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[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

 

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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?

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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Rooney 'won't change', he tells Sir Alex Ferguson

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...e-he-tells-sir-alex-ferguson-115875-20708804/

 

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No i agree with you, i just think the guy is one game into the season and people are making it out like he has had a stinker already. Give him a few games before we start making something big over nothing.

Last season many people said we needed a striker, it would haunt us when the going gets tough, it would cost us in our challenge etc but we are european and english champs. I just think people are overreacting.

Know what you are trying to say mate.

But I think the concern over Rooney's effectiveness as a foward, which is his primary role anyway, does not just come about from Newcastle game. Think it has been for a pretty long while now, be it for England or for United. And it must be of concern long enough for both Fergie and Capello to voice out their concerns and to wonder aloud how best to utilise him.

Maybe he really tries too hard to do too much.

Maybe he had too many disruptions due to unwanted injuries.

Maybe he really needs a main striker to play off from, which was clearly lacking last season because Tevez is too similar to him.

Maybe as one article posted in this thread, he is not a central striker afterall?! Think Harry Redknapp recently even suggested he plays on the wing!

This is what we are supposed to discuss here: how would Rooney be more effective as a forward for us.

True, no doubt we ended up as double champions last season. However, it is easy to forget that it is also largely due to the unexpected scoring record of Ronaldo, a 42-goal feat as a winger that everybody knows is unlikey to be repeated. Minus a few goals from an outperformance could have easily meant a few points dropped and the EPL title lost, given that we only clinched the title in the last game by 2 points and were also not too far ahead of third-placed Arsenal by 4 points.

This must be one of the strong reasons why we really need an outright striker to complement Rooney and Tevez. Not forgetting too that the entire forward line could only score as many as one winger! And in this case, how best to utilise Rooney to contribute towards this cause.

 

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vital football

Don't Work So Hard, Wayne

Every sensible Manchester United fan knows how important Wayne Rooney is to our cause even though he rarely dribbles the length of the pitch and scores relatively few goals. We know he's one of the most important players of the squad and that his performances of last season were not below-par, only different to what people have expected of him.

However, he's come under fire for his England performances where the quality of his teammates is nowhere near to that of United and where he's expected to be the main attacking weapon. And with Ronaldo out until October (or November, reports are a bit confusing) it's time for Wayne to change his game a little and turn into a finisher from provider.

Sir Alex has also told him what is the problem with his game.

"If he is prepared to listen, he will stop galloping all over the pitch and will realise that although he has got a selfless nature about him he wants to be regarded as a goalscorer.

"He doesn`t want to stop being a team player but he has to be involved in more goals.

"He needs to concentrate on being around the edge of the box more but there is always a cross to bear when you have the reputation of being Wayne Rooney."

Which is true. Quite simply we have enough defensive players, we have enough great midfielders to do the tackling, to cover the field. Rooney should concentrate his energy to the attack - where we were lacking against Newcastle.

In the long term, if Berbatov indeed signs for us, when Ronaldo returns and Tevez will also be on the team, Rooney can revert to his favourite role: galloping all over the field and doing everything. It won't satisfy the England fans and pundits but who cares?

Rooney certainly doesn't.

"Maybe I could be more *selfish but I will never change.

"I`ve always said I`m a team player. I`m not concerned about what people are saying. Everyone was talking about me scoring more goals but we won the Premier League and the Champions League last season, so if that happens again I would be delighted.'

Therefore, logically, Rooney has no objections to signing another forward - that would mean he'd have to spearhead the attack on fewer occasions and would have more freedom to roam. That's what he craves it seems.

'There would be an extra burden if we did not sign another striker,' said Rooney.

'Carlos likes to drop behind a main striker, which is probably his best position, so maybe I would have to stay up a bit more. I would have no problem with that.

'But hopefully we can bring another forward in to strengthen the team. It would allow us to spread the matches out and make changes for certain games.

And allow you, Wayne, to work your socks off all over the pitch. In the meantime, though, work a bit less hard, stay up front and wait for your chances. They will come and you've got to put them away.

 

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I think Wayne's form last season is very underrated because of his appaling finishing. I thought he was one of our most important players and was at the centre of nearly all of our attacks.
The fact that we never lost with him on the pitch also backs that up.
If he can just improve his finishing then he would fulfil his potential of being the best player in the world.

I think we lost with him once last season in the FA Cup against Portsmouth.

 

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If you have time and would like to read an article about Wayne Rooney, which by some accounts is quite good *cough*, please check out:

http://manutd-talk.blogspot.com/2008/07/rooney-will-this-be-his-season.html


Thank you

Awesome read (again).