I keep reading after every good performance on here that he won't be able to do it against better teams. But I don't see these better teams coming really. He's been doing well for a while now.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 41
- Goals
- 15
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 5
- Status
Some folk just will never give the guy credit but quick to slag him off. I get why people don't like him but credit should be given when due. He played really well vs Russia and was England's best player end off. All this nonsense about Russia bring weak etc well what about Kane and Sterling?
Anyway, I hope opposing teams continue to think like the fans on here and believe Rooney is rubbish and continue to "give him space". It's good for us.
He had a very good game last night, looked tired in the 2nd half, I think that's why he was subbed.
Played very well in the first half, but if he doesn't start being able to do it for the full 90 then he should be a sub and nothing else,
And in roughly the same period, you've mentioned him in 380 posts, so not a huge difference. It's irrelevant anyway.
And btw you said it yourself he should have been dropped long time ago.
I don't think i've ever said that, actually. But if you can link to the post where I did, okay.
I think what I have said is that, based on form, he could have no real complaints if Kane and/or Vardy were picked ahead of him. I stick by that, because - unlike some of the haterz - I think my opinion on Rooney is generally fair and objective.
And essentially, Kane - who struggled last night, incidentally - *has* been picked ahead of him as the main striker. But Hodgson obviously feels Rooney is still good enough to warrant a place in the side, hence him being picked in midfield. And the general consensus is that he played very well in the role. Some pundits even awarded him Man of the Match.
Of course, for some - naming no names, but i'm sure everyone knows who they are - it'll never really be good enough
Very good performance but I'm still not surprised that there are dozens of morons on here discrediting him.
Interesting and detailed breakdown of his stats from last night, by Sky Sports:
Misplaces too many passes:
Shit first touch:
Can't beat a man:
Positionally suspect:
But joking aside, and while he'll come up against tougher opposition than Russia, it *was* a good performance from him. And he is still, even at his age, learning the role. Perhaps there is 2-3 years in him yet as a good midfielder. Maybe not as the main man, but as someone who can contribute to overall team success. More so for us than for England, who haven't won anything for 50 years anyway.
Misplaces too many passes:
Shit first touch:
Can't beat a man:
Positionally suspect:
But joking aside, and while he'll come up against tougher opposition than Russia, it *was* a good performance from him. And he is still, even at his age, learning the role. Perhaps there is 2-3 years in him yet as a good midfielder. Maybe not as the main man, but as someone who can contribute to overall team success. More so for us than for England, who haven't won anything for 50 years anyway.
A very good performance from him to be fair.
Yet, he still prefers a long ball to the right over more promising passes
I don't think that any translation is needed.
Yet, he still prefers a long ball to the right over more promising passes
I don't think that any translation is needed.
I didn't see the England game but Rooney played well in the last few games for United. But I would still like to see how he does against better teams. This is not to discredit what we does but because he has played in midfield before also and not justified being a permanent first teamer at midfield. So its only natural to be skeptical.
A very good performance from him to be fair.
Yet, he still prefers a long ball to the right over more promising passes
I don't think that any translation is needed.
Walker was 10 times more of a threat and put in better crosses and balls into the box. Even I would have put the ball to him over sterling
Marvelous. This whole "he needs time to adjust to playing in midfield" is going to be the new trending excuse for him. People keep citing his last handful of games where he played better for us but forget about the shite for the rest of the season. Odd.
He does tend to have tunnel vision in that role.
Really unlucky not to score. It was a good hit with the right accuracy, but an absolute freak save by Akinfeev.
The problem is not how good he was last night. Let's assume that he was very good. More important is another question: How long can he maintain a good form? I don't see any evidence from the last 4 years that this Rooney can be good enough for more than 2-3 months per season. Most of the season he isn't good. Two years ago he played many games in midfield under LVG. He was decent at best. United need more than just decent midfielders to compete for the title. The notion that Rooney can improve his performances because this is a new role for him is very dubious. In short, it won't happen.
I was very impressed with Rooney in the last part of the season when he fully adopted this role. And last night I thought he ran the show for much of the game
If he can stay fit and consistent he will be key for us next season. I think Jose will love him
I'm even gonna stick my neck out and say if he continues in this role he will be among the candidates for player of the year next season
If he can stay fit and consistent he will be key for us next season. I think Jose will love him
I'm even gonna stick my neck out and say if he continues in this role he will be among the candidates for player of the year next season
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?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.
What do neutrals find worse the pro or anti Rooney brigade ?
5/10 performance
Only a freak save stopped Rooney from scoring last night, and he ran the game for large periods. Hardly put a single foot wrong. It was easily a sold 8/10 performance. Those giving him 5/10's should watch another sport to save us all the misery of reading your posts.
That was more a miss than a save. It was a pretty normal save for a keeper at the Euros. The goal he conceded was a mistake, no top keeper would concede that goal.
I don't blame him for 'missing' that chance - two defenders were absolutely rushing in to tackle him, so putting him under pressure; it was hardly a sitter.
It wasn't a sitter but it wasn't a freak save either.
It wasn't a freak save looking back at it there but it was a very good one. It could also have easily crept in after the save. Rooney was unlucky not to score.
What do neutrals find worse the pro or anti Rooney brigade ?
5/10 performance
I don't feel strongly about him either way, but I find the anti brigade most annoying. He's still our player and will be for a while, so why keep trying to convince the world how shit he is? It's almost like they want him to suck.
Ive been very, very critical of Rooney this season, as have many others, however, I thought he was brilliant yesterday. Best English player, by a distance, as well.
Its no surprise that everything went to shit after he went off.
It's a lot easier for Wayne's defenders to keep their heads though - he's seemingly undroppable for club & country, so the situation is nowhere near as exasperating for them as it is for Rooney's critics.
In any case, people see things very differently: how often, in Matchday threads, do we read stuff like "We're playing sh*t" immediately followed by another poster stating "Massive improvement by the team"? Often, and rather like the Rooney debate, no party has the monopoly on truth.
wow. you realise he has won 1 player of the month award since about 2010
Yeah, but then you praised him even when he was our worst player so you are not the one to trust to.
As many as Messi then. Player of the month awards mean nothing.
Always seems to convince me that he'll be vital in the next season despite having a mixed season. Hope I'm right this time...
You can't be serious!
No point trying to reason with fanboys.
I thought Rooney played well, I'm not sure where the negativity comes from, in fact, Rooney would be crucified if he played how Kane did against Russia. In midfield he ran the show and did what was required.
Englands 30 year old captain came off as he was tired in the first game of the tournament, that is pathetic. He did ok against a poor Russian defence, don't recall too many incisive passes from though.
Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity
Hardly anti-Rooney. I call it like I see it. He gave a few decent passes but he hardly "controlled the midfield"What do neutrals find worse the pro or anti Rooney brigade ?
5/10 performance
. Russia sat back and invited England to attack for the majority of the game. Of course he got time on the ball.This little dream world some United fans are living in where Rooney is the new Scholes needs to just stop. He'll never be a CM, let alone a Scholes. He's a striker forced into midfield cause he can't be dropped. Nothing more, nothing less.
I give it a 5/10 cause it's in the middle. Giving it a 7 or an 8 would be way too generous.
We literally sold a bunch of top class players like Di Maria, Van Persie, Hernandez, Nani and Falcao to focus on Rooney this season. The majority of those weren't even given a chance under LVG, and look where that got us. If it wasn't for Rashford and Martial, we would be utterly fecked.
Rooney's form from August-January was what cost us the title this season. Continuing to start with him up top when he's failed to score a goal in 12 games... no wonder he got sacked.
Rooney's form from August-January was what cost us the title this season. Continuing to start with him up top when he's failed to score a goal in 12 games... no wonder he got sacked.
Well said. But from the second striker position please.Interesting and detailed breakdown of his stats from last night, by Sky Sports:
Misplaces too many passes:
Shit first touch:
Can't beat a man:
Positionally suspect:
But joking aside, and while he'll come up against tougher opposition than Russia, it *was* a good performance from him. And he is still, even at his age, learning the role. Perhaps there is 2-3 years in him yet as a good midfielder. Maybe not as the main man, but as someone who can contribute to overall team success. More so for us than for England, who haven't won anything for 50 years anyway.
That's not the point though, a ball to a player in a central position, who can then turn AND face the goal is several times more useful than going wide. A half decently drilled team can close the space on the 'good' positions on crossing and the defence will be set for any one-twos, dribbles from wide, crosses etc.
That's why it's so frustrating watching LVG's Utd. You can't 'move' teams out of position by spreading it wide and moving left and right. You NEED movement going towards and AT the goal.
It's why we lament Rooney's shit touch. He's often in central areas and his touch almost always means he can only pass it back or to the sides. Rinse repeat.
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