This is all part of a brilliant plan. Martial gets to lead the line now with no expectations as all since we will have to say, "better than Rooney at least" no matter what.
Genius.
Genius.
10
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 41
- Goals
- 15
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 5
- Status
Finished as a striker, defended him all season and the last few games has even broken me.
He can't run, and whenever he does run his chest is pumped out like he's struggling to keep up. I actually thought he improved when dropped deeper last night, having said that he was bloody awful still.
Time for the MLS me thinks.
He can't run, and whenever he does run his chest is pumped out like he's struggling to keep up. I actually thought he improved when dropped deeper last night, having said that he was bloody awful still.
Time for the MLS me thinks.
Even when he was at City, he had a few good cameos off the bench with his presence improving things for them. Lampard is on another level when it comes to footballing intelligence in comparison to Rooney.
The difference was that Lamps, Scholes, Giggs etc. had accepted their limitations at that stage and adjusted their game accordingly. With Rooney, from his teammates to the manager to some in the media, everyone is telling him that he is still the top dawg; captain marvelous. The great, indomitable Wayne Rooney who is still a top player in the world. Nearly everyone who competed with him for a spot was swiftly shunted out, and the only one he has to compete with is a 19 year old bought from outside the league.
Hardly anyone is telling Wayne that he isn't the same player anymore, nor does it seem that he has the self realization. It was the same with Gerrard, who was constantly told that he was the Anfield hero, the heartbeat of Liverpoool, even when he was way past his best. For Stevie, the realization dawned when he was benched for the clubs most important game of the season and ended up being asked to walk after a horrible stamp on Herrera within minutes of coming on. The similar will happen with Wayne, if he doesn't start realizing his limitations and starts adjusting his game accordingly.
He may be getting those wages, but he can't play like someone deserving those wages anymore.
They did it successfully because they had the tools: a very good first touch and a quick brain. When you struggle with controlling the ball, particularly under pressure, there isn't much left to adjust.
I am really curious how this whole situation works behind the scenes. If LvG says Rooney plays he will not complain and get on the pitch, but surely, he realizes that he's letting the team down and basically being dead weight? How does LvG justify this to the team, every one must surely realize by now that it works better if he's not on the pitch?
Rooney's touch can be iffy, but I think a lot of it has to do with his anxiousness to perform at that 'top level' and also being asked to play in a system which is very demanding on the striker. Don't think Rooney can perform under those circumstances under his current condition. Still think he can contribute at a good level if used sparingly, in the right position and when the game opens up a little.
Not sure about that, maybe he thinks that the team is letting him down?
Magnificent! It's funny because it's true.
Rooney's technical ability and awareness of space are shot - it's like watching my Gran trying to reverse park
"Wayne Rooney boldly stepped up to take the first penalty in what seemed a gesture of confidence from the Manchester United striker ..."
@ Daily Mail
@ Daily MailHe was fooling himself then. The perfect case of misplaced confidence."Wayne Rooney boldly stepped up to take the first penalty in what seemed a gesture of confidence from the Manchester United striker ..."
He'll go back to his "best position" at no.10 this weekend and herrera will be benched sadly. Then he'll play shite and the media will say he should be playing centre forward.
Pretty sure nobody has been saying that have they? The goalscoring records he's been touted to overtake are England and United ones, not the PL one, he's miles off it and has been played in too many different roles to have stood a chance.
Yeah true, maybe that could be the case. Would you say that is the case though?
I think he realises that he isn't great but maybe he blames his team-mates and the tactics for it. Obviously, his intention is to play for United at least till the end of his current contract and he thinks that he still has a lot to offer.
True, and maybe he is partially right regarding the tactics.
He's still dire though. And that's putting it lightly.
Even Steven Gerrard had been in the PFA team of the year the year before his decline started, and Brendan had the cojones to drop him.
We cant afford to keep this waste of space in our team. I really in all honesty cannot see the benefit. Its not like he makes his teammates play better(arguably its the opposite), he really offers nothing for a team with genuine ambitions for silverware, and keeping him in the team will cost us dearly. From a marketing pov, that cannot be a good thing either. As shown by Falcao, it is possible for a once great player to become a laughing stock. This appears to be happening here too, just that I don't really find this funny, but rather infuriating.
We cant afford to keep this waste of space in our team. I really in all honesty cannot see the benefit. Its not like he makes his teammates play better(arguably its the opposite), he really offers nothing for a team with genuine ambitions for silverware, and keeping him in the team will cost us dearly. From a marketing pov, that cannot be a good thing either. As shown by Falcao, it is possible for a once great player to become a laughing stock. This appears to be happening here too, just that I don't really find this funny, but rather infuriating.
The English media will turn against him after the Euros, especially with him likely to stink up another major tournament, and this time as captain. They dont really care about his United performances, and will stick up for him and blame everyone else for his problems.
The Rooney cycle in full effect. You forgot to mention though that he will be rated Star Man in The Sun newspaper regardless.
I didn't watch the second half but according to the match report in The Times this morning we looked a lot better with him on. I'm actually more inclined to go woth the consensus here though - there's a blindness to Rooney's shortcomings with some reporters.
It's incredible how such an awesome player has become so ineffective on the field, irrespective of position. It's almost hard to remember that this was the guy who brought new meaning to the term "put in a shift," and that he used to score for fun.
To say he hasn't aged well would be an understatement. We need to bring in Harry Kane (or someone similar), maybe then Rooney will be dropped from the starting 11.
To say he hasn't aged well would be an understatement. We need to bring in Harry Kane (or someone similar), maybe then Rooney will be dropped from the starting 11.
Magnificent! It's funny because it's true.
Rooney's technical ability and awareness of space are shot - it's like watching my Gran trying to reverse park
I'm sure she could do better, bless her.
He wasn't worse than Wilson, who was crap.
But my God, his acceleration has gone completely. It's like Falcao all over again.
As I posted elsewhere though, the mistake was made in the summer when LVG decided to rely on Rooney as our only senior striker, with Wilson and Martial as the only other options. Now we're stuck with him. Playing Memphis or Wilson instead of him certainly won't solve any problems as we saw yesterday.
But my God, his acceleration has gone completely. It's like Falcao all over again.
As I posted elsewhere though, the mistake was made in the summer when LVG decided to rely on Rooney as our only senior striker, with Wilson and Martial as the only other options. Now we're stuck with him. Playing Memphis or Wilson instead of him certainly won't solve any problems as we saw yesterday.
The mistake was made in van Gaal's head when he decided that Rooney was going to be his captain and fell in love with him. The praise he gets from van Gaal despite the fact that he's hardly ever been anywhere near his best since van Gaal came here is really inexplicable. He is refusing to see what actually goes on on the football pitch because he is absolutely in awe with our Wayne. It's like when your girlfriend cheats on you repeatedly having threesomes with her bosses and gangbangs with your friends from school but you still keep loving her.
I missed the 2nd half and post match comments. Did LvG answer any questions about Rooney?
That's some rawk type shit right there @Sarni
Uzz said:
Not really, mate:
Louis van Gaal admits that a recent lack of goals for Manchester United is a “concern”, but that his players simply need a bit of “luck”.
United followed Arsenal and Chelsea in being eliminated in the last 16 of the Capital One Cup as Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all missed from 12 yards after a goalless 120 minutes when the hosts proved equally wasteful.
Marouane Fellaini, on two occasions, and substitute Anthony Martial missed gilt-edged chances in front of goal in extra time and Van Gaal admitted his side’s profligacy cost them before the “casino” of the shoot-out.
“When you are not finishing the chances – and they were very easy chances in front of the goal or in front of the goalkeeper – then it is very difficult to win a game because the goals are counting, not the chances,” the Dutchman said.
“You can say it is unlucky but that I have said already after the match against (Manchester) City also because that was also 0-0. You have to force the luck also, we didn’t do that because we didn’t score. That’s why I’m disappointed.
“My players have given everything and that’s why I am also proud of them because until the end they have done it. Penalties is a casino – you never know.”
Six sides have scored more goals in the Premier League so far this season than United, while Rooney is their top goalscorer in all competitions with six strikes in 15 games.
England captain Rooney and Young both saw their penalties saved by Boro goalkeeper Tomas Mejias, while Carrick blazed over in between with only David Nugent not converting for the visitors.
However, Van Gaal absolved his trio of any blame, preferring to instead reflect on Mejias’ successful rolls of the dice.
“In the goal was a goalkeeper; and he was very quick and he gambled also,” Van Gaal added.
“He’s 195 centimetres. That is not easy to do when the goalkeeper is gambling for the right corner.
“You need players who look at the goalkeeper and put it in the other (corner)…very early he goes away. It is already 120 minutes you have played so you are not so sharp any more. These things happen.”
While United could have put the tie to bid in extra time they were also fortunate to not be ousted in 90 minutes, with Daley Blind almost scoring two own-goals, one ruled out by an offside flag against Kike and the other dropping just past Sergio Romero’s post after the goalkeeper had let the ball slip past him.
At the other end, James Wilson offered little before being withdrawn at half-time due to injury and not even the presence of Rooney, often operating in a deep midfield role, and Martial from the bench could provide a goal following Sunday’s Manchester derby stalemate in the same stadium.
When asked if the lack of goals was a concern, Van Gaal replied: “Yes, of course. Football – what only matters is a goal.
“We have played two matches – 0-0. In my opinion we could have scored against Manchester City now, again, that’s the score.
“It is a concern but I do know also that it can easily turn around in the next game.”
(Football365)
Has anyone got marjen's girlfriend's phone number, please?
I have a different explanation. I think LvG is afraid that his philosophy isn't very popular among the players and this could cost him the position. Maybe Rooney has shown enthusiasm about the "philosophy" and LvG relies on him to control the team.
I give up. Lets see at the end of the season how this stubbornness will affect us. I cant see us winning anything under LVG, and this will be a major reason why.
No chance. Aston Villa away was far worse than last night.
5.0, I think.
It's just one game but it's literally the only time he has performed well all season. Apart from that he made the team average in the Ipswich game and against Sunderland and Everton he was only a bit below the team average. In every other match he has been significantly below the team average.
Also I'm on Squawka atm and I wanted to get a sense of how Rooney's attacking game has declined so I look at his goals, chance created and successful dribbles (per 90 minutes) over the last three seasons and it's just brutal.
Goals: 0.63 - 0.38 - 0.22.
Chances created: 2.06 - 1.41 - 1.11
Successful dribbles: 1.51 - 1.19 - 0.78.
13/14 Rooney (when we gave him his insane contract) is three times as good a goal scorer, twice the creative force and twice the dribbler as 15/16 Rooney. And 13/14 Rooney wasn't even close to Rooney at his best!
Those cases when the stats completely back up what you're seeing with your eyes..
A player we couldnt give away, even if we paid half of his salary, and he will start every game until the end of the season. Its going to be a long year.
I've been pedalling the Rooney is rubbish bandwagon for about two years now, but I take no pleasure from watching this. Especially after seeing a bit of him as a man on his documentary, I do actually have some pity for how shit he now is.
Yesterday was far from his worst performance though, poor as it was. I think some are going a little overboard with regards to yesterday's performance alone, although it was still shit. I've had enough, and it's clear that Van Gaal doesn't know what to do with him. He's played 4 different positions now since Martial has arrived - none of which are down to injury. Ultimately, when it really mattered last night, he wasn't trusted in attack.
January cannot come soon enough for us, as we simply can't afford o take a 'wait until summer' approach, not unless we are writing off any trophies this season. The difference between Martial and our other forward players is staggering, and we need at least one more of a high level to compete.
Rooney is clearly, CLEARLY done though. This is no 'he's just in a spell of poor form'. He is not a Premier League level footballer at present.
Yesterday was far from his worst performance though, poor as it was. I think some are going a little overboard with regards to yesterday's performance alone, although it was still shit. I've had enough, and it's clear that Van Gaal doesn't know what to do with him. He's played 4 different positions now since Martial has arrived - none of which are down to injury. Ultimately, when it really mattered last night, he wasn't trusted in attack.
January cannot come soon enough for us, as we simply can't afford o take a 'wait until summer' approach, not unless we are writing off any trophies this season. The difference between Martial and our other forward players is staggering, and we need at least one more of a high level to compete.
Rooney is clearly, CLEARLY done though. This is no 'he's just in a spell of poor form'. He is not a Premier League level footballer at present.
If he's smart enough, he'll find a way to get dropped. Because if he plays like that till the end of the season, he will not only become a laughing stock but one of the most hated players among United fans.
We got better, or at least more threatening, towards the end of the half after Young and Martial came on and Fellaini started staying forward.
I think there is an element of this. If LvG loses Rooney, then the doubters in the dressing room may get restless.
- Status