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2015-16 Performances

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5.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
41
Goals
15
Assists
6
Yellow cards
5
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I think it was a great performance, except one defensive mistake. He was tired and didn't track back, so Russia got into the box, but Cahill was there to rescue the team. Also unlucky he didn't score.
Year by year it seems like Rooney is better when coming late in the box. He needs space on and off the ball.

P.S.: That's what his pass to the right wing is needed for. If it's not useless Valencia who receives then it counts as a fantastic ball.
 
I don't think he had a great game but it pretty much went pair shaped when he went off.
 
Thought he did quite well, shouldn't have come off unless he was totally gassed.
 
In the first half when England had Russia pinned back he played some great passes, showing real variety. In the second when Russia got on the front foot he struggled to make space against the press and was much less effective, this is where the problem will come in a lot of PL games..
 
SirAF said:
Thought he did quite well, shouldn't have come off unless he was totally gassed.
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In fact, Wilshere came in and tried the most difficult pass in each and every attack. This destroyed the free flowing football that Rooney established.

These are things I didn't expect to say before the match started.
 
Not sure what others were seeing. He was good in the second half of the first half. Because he had space. But it wasn't a great game from him by any means and playing him means England lining up quite defensively.
 
I think the problem with Rooney is no one knows how good he is. He has divided the entire fanbase and possibly journalists as well into good and poor category. So much so, that I myself am not very confident about my judgement of his performance. I personally felt he was good today. Better in 1st and a bid tired in 2nd.
 
anant said:
I think the problem with Rooney is no one knows how good he is. He has divided the entire fanbase and possibly journalists as well into good and poor category. So much so, that I myself am not very confident about my judgement of his performance. I personally felt he was good today. Better in 1st and a bid tired in 2nd.
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he was good today no question. the question is all these games are against crap opposition so far, relegation fodder and tonight Russia were even below that. Plus he tends to fade in the second half regardless. Being taken off today might be telltale to his physical shape at top level. Was surprised Roy actually had the balls to do it
 
clarkydaz said:
he was good today no question. the question is all these games are against crap opposition so far, relegation fodder and tonight Russia were even below that. Plus he tends to fade in the second half regardless. Being taken off today might be telltale to his physical shape at top level. Was surprised Roy actually had the balls to do it
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Maybe Woy was trying to show he got balls with that move, just it backfired as he won't do the same to Kane and Sterling/llama.
 
Bastian said:
Not sure what others were seeing. He was good in the second half of the first half. Because he had space. But it wasn't a great game from him by any means and playing him means England lining up quite defensively.
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Which they really ought to do; they're not exactly free-flowing offensively anyway, and the defence is equally suspect. Scrapping through matches with defensive resolution is normally what can get teams far in International tournaments. van Gaal did so with Netherlands who vastly overachieved and ended third in the tournament.
 
Bastian said:
Not sure what others were seeing. He was good in the second half of the first half. Because he had space. But it wasn't a great game from him by any means and playing him means England lining up quite defensively.
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England lined up defensively?

England had 5 attack minded players on the pitch in the forward and midfield positions and two very attacking full backs.

Tonight's line up is the polar opposite of defensive which is kind of show in the number of chances the team created.
 
Rooney can play deeper in midfield just as Lampard did. It's really not a problem for him it's easy. Shocking that he got hooked especially when England needed composure but that's Roy Hodgson for you.
 
Average performance. He somehow gets praised way more than what he actually shows, both for the club and national team.
 
Rooney played very well'he is still a very good footballer and should have not been taken off as his experience was needed to see off the Russians,I think Roy took him off to please the press and the anti-Rooney brigade
 
Decent/Good performance. Unlucky not to score (top save tbh). Did well and I think its the only way he should play next season for United (deep lying midfielder next to somebody like he did today with Dier (eg maybe with Morgan).
Then with somebody ahead of them (like they did with Ali - so maybe Herrera). From that deep he gets more time which helps him especially if he has runners and width out wide (Shaw and whoever is RB eg TonyV)
 
VorZakone said:
Not sure what was so good. It was just average.
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This. What he showed today would not be enough for any PL team in that position. You have to consider how much space and time the Russians gave him.
 
rooney2009 said:
Rooney played very well'he is still a very good footballer and should have not been taken off as his experience was needed to see off the Russians,I think Roy took him off to please the press and the anti-Rooney brigade
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Sure, Roy went into his first game of this Euros thinking this. I'm sure it had nothing to do with his performance.
 
Not sure you can say that Rooney disappeared in the second half when he was denied from opening the scoring by a fantastic Akinfeev save and also played a good forward ball into the path of Alli leading to the freekick from which Dier scored.
 
Thought he did really well, but he should be embarrassed about his fitness levels. Too many footballers have such poor fitness that it is truly remarkable considering they are supposedly top athletes. Also, he was great in the first half when Russia gave him acres of space, but once they started playing like a PL team with high intensity pressing, Rooney struggled.
 
Guess I was watching a different game to the majority of Rooney fans then.

Thought the lineup was shocking for a start. Couldn't believe he dropped arguably the player of the season and changed the formation to accommodate Rooney. This was Van Gaal's problem last season. He flat-out REFUSED to drop Rooney. Even if when he failed to score in 12 games, he remained the first name on the team sheet. And look where that got Van Gaal? If it wasn't for Rashford, he would still be starting up top for us.

It's no surprise though. Vardy isn't a "name", just like Noble and Drinkwater aren't "names". Hodgson doesn't pick players in form, especially ones that play for "small" teams like Leicester and West Ham.

I thought he had an average game. It was probably a 5/10 performance all things considered. He didn't play bad and he didn't play good. But some people on twitter were claiming he was the best player on the pitch? :confused: Dier, Walker and Alli were all comfortably ahead of him.

He had two shots. One was struck well in fairness but hit right at the keeper. The second (although a good save by the keeper)... IMO, should have been put away.

I guess I've come to expect it from the media now. No matter what Rooney does, he's always 'the best player on the pitch'. I knew when he was substituted, people would say "Why did he take him off? We would have won if Rooney was on the pitch!" - It's typical really. I guess some of these fans have short memories. How many times did we lose this season with Rooney on the pitch? What about the World Cup in 2014? I don't recall him being left out back then.

IMO the result would have been the same if Rooney was on the pitch tonight. England just aren't good enough. And a big reason of that is because they constantly make decisions like they made today.

I've seen Wayne Rooney's good games and tonight wasn't one of them. To say otherwise would be completely biased. If England want to win matches, they will play a more BALANCED team. No more putting a striker in CM. Play a diamond with Kane and Vardy up top, and maybe Sterling or Barkley behind with Alli/Wilshere/Dier in the middle. That's my opinion.
 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
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Fantastic performance, watched it live. Really looking promising for United for next season, slot him in behind a front striker and give him the free role with two behind him, two beside him and one in front of him and I think he will thrive. Imagine how many times he's going to arrive at the edge of the area unmarked and have a shot at goal. Lucky Akinfeev made a couple of absolute worldy's tonight.

rooney2009 said:
Rooney played very well'he is still a very good footballer and should have not been taken off as his experience was needed to see off the Russians,I think Roy took him off to please the press and the anti-Rooney brigade
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I think so as well, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. "Why didn't he take Rooney off and bring somebody else on with legs".. Concede late 1-1 "why did Roy take Rooney off omg!!!", still Rooney at the heart of a promising performance from the team with a great contribution himself bodes well for the rest of the tournament. I really hope that late goal doesn't knock the stuffing out of the English advance at the Euro, I think it will have an impact on Rooney for United at the start of next season if they have a poor tournament and endure a summer of brutal scapegoating (which is nailed on if they go out at the groups).
 
littlepeasoup said:
Fair enough, but I actually thought he brought players into the game really well. The things England didn't do so well were the decision making on the flanks and some generally sloppy play in the final third. Thought the balance was fine with Rooney orchestrating things.
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It wasn't a bad choice to play Rooney where he played him but I still could imagine better set ups without him and more difficult games will come up so it can cost England like it cost United champions league. And I'm not saying he's alone to blame but he should be played only in certain games if he has to start at all
 
Ole'sbodyguard said:
England lined up defensively?

England had 5 attack minded players on the pitch in the forward and midfield positions and two very attacking full backs.

Tonight's line up is the polar opposite of defensive which is kind of show in the number of chances the team created.
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It's more defensive than to field 2 strikers who scored 40+ goals in the league, IMV. It's less balanced too. I remind people, this is a Russia squad that is decimated with injuries.
 
Wasn't able to catch the Wales-Slovakia game.. how do we think he'll fare against their midfields? Do they sit back like Russia or will they press him more like a typical PL team?
 
As ever with any thread about Rooney people exaggerate his performances positively or negatively (some on the negative side as usual do so to the extreme).

For a striker playing out of position in a big international tournament match i thought he played really well. Not brilliant but well enough, England went to shit when he was taken off with his replacement Wilshire taking too many risks and affecting Englands tempo that Rooney had been setting.
 
I thought he played damn well. Could easily have scored 2 great goals with a little more luck.
 
One of the best midfielder's in the world when the oppositions game plan is to treat him like he has a deadly incurable disease that can be transmitted from 20 yards.
 
He had a good game, was one of England's better players....the fact that Russia were completely useless helped though
 
I'm a tough critic of Rooney but I thought he put in a solid performance (about a 6 for me), at least in the first half. But we have to keep in mind the quality of the opposition and its tactics. He was given space and he did well with it, until he no longer had space. I'm still concerned about fitness. This has to be his last international tournament.

If we're looking ahead to how Rooney might perform in this role for an entire season against EPL sides, it's not going to be pretty.
 
Mancunia_Religion said:
Rooney can play deeper in midfield just as Lampard did. It's really not a problem for him it's easy. Shocking that he got hooked especially when England needed composure but that's Roy Hodgson for you.
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He had the face of a tomato by the time he came off and was clearly flagging. He was becoming lax because of that, which is why he got the hook, imo.
Rossa said:
Thought he did really well, but he should be embarrassed about his fitness levels. Too many footballers have such poor fitness that it is truly remarkable considering they are supposedly top athletes. Also, he was great in the first half when Russia gave him acres of space, but once they started playing like a PL team with high intensity pressing, Rooney struggled.
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Don't think this is fair. He's learning a new position on the hop and energy conservation is an art in itself. Rooney expends too much needless energy and tires himself out in the process; that does not necessarily point towards a lack of fitness but rather a naive approach to playing in midfield. He'll surely learn over time to better manage his tank if he plays there full time. He's going from the 100m or 200m to the 400m to 800m that midfield is, it's a different discipline give him time to adjust to it if you're being objective.
 
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