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2014-15 Performances

View full 2014-15 profile

5.9 Season Average Rating
Appearances
37
Goals
14
Assists
6
Yellow cards
4
Red cards
1
Status
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loved the way he is making those late runs into the box a la scholes and lampard. did exactly the same thing againts liverpool 2 weeks ago too. i am loving this falcao-rvp-mata-rooney front 4 at home, and add di maria to this list and we have an excellent front 5, eventhough this can be a bit gung ho.

this role is great for rooney , for home matches. still prefer to see him playing further up the pitch / as a striker for away games though. he is less effective when he is further away from goal. plus he is actually one of our quicker players at counter attackings.
 
Exceptional performance yesterday. He plays that long diagonal pass into to RVP quite a lot, those two have a real understand of where each other is on the pitch.
 
POF said:
I have read this so many times and it absolutely does my head in. When Rooney himself said it I lost a lot of respect for him. If Rooney was the best option to play up front, that's where he would play. The idea that he's some sort of martyr who selflessly does all of the donkey work so fancy dans like Ronaldo and Van Persie get all of the glory is utter utter nonsense. People praise his ability to track back and his versatility yet when he's asked to use those qualities it's like he's being asked to donate a kidney.
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But there are some 'star striker' types who would throw their toys out of the pram by being asked to 'do a job for the team'. By and large, Rooney never has - there was the issue of him supposedly not wanting to play in midfield under Fergie, but we don't know how much of that was just smokescreen to mask deeper friction between them.

Otherwise, he has always performed well in any role that's been asked of him (some of them far less glamorous than scoring bucket loads of goals, which is what he would be doing if played as an out and out striker).
 
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NessunDorma said:
But there are some 'star striker' types who would throw their toys out of the pram by being asked to 'do a job for the team'. By and large, Rooney never has - there was the issue of him supposedly not wanting to play in midfield under Fergie, but we don't know how much of that was just smokescreen to mask deeper friction between them.

Otherwise, he has always performed well in any role that's been asked of him (some of them far less glamorous than scoring bucket loads of goals, which is what he would be doing if played as an out and out striker).
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Like who? Name one striker for a top team who has refused to play in another position. This is Manchester United - an elite team in world football whose fans expect players to be desperate to play for. Yet Rooney is a saint for not threatening to leave when played out of position? And then he does just that and he's still Mother Theresa!
 
6.4 isn't terrible, not sure anyone has cracked a 7 yet -- De Gea is rated 6.9.
 
POF said:
I have read this so many times and it absolutely does my head in. When Rooney himself said it I lost a lot of respect for him. If Rooney was the best option to play up front, that's where he would play. The idea that he's some sort of martyr who selflessly does all of the donkey work so fancy dans like Ronaldo and Van Persie get all of the glory is utter utter nonsense. People praise his ability to track back and his versatility yet when he's asked to use those qualities it's like he's being asked to donate a kidney.

He has matured a lot this season (as a player at least). I thought making him captain was a mistake but he has responded to the role superbly. He was excellent against Newcastle and I was impressed with his maturity at Villa too. I've heard a lot people describe him as an intelligent player but I have never seen it until recently. He deserves a lot of credit for how he has played this season.
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What a weird comment. He's been working his socks off for United, in every position he's been asked to play, for his whole career at the club. Where on earth did you get the idea he's been doing it reluctanly? It's just the way he plays football.
 
POF said:
I have read this so many times and it absolutely does my head in. When Rooney himself said it I lost a lot of respect for him. If Rooney was the best option to play up front, that's where he would play. The idea that he's some sort of martyr who selflessly does all of the donkey work so fancy dans like Ronaldo and Van Persie get all of the glory is utter utter nonsense. People praise his ability to track back and his versatility yet when he's asked to use those qualities it's like he's being asked to donate a kidney.
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I don't see why this is your response to those two comments. It's undeniable that Rooney's stats would be better if he had played his career up top, and arguably it is his best position. That doesn't mean he's the best option to play there, especially when players like Ronaldo and Van Persie are his competition.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
:lol: Gerd Muller's stats
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Incredible, aren't they? Not only does he have the numbers and great records, he has done it on every stage and has scored goals in World Cup and European Championship finals, four goals over two legs in a European Cup winners cup semi final, three goals in three European Champions Cup finals (and in the year he did not score in the final he scored three goals over two legs vs Real Madrid in the semi finals) as well as pummelling the small teams. His goal record stands up to any scrutiny.
 
We should block being able to rate player performance until like 24 hours after the game. the average ratings are a joke right now.
 
Raw said:
Imagine if we sold him to Chelsea last season :nervous:

Gotta thank Moyes for keeping him here, even if it was at the cost of £300k/w
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Horrible thought. To think many posters on here were saying he's finished anyway and we should take the money! :lol:
 
He's having a wicked season, but he needs to stop thinking he's Iniesta with those dribbles and side passes. He get's tackles/intercepted nearly every time.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
What a weird comment. He's been working his socks off for United, in every position he's been asked to play, for his whole career at the club. Where on earth did you get the idea he's been doing it reluctanly? It's just the way he plays football.
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That is not my point at all. The comments I was replying to mentioned that he "suffered" and "sacrificed" because of his selflessness. I read it all the time with Rooney. He played in a slightly deeper role every now and then. Other players do it all the time yet with Rooney it's listed up there as one of his greatest traits as a player.
 
POF said:
That is not my point at all. The comments I was replying to mentioned that he "suffered" and "sacrificed" because of his selflessness. I read it all the time with Rooney. He played in a slightly deeper role every now and then. Other players do it all the time yet with Rooney it's listed up there as one of his greatest traits as a player.
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Because he's so fecking good being a striker and 3rd in United's all time top-goalscorers list, and he's moved back into midfield, knowing there's less chance of goals despite trying to break the goals record and help the team to titles.

Sure players play other positions, but Rooney for a majority of his career has had to alter his game just so another player can thrive. Take Ronaldo for example. Rooney had to be pushed to the wing many, many times during those days. With that being said, despite being shifted to play in various positions, he manages to boss it, or at least be highly effective at it. Not many players spring to mind at how they just naturally fall into place into a relatively alien position for them.

Hence why I think the term "sacrificed" is correctly used in this regard. I'm sure Rooney would have broken the goalscoring record by now if he had stayed up front for his whole career. Without shadow of a doubt in my books.

I do see where you're coming from, but seeing how John O'Shea or any other player just plays in a different position and how Rooney plays in a different position - you get a totally different set of results.
 
Globule said:
I don't see why this is your response to those two comments. It's undeniable that Rooney's stats would be better if he had played his career up top, and arguably it is his best position. That doesn't mean he's the best option to play there, especially when players like Ronaldo and Van Persie are his competition.
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I probably should have only quoted the individual sentences to avoid the ambiguity but again, that wasn't the point. My point was that when Rooney plays deeper he's being selfless and he sacrifices for the team. Why is playing wide or in midfield for United a sacrifice?

Maybe his stats would have been better if he played every game up front. Maybe they would have been worse if he could only play up front because he might not have always been in the team.
 
Sammyjunn said:
Who comes closest to mind is probably Muller, can play striker, second striker, no 10, on the wings, hasnt he played in midfield yet? @Balu
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Yeah, he has played a few games in a role that you could call box to box midfield, but rarely and it isn't as good a fit as it is with Rooney. Müller is a way better fit on the wings though. Both really are incredible versatile and deserve a lot of credit for it. Brilliant players to have in the team.
 
Rooney's been great in the midfield role, but it's not a new thing, it's not some magical role newly found for him.

SAF tried playing him there and he as well as previous players have all said he can be effective there and it might be where his future his but Rooney threw a fit and was unhappy and wanted to be stuck back up at CF again.

Maybe now with the armband and/or the additions of RVP and Falcao he feels more obliged to accept the role?
 
Covered every blade of grass on the pitch, he's playing an absolute blinder.
 
Absolute workhorse in midfield. Love the fact he went all the way back to block townsends shot (although unsuccessfully).

Really influential in his current position and it goes hand in hand with his captaincy. Hopefully he has a goal in him today.
 
royboy16 said:
His passing and positioning along with Mata have been brilliant first half.
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He's having average game, good defensively but very average with the ball, and that first touch for the chance was awful.
 
He's really winning me over in the middle. Shows how much we've been missing a true energetic box to box player.
 
XdanielredX said:
Maybe now with the armband and/or the additions of RVP and Falcao he feels more obliged to accept the role?
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Not sure why as he's a better striker than either of them. But who cares when he's playing this well - he's the engine of our team.
 
If Rooney was on the end of the chances Falcao, Rvp and Mata missed today, we'd have won this comfortably.
 
Really good first half, but we miss him so much upfront. Hopefully a midfielder is fit for Stoke.
 
wr8_utd said:
If Rooney was on the end of the chances Falcao, Rvp and Mata missed today, we'd have won this comfortably.
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This.

If the others aren't on it, Rooney needs to go back up front. Rooney is a goalscorer. Even when Rooney's touch is off and the rest of his game is in the drain he scores goals.
 
Get another midfielder fit and put Rooney up top instead of Falcao. Not that he isn't playing well in midfield, we just desperately need him up front as he's the only player on the team how knows where the goal is at the moment. That said, his short passing game surprised me today, very good and intelligent. He dropped off in the final 30 minutes along with the rest of the team, but considering the circumstances we can't hold that against him.
 
Did a lot of work and got deeper and deeper as Carrick tired, I'm loving the late runs he is making into the box from this #8 role.
 
wr8_utd said:
If Rooney was on the end of the chances Falcao, Rvp and Mata missed today, we'd have won this comfortably.
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He's had his chance when Mata picked him and he's had all the time and space in the world to score but his first touch failed him and he was trying to set up Falcao.

Not much to complain about other than that, wasn't on fire like he was the last match, was a bit too much frustrated nearing the end, liked that he was complaining to this cnut ref all the time.
 
Thought he was class today, especially first half. Him and Mata dominated the midfield in front of Carrick, just a shame he wasn't on the end of one of those chances and that his first touch let him down a bit that one time he was almost in.
 
Decent game today. Made some really nice delicate passes and runs in behind. Was always going to be hard to top his performances against Newcastle, though.

I just feel if we want to get Rooney into more goalscoring positions, Mata, although he's been excellent in the last couple of games, has to be replaced by a box to box midfielder who's defensively sound. Doing this will give Rooney the freedom to get into the box and make runs in behind, knowing he's got someone behind him that can cover.
 
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