez Ronaldo and another striker together but I can't see it. That's probably why I'm sitting in front my computer now and not in the dugout.

I like seeing Rooney in a free role a la Cantona where he can run around like a street footballer and express himself in what I think is his favourite role? Its going to be really interesting when we have a fully fit squad with a new addition( hopefully Berbatov) to see how we line up. Its quite exciting just thinking about it?

 

[versa]

I find it strange that when it comes to Rooney's 'predicament', comments just suddenly dry up. Is it because it is just too obvious to comment or are we all groping in the dark?

 

[Ritesh MU]

Rooney to score against porthmouth

cheeeeeeers

 

[yangch0000]

i have no problem with rooney tracking back, as long as he does not go into a reckless tackle out of pure frustration, he might hurt himself as well as others. just be more clinical in front of goal when he is presented with the chance.
keep doing what he does best, giving his all on the field, dropping off to create space for himself and his teammates, creating chances for his teammates.
it is not a crime to be unselfish. rooney is just not the type of player who waits for thing to happen for him, he is meant to make things happen.

 

[RN10]

At the end of the day people can say what they won't about Rooney. You name me another striker that can give you 20 goals and 15 assists a season. not to mention his tracking back tackling and the fact that we simply draw or loose if he doesn't play! He is united atm and with ronnie injured it will be Rooney that united turn to for inspiration and goals. Can't wait to see him this season he's gonna be awesome as allways

 

[Keano!]

Great post SirWayne...

Expectation has been high for Rooney since bursting onto the
scene at Everton

Exactly....he came into the spotlight, at such a high level and was expected to
maintain it!

He scored a hat-trick on his debut, and people expect loads. Like you, I'm a huge
Wazza fan and hate seeing him slated as he, to me anyways, seems to put in
the most effort at times. How many forwards do you see in the left back position
tracking back on a ball? Not very many...

Sure, he drops deep, too deep at times but its the Rooney factor that excites
people. He can switch the play with ease and its been said before, but if Rooney
wasn't there, Ronaldo wouldn't have scored half the goals he did....

He will come good I'm sure of that. When I go to games, and see he's on the
bench or not there at all, I feel such disappointment. Unbelievable player and to
me, he's worth 10 times as much as Ronaldo will ever be!


Great thread!




Edit:

as long as he does not go into a reckless tackle out of pure
frustration

Agreed....but that passion/anger is what makes him. I must admit though, he came flying
back last Sunday against Newcastle with a sliding tackle and I'll tell you now, if he took
down the player, it was an early shower IMO.

But TBH, he's curbed his aggression to a tee ATM. Remember the days when he was sent
off for clapping a ref!

 

[versa]

I don't think any United or England fan in his right mind would doubt his commitment, selflessness and work rate.

A separate issue altogether, however, it is also a fact that he has not been really effective for United and England consistently enough or often lacks the so-called end product. I am not talking about a few games in particular but over a longer period of time. This is the key issue which both Fergie and Capello have openly acknowledged, are struggling to resolve but are yet to be able to resolve.

Despite Fergie promising to restore him back to his favoured central striker position and urging him to be more selfish, it was evident that Rooney being Rooney, was still attempting to cover every inch of the field. Good for the team on one hand but also may not be good for the team if you ponder further - the team does not truly benefit from him as a forward. Think you know what I mean.

And Capello is nowhere nearer than Fergie.

What do you think would make Rooney more effective as a forward should? Any insight or suggestion? This then is the more important issue over the usual accolades and praises.

 

[United_OG]

people should just leave him alone imo. He clearly is a striker, second of first does not matter. If his finishing was good enough last year, nobody would be making such a fuss about what his favoured position is or more importantly, about him covering alot of the pitch. Truth is, each season he plays the majority as a central figure, united always have players out wide but where rooney decides to roam to is his decision off his football intelligence.

It does not help his development as a player either when he is touted as the white pele which is clearly rubbish or was wayyy overhyped when he was younger being touted as the best player on the planet already when people like ronaldinho were miles ahead of both ronaldo and rooney at the time. This type of stuff is terrible for a players development. At the end of the day, rooney is doing fine as he is, he clearly is not the best player in the world nor is he the best striker in the world or second striker but he has been hampered also through injuries. Another thing is that he needs to get through a season without interruptions like injury and we'll see a better rooney on the pitch. He started bright against newcastle then faded off as he was starting to get marked and he is less effective without space.

That is why i have always said that for rooney is it more important that ronaldo plays because ronaldo naturally attracts 2-3 players atleast on him and opens up space for others like rooney and ronaldo can deal with it and still be world class and with that space created, rooney can still be effective.

Rooney has played one game for united this season...I dont see why all this fuss has been created for. He was decent last year but had injuries and seems fine this year. Let him get into a groove first before we judge the guy soo harshly!

pz

 

[versa]

Let him get into a groove first before we judge the guy soo harshly!pz

Cool it mate. Nobody is judging him or slagging him in this forum. Even Fergie and Capello have openly acknowledged and wondered aloud how to best utilise him. This is just a forum for us fans to chip in our 2 cents' worth. Just leaving him alone to his own device does not serve any purpose in a forum.

 

[piazza]

I think the fact that every game we lost last year had something in common: No Wayne Rooney, proves how good and important he really is.

 

[versa]

I think the fact that every game we lost last year had something in common: No Wayne Rooney, proves how good and important he really is.

Nobody is also doubting his importance and quality but I am sure he can be more effective than he is.

 

[piazza]

Nobody is also doubting his importance and quality but I am sure he can be more effective than he is.

Me too, if we had a target man he could play off of, or if he could just stay glued to that spot right on the arc and not come up until he's put offside, he'd score a lot more.

Note: Before anyone else corrects me, I now remember that Rooney did play against Chelsea at the end of the season when we lost to them (and scored) but he was really banged up in that game.

 

[versa]

Me too, if we had a target man he could play off of, or if he could just stay glued to that spot right on the arc and not come up until he's put offside, he'd score a lot more.

Note: Before anyone else corrects me, I now remember that Rooney did play against Chelsea at the end of the season when we lost to them (and scored) but he was really banged up in that game.

Interestingly, when he first stormed the football scene, he did not work as hard as he is doing now, coming back deep into our half to collect the ball and start things. Ironically, I thought he was more effective as a forward then.