Wayne Rooney | 2012-14 Performances

[Massive Spanner]

As I mentioned, chiefo, we all view performances differently. I see a Rooney who avoids tackling/injury, who can't or won't regularly beat opponents with skill, who only intermittently builds up pace, who shoots from distance rather than attempt to beat defenders.

All that sounds damning and spiteful but it really isn't: I'm saying that Wayne, for one reason or another (and lack of enthusiasm could be one factor), seeks to coast through games too often these days.

True, but the fact is that 2 out of the 3 seasons he was used as our "main man" up front (09/10, 11/12) he scored 30+ goals, and in the other (10/11) he had a long term injury and ended up being amazing when he did come back from it. The main thing Chelsea have lacked (aside from a stable manager) in the last few years is a 30 goal a season striker and that's exactly what a fit, happy, "main man" Wayne Rooney is.

 

[SteveJ]

All that's relevant but I can't help thinking this whole affair is basically another case of "Look - other clubs want me, so...I'll make unreasonable demands again & I'll try to leave if you don't cave in."

 

[duffer]

All that's relevant but I can't help thinking this whole affair is basically another case of "Look - other clubs want me, so...I'll make unreasonable demands again & I'll try to leave if you don't cave in."

Do you think it will work again?

Yuo can't give him a pay increase after this can you?

 

[Chesterlestreet]

As I mentioned, chiefo, we all view performances differently. I see a Rooney who avoids tackling/injury, who can't or won't regularly beat opponents with skill, who only intermittently builds up pace, who shoots from distance rather than attempt to beat defenders.

All that sounds damning and spiteful but it really isn't: I'm saying that Wayne, for one reason or another (and lack of enthusiasm could be one factor), seeks to coast through games too often these days.

None of us are psychics. But the assumption that Rooney would be deadly up front for Chelsea is based on fairly solid realities. He would be used as their main striker and have few of the tasks he has performed for us in a deeper role. His job would be to score, little else, I would imagine.

Many on here would like him to be washed up, fat and lazy. I can understand why, but I very much fear that is wishful thinking. Selling him to Chelsea would be a huge mistake in my humble opinion.

Anyway, round in circles we go, I suppose. Time for a break from this Rooney business for me.

 

[SteveJ]

Do you think it will work again?

Yuo can't give him a pay increase after this can you?

No, I think it's failed badly simply because United's people couldn't fail to notice the similarities to 2010's M.O.

 

[Ruud10]

We're long past the the point in wondering whether Roo should be sold or not. Sadly, he's poisoned the well at OT so much he has to go, but that doesn't mean we can't squeeze every single pound possible from Chelsea. So let's not rush this.

Let's not forget an early season fixture:

Mon, Aug 26 Man United vs Chelsea

​

I really don't want to see our home opener feature Rooney in a blue shirt. If we're going to sell him to the chavs, let's at least do it AFTER August 26. And if the chavs subsequently withdraw their offer, what a massive blow to the head for Roo that would be. If no one else comes in for him, he'll get over it. Knowing that if he has any hope of not becoming an international joke he'll get back to work as though nothing happened, just as he did after his meltdown of October 2011.​

​

 

[Ash_G]

You see I don't get your thinking either. People seem to be acting like he's turned into Torres and is completely useless, the season before last he bagged 30 goals, we all know last year wasn't his best but he still contributed to the team even though there were obvious problems (played out of position and just generally looked unhappy with playing second fiddle to RVP).

He's had a couple of these 'dodgy' seasons in the past and always come back to his high standards, he actually returned to pre season this year looking slim and fitter then ever, shame he got an injury. I'd say there's a far greater chance, probably even more so if he moves to Chelsea of him reaching a higher level of play than getting worse from here, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he bagged 30 goals next season.

No I agree that he's getting underrated, and I've made that point in this thread, I'm just saying that whilst he could get back to those levels the fact is that we've all seen, even when he got 30 goals in all comps in 11/12 that he was missing that something extra to his game which is imo a reason we got RVP, more so than Fergie purely wanting to get Rooney back. Rooney's found himself shown up because of his own approach to his fitness, something that was happening well before any slight he felt from United from the Real game onwards. And so if the club thinks there's a greater chance that he'll just keep falling short of being the best he can be, than provided they have sure targets in my mind to replace him, I don't see the problem at selling to Chlesea for the best deal for us, certainly better than getting ripped off for him. As I said there are other strikers out there, probably without the alround game but capable of scoring a lot of goals. I'd rather get Rooney's true value though, especially if there are financial constraints which mean we'd need to invest that cash in to replacing him.

 

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

If United evolve as a team in a positive way [and get £35-40m all the while] does it matter how good he is personally for Chelsea?

 

[SteveJ]

Exactly. To an extent, it doesn't matter what our rivals do so long as we do our job (just like last season).

 

[pablotatt]

Won''t happen. The leakage of the Mata/Luiz info clarified that scenario.

 

[Feed Me]

Why? If a rival has money to spend on a player of a certain quality, they will do. OK, in the current market the prices are all over the place, with Cavanni, Falcao going for £50m, and striker options running out, but as a general point the rivals thing makes no sense. Would there be much difference between them getting Rooney and Lewandowski for example?

To be fair, we should have taken advantage of the French mania, and flogged him to PSG or Monaco for £50m+.

The thing is, the market for strikers is extremely limited at the moment. You mention Lewandowski, but it's very unlikely any club other than Bayern will get him. Other than Rooney, I can't think of anyone else on the market who Chelsea could get that stakes a claim to being in the category of world class. Higuain, perhaps?

If we dig our heels in and keep Rooney, Chelsea will be all the more limited for it - the centre forward position is a real weak point of their squad at the moment. If we sell Rooney to them for £40m, yes we'll have the cash, but they'll have moved one step closer to completing their squad.

On your final point, I'm not sure there's necessary much of an appetite on the continent to bring Rooney in for the numbers mentioned. He was never going to command that money after the season he's had.

 

[ryan_forlan]

If Rooney goes, our squad will become weaker. We will have RVP,Kagawa,Chicha and Danny as the four for the front two positions. But in that case the Winger squad of Nani,Young,Valencia and Zaha will just not be enough. We will need some real quality player on the wings, who is in good form and has goals in him. Bale fits the bill, but even if it's not him someone of his type(not necessarily the same quality).

 

[manutddjw]

Unless we get Mata or someone from Chelsea who would have the similar impact for us that Rooney would for Chelsea, then we shouldn't even consider the idea no matter how much money Chelsea offer.

We're not some mid-table club, who should be concerned about making the most off of player while we can. We wouldn't of sold Vidic in 2008 or De Gea or Rafael in a couple years time, no matter how good the offer is because our objective should be to keep the top talent that we have. We're not exactly lacking funds for transfers, all selling Rooney, even at 40 million, would do is strengthen Chelsea and make them part with a sum of money which is of no issue to them. It might even hurt us in other deals. If clubs know we have all this cash to spend, they'll think we're desperate and jack up the price just like Newcastle did to Liverpool with Andy Carroll.

On a side note, I think Chelsea already have the Center Forward that they think Rooney will be for them in Lukaku.

 

[ryan_forlan]

Unless we get Mata or someone from Chelsea who would have the similar impact for us that Rooney would for Chelsea, then we shouldn't even consider the idea no matter how much money Chelsea offer.

We're not some mid-table club, who should be concerned about making the most off of player while we can. We wouldn't of sold Vidic in 2008 or De Gea or Rafael in a couple years time, no matter how good the offer is because our objective should be to keep the top talent that we have. We're not exactly lacking funds for transfers, all selling Rooney, even at 40 million, would do is strengthen Chelsea and make them part with a sum of money which is of no issue to them. It might even hurt us in other deals. If clubs know we have all this cash to spend, they'll think we're desperate and jack up the price just like Newcastle did to Liverpool with Andy Carroll.

On a side note, I think Chelsea already have the Center Forward that they think Rooney will be for them in Lukaku.

But if he stays, do you think Rooney will be okay with sharing the left wing and CAM/No.10 role with Kagawa?

 

[ryan_forlan]

I don't want Rooney to go, i feel it is too risky and stuff. But him leaving will be better for Kagawa and Welbeck.

 

[Ash_G]

But if he stays, do you think Rooney will be okay with sharing the left wing and CAM/No.10 role with Kagawa?

I don't see why not, if they get the understanding right they can all be amongst the goals, likewise if Rooney improves his performance than maybe whilst they will still be expected to interchange he might still be the main focal point in the hole. That's the thing, if Rooney performed at the right level he wouldn't get taken out of that position. I don't think Rooney has a problem playing a drifting role as long as he's getting goals.

 

[Isotope]

Problem is, what do we do if he comes out and says he has no interest in playing for us and only wants to join Chelsea? What if there is no interest from foreign clubs? We're not going to keep a highly paid, disinterested player on our books.

Can we not just fine him 2 week wages every 2 weeks, until his contract run up? surely he'd make a minor mistake every 2 weeks (late in training, speak ill against coach/manager, etc.). Let see how he could cope with that, instead of just eating wages for doing nothing.

 

[manutddjw]

But if he stays, do you think Rooney will be okay with sharing the left wing and CAM/No.10 role with Kagawa?

To me Kagawa would be the one starting on the left and Rooney playing behind Van Persie, like we did last season. Like Sir Alex said, an in form Rooney would never be dropped and I always thought he'll always play because he is Wayne Rooney, whether he's in form or not. That's why I'm the one angry and confused, because it seems now Mr. Rooney insists he wants to play as the main striker when he's only played that role for a very small portion of his United career and it was never an issue until now.

 

[Ash_G]

Tbh if we simply say no and Chelsea get someone else he's kind of stuck. They might not want him next summer depending on how things go with whoever else they go for. With their being no serious interest from abroad that we know off that leaves Arsenal, again we don't know who they'll go for, could be next summer they don't think they need him, plus would be a step down of sorts for him. So if we stand firm by the close of the window he'll likely have a choice of sulking until his contract runs out, at which point he'll be 29 nearing 30 and depending on if he's done little at that point it'll probably harm his earning potential assuming he's not gonna go somewhere like Russia, or just getting his head down and playing at which point he can either repair relations, or just assess his options then.

 

[MoBeats]

Just get rid of the little twat. If he wanted to be here then we'd not even be discussing this, he's had plenty chances to clear matters up. The thought of this little runt having his name about the charltons or giggs of our club sickens me.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Selling Rooney to Chelsea tips the scales too much in Chelsea's favour. Simply, Chelsea are better than United with Rooney as their main striker. This would be a feck up of monumental proportions.

Say what you want about Rooney but he can score with the best of them and score in tough games against the continent's best opposition. His record in the knockout stages of the CL is among the best currently out there.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

I had a dream the move to Chelsea went through. I can safely say my dreams never come true.

 

[7dan]

Selling Rooney to Chelsea tips the scales too much in Chelsea's favour. Simply, Chelsea are better than United with Rooney as their main striker. This would be a feck up of monumental proportions.

Say what you want about Rooney but he can score with the best of them and score in tough games against the continent's best opposition. His record in the knockout stages of the CL is among the best currently out there.

I agree but i think if a bid of £50m+ came in you just cant reject that. Any lower then that tho and they can do one

 

[pocco]

Is there actually any way he can stay now? I think it's gone way too far. If Chelsea are the only club in for him at the end of the window then that is where he'll go.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Selling Rooney to Chelsea tips the scales too much in Chelsea's favour. Simply, Chelsea are better than United with Rooney as their main striker. This would be a feck up of monumental proportions.

Say what you want about Rooney but he can score with the best of them and score in tough games against the continent's best opposition. His record in the knockout stages of the CL is among the best currently out there.

Agreed. He hasn't conducted himself in a way which makes it impossible to simply carrying on if it becomes clear that a move to Chelsea is out of the question. His unforgivable, unprecedented cuntishness is something which mainly exists in the minds of fans who are getting emotional over this: I can sympathize with 'em, let nobody think otherwise, I get emotional myself all the time. But from the club's perspective what he has done and said (we don't even know what that is) is unlikely to harm a professional relationship - which this is, lest we forget.

 

[Mainoldo]

Is there actually any way he can stay now? I think it's gone way too far. If Chelsea are the only club in for him at the end of the window then that is where he'll go.

He plays he scores and plays well.. All is forgot.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I agree but i think if a bid of £50m+ came in you just cant reject that. Any lower then that tho and they can do one

If they offer something truly stupid, then perhaps. It would also change the situation if we go out an buy some real reinforcements soon. If it were announced tomorrow that we had bought Ronnie back, I wouldn't worry too much about Rooney either way. As it stands, though, we have to be prepared for a somewhat less spectacular transfer window - and whether people like it or not, Wayne Rooney is still one of our very best players. It's easy to say: "He's just a cnut, ship him out to whoever wants him." But we are a team with a new manager, next season will be uncharted territory for us in many ways. We could do without positively weakening our squad.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

If I try to look at things through Moyes' eyes, I would say that we want a major signing in before selling Rooney.

Moyes won't come across well if he sells Rooney to an arch rival and then doesn't sign anybody of real talent for himself. As far as the media and the less patient fans would be concerned, that would be the beginning of our transformation into Red Everton.

Now I don't know the latest on Cesc, the last I saw was SSN breaking news that United had put in a new bid. But if I believe my paper The Sun, that fell on it's arse. But if we got somebody like that in and then sold Rooney, it wouldn't really be as bad. This United team needs a Cesc Fabregas more than a Wayne Rooney.

 

[KingEric7]

Unless we get Mata or someone from Chelsea who would have the similar impact for us that Rooney would for Chelsea, then we shouldn't even consider the idea no matter how much money Chelsea offer.

We're not some mid-table club, who should be concerned about making the most off of player while we can. We wouldn't of sold Vidic in 2008 or De Gea or Rafael in a couple years time, no matter how good the offer is because our objective should be to keep the top talent that we have. We're not exactly lacking funds for transfers, all selling Rooney, even at 40 million, would do is strengthen Chelsea and make them part with a sum of money which is of no issue to them. It might even hurt us in other deals. If clubs know we have all this cash to spend, they'll think we're desperate and jack up the price just like Newcastle did to Liverpool with Andy Carroll.

On a side note, I think Chelsea already have the Center Forward that they think Rooney will be for them in Lukaku.

Yeah, I agree with that. He's the missing piece for Chelsea but I would accept if it meant us having Mata. They would benefit hugely from Rooney as we would from Mata, but they would lose more from his departure than we would Rooney's. The size of a cash fee, no matter how vast, is somewhat irrelevant if we're not going to weaken them at the same time.

 

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

Selling Rooney to Chelsea tips the scales too much in Chelsea's favour. Simply, Chelsea are better than United with Rooney as their main striker. This would be a feck up of monumental proportions.

That theory only stand up to scrutiny if United make no additions whatsoever to their mdfiield/forwards in the coming weeks?

It also takes as a given that the team mates remaining at Old Trafford will simply repeat the output as last year.

 

[Theon]

Can we not just fine him 2 week wages every 2 weeks, until his contract run up? surely he'd make a minor mistake every 2 weeks (late in training, speak ill against coach/manager, etc.). Let see how he could cope with that, instead of just eating wages for doing nothing.

Nah the PFA would be all over that if we tried it, they've already come out in support of Rooney and we've done feck all.

 

[pocco]

He plays he scores and plays well.. All is forgot.

I'm not convinced. There will be a backlash from our support, without doubt. It's the sort of thing you don't really need when becoming the manager of a new team.

 

[Theon]

He plays he scores and plays well.. All is forgot.

Definitely not, once was enough but he's taking the piss now.

 

[Feed Me]

We're in a strong position here, and we should rebuff all advances from Chelsea. Think about it:

- He has two years left on his deal. Once that's run, he'll be nearly 30. The football world moves on quickly, and by that point, he won't be as attractive a player to potential buyers.
- With his conditioning issues, there's a very real chance that he'll have passed his best by the time his contract has finished.
- It's a World Cup year - if he's still here come the close of the Transfer Window, he's going to have to buckle down and find some form.

If we are to sell to Chelsea, we need to make sure we get silly money, and I'm talking around the £50m mark.

 

[Theon]

Unless we get Mata or someone from Chelsea who would have the similar impact for us that Rooney would for Chelsea, then we shouldn't even consider the idea no matter how much money Chelsea offer.

We're not some mid-table club, who should be concerned about making the most off of player while we can. We wouldn't of sold Vidic in 2008 or De Gea or Rafael in a couple years time, no matter how good the offer is because our objective should be to keep the top talent that we have. We're not exactly lacking funds for transfers, all selling Rooney, even at 40 million, would do is strengthen Chelsea and make them part with a sum of money which is of no issue to them. It might even hurt us in other deals. If clubs know we have all this cash to spend, they'll think we're desperate and jack up the price just like Newcastle did to Liverpool with Andy Carroll.

On a side note, I think Chelsea already have the Center Forward that they think Rooney will be for them in Lukaku.

Well that just completely contradicts your post then.

If you think they already have the centre forward they need in Lukaku then why do you care that they get Rooney?

And it's not only that you care, because even those who advocate selling Rooney to Chelsea are aware it's a poor (but necessary) option - you don't want to sell him there even if they offer a huge fee and it presents us with by far the best deal.

We should be concerned with ourselves not Chelsea, especially if you already think they have their needed striker anyway.

 

[wr8_utd]

Definitely not, once was enough but he's taking the piss now.

Taking the piss? You listen to the tabloids a bit too much. He's said pretty much nothing all summer and yet the tabloids just come up more and more tails that our fans lap up more than even opposition fans.

 

[Ash_G]

Taking the piss? You listen to the tabloids a bit too much. He's said pretty much nothing all summer and yet the tabloids just come up more and more tails that our fans lap up more than even opposition fans.

Yeah but his silence says everything. If he definitely wanted to stay he would have said so. His silence means at the least he's on the fence, I can see why he's being silent as well, if a move doesn't happen he can release a statement that he's committed to the club etc, a lot won't buy it, but there's some wiggle room for him and if he performs I think people won't boo him, though doubt there will be forgiveness either.

 

[Buchan]

Taking the piss? You listen to the tabloids a bit too much. He's said pretty much nothing all summer and yet the tabloids just come up more and more tails that our fans lap up more than even opposition fans.

If Rooney wanted to stay here and actually fight for his place instead of acting like a spoilt child with a huge sense of entitlement, he'd have come out long ago and said so.

He and his people are instigating this situation, and his actions, or lack thereof in this instance, are totally unbecoming of a Manchester United player.

Yet again.

 

[crappycraperson]

Taking the piss? You listen to the tabloids a bit too much. He's said pretty much nothing all summer and yet the tabloids just come up more and more tails that our fans lap up more than even opposition fans.

Is Fergie part of the tabloids then? He was the one who first made Rooney's desire to leave public.

 

[Mainoldo]

I'm not convinced. There will be a backlash from our support, without doubt. It's the sort of thing you don't really need when becoming the manager of a new team.

I know we like to think us fans are really passionate and filled with hate when a player runs us for a mug... but quite frankly as long as they do it on the pitch, which is all we really pay our money towards, all will be forgotten. We friggen cheered Pogba when all he wanted to do was play elsewhere and we took Rooney back in before and if this never happened again at the end of last season the majority of us probably didn't even remember him holding us to ransom.

All this would mean when we do finally get fed up of him and he starts to deteriorate no one will care when he's given the boot. However i don't see him being her come Sep 1st if we get two top siginings.. i.e. a Fabregas and Bale.