[Perrick Dubois]

you might be fine with him half arsing it for the sake of England but I suspect you are in a very VERY small minority.
You could well be right and it is the system making him struggle, (personally I think he is finished) but I would expect the same from any player that I would from my colleagues, to do their job to the absolute best of their ability, not to hold something back. How would you feel if you were carrying people who were coasting your job?

Well I don't really mean "half arsing" in the way you might think, where he literally plays as soft as he can or takes it easy to get by. I just mean more along the lines of not doing anything overly silly when it comes to fighting for the ball. But it is nothing more than a half baked theory. The Rooney of old would run around like a bull in a china shop and it is obvious we're playing a much more refined "style" now.

I know the whole "he's definitely finished" argument has been done to death in here so I will be brief, look at Anthony Martial who is similarly trying to play the same role. He's way better physically, sharper on the ball and already much much better than Rooney probably ever was in tight spaces with the ball at his feet. What I've seen from Martial this season at number 9 has been the same kind of ordinary. Isolated, lack of service, literally no support to try and do something out of nothing type of stuff that must be frustrating the b'jesus out of him.

If your young, vibrant and talented young player can rarely look good playing as a striker for Van Gaal, then how can our crap, old, finished veteran striker manage to do the same thing? That is kind of where my "half arsing" theory comes from. Giving it the old "sure Louis (loueeee), stand still and do sod all and wait for the ball no worries mate" type of thing. Not buying fully into the philosophy. But it is a half baked theory, I'm at a point now where I am more in the mindset of "hang on a minute.. There is something not right here....." rather than believing that Rooney is the big problem that needs removal. If he has a good Euro, then comes back and has a belter of a season under a new manager next year? What do we do? Just go "oh well we were wrong then..?" or something? I am not sure to be honest. People love to proclaim the end on here, fair do's to them when they are right but not before.

Yeah I hate people who coast. But I hate little gobshites that are overpaid and under-experienced that coast more than veterans who actually have notable achievements under their belts. Maybe I am just wired differently, no?

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Well I don't really mean "half arsing" in the way you might think, where he literally plays as soft as he can or takes it easy to get by. I just mean more along the lines of not doing anything overly silly when it comes to fighting for the ball. But it is nothing more than a half baked theory. The Rooney of old would run around like a bull in a china shop and it is obvious we're playing a much more refined "style" now.

I know the whole "he's definitely finished" argument has been done to death in here so I will be brief, look at Anthony Martial who is similarly trying to play the same role. He's way better physically, sharper on the ball and already much much better than Rooney probably ever was in tight spaces with the ball at his feet. What I've seen from Martial this season at number 9 has been the same kind of ordinary. Isolated, lack of service, literally no support to try and do something out of nothing type of stuff that must be frustrating the b'jesus out of him.

If your young, vibrant and talented young player can rarely look good playing as a striker for Van Gaal, then how can our crap, old, finished veteran striker manage to do the same thing? That is kind of where my "half arsing" theory comes from. Giving it the old "sure Louis (loueeee), stand still and do sod all and wait for the ball no worries mate" type of thing. Not buying fully into the philosophy. But it is a half baked theory, I'm at a point now where I am more in the mindset of "hang on a minute.. There is something not right here....." rather than believing that Rooney is the big problem that needs removal. If he has a good Euro, then comes back and has a belter of a season under a new manager next year? What do we do? Just go "oh well we were wrong then..?" or something? I am not sure to be honest. People love to proclaim the end on here, fair do's to them when they are right but not before.

Yeah I hate people who coast. But I hate little gobshites that are overpaid and under-experienced that coast more than veterans who actually have notable achievements under their belts. Maybe I am just wired differently, no?

Fair points. To be fair I've been waiting to get rid of Rooney since the day he signed so I'm sure you will excuse me being a little ahead of myself in proclaiming him finished

 

[Perrick Dubois]

Fair points. To be fair I've been waiting to get rid of Rooney since the day he signed so I'm sure you will excuse me being a little ahead of myself in proclaiming him finished

Haha I think you've mellowed a lot. The fans can proclaim but they can't cash it in until it happens!

 

[SteveJ]

I don't blame Wayne for avoiding full-on tackling, so his career might be prolonged; however, that's no good for us (United).

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Apparently will return vs Everton.

 

[wr8_utd]

Heart skipped a beat here. Each time I see the Rooney thread bumped I fear he is back!

Yeah so terrible our top scorer would be returning. Should stay injured for the duration of his contract here.

 

[dichinero]

Yeah so terrible our top scorer would be returning. Should stay injured for the duration of his contract here.

Yeah let's pretend like it wasn't a purple patch in the space of 3/4 weeks in January as the only recognised striker. Why don't tie him down to another 5 year contract

 

[NinjaZombie]

Yeah let's pretend like it wasn't a purple patch in the space of 3/4 weeks in January as the only recognised striker. Why don't tie him down to another 5 year contract

Forget it mate. He supports Wayne Rooney 8 United. Would probably delete his account here when Rooney either fecks off or retires.

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Apparently will return vs Everton.

Excellent. Still a month and a half of season, and if we pass Liverpool and West Ham, lots to play for.

 

[Scarecrow]

Remember when him playing was our biggest problem? Ah, I miss those simpler times.

 

[Devil may care]

The BT team kept saying we missed him, we really didn't, the last thing we needed was another lumberer with erratic technique.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Excellent. Still a month and a half of season, and if we pass Liverpool and West Ham, lots to play for.

Gandalf got in the way for the former... but we all know what happened next.

 

[clarkydaz]

The BT team kept saying we missed him, we really didn't, the last thing we needed was another lumberer with erratic technique.

as bad as we are, I don't find myself waiting on his return

 

[Devil may care]

as bad as we are, I don't find myself waiting on his return

I don't think he'd make a lick of difference, all his return would mean is Rashford to the bench despite being a breath of fresh air to our sluggish, labored attack.

 

[Jonno]

I hope that more and more people can see though now how much LVG has exposed Rooney and left him out to dry.

It's obvious he's lost his turn of pace, he needs good support and lots of good creativity to score his goals. He is still very good at scoring goals, but he can't create them himself.

The LVG system has exposed Rooney completely. Giving him between 0-1 chances per game from 30 yards out is not how Rooney scores goals in his declining years. Hes a confidence player, give him 5 chances a game and he'll score for 10 games running.

 

[Parry Gallister]

It's not like he's going to be running into space etc, that's arguably what we're missing most.

 

[Zoo]

 

[Raw]

Gill not too happy about Rooney leaning on him

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

David Gill

 

[Sandikan]

if Rooney does walk straight back in as expected, It can surely be only one of him and Mata. We look so much better with the pace and running in the team.

 

[LuisNaniencia]

if Rooney does walk straight back in as expected, It can surely be only one of him and Mata. We look so much better with the pace and running in the team.

Yep agree with you there. Mata did well in the build up for the goal today but he's obviously to light weight for some games so Rooney would be better suited.

 

[Sylar]

I dont think Rooney makes that pass that Mata did for the winner. I think Rooney turns on the ball and looks to spray it out to the wing (on the right) like he normally does.

 

[Treble]

When Rooney got injured, we were 6 points off 4th. Now, with Rooney being out of the team for 6-7 weeks, we are 1 point off 4th. He ruined the first half of the season with his pathetic record of 2 goals and 1 assist in the league.

 

[clarkydaz]

I dont think Rooney makes that pass that Mata did for the winner. I think Rooney turns on the ball and looks to spray it out to the wing (on the right) like he normally does.

agreed. Mata is hot and cold but when he is on it, the triangles start happening. having pace up top stretches the defence, Rooney just plays infront of the defenders now, its easy for them

 

[bosnian_red]

Will be good to have him back after the break. Obviously he shouldn't play non-stop and regardless of the others. Only one of Mata or Rooney should start as their lack of pace would be exposed a bit. Either have him up top and Rashford right, or Rooney in behind Rashford with Martial on the left. Fellaini of course should just never play. With that, we'll actually have a chance for top 4 and in that fa cup replay I think.

When Rooney got injured, we were 6 points off 4th. Now, with Rooney being out of the team for 6-7 weeks, we are 1 point off 4th. He ruined the first half of the season with his pathetic record of 2 goals and 1 assist in the league.

That wasn't Rooney's fault that we were shite (and still are against any shit team). It's van Gaal's style of play. He ditched it late december and early january, and Rooney went on a scoring run.

 

[Bwuk]

It'll be Mata who's dropped for him most likely.

 

[Devil may care]

It takes him months to find any remote semblance of form, I'm in no hurry to see him back in the team, I really hope we work something out in the summer for him to leave after his testimonial, or at the very least pass on the Captaincy and become a squad player.

 

[Lawman]

It'll be Mata who's dropped for him most likely.

To be fair he's better than Mata.

 

[Bwuk]

To be fair he's better than Mata.

I don't agree with that, especially not as a #10 where close control is so important.

Doesn't matter anyway because it'll be what happens.

 

[Lawman]

I don't agree with that, especially not as a #10 where close control is so important.

Doesn't matter anyway because it'll be what happens.

It's not that I rate Rooney highly I just think Mata is tumescent.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Think Rooney's presence is what gave us the win today.

#leader

 

[Treble]

Will be good to have him back after the break. Obviously he shouldn't play non-stop and regardless of the others. Only one of Mata or Rooney should start as their lack of pace would be exposed a bit. Either have him up top and Rashford right, or Rooney in behind Rashford with Martial on the left. Fellaini of course should just never play. With that, we'll actually have a chance for top 4 and in that fa cup replay I think.


That wasn't Rooney's fault that we were shite (and still are against any shit team). It's van Gaal's style of play. He ditched it late december and early january, and Rooney went on a scoring run.

Naah, he was terrible. He scored more in January mainly because he improved his form and we played some crap teams (SU, Newcastle, Derby, Stoke were pretty bad on the day, etc.) He was very poor against Liverpool as well but scored the winner and it masked an underwhelming performance. He was crap against Soton too. Rooney has been declining for years. He was crap in the the last months of last season as well. It's not only about the tactics. Rooney was average already during SAF's last season. He had very good 2-3 months under Moyes and then was crap almost for the eintire second half of the season. He has to go.

 

[bosnian_red]

Naah, he was terrible. He scored more in January mainly because he improved his form and we played some crap teams (SU, Newcastle, Derby, Stoke were pretty bad on the day, etc.) He was very poor against Liverpool as well but scored the winner and it masked an underwhelming performance. He was crap against Soton too. Rooney has been declining for years. He was crap in the the last months of last season as well. It's not only about the tactics. Rooney was average already during SAF's last season. He had very good 2-3 months under Moyes and then was crap almost for the eintire second half of the season. He has to go.

I agree that he individually was poor, but there wasn't anyone that was good, that's the thing. It's not like when he's poor, everyone else is shining and he's sticking out. Everyone is shite most of the time. And while he is on the decline of course, it doesn't mean that he can't have a positive impact. Just needs more or a squad role here instead of starting constantly.

Also it's blatantly obvious after seeing us without Rooney that he wasn't exactly holding us back. We just aren't good overall with Van Gaal. Rooney in or out of the team hardly makes a difference.

 

[dichinero]

To be fair he's better than Mata.

The main thing that works against Mata is his physicality. Rooney is struggling physically and technically. We play much better without him. We have to accept that he is done. We can't afford to sacrifice anyone for him anymore.

 

[dichinero]

Finally found a position for Wayne in terms of fitness levels.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Really should go in the Summer.

 

[Ji_Maria]

Really should go in the Summer.

Enh, think we should give him his 5 goals first. Man's a legend and I would love to see him get the record.

 

[Lawman]

The main thing that works against Mata is his physicality. Rooney is struggling physically and technically. We play much better without him. We have to accept that he is done. We can't afford to sacrifice anyone for him anymore.

Long term I agree short term I still think he is better than Mata.

 

[Treble]

I agree that he individually was poor, but there wasn't anyone that was good, that's the thing. It's not like when he's poor, everyone else is shining and he's sticking out. Everyone is shite most of the time. And while he is on the decline of course, it doesn't mean that he can't have a positive impact. Just needs more or a squad role here instead of starting constantly.

Also it's blatantly obvious after seeing us without Rooney that he wasn't exactly holding us back. We just aren't good overall with Van Gaal. Rooney in or out of the team hardly makes a difference.

Well, Martial and Smalling were very good in the first half of the season, Schweini was solid too and generally we play better with him in the team. Rooney was pretty bad, arguably our worst player till January. He has scored 0 goals against the current top 4 teams, Rashford scored 3 in 2 games. Could be a coincidence but I think there is more to it, given that Rooney was abject as a striker for the whole 2015 year. 5 league goals from open play, ffs.It's not only about the lack of goals and assists though. Martial's record hasn't been great either but his all-round game has been several notches above Rooney's.

How have you come to the conclusion that Rooney doesn't hold us back? First, we are doing better without him in terms of points per game in the league (we won three big games without him: Liverpool at home, Arsenal at home /scored 3 goals in each game/, City away) and he is supposed to be our talisman! Second, it's a big problem for us that we didn't buy an experienced top striker because of Rooney and had to rely on youngsters, some of them with no experience in the EPL whatsoever. His presence is supposed to make a difference for us and it doesn't (if we discount the negative difference). We'd have been probably better off in terms of points if we had played with Rashford form the start, an younster who was barely known some months ago.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Enh, think we should give him his 5 goals first. Man's a legend and I would love to see him get the record.

We should bring Dennis Law out of retirement and give him the rest of the goals he needs to overtake Sir Bobby too. What kind of attitude is this? He's had his chances to score the goals he needs, he hasn't done it. We can't keep the dead weight because he'd like a record, if he wanted it that badly he'd have maybe tried to be less shit in recent seasons. His time is clearly up and the club needs to get rid of him as soon as possible. He's had long enough to break the record and hasn't done it.