[Rozay]

Don't get the criticism from last night. He was good, even before the goal, and the winner made it a very good performance I believe. He did not slow us down, he showed energy moving around, his touch did not let him down and he even passed it well.

His Valencia-pass was working all night, but he also linked up well at close-quarters with Martial in the first half and with Lingard towards the end of the second.

I don't expect him to be as good every game, largely because they will be at a slower tempo, and there is no 'silk' to Rooney's game as such. But if he can get closer to that level of performance on a regular basis, then he will be useful to the team, which is a massive, massive improvement.

 

[Amar__]

One of the questions for van Gaal yesterday:

"WAS ROONEY THANKED FOR HIS WINNING GOAL?"

Incredible!

 

[LeChuck]

I was at the game last night so here's a few thoughts on Rooney.

He was better than the dogshite he's been serving up since the start of the season. But he still wasn't that good. He had a lot more time on the ball mainly because Lingard and Martial were making runs / stretching the defence. When Rooney plays as #9 he is way too static, and drops deep crowding the midfield meaning that there isn't any room for our #10 / creative players to make any space for themselves and dictate play high up the pitch.

Rooney had space and time (more than we're used to) and he could spray it to the RW and he generally looked better. The goal which was served on a plate by Lingard (my MotM) is what I think all we can expect off of him for the remainder of the season. Just finishing easy / presentable chances (well having said that he still fluffed his lines when he was a few yards from goal and Mata put it on a plate). Hopefully he'll be shown the exit door come the end of the season.

Furthermore, for those saying 'it's a return' etc, he plays every minute of every game. He is bound to get a goal and an assist sporadically, but it doesn't mean he's back to his best. It means a broke clock is right twice a day.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Yeah, true. It should be bit of a "meh" performance, despite the goal. The fact it's up there with his best of the season is a problem.

Still, the 3/10 stuff is ludicrous. Biased fools. Can't see what's happening in front of their own eyes.

If I can give credit no one else has any excuse

 

[Adisa]

One of the questions for van Gaal yesterday:

"WAS ROONEY THANKED FOR HIS WINNING GOAL?"

Incredible!

Convinced journos in this country have very low IQs

 

[Geordopolous]

Rooney was terrific and very creative, strange many don't believe so. I guess when you hate a man you really hate him

 

[sallycinnamin]

Convinced journos in this country have very low IQs

Not many gave much accolades on here last night either bearing in mind that in our last game v Wolfsburg away we may have needed to get something but by virtue of Rooney's winner we may still need a point but we could wrap up qualification v PSV instead.

 

[Minimalist]

Didn't see the game to comment on his overall performance (have read it was slightly improved) but it's nice to see him getting the winner (although let's be frank - harsh or not - he would be a total numpty to miss that chance and any striker worth his salt was scoring that).

Again...let's see if he can kick on and perform better.

I don't think it's going to happen - his fundamentals are gone and without them, we're going to bitching about him soon enough. Some of our supporters standards have evidently dropped significantly so I'm not going to take much value from hearing 'he was better tonight'.

 

[sunama]

I'd agree with this. He was ok but the standard has been set so low with him that an ok performance gets praised (which is understandable).

I'd go along with this. He certainly wasnt the worst player on the pitch.
But that miss in front of goal...that's something that a £300kpw (or whatever he gets) player should be expected to score from.

In any case, lets see how he does in his next game.

 

[Mutter Merkel]

See I think that's fair. Just goes to show that even one of his harshest critics can acknowledge an improved performance when it happens. Puts the earlier laughable comments about "3/10 performance" into perspective.

I see you're still at it. I notice it's only the score out of 10 you're complaining about though, which is mostly irrelevant, since the numbers are arbitrary. I've given my reasons for why I think Rooney was poor last night, and I've stated I will give him credit when I think he plays well. The criteria for a good performance is no different for any player in our squad (obviously relative to position), but people still want to say I am being spiteful. If you think I am "out to get Rooney" because I think last night's performance was tumescent (for all the reasons I've made in other posts) then you are deluding yourself. It's far more comfortable to follow the crowd and say what everybody wants to hear than to be objective.

For instance, how many people do you see giving the man of the match to Daley Blind? From a positional, technical and controlling aspect of the game, he was my man of the match. I thought he was serene at cb. I am my own person. Get over it.

 

[kouroux]

One of the questions for van Gaal yesterday:

"WAS ROONEY THANKED FOR HIS WINNING GOAL?"

Incredible!

Unbelievable

 

[sunama]

Some of our supporters standards have evidently dropped significantly so I'm not going to take much value from hearing 'he was better tonight'.

I've noticed this recently, about a lot of things.
Some are saying that Rooney scoring around 10 league goals per season is also acceptable.
Some MUFC fans are saying that 0-0 is now acceptable.
Few chances being created - this is now also acceptable.
Few goals being scored - this is acceptable.
Slow/zombie passing - this is acceptable.
Top 4 - this is now acceptable.

Standards are definitely dropping.

 

[LazyRed-Ninja]

12 goals to equal the living legend Sir Bobby Charlton. Hate him, adore him, you can say all you want but for a guy who played on several positions he will probably clinch on a very honourable title that will probably stand for very, very long time.

 

[LeChuck]

He won't get it this season I don't think, and I hope he's gone by August 2016.

 

[LazyRed-Ninja]

He won't get it this season I don't think, and I hope he's gone by August 2015.

27 games to play in the PL and some more in the other cups. There is a reasonable point to argue about him kicking off and hitting the form as we know he can, but thus far he has not shown to be on that run.....yet

 

[matherto]

He won't get it this season I don't think, and I hope he's gone by August 2016.

He won't be gone.

 

[Bastian]

27 games to play in the PL and some more in the other cups. There is a reasonable point to argue about him kicking off and hitting the form as we know he can, but thus far he has not shown to be on that run.....yet

hitherto, up to this point, to date, since the season began, he's not shown that...yet

sorry!

 

[FacerTheRed]

Rooney was terrific and very creative, strange many don't believe so. I guess when you hate a man you really hate him

I wouldn't go as far as "terrific". He performed much better and looked less isolated as he did previous games. With Martial next to him, Rooney had someone with pace to play off which he really needed and he looked much better. If only Martial was more on the same wave length with Rooney the goals would of maybe came sooner as Martial's 1-2 passing and spacial awareness were lacking, which i was understandable for the reason for him to be subbed off in the late 2nd half.

Back to Rooney, overall performance was above average. Due to him playing a deeper role, he was less isolated, was in a more natural position, was pinging the ball to the wings and was linking up with players well. I cant really fault his performance but at the same time cant say that he was "terrific" because being on 300k a week you expect alot more.

 

[kr0nix]

I'd go along with this. He certainly wasnt the worst player on the pitch.
But that miss in front of goal...that's something that a £300kpw (or whatever he gets) player should be expected to score from.

In any case, lets see how he does in his next game.

Not this again.
His exorbitant salary doesn't need to be brought up every time he has a good or bad game. We all know the circumstances under which he signed that contract but it's worth going over again.

We aren't paying him 300K/week because we expect world class performances week in week out, or because he has performed at that level in the past. Bear with me. We're paying him 300K/week because Wayne and his agent had the upper hand in contract negotiations, and that was the outcome. They had the upper hand because Moyes was reluctant to let one of the most experienced squad members walk out on him just as he'd been appointed manager. Understandable to some extent, and in retrospect, retaining Wayne wasn't the worst outcome, more that in showing their hand too early, Moyes and the board gave Paul Stretford full license to demand whatever they wanted.

So ultimately, it wasn't as if Wayne was being rewarded for good performances, past or future. He was given this contract because Moyes and the board got cold feet and goofed up. We're stuck with that, but there's no need for it to be brought up every time since we know it's a vastly inflated figure due to the circumstances.

 

[Sam]

Fantastic header. Was a lot harder then it looked at first, as the ball was a bit behind him.

The rest of his performance was pretty 'meh though. Which, worryingly, turned out to be one of his better performances this season. The miss from two yards out was hilarious, as are the excuses being made for it. A top player would have buried that with their eyes shut.

 

[Black Adder]

I was at the game last night so here's a few thoughts on Rooney.

He was better than the dogshite he's been serving up since the start of the season. But he still wasn't that good. He had a lot more time on the ball mainly because Lingard and Martial were making runs / stretching the defence. When Rooney plays as #9 he is way too static, and drops deep crowding the midfield meaning that there isn't any room for our #10 / creative players to make any space for themselves and dictate play high up the pitch.

Rooney had space and time (more than we're used to) and he could spray it to the RW and he generally looked better. The goal which was served on a plate by Lingard (my MotM) is what I think all we can expect off of him for the remainder of the season. Just finishing easy / presentable chances (well having said that he still fluffed his lines when he was a few yards from goal and Mata put it on a plate). Hopefully he'll be shown the exit door come the end of the season.

Furthermore, for those saying 'it's a return' etc, he plays every minute of every game. He is bound to get a goal and an assist sporadically, but it doesn't mean he's back to his best. It means a broke clock is right twice a day.

Who are they, I can't recall single poster claiming that?

 

[Cheesy]

Well taken goal. Certainly the type of goal you’d expect a more in-form Rooney to score. Of course, it’s only one game, and he now needs to start doing that on a more consistent basis. Hopefully the fact that it was an important winner to break our goalless streak will give him a confidence boost as well.

 

[m1tch]

I was at the game last night so here's a few thoughts on Rooney.

He was better than the dogshite he's been serving up since the start of the season. But he still wasn't that good. He had a lot more time on the ball mainly because Lingard and Martial were making runs / stretching the defence. When Rooney plays as #9 he is way too static, and drops deep crowding the midfield meaning that there isn't any room for our #10 / creative players to make any space for themselves and dictate play high up the pitch.

Rooney had space and time (more than we're used to) and he could spray it to the RW and he generally looked better. The goal which was served on a plate by Lingard (my MotM) is what I think all we can expect off of him for the remainder of the season. Just finishing easy / presentable chances (well having said that he still fluffed his lines when he was a few yards from goal and Mata put it on a plate). Hopefully he'll be shown the exit door come the end of the season.

Furthermore, for those saying 'it's a return' etc, he plays every minute of every game. He is bound to get a goal and an assist sporadically, but it doesn't mean he's back to his best. It means a broke clock is right twice a day.

Spot on that. Except I'm more reluctant to praise his Hollywood passes out to the right wing, mainly cause people start saying he's Scholes-esque off the back of it, despite not being able to control a football or accurately lay off a 10 yard pass.

 

[LeChuck]

Spot on that. Except I'm more reluctant to praise his Hollywood passes out to the right wing, mainly cause people start saying he's Scholes-esque off the back of it, despite not being able to control a football or accurately lay off a 10 yard pass.

I agree it's just his Hollywood passes came off this time, which was something unexpected.

 

[Deleted member 78215]

I have been one of his biggest critics in recent times, but that was a much better performance. His two passes to Lingard (or was one to Martial?) were very smart, and of course he scored an absolutely vital goal. 6.5/7 performance, really; levels above the 2s and 3s of recent weeks.

 

[itso 7]

I want him to build on this performance and turn it into a good run of performances mainly because we avoid having to deal with the unpleasant task of dropping him but also because the team will benefit immensely from a Wayne Rooney in form. After a difficult run of matches in the past month the ones that are coming up are more important because you can win the league without beating City and Arsenal but you have no chance in hell if you can't dispatch sides like WBA and Palace.

 

[itso 7]

Fantastic header. Was a lot harder then it looked at first, as the ball was a bit behind him.

The rest of his performance was pretty 'meh though. Which, worryingly, turned out to be one of his better performances this season. The miss from two yards out was hilarious, as are the excuses being made for it. A top player would have buried that with their eyes shut.

But these things happen which is why we should create more in the first place instead of giving players shit when they miss a single chance. What is inexcusable is how he has let his short game deteriorate to the shambles it is right now.

 

[Geordopolous]

I wouldn't go as far as "terrific". He performed much better and looked less isolated as he did previous games. With Martial next to him, Rooney had someone with pace to play off which he really needed and he looked much better. If only Martial was more on the same wave length with Rooney the goals would of maybe came sooner as Martial's 1-2 passing and spacial awareness were lacking, which i was understandable for the reason for him to be subbed off in the late 2nd half.

Back to Rooney, overall performance was above average. Due to him playing a deeper role, he was less isolated, was in a more natural position, was pinging the ball to the wings and was linking up with players well. I cant really fault his performance but at the same time cant say that he was "terrific" because being on 300k a week you expect alot more.

Yeah I agree maybe not terrific and we can always expect more but his passing was very very good no? He could have had two assist for lingard imo.

 

[Minimalist]

Thought I had last night...

Everyone does remember that even Torres scored a great/important goal or two during his recent decline at Chelsea?

Ultimately he was still shite, a joke striker and needed to get the feck out of Chelsea.

Rooney will be no different in my view. We might serve chances up from 3-5 yards out - he'll probably score 50-80% of them sure but he's still useless with his overall play compared to modern strikers and we have to hold higher standards than that.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Thought I had last night...

Everyone does remember that even Torres scored a great/important goal or two during his recent decline at Chelsea?

Ultimately he was still shite, a joke striker and needed to get the feck out of Chelsea.

Rooney will be no different in my view. We might serve chances up from 3-5 yards out - he'll probably score 50-80% of them sure but he's still useless with his overall play compared to modern strikers and we have to hold higher standards than that.

I am probably Rooney's biggest detractor but, to be honest, after his most promising game for ages is not the time to drop him. He could "kick on" from here. If he goes back to being shite this weekend...then drop him.

 

[Ananke]

Fantastic header. Was a lot harder then it looked at first, as the ball was a bit behind him.

The rest of his performance was pretty 'meh though. Which, worryingly, turned out to be one of his better performances this season. The miss from two yards out was hilarious, as are the excuses being made for it. A top player would have buried that with their eyes shut.

Agreed. The header wasnt a worldy but it was a stretch and a good goal. The miss...and the excuses are just facepalmable.

 

[Brwned]

Thought I had last night...

Everyone does remember that even Torres scored a great/important goal or two during his recent decline at Chelsea?

Ultimately he was still shite, a joke striker and needed to get the feck out of Chelsea.

Rooney will be no different in my view. We might serve chances up from 3-5 yards out - he'll probably score 50-80% of them sure but he's still useless with his overall play compared to modern strikers and we have to hold higher standards than that.

The standard of his overall play in the last game was far above anything Torres showed at Chelsea - his goal was the most important but not the most impressive part of his game, IMO.

 

[Shark]

This weekend is the prefect opportunity for him to follow up on his performance on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I don't have high hopes that he will kick on, as he's been poor for so long with promising signs here and there. As mentioned above, similar to Torres when at Chelsea.

 

[ZDwyr]

Have a feeling he's going to score again.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Have a feeling he's going to score again.

Me too. I feel like he is going to get back into some goalscoring form. Not extraordinary stuff anymore, but productive, statistically pleasing performances.

 

[Revan]

The standard of his overall play in the last game was far above anything Torres showed at Chelsea - his goal was the most important but not the most impressive part of his game, IMO.

His miss was also something that would have made Torres proud.

Torres had some good performances for Chelsea too, especially under Benitez. In fact - as unbelieavable as it sounds - he scored in a single season for Chelsea 22 goals. For msot of the time, he was shit there though and he was playing cause of his past. Which I think is identical with Rooney's situation. Obviously - like Torres - Rooney will have the occassional game, but for most of the time, he would look like a player who is too bad to play in EPL.

 

[Devil may care]

His best half of the season as far as passing and first touch go.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

1 pass to Martial so far.

 

[Jev]

His best half of the season as far as passing and first touch go.

Yeah, he's been quite sharp actually. One of our better players. Won't stop people singling him out for criticism if we don't win.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Good game by his standards. Made a few runs and his touch wasnt so bad.