Wayne Rooney | 2012-14 Performances

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Tomalonge said:
I think people do Rooney a great disservice. Even when he isn't on form or fit he covers every blade of grass on the pitch. You can't compare Rooney to anyone in my opinion. He has been Manchester United this season, without him we'd probably have been relegated.

Of course he thought he wanted to leave a few seasons ago and has had a few doubts. But if that really honestly gets you that angry then it's on you. At the end of the day he's been here over a decade, not bad for someone who doesn't give a toss about United.

Idiots.
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Yep. Especially that last bit.

I've argued on here for years about him, but it's like a never ending stream of people who just can't see what he does all round even when not playing well. He's as much a United player as I've ever seen, yes he had his tantrum but to be fair he has kind of been proved right there.

I'd sell everyone else before I sold him.
 
Has he signed this contract ? When I first heard news of it I thought no fcking chance, the more it's been allowed to run I have started to wonder if it's the club dangling a carrot to prospective players/agents. Proposed overhaul and surely with 300k a week wages being bandied about we must have attracted interest from players and agents alike ?
I am calling a cunning plan here, what says the caf.
 
So that's a failure to address any of the points put to you and just writing them off as slating of Rooney.[/quote]


Well, some of us have to also concentrate on earning a living fella therefore rendering time to reply more fully a little awkward sometimes! Hence my 'i give up..'

Ah, those same match goers who chanted YSB at their hero less than a year past.

If you think the whole stadium erupted with that you are gravely mistaken. Sure some did, but by no means the majority. At the beginning of the season the matchday supportes were actually very vocal in their support of Rooney

Where were these abundant enthusiastic suitors last summer? All the riches of the East wouldn't be qutie how i'd describe Chelsea's offer.

Wasn't really talking about last summer but I understand what you are saying. I don't think any of us know exactly who would come in for him if he stated tomorrow he was leaving. There are a number of club owning rich sugar daddies out there who certainly might pay huge sums of money to get him. It's kind of why I said "probably"....

And Rooney's reaction to the same turn of events last year was...?

Sulk...but ultimately stay. RVN sulked...and left.
 
Tomalonge said:
I think people do Rooney a great disservice. Even when he isn't on form or fit he covers every blade of grass on the pitch. You can't compare Rooney to anyone in my opinion. He has been Manchester United this season, without him we'd probably have been relegated.

Of course he thought he wanted to leave a few seasons ago and has had a few doubts. But if that really honestly gets you that angry then it's on you. At the end of the day he's been here over a decade, not bad for someone who doesn't give a toss about United.

Idiots.
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The irony.
 
Who else has bust a gut like Rooney?

Also, some of the players we have are world class, but have either been injured the majority of the season or way off form. I'm not calling the team shite at all. That's some beautiful spin though.
 
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Tomalonge said:
Who else has bust a gut like Rooney?
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You genuinely believe that Rooney has been the only player making a worthy contribution and putting in effort?

I can think of five examples easily and that's not including the names of those struggling due to Moyes' approach.
 
Tomalonge said:
Well how are we not walking the league then Nick? Rooney's fault?
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Let's go with competitive at a high level rather than walking the league shall we?

In answer to your question though, we are generally inconsistent and have failed to put the qualities of our squad to best effect.
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
Let's go with competitive at a high level rather than walking the league shall we?

In answer to your question though, we are generally inconsistent and have failed to put the qualities of our squad to best effect.
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Exactly, not the players being useless.

Rooney has been our stand out player though, by far.
 
Tomalonge said:
Exactly, not the players being useless.
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I wasn't the one implying that the rest were relegation fodder.


Tomalonge said:
Rooney has been our stand out player though, by far.
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Yes Rooney did start the season well, particularly considering the context of his situation at that time. However there were then [De Gea has been at a high level for 16 months or more], and continue to be other players who are doing their jobs just the same. Even somebody like Welbeck stepped up during that 8 match run in which both RVP and Rooney were injured.
 
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But none of them cover the ground he does though. He's all over doing pretty much most.

Are you going to tell me De Gea or Welbeck do as much work in different parts of the field? They're great players who have been on good form but they don't come close.

How many times have you seen Rooney head out a corner or make a tackle, start a move, get involved in the middle of the move and get up front to finish it off with a shot or clever pass too? He does that nearly every game.

Yes they do their jobs very well, but Rooney finds himself having to do his job and others most of the time.
 
I'd debate it more but it's like talking to a brick wall in here. Seriously? What's the point? I appreciate him and so do lots others so we'll carry on doing that while you stay bitter.

I'm firmly of the belief that a player doesn't suddenly become shite because I don't like him as a person though. If you wanna go that route then feel free. I won't stop you.
 
I don't understand why some people have forgot/ignored his form as a number 10 this season. Name me players who have played better than him in that role in the premier league this season.
 
JaffyJoe said:
:lol::lol::lol:
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Tomalonge said:
I'd debate it more but it's like talking to a brick wall in here. Seriously? What's the point? I appreciate him and so do lots others so we'll carry on doing that while you stay bitter.

I'm firmly of the belief that a player doesn't suddenly become shite because I don't like him as a person though. If you wanna go that route then feel free. I won't stop you.
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What United needs most from its No 10 and those attributes which Rooney possesses are not necessarily the same thing you realise.

Consider it from this perspective, would Rooney the striker rather be fed passes by Mata/Kagawa or the version of that role?
 
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charlenefan said:
I still don't consider him a United legend, he could break the all time scoring record and I still don't think I would
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It doesnt really matter what you think though no offence.He is already a legend on the clubs official page and history will have him down as a player that was 14 years with us and Unites's top scorer = legend.
 
He's not the issue, our midfield is but given we don't have alternatives in midfield id rather start Mata as No 10. Rooney is great at a lot things but he's not great at linking play and providing top class creativity which given his role as the only link between midfield is an issue.

I think we've held Rooney's reputation back somewhat in recent years by not signing a Modric to take that responsibility off him.
 
The issue I feel right now, with regards to apprehension in playing Rooney in the number ten role, is the lack of fluidity in the side. We've been quite rigid under Moyes, stability has, perhaps sensibly, been favored during Moyes' first season. I see absolutely no reason why Rooney, Mata and Januzaj can't form a lethal attacking three once the shackles come off.
 
Very good news if he signs the extension this week. He is not part of the problem, like some would have you believe. What sticks in my mind is him racing back to De Gea's penalty area in the game against Fulham to get the ball and avert a likely breakaway goal. His effort and attitude on the pitch are the best in the squad.
 
Tomalonge said:
I'm talking about his value as a Manchester United player mate, not naively shoehorning into one role. He's more than a number ten.
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The duties of a No 10 are those for which he has been tasked, if he can't perform them in the manner required then we have ready replacements.


AttackingFlair said:
I don't understand why some people have forgot/ignored his form as a number 10 this season.
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He wasn't always playing that role though at least not to my recollection, and this was particularly evident when both he and RVP were on the pitch.


AttackingFlair said:
Name me players who have played better than him in that role in the premier league this season.
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Ramsey?
 
Ramsey plays centre mid with Ozil playing number 10. Even then you could only list one name as being better than Rooney in that role despite Rooney not even having the platform to play off compared to the others. I think that says it all about how underrated Rooney is on here.
 
Smores said:
He's not the issue, our midfield is but given we don't have alternatives in midfield id rather start Mata as No 10. Rooney is great at a lot things but he's not great at linking play and providing top class creativity which given his role as the only link between midfield is an issue.

I think we've held Rooney's reputation back somewhat in recent years by not signing a Modric to take that responsibility off him.
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He's part of the issue because Rooney is surely the reason why we havent addressed the midfield before. Because in the past he's wanted to drop deep and create things, especially the young Rooney who would go wherever to get on the ball. Now that he's not interested in doing that as much anymore, even when we've needed him to, its a problem. And yes its fixed by signing a midfielder.
 
AttackingFlair said:
Ramsey plays centre mid with Ozil playing number 10. Even then you could only list one name as being better than Rooney in that role despite Rooney not even having the platform to play off compared to the others. I think that says it all about how underrated Rooney is on here.
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How many names would pass muster?

Of course the stupidity is that we have two players better equipped to provide what we need here at United already, in excess of £50m has been spent to bring them to United and yet...

Wayne would much rather play higher up the pitch in any event, so you either rotate the strikers or ditch the wingers and play him on the left of a three.
 
The fact that you can't name a number 10 who has been better than him this season shows that this idea that he's not good enough to play that role for us is absolute rubbish. Whether Moyes plays him too high up with RVP or not is a tactical issue to do with Moyes rather than Rooney's ability to play in the number 10 role.

Our problem for a long time has been our midfield and not the guy who has been our best player this season. Even when Kagawa has played in the number 10 role or when Mata played there against Cardiff, you still had people moaning about lack of movement etc as to why they couldn't do better in the role. You people complain even when Kagawa/Mata DO play in the hole by criticising the rest of the team and you complain when they don't. That to me shows that our issues are not to do with who plays in the number 10 role but is actually to do with our midfield.
 
AttackingFlair said:
The fact that you can't name a number 10 who has been better than him this season shows that this idea that he's not good enough to play that role for us is absolute rubbish.
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Chelsea and Arsenal could serve up four better No 10s for our purposes between them, ourselves a further two potentially.


AttackingFlair said:
Whether Moyes plays him too high up with RVP or not is a tactical issue to do with Moyes rather than Rooney's ability to play in the number 10 role.

Our problem for a long time has been our midfield and not the guy who has been our best player this season. Even when Kagawa has played in the number 10 role or when Mata played there against Cardiff, you still had people moaning about lack of movement etc as to why they couldn't do better in the role. You people complain even when Kagawa/Mata DO play in the hole by criticising the rest of the team and you complain when they don't. That to me shows that our issues are not to do with who plays in the number 10 role but is actually to do with our midfield.
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Whilst it is indeed a tactical issue it is also a preference of Rooney's [he has said as much], moreover the implementation of a No 10 role a la Rooney is not the same as with the alternatives.

Undeniably the midfield requires improvement, yet we are hardly making the best use of our squad by having two players in positions which reduces the effectiveness of the team. If your advocacy for Rooney's greatness prevents you from recognising this as counter-productive, well that is unfortunate.
 
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Nick 0208 Ldn said:
Chelsea and Arsenal could serve up four better No 10s for our purposes between them, ourselves a further two potentially.




Whilst it is indeed a tactical issue it is also a preference of Rooney's [he has said as much], moreover the implementation of a No 10 role a la Rooney is not the same as with the alternatives.

Undeniably the midfield requires improvement, yet we are hardly making the best use of our squad by having two players in positions which reduces the effectiveness of the team. If your advocacy for Rooney's greatness prevents you from recognising this as counter-productive, well taht is unfortunate.
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1) That's a matter of opinion but you've basically confessed that there's no other number 10 in the league playing better than him in that role this season and yet you're saying he's not good enough to play there for us. Logic.

2) Rooney said he prefers playing either number 9 or 10 roles, he's a versatile player but what he doesn't like is playing as a holding midfielder/in a 2 man midfield. Moyes has used Rooney further up alongside RVP, but there's no reason why Moyes can't use Rooney the way he did when he was paired with Welbeck and to the benefit of the team. If Moyes uses Rooney the way he did before, then I can't see that reducing the effectiveness of the team. We won back to back 3-0 victories against Villa away and West Ham at home with Rooney bagging 3 assists and Welbeck scoring the majority of the goals.

Edit: Let me list some of his performances this season to refresh people's memory.

Swansea Away - Comes off the bench and is influential in us scoring two more goals, his assist for Welbeck being particularly very good.
Chelsea Home - MOTM and the only bright spark in a horribly defensive match.
Crystal Palace Home - MOTM
Leverkusen Home - MOTM, 2 goals and an assist, one of the best individual displays of our season
Man City Away - The only player who played well for us
Liverpool Home - MOTM excellent for us playing behind Hernandez
Real Sociedad Home - MOTM
Stoke City Home - MOTM, played well first half but then got moved to midfield second half and still played very well
Fulham Away - MOTM on fire in the first half but was forced to play a defensive role after we went 3-0 up.
Arsenal Home - MOTM great performance and if people disagree he was MOTM that's fine but he still had a very good game.
Cardiff Away - MOTM
Leverkusen Away - Yes he did start as a number 9 but dropped deep the whole game and assisted three goals. If you don't want to include this performance, that's fine.
Aston Villa Away - Excellent passing range on show and made a great assist for Cleverley with a pass through the middle
West Ham Home - Two assists
Hull City Away - MOTM, wonder goal and assist

Again, I don't agree with this idea that he's not good enough there, isn't effective there etc. Our midfield is the issue and once we get that fixed we could see many more performances like the above. Two superb videos from @MoneyMay below.



 
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The real complaint with Rooney is that while he puts in fantastic performances we can all see a footballer who could be so much better. We see a player who puts in an 7 or 8 performance every single game but has the ability to put in 9s and 10s but rarely ever does.
 
NoArroJusBeta said:
Bullshit...You are just turning it around.
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You wish. I'm stating it as it is.

NoArroJusBeta said:
Rooney didn't just simply refuse to perform and not do his job wholeheartedly, he did that because he didn't felt appreciated and supported by Ferguson anymore who brouhgt in RVP to play in front of him on the number 9 and Kagawa to play in front of him on the 10. ....
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That is revisionism first class:

1. RVP was brought to be his strike partner and Rooney simply sulked. This notion that Fergie gave RVP Rooney's preferred role is a bad joke frankly.
Rooney is the one who had complained the previous season that we were not making ambitious signings, yet the first sign of any and he was sulking and his plummeted because he no longer wanted to apply himself. To attempt to put that on Fergie is embarrassing. Rooney's problem wasn't a knock in confidence. It was ego.

2. Kagawa's was hardly used as United's main number 10 under Fergie. He was simply played as an extra play maker to support our big name front 2. But Rooney simply didn't bother to perform. Worse still when our midfield had issues and he was asked to fill in, he didn't seem to be interested in doing that job either. It's Rooney's fault alone that he eventually started being dropped for Welbeck in games that mattered.
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NoArroJusBeta said:
If he simply refused to perform and that had nothing to do with Ferguson he would have also simply refused to perform for Moyes aswell.....
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Faulty logic at its best. Rooney didn't want to perform for Fergie any longer. Simple and clear! He sulked because RVP was now the lead center forward and taking the 'limelight' from him , as if Rooney was incapable of sharing it with him, and he thought himself above helping the team out in crisis periods, in other roles, like he used to in the past. This idea that he'd also have under performed for Moyes is laughable. Especially when from day one Moyes decided to center everything around him and give him back the center of attention that he craved last year.

NoArroJusBeta said:
A player doesn't just simply refuse to perform...
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Wrong. They've done it before and will do it again.

NoArroJusBeta said:
it has underlying reasons and with Rooney its clear that last year it was a lack of confidence from his manager (he wasn't even involved in the massive Madrid game in the CL)......
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Rooney was deservedly dropped because he was deliberately not doing enough and Fergie could clearly see it. Even as a retired manager Fergie has maintained Rooney applying himself proper was always the first name on his team sheet. A thing he is after Rooney's M.O.M performance vs Chelsea at OT earlier in this season.
 
Another morning, another excellent start to the day as he hasn't signed on yet. Relieved.
 
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