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Man United Fan: Scholes Was Right, Rooney Must Be Dropped
Gone are the days of his electric, surging runs through opposition lines - Rooney has just become painfully predictable...
Man United Fan: Scholes Was Right, Rooney Must Be Dropped
Wayne Rooney is a constant source of division amongst Manchester United and England fans. He’s a man who has scored countless goals for club and country, many of them wonderful. Yet he remains a figure who evokes deeply mixed feelings in the match-going public.
It’s a shame, really. He should be a cult-hero, by now. He’s been at United since he was seventeen, scored a hat-trick on his debut and is on the brink of becoming the all-time leading goal-scorer in their history. Yet he remains reviled and revered in equal measure.
Whether you love or loathe him, Wayne Rooney is a name that evokes staggeringly strong feelings amongst the United faithful. Praise him and you can expect a barrage of abuse; disparage him and expect a vat-full of vitriol.
I have remained fairly constant in my opinion of Rooney, over the years. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a player who came to United brimming to bursting point with promise, but who has failed to live up to the potential we all saw in him when he arrived; a player left behind by his peers, who could have been one of the world’s best but can now only look on in wonder, rubbing his eyes clean of the dust that has encrusted them in his former teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo’s, wake.
For many years after his arrival at United, after exploding onto the world stage with breathtaking force during Euro 2004, the club’s supporters were not disappointed with the capture of one of European football’s most exciting young talents. Rooney has provided them with countless moments of great joy, his on-field relationship with Ronaldo representing one of the most enduring memories of the last decade. The speed with which those two players could turn defence into attack was, at times, revelatory, with the counter-attacking goal against Arsenal, in the 2009 Champions League semi-final, still talked about in reverential tones by the club’s supporters.
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Now, after numerous woeful tournaments representing his country, and despite an equally impressive goal tally at international level as in the domestic game, Rooney’s value for England is also being called into question. As we are about to embark on the 2014 World Cup, Rooney has once again found himself thrust into the spotlight. People are lining up to express their opinions on England’s number nine: Glenn Hoddle and Jose Mourinho have offered him support and encouragement. Yet it is the suggestion of one of his old United teammates, Paul Scholes, that Rooney has ‘peaked,’ that has caused the greatest furore.
Scholes is a name that reverberates throughout the footballing world, due to his phenomenal record whilst playing for United, not to mention his sublime talent. He was a conjurer; a midfield magician; a puller of strings. He was also a quiet, bashful, one-club family man. Thus, to suddenly hear him speak so forthrightly on such a controversial matter, at such a critical time, demands that we sit up and listen.
So, is he right? Is Rooney past his best?
Well, another hugely respected footballing figure also felt he was. Sir Alex Ferguson wanted rid of Rooney by the time he came to retire. This is a man who had the ruthlessness of a dictator, able to distance himself from the human being with whom he was dealing for the good of the cause; in this case, Manchester United. The last two decades are littered with players sent packing by the Scot when he had realised, before anyone else, that they had passed their sell-by date. He rarely got it wrong.
Had David Moyes chosen to adhere to Ferguson’s wish, United could have got a tidy sum for a player who had just completed the most abject season of his hitherto illustrious career and invested the funds into improving the overall squad.
Under Moyes, many claim, Rooney excelled, at times even ‘carrying the team.’ It is true that his statistics for the season just passed are reasonably impressive. Yet stats never tell the full story. Rooney was impressive, but only when compared to his previous woeful campaign and the pathetic performances of many of his teammates who, having not been pandered to and rewarded with an obscene contract, seemed less willing to buy into Moyes’ ultimately catastrophic philosophy.
For those who sat in the stands and watched his performances for the deposed English champions, last season, Rooney was less impressive. He huffed and puffed but often lacked the touch expected of top-level footballers. Gone are the days of his electric, surging runs through opposition lines. His passing has become painfully predictable, more often than not simply splaying it out to the wings, albeit with a long, accurate ball that would be more impressive if he didn’t do it with such monotonous regularity.
Rooney is certainly still capable of moments of real magic. His goal against West Ham at Upton Park last season, scored from just within the home team’s half, was a thing of majesty. Still, such moments are, these days, few and far between, made all the more memorable by the mire of mediocrity from which they so rarely emerge.
Perhaps Paul Scholes is wrong. Perhaps Wayne Rooney will prove him wrong in the coming weeks, on the biggest footballing stage there is. Perhaps that is exactly the reaction Scholes is hoping to provoke. That is the hope of the nation. For many Manchester United fans, though, who watch him lumber laboriously around the pitch week after tiresome week, it would come as a surprise to find that there’s life in the old dog yet.
Follow Paul on Twitter, @PaulGunning1
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COMMENTS
For me Rooney is passed his best and he has never been what I would call world class. It is now time to sell him and pocket the cash and buy a truly world class player.
I truly hope the lad has a stellar World Cup cos I'm sick to the back teeth of reading all this bullsh*t that he's not world class and has peaked.
oh ye some world class player lad. never scored in a world cup tournament ? picked up more red cards than he"s scored goals.world class ? . . . do me a favour. if he played for anybody else but man utd he wudnt be world class in your opinion wud he mate ? I suppose that's just human nature. yule probably tell me he"s better than gerd muller now wont u ? no better than an average player. the most overrated player to ever play football by a country mile. as for a stellar world cup ? I take it you mean he"l be full of drink then ? and am not being anti man utd bcos the man who called it spot on is one of the best midfield players of his generation {paul scholes]just being truthful that's all. I wish you would be .that issei lad has practicaly called it spot on. why cant you do the same oh danny boy ?
Physically he's hugely past his best. it's impossible to argue otherwise. His speed & stamina, to the naked eye they're very transparently what they were 5-10 years ago. The only way it's possible to argue that he's as good overall as he used to be is to argue that other parts of his game have improved enough to compensate for the above. I don't see it myself. I'm not even sure he can kick the ball as hard as he used to.
He shits all over Lambert Mano
He probably does Danny Boy but Rooney is massively over hyped and like Mano says, coming from Paul Scholes who is a legend (this coming from another Liverpool fan) tells me that you are in the minority on this one mate. Scoring world class goals against West Ham is all very nice but when does he's how up in tournaments?
I am inclined to agree that he needs to do something to show us he's still got it but in his defence he has been sold down the swanny in the last couple of tournaments. Played up front on his own, no support, no breaking midfield. he has had to hunt for the ball constantly and therefore never in the right place. I, for one, hope he has a good tournament.
danny boy ? . . . what you thinking now then mate ?
Donna? Donna my love? Can we ge Danny Boy back on line 2?
ive just noticed your comment there andy. love to know what Leighton baines wud think of it.pot kettle black,all that stuff.
You english people (don't take this racially) are unbelieveable. The England team was never near top nationals like Brasil, Germany, Italy etc. You can't expect from one man do everything, especially this time where Rooney is beeing played out of his position, doesn't have the support from their team mates, compare him with Messi. He's suffering too, even though Messi is a much better player. England will never win anything, because you have so much hate in you, even when supporting your national team you differentiate your players in the club level. And another thing, don't blame just Rooney, blame a little bit that grandpa called Gerard who hasn't won anything (one CL), maybe he is the source of your problems. I'm sad to realize that it's such a waste that I supported England team my whole life.
Mano - I would imagine Leighton Baines is thinking 'FFS! Why can't I have a left midfielder playing front of me? Why can't Rooney play up front where he should be?'
and drop a class player in sturridge lad ye ? 1 world cup game and 1 goal against world class opposition. rooney played up front in 2006 and 2010 mate and flopped as usual. world class players should be able to play anywhere.gerrard can play the left side with ease, sweeper and right full back. so are you trying to tell me that rooney is above tracking back to help out a teammate ? is that what your saying ? the fat wanker cant even run for Christ sake.surely he should be capable of running.quite simple realy,its just one foot in front of the other at pace. so now a world class player in sterling has to play that role now just to accommodate an average player who is completely and utterly incompetent and as for you idon . its a pity you didn't realise like the rest of us years ago that England were crap and you wudnt have wasted all those years supporting them wud you mate. anyway I get the impression your not the real deal cos you say your not English but have supported England all your life. tell me why is a non Englishman supporting England ? are you sure your not a south African supporting man united fan by any chance ?
That's the answer! Gerard plays left mid AND left full back, room for Sturridge and Rooney up front. Genius!
your just being silly now mate bring something constructive to the table or don't bother.
First off, I'm a massive fan of Utd and grew up outside the training ground. I completely agree with issei, Mano and others who actually watch football and notice that Rooney is way way past his best. When he first came to Utd I was incredibly excited. Such huge potential and for the first 5 years or so he really looked the real deal (world class potential) however anybody who knows anything about football and actually watches the games (not just highlights) must see that Rooney has been awful for a good while yet. A decent forward knows that while it is important to track back it is even more important to be in position when you team is attacking and he never is. On top of this his passing is now dreadful and his touch is below average And he is not a great finisher so what does he bring to the table. England like Utd would be a far better team without Rooney in it.
Wayne will always be the best on Manchester united
not often I agree with a united but totally agree with that comment si.man united and England wud be a lot better without this liability of a player. well said lad.
Sorry Mano didn't realise you are the editor. How about this one then - drop Henderson and put Rooney behind Sturridge and use sterling on the outside.
how bout this one. send rooney home.bring in either lallana or chamberlain and watch England beat Uruguay. I hope woy wodgers plays wooney I realy do. then the Liverpool players can come home early next week and get a decent rest before the new season starts.
Can I just say, I am with Mano on this. Going back to sleep. Wake me up in August lads.
hey stan ! the PL fixtures are out sometime this week, now that's something to look forward too in it.
Can't wait mate.
de de de de de de der luis suarez. now that's a world class player for ye. even wen 50 per cent fit he still fxxxxxd England up the arse. wonder how the English FA are feeling now ay. going home with the Spanish home with the Spanish your going home with the Spanish.
am not one for blowing smoke up my own arse but I was right wasn't i and so was scholes. england were fxxxxd the minute that tosser hodgson picked rooney in the middle and moved sterling out wide. sterling was motm agaist Italy,turning and running at pace and creating havoc. well it dried up last night didn't it with fat boy in that role. so he scored a 2 inch tap in [his first ever in a world cup] but hodgson playing him in that position cost England the game simple as that and then to add insult to injury he had the temerity to bring sterling off. that joke of a manager shud be sacked as soon as he gets back home from this debacle. shocking management of the highest order.
rooney wasn't to blame the paper"s say. even though he had 5 gilt edged chances in 2 games. and only scrambled home a now meaningless goal from 2 yards. there was too much pressure on his shoulders there saying. it hasn't gone unnoticed that you have all gone quiet haven't you lads ? all together now . . . . . ALWAYS THE VICTIM. NEVER HIS FAULT,ALWAYS THE VICTIM.NEVER HIS FAULT. fxxxxxg wxxxxxs.
After that 3 yard tap in, Rooney simply MUST be up with the greats of Finney, Matthews, Moore and Hurst.
SABOTAGE
