Was very surprised to not see him in the starting line up. Saying that prior to the red card it looked like those that were picked and the tactics we were using was doing the job, so I'd say SAF was justified in leaving him on the bench to start with.
Wayne Rooney | 2012-14 Performances
- Thread starter gooDevil
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He's a confidence player. We just needed to get the job done, not this see Rooney battle with his form throughout the entire game.
BAttle with his form? The same guy who assisted two and scored a belter on Saturday would be low on confidence and battle with his form?
Maybe we see different things
On the Caf, anything is possible
I could assist a goal against Norich. They were dire, you can rest on your lorels against that kind of fodder.
I agree with Fergie, this wasn't the game for Rooney.
The same Norwich who beat us last time? If we were so dire, why was the game 1-0 with them having chances in the second half?
I'm not even the biggest Rooney fan but I completely disagree with you here. I'm not arguing the decision to start Welbeck over him - just your reasoning behind it.
There's so many games he just doesn't look focused at all. You can't afford that against Madrid.
This better act as a huge kick up the backside for Rooney.
He might not look arsed but he contributes. That's what matters. He also put in a shift for the team last time against Madrid.
Again - not disagreeing with leaving him out - it worked. Just with your view on Rooney.
Not as if he is playing badly to be fair, I'd be happy if he carried on playing like the game before he was dropped.
Although I can't help wondering if something is going on behind the scenes with him and SAF, there have been rumours which I have always doubted but this dropping really surprised me.
How can you say that?
If he carries on the way he left off...
I've seen Rooney at his best and that hasn't been for well over a year.
I think I've lost faith in him tbh. He doesn't seem to have it in him.
He has the talent but doesn't have the will.
If he carries on the way he left off...
I've seen Rooney at his best and that hasn't been for well over a year.
I think I've lost faith in him tbh. He doesn't seem to have it in him.
He has the talent but doesn't have the will.
Maybe SAF thinks Wayne's fire has gone out, so to speak. Still, the decision was tactically sensible, and justified by Danny's first-leg performance.
20 goals and assists in his last 20 games and he isn't playing well? Some people expect a lot.
Not exactly playing badly but I'm sure he wants to be at a level where he is more or less undroppable for a game like today, and he isn't.
I wasn't neccessarily criticising him but just hoping that he will strive it improve even further off the back of this.
Rooney is still the best player we have, If you was going to pick on form then he would have started before RVP, not that I would have wanted him dropped either. As it happens the team SAF picked played very well and we was robbed but I don't know where this myth That Rooney is playing badly this season is coming from. He has had a couple of bad games usually when coming back from one of the injuries he has had the rest of the time has been very good playing a variety of positions.
Could you please explain to me what do you exactly mean by "mentally fragile"?
Back home again...crazy day at the office. Even soccer neophytes in my dusty little town had heard about the horrible referee decision to send Nani off with a straight red.
It appears I have a lot of posts to get through to understand why Roo was dropped from the starting XI.
It may have worked out well to get us the 1-0 lead, albeit on an own goal, but were we truly a better side with Roo on the bench?
It appears I have a lot of posts to get through to understand why Roo was dropped from the starting XI.
It may have worked out well to get us the 1-0 lead, albeit on an own goal, but were we truly a better side with Roo on the bench?
But he's not is he?
Cos if he was our 'best player', not just a very good one, one of our best (which he is) but our absolute best player, then he wouldn't have been a) played out of position in the first leg to 'do a job' and b) benched for our second leg.
People need to come to terms with that fact that he isn't our best player anymore. Maybe he needs to come to terms with it himself.
Well his point his quite valid when Rooney seemed a bit low on confidence in the first half of that game. He started to have more influence as the game went on. Perhaps that's the point he's trying to make. A point which emphasises the importance of consistency throughout the match.
Fact is Rooney has the ability to do a great job in more than one position, where others do not, as to why he was dropped today I don't know but yes he probably is still the best football player at the club.
But Rooney's not the only player who is capable of this. It's been stated before the versatility we have in this team and it's not just Rooney. It's great when a player can do a job but if that doesn't transpire to helping the team offensively especially when you're an attacker, it's going to be a bit hard to make the case for being the best player. In madrid, Rooney was played out of position and did not have a great game. There's been other games where he has. The man blows in and out of form. Yet somehow, he still puts up good numbers. He's an enigmatic player. Anyway, I have been on this forum for too long. Time to go back into hiding.
Rooney paid a high price for not closing down the cross for Real's goal at the Bernabeu, I think.
Oh shut up about him being the best footballer at the club. He quite clearly isn't. Our best player wouldn't have been benched for tactical reasons against the best opposition.
This makes no sense. The best player at the club would get played, end of. Any tactical advantage gained from dropping your best player would be totally negated by the loss of quality from leaving out your best player!
Rooney a mentally fragile player? 
Really couldn't understand his omission from the first 11 at first but the way the team performed until the sending off was validating SAF's decision.I wouldn't have liked to be him when he was told he'd be on the bench
Well I have said I don't know why he was dropped today, possibly other stuff going on with SAF who knows. Like I said the other day people in this thread seem to have a short memory, wasn't this called Wayne Rooney is world class or was that another thread, he has been our talisman for many seasons now and he managed to take us to the CL final in 2011.
I even acknowledged earlier in this thread that at the moment RVP is probably a better number 9 than Rooney is but even before we signed him people debated if that was even his best position as he is amazing playing deeper. Also as good as RVP has been this season he may well struggle to beat the goal return that Rooney had last season when leading our line. And that is not a criticism of RVP as my personal opinion is we are much better for having the two of them just seems there has been a massive change of opinion on Rooney just because Van Persie has signed.
On a side note though on current for RVP is probably playing the worst of our forwards, again everyone has a dip during a season just more made of it when it is certain player on the caf.
Well Phelan said in the press conference that he was dropped for purely tactical reasons and that was the line that was being fed to the journalists last night when the idea of Rooney not starting emerged. I suppose they could be lying about the reason but there's really no evidence for that.
The way I see it is this: Rooney could theoretically have taken the place of RVP, Welbeck, Nani, Giggs or Cleverly. Surely if Ferguson thought that Rooney was our best player he would have started in one of those positions? I can understand him playing our best player in a different position in order to help the team, but leaving our best player on the bench to help the team? When do managers do that? I genuinely can't think of any time when a manager purposely left his very vest player off the team just to implement a tactical gameplan. It's illogical.
Agree with your point about RVP though, his form has definitely dipped. It was bound to happen though, near impossible to keep playing as well as he has been for the last season and a half.
I'm watching the game again right now, at this point at the 48th minute after the Ramos own goal. Sadly, I'm not seeing any evidence yet that we were stronger with Cleverley starting over Rooney.
But this is in hindsight. However, even without the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have benched Rooney. Not after the way he played over the weekend and we all know Rooney is a streaky dude. Once he's hot, he stays hot for a month or so then ges cold again.
The man really can play football, especially when motivated. And how could he have not been motivated v Real?
Fergie got it almost right, but he didn't get it perfect.
But this is in hindsight. However, even without the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have benched Rooney. Not after the way he played over the weekend and we all know Rooney is a streaky dude. Once he's hot, he stays hot for a month or so then ges cold again.
The man really can play football, especially when motivated. And how could he have not been motivated v Real?
Fergie got it almost right, but he didn't get it perfect.
Think I'm probably better coming back to this thread when I'm sober if i remember tomorrow as I've just got into bed at 5am.
Okay, I've watched it all again.
The decision to leave off Rooney was a massive tactical mistake. And perhaps a strategic one as well, as it will surely have a negative impact on Rooney in the short and possibly on the team as a whole. Internal damage control right now is at the top of Fergie's to do list Wednesday morning at the office.
The decision to leave off Rooney was a massive tactical mistake. And perhaps a strategic one as well, as it will surely have a negative impact on Rooney in the short and possibly on the team as a whole. Internal damage control right now is at the top of Fergie's to do list Wednesday morning at the office.
My gripe is not with Rooney as such, it's the people who overrate him!!
I swear to God, it's like he's a mix of Bobby Charlton and Eric Cantona with some posts I read.
Wayne is a very good player. Easily top 20-30 in the world. When on form, it's great for the team as he contributes big time with excellent vision and passing and scores a bag full of goals. But to say he's the heartbeat of the team, the leader of the team, thats plain rubbish!! I've a United supporting mate who said, "Ferguson looks at Wayne like a son. Thats how important he is to Manchester United!"....Where the hell is this coming from??? As much as I like the player Wayne Rooney, he's not Eric or Robson or Best or Giggs and as much as I can't stand the man now, he's not Roy Keane.
Like I said, he's a very good player. But how highly people rate him amazes me. The white Pele?? Sorry, I can't grasp that logic
I swear to God, it's like he's a mix of Bobby Charlton and Eric Cantona with some posts I read.
Wayne is a very good player. Easily top 20-30 in the world. When on form, it's great for the team as he contributes big time with excellent vision and passing and scores a bag full of goals. But to say he's the heartbeat of the team, the leader of the team, thats plain rubbish!! I've a United supporting mate who said, "Ferguson looks at Wayne like a son. Thats how important he is to Manchester United!"....Where the hell is this coming from??? As much as I like the player Wayne Rooney, he's not Eric or Robson or Best or Giggs and as much as I can't stand the man now, he's not Roy Keane.
Like I said, he's a very good player. But how highly people rate him amazes me. The white Pele?? Sorry, I can't grasp that logic
The thought of intentionally starting a big match without Rooney seemed such a crazy idea just last season and I was surprised he didn't start against Real, but the team managed just fine and the selections worked well.
I'm sure the media are going to dine on this for a week or two but I very much doubt there's more to it than a tactical choice by Fergie.
I'm sure the media are going to dine on this for a week or two but I very much doubt there's more to it than a tactical choice by Fergie.
I wasn't happy at the time but after watching the game it was the correct decision by Fergie. No player is bigger than the team and Fergie was fully justified in his selection.
I suspect it's going to be a long summer
are you 100% sure rooney will not be sold within the next two summer windows?
Giggs and Welbeck was brilliant, it was a tactical masterstroke by Fergie.
Not putting him earlier after we got the red card was the wrong one.
Not putting him earlier after we got the red card was the wrong one.
Same here, I was surprised by how well the plan worked, and it can't have escaped Rooney's notice either. He won't like it but he'll understand. And it'll spur him on, hopefully.
Until the sending off I was thinking we should take RVP off around 65 minutes for Rooney, he was doing feck all. I think that justifies the selection.
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