I still find that stat lost possession 28 times hard to believe. I was sitting infront of his scholes pass to Valencia in the second half, that sailed out for a goal kick. I assumed it was deflected and i was getting ready for the corner 
10
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
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- Goals
- 15
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 5
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It's the passing accuracy I find astonishing. To misplace nearly half your passes is unforgivable
I keep trying to believe this, but there must be some way in which we can mitigate the effect he has on our play without dropping him totally. As it is, most of our attacks are broken down by having him as a lone striker. Can we not play him wide left, or deeper into midfield? He still works hard and those traits would be useful there and we might actually see a few attacking moves through.
He is no longer becoming a liability, he is a liability.
i know. and i contradicted myself by saying i know he's been poor for a year or two but everyone goes through bad patches, and 2 years isn't a bad patch....i just hate the way we booed Giggs in his early late 20s / 30s and he proved us wrong by doing the business for us for numerous years still, same with Scholes (although i don't recall many boos for him)
Rooney deserves a bit more respect than so many are giving him and as much as i hate seeing him in the line up i hate even more how people just jump on the band wagon and slate the guy...
i think i'm just torn between supporting a legend and dropping someone who's just not good enough currently yet so many are saying things that are shocking
Don't want him anywhere near that midfield. We now have the players in there that are knitting together nicely. All it would mean is Wayne giving the ball away closer to our goal. Then it could cause real problems.
This is true.
Why would you want to feck around with everything just to keep our worst player in the team?
that's fair, I think most feel the same really
I don't. If i had my way i'd drop him, but it's clear we're not going to.
Ah fair enough, misunderstood.
this is the general feeling i read and given his post match stats i can't disagree with it. in fact that's what i wanted to start with (martial as no. 9 with another on the left wing other than Rooney) and he shouldn't be playing. i do also think his time is up as a starting xi on current form
but like i just posted in another reply, i hate the jump on Rooney bandwagon like so many did with giggs....but he does need to be dropped, i just don't agree with what's being said about someone who in a few years time people will be fighting for to get his autograph as a united legend
He was playing better sit in the hole rather than the main man up top. I hate to say it but his legs are looking shot, he's not getting about the pitch anymore.
The crazy thing was people talked about dropping him back into midfield when he finally started to slow down, the reality is he's not very good on the ball, I doubt he'd get in the midfield of a top club. Where we go from here is anyone's guess but I think we're seeing the end of Rooney.
The crazy thing was people talked about dropping him back into midfield when he finally started to slow down, the reality is he's not very good on the ball, I doubt he'd get in the midfield of a top club. Where we go from here is anyone's guess but I think we're seeing the end of Rooney.
Does it count as a pass when the ball comes to you and just bounces off your boot in a random direction?
Yeah I seem to remember him taking off McNair because of his 'poor performance' but persisting with RvP for ages despite him being next to useless. It's understandable in a way but it also means that he's letting his more established players away with worse performances.
Spot on mate and that battle in which Kompany thrives, Rooney would never win.
To the reporters asking about Rooney's form:
LvG said:
Amazing. Even the English journos are noting he was shit.
The funny thing is, I think he's had even poorer performances than today recently.
The funny thing is, I think he's had even poorer performances than today recently.
'When Wayne Rooney scored at Goodison last weekend, people queued up to tell us why, actually, this is why you don’t write off the man. The last two games have demonstrated that, in his current guise, disappointment is the rule, not exception.
It’s not just that Rooney is offering nothing to United’s attack; he is hampering it significantly. Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera can do all they can to take attacks so far, but at some point their team-mate needs to get involved. Then all promise turns to dust.
It is as if Rooney is playing with lead weights under his shirt, labouring around the opposition half like a 35-year-old League Two striker telling everyone who’ll listen that he’s still got it. He completed nine passes in the first half, and gave the ball away seven times. There is an increasingly familiar Old Trafford groan reserved for a Rooney pass straight into touch. It is becoming the soundtrack of his decline.
The bizarre thing about Rooney is just how much goodwill he retains from those within the game – he is effectively immune to criticism.
Here is his game in numbers: No shots on target. No chances created. A passing accuracy of 55% (the lowest on the pitch). Lost possession 28 times (highest on the pitch). One touch in the opposition penalty area.
Yet the only reaction from Gary Neville was to twice praise Rooney for his defensive work, while Martin Tyler remarked that he was “defensively responsible at 30”. For a striker, that should be the ultimate damnation by faint praise.
The person with the most faith is Van Gaal, who continues to start Rooney to the detriment of the team. Memphis Depay has struggled to settle in during his early months in England, but at least with Depay, age provides reason for patience.
More importantly, playing Depay on the left would allow Martial to operate as a central striker. For a manager who demands movement from his forwards, it is difficult to see how dropping Rooney wouldn’t assist United’s creativity. Van Gaal must surely now be at least considering that option.
In terms of this game, the biggest crime was that Rooney stayed on until the final whistle. He may once have been United’s magic man, the player who could conjure something out of nothing to win you the game, but that time has passed. He was a 90-minute passenger.
“Sir, I have to talk every week about Rooney,” said United’s manager to a journalist in his post-match press conference. “Why? I don’t give any opinion. Sick of it. You have your opinion, write it.” Not as sick as some United fans are at the free ride given to the captain.
When having faith that Rooney could rediscover his greatness, bear this question in mind: What did he excel at?
The three most obvious responses to that question are pace, power and positive aggression. Not only do all now look lost, but these are impossible characteristics to switch on and off. You can’t just decide to have more pace or add ten times more power, and the aggression in Rooney’s game has been reduced to swearing in the direction of the officials. He has become a parody of the jaded striker, a brightness dulled by the rigours of his career. He is the old fighter still stepping into the ring but now being punched from rope to rope.
So the question to Rooney’s backers is this: What are you waiting for? Rooney isn’t naturally fit enough to regain his missing athleticism. He’s played too many career games to find the effervescence associated with his early years at United. He has never been the type of striker who you would expect to redefine his style in order to prolong his career.
It’s all very sad, but there’s a shell of a player where Wayne Rooney used to be. Van Gaal is one of few who must still have faith, and even that is waning.'
(Football365)
It’s not just that Rooney is offering nothing to United’s attack; he is hampering it significantly. Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera can do all they can to take attacks so far, but at some point their team-mate needs to get involved. Then all promise turns to dust.
It is as if Rooney is playing with lead weights under his shirt, labouring around the opposition half like a 35-year-old League Two striker telling everyone who’ll listen that he’s still got it. He completed nine passes in the first half, and gave the ball away seven times. There is an increasingly familiar Old Trafford groan reserved for a Rooney pass straight into touch. It is becoming the soundtrack of his decline.
The bizarre thing about Rooney is just how much goodwill he retains from those within the game – he is effectively immune to criticism.
Here is his game in numbers: No shots on target. No chances created. A passing accuracy of 55% (the lowest on the pitch). Lost possession 28 times (highest on the pitch). One touch in the opposition penalty area.
Yet the only reaction from Gary Neville was to twice praise Rooney for his defensive work, while Martin Tyler remarked that he was “defensively responsible at 30”. For a striker, that should be the ultimate damnation by faint praise.
The person with the most faith is Van Gaal, who continues to start Rooney to the detriment of the team. Memphis Depay has struggled to settle in during his early months in England, but at least with Depay, age provides reason for patience.
More importantly, playing Depay on the left would allow Martial to operate as a central striker. For a manager who demands movement from his forwards, it is difficult to see how dropping Rooney wouldn’t assist United’s creativity. Van Gaal must surely now be at least considering that option.
In terms of this game, the biggest crime was that Rooney stayed on until the final whistle. He may once have been United’s magic man, the player who could conjure something out of nothing to win you the game, but that time has passed. He was a 90-minute passenger.
“Sir, I have to talk every week about Rooney,” said United’s manager to a journalist in his post-match press conference. “Why? I don’t give any opinion. Sick of it. You have your opinion, write it.” Not as sick as some United fans are at the free ride given to the captain.
When having faith that Rooney could rediscover his greatness, bear this question in mind: What did he excel at?
The three most obvious responses to that question are pace, power and positive aggression. Not only do all now look lost, but these are impossible characteristics to switch on and off. You can’t just decide to have more pace or add ten times more power, and the aggression in Rooney’s game has been reduced to swearing in the direction of the officials. He has become a parody of the jaded striker, a brightness dulled by the rigours of his career. He is the old fighter still stepping into the ring but now being punched from rope to rope.
So the question to Rooney’s backers is this: What are you waiting for? Rooney isn’t naturally fit enough to regain his missing athleticism. He’s played too many career games to find the effervescence associated with his early years at United. He has never been the type of striker who you would expect to redefine his style in order to prolong his career.
It’s all very sad, but there’s a shell of a player where Wayne Rooney used to be. Van Gaal is one of few who must still have faith, and even that is waning.'
(Football365)
Bigger game today though.
I was under the impression LvG is ruthless and cared less for reputations. Unless we're all missing something obvious Rooney is playing on past reputation. He should be nowhere near the first team.
I don't think he's even worth a place on the bench.
I don't think he's even worth a place on the bench.
Sorry to break the news, but we've been mediocre for several years now. Probably best to support another team if that's unacceptable for you.
Probably is just because we have a lack of strikers, numerically.
He is robbing Wilson/Martial of that no.9 slot though.
What's the deal with strikers dropping off a cliff lately, though? Torres, Falcao, RvP and Rooney all went from good to atrocious in what seems like a matter of months. I guess you can blame it on injuries for Torres and Falcao, but the astronomical drop in performances are incredible to say the least. I can't remember strikers from when I was a kid going from world class to sunday league that quickly. I guess Shevchenko sort of did, but you've got players from the 90's generation like Del Piero, Inzaghi and Totti who were or are still doing it in their late 30s.
Thanks for posting that Steve. Can't argue with any of it. I feel sorry for Wayne in the fact he is shadow of his former self who wants to give his best, but unfortunately his skills have gone. Funny Gary Neville is mentioned, it actually reminds me of his decline. Except of course he realised it had happened and did something about it.
I still think he is capable of scoring lots of goals and contributing, but he needs to be dropped for at least 2 weeks and recharge himself. Hes not the player he once was but i don't believe he is shot, hes only 30 and is rarely injured. He looks burned out more than anything
Van Gaal needs to show that no one is undroppable
Van Gaal needs to show that no one is undroppable
Is that a stat provided by the BBC? Think that's misleading because they count inaccurate passes/crosses as losing possession. Which is absurd IMO. He misplaced 14 passes; had 4 inaccurate crosses; was dispossessed 6 times; and had 3 unsuccessful touches. Doesn't even matter that much because it was an awful performance.
If we get a striker in January or even next summer, his days could be numbered.
last year it was silent domination, now its his defensive work.
Absolutely spot on article.
We are still in October, and had no summer international tournament. What will he be like next year after the Euros?
Linking up well with Steven Naismith and Gareth Barry, I hope.
I'm wondering if he's gone down past the Torres at Chelsea benchmarks. I remember the CL games vs Chelsea when a ball played into Torres meant United would get possession in the next 5 seconds. Right now, when Rooney gets the ball, I'm looking to see if there's anyone close enough who can clean up/fight for the 2nd ball after his touch or pass.
Stuart Mathieson at MEN has actually spoken up about it,which is surprising and kinda brave.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...rts/manchester-united-0-0-manchester-10329199
The media are slowly coming around, it seems.
And the 365 article was excellent, sums up the situation.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...rts/manchester-united-0-0-manchester-10329199
The media are slowly coming around, it seems.
And the 365 article was excellent, sums up the situation.
He wasn't as bad as the stats suggest. He had some good moments and worked hard in the first half. He wasn't poor, he was just average. I suspect that this is his top level now. Average players score goals too and have good games from time to tme. But United can't afford to carry average players if we want to win titles. It's an illusion to think that he can reinvent himself. He lacks the physical attributes to do it. Giggs' shape of body and mobility was completely different. He was far more flexible than Rooney even when he retired. This Rooney lacks explosivinness, flexibility, good enough close control (unlike Giggs and Scholes). He may have some very good games till the end of the season but he seems finished at top level.
of all those undroppable/indispensable/highest paid players in the world, we are easilly getting the worst return. it was probably the worst and stupidest contract extension in the history of club.
Feck this shit, Louis.
It's a good start, but we need a lot more voices turning against him and fast.
He's done.
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