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2015-16 Performances

View full 2015-16 profile

5.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
41
Goals
15
Assists
6
Yellow cards
5
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Ixion said:
I don't think that gives Ronaldo the credit he deserves. You can tell he spends a lot of time in the gym and on his physique and I believe he doesn't drink alcohol. You can tell Rooney is more from the Ricky Hatton school of fitness.
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From what I've read, Ronaldo is an incredible trainer and lives a "clean" life (i.e. no booze / cigs). I do think that he's also "genetically gifted" - Rooney is very different, and probably works harder than he is given credit for in terms of keeping trim etc.

I just think years and years of playing at a top level will take its toll quicker on Rooney, and we're starting to see the inevitable decline a few years earlier than we will with Ronaldo, who either due to genetics or sheer attitude/work rate has retained that level of explosiveness and will likely continue to do so into his early/mid thirties.
 
Summit said:
Rooney, Rooney, wherefore art thou Rooney!

I had actually forgotten just how awesome he used to be.
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The sad part is how far he's regressed and the annoying part is that we'd probably win the league this season if we had that Rooney in the side. Was one hell of a player.
 
When a player starts to decline physically, he starts to change his game in order to use his brain more and rely less on his legs. Rooney hasn't done that sadly.

Heardy said:
From what I've read, Ronaldo is an incredible trainer and lives a "clean" life (i.e. no booze / cigs). I do think that he's also "genetically gifted" - Rooney is very different, and probably works harder than he is given credit for in terms of keeping trim etc.

I just think years and years of playing at a top level will take its toll quicker on Rooney, and we're starting to see the inevitable decline a few years earlier than we will with Ronaldo, who either due to genetics or sheer attitude/work rate has retained that level of explosiveness and will likely continue to do so into his early/mid thirties.
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I think genetics are always an excuse (not by you in this post but in general) to justify one person's exceptional fitness.
 
Treble said:
There is a simple explanation why LVG plays Rooney despite his poor form. It is not because Rooney is valuable to the team even when he puts in mediocre performances. And it is not because he expects Rooney to become world class again. LVG isn't that stupid. His motivation is related to the history of his failures at Barca and Bayern. When you look at the reasons behind his unsuccessful periods at those clubs, you see that he lost the plot in his relationship with the team. He is a smart guy and has understood his mistake. In order to avoid such a development at United, he regards his relationship with Rooney as key to controlling the team and avoiding the bad scenario from Barca and Bayern. It's about politics. LvG doesn't want to get the sack again because of losing the plot in his relationship with the team.
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There is definatley something in this. He sees Rooney, Carrick and Smalling as the English / old united back bone. Had Rooney been fit for the Liverpool game I am certain Schniderlin would have started but with Rooney out he wanted Carrick in there.

Its sensible if it doesn't hinder us. The problem being I think Herrera would press quicker and higher than Rooney, he's linked better with Memphis, Martial and definitely Mata. His passing is far superior and dare I say it, but he is arguably more of a goal threat.
 
For too long people said it was just poor form, but maybe he has seriously declined. It's up to him to prove himself now but if he cant, he should become a bench player. We need good strikers especially now that we're short upfront and there is no way he's going to score 20 goals this season like this. Not even 10
 
The last time he played consistently well was the first half of Moyes Season. That's more than just bad form.
 
For me he was the best outfield player last season overall.

His game and his body have lost some of their youthful zip and he and van Gaal have to work out how he is going to adapt. He could do worse than work with Giggs who has been there and done that.
 
I didn't realise that getting fat meant your touch and desire went too. Stop giving him excuses guys, he just turned Torres on us. No one has a reason or excuse for Torres turning shite from 2010 on wards.
 
Heardy said:
I still think Rooney has glimpses of that early magic, but I think his age/genetics have caught up with him.

I don't think he has the longevity of Ronaldo, who is a genetic/physical beast. Ronnie is an athlete, whereas Rooney, if he wasn't training daily would likely be about 16/17 stone. These are his genetics:


He is still a very good player, but let's not kid ourselves he is still able to do the things he was doing 12-14 years ago.

Rooney is underrated by too many United fans, but I think his game needs to evolve, like Giggs had to. I don't think he's got 25-30 goals a season in him, but he's still got a great eye for a pass and could probably do a job in a deeper role and let Martial / Memphis do the running.
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This is code for lets play him in midfield. United have just revamped the midfield in the space of 3 transfer windows after years of neglect. If United want to compete with the bigger clubs in Europe let alone the PL, playing a declining Rooney in his 30's in midfield should not be a option.
 
For me the most important business next summer must be selling Rooney.We won't progress back to the position of a top club with him playing every week and he isn't going to be backup with his wage and insistence to play every game.Used to be great for us but like other great players in the past, he'll have to move on someday.
 
psychdelicblues said:
This is code for lets play him in midfield. United have just revamped the midfield in the space of 3 transfer windows after years of neglect. If United want to compete with the bigger clubs in Europe let alone the PL, playing a declining Rooney in his 30's in midfield should not be a option.
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I assumed last year firmly put to bed any ideas on that experiment.

lets bench Basti, and let the white Pele do his ping to the wing
 
We have always debated what his best position is for most of his career. But for most of his career, the qualies he brought on the pitch demanded he had to be on the pitch. He was worth the hassle. I don't think he is now.
 
Adisa said:
We have always debated what his best position is for most of his career. But for most of his career, the qualies he brought on the pitch demanded he had to be on the pitch. He was worth the hassle. I don't think he is now.
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It used to be 'what role should Rooney play for the sake of the team'. Now it's almost 'what role should the team give Rooney for the sake of Rooney'.
 
clarkydaz said:
I assumed last year firmly put to bed any ideas on that experiment.

lets bench Basti, and let the white Pele do his ping to the wing
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It is a vicious cycle. He's playing bad as No.10 so he needs to go and play deeper. But considering that he would be shit as a midfielder, people will say that he is being sacrificed for the team and should always play as a No.9 cause he has 25-30 goals on him. Then he'll go and play as a striker but be shit, so people will say that he needs to play as No.10 cause that is his best position. Repeat!

Well, at least this has been the story of the last 2-3 years.
 
Revan said:
It is a vicious cycle. He's playing bad as No.10 so he needs to go and play deeper. But considering that he would be shit as a midfielder, people will say that he is being sacrificed for the team and should always play as a No.9 cause he has 25-30 goals on him. Then he'll go and play as a striker but be shit, so people will say that he needs to play as No.10 cause that is his bad position. Repeat!

Well, at least this has been the story of the last 2-3 years.
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Sadly this is very close to the truth.
 
Revan said:
It is a vicious cycle. He's playing bad as No.10 so he needs to go and play deeper. But considering that he would be shit as a midfielder, people will say that he is being sacrificed for the team and should always play as a No.9 cause he has 25-30 goals on him. Then he'll go and play as a striker but be shit, so people will say that he needs to play as No.10 cause that is his best position. Repeat!

Well, at least this has been the story of the last 2-3 years.
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In short: he's finished.
 
The-Natural said:
In short: he's finished.
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That remains to be seen. He can probably still do a job. Be it as supporting crew to the young players, or even as a squad player.

But 'Rooney the superstar, one of the best in the world' hasn't been the case for a few seasons now.
 
Wayne is one of my all-time favorite United players. The pace, the ability but also the anger he played with in his younger years made him and Ronaldo one of my favorite duos in United history. With that being said, as much as I still want him to play and do well, it just hasn't been happening and it's frustrating to see really. Despite the troubles we've had with him over the years, he's been with us for a long time and you always want those players to fare well.
 
Very good goal. Difficult to judge the team's whole performance due to stream issues, but still deserves credit for his goal.

Unfortunately, he won't get it from many.
 
A great take down, good physical strength and tidy finish for the goal. My stream has been sh*t and intermittent so I can't offer much more of an opinion.
 
Shocked he managed to control it so well. Finished it nicely as well. Credit where credit is due.
 
Good to see he's scored again after Brugge. Can't help but notice all his goals are against shite opposition but hopefully it spurs him to perform much better in the real games.
 
Took his goal very well but his overall performance was no better than what we've seen from him all season.
 
6 goals and an assist in 10 games for club and country this season.

Or 6 goals in his last 6 games, if you like.

Good as ever, the boy:

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Good goal but its a Championship side, he'll get proper praise when he strings a decent run together in the League.
 
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