Wayne Rooney, The Midfield General? Mourinho Says No.

[Djemba-Djemba]

No it just means he will start upfront for the first half of the season until Jose sees it doesn't work out and finishes the season with him in the midfield.

You are delusional if you think in anyway those quotes would mean Rooney is an inch closer to the exit door. The contrary might be true.

Alot of people are setting themselves up for a big disappointment. Rooney will be a United player till the end of his contract, maybay longer after that and he will somehow be shoe-horned into the team. Changing the manager, doesn't change anything about that, it just seems to take awhile for any new manager to get used to the fact that Wayne isn't a striker anymore and they only see that after 6 months, after which they eventually turn around and play him in the midfield anyway.

Mourinho just explicitly said Rooney will never be a midfielder under him. Just because idiots like Moyes, Van Gaal and Hodgson did it doesn't mean Jose will.

I think with the Europa League and the Carling Cup Rooney will probably scrape between 10 and 15 goals again. Which isn't enough.

 

[shamans]

Rashford played very impressively when playing upfront in a crap team. Attributes can make a difference

Rooney was also playing well in the team which saw Rashford playing well though.

 

[The red panther]

Mourinho just explicitly said Rooney will never be a midfielder under him. Just because idiots like Moyes, Van Gaal and Hodgson did it doesn't mean Jose will.

I think with the Europa League and the Carling Cup Rooney will probably scrape between 10 and 15 goals again. Which isn't enough.

Van Gaal also said he saw Rooney as a striker and that was his natural position instead of the midfield. 6 months later he said the opposite.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Van Gaal also said he saw Rooney as a striker and that was his natural position instead of the midfield. 6 months later he said the opposite.

Van Gaal also played Ashley Young up front.

I wouldn't be betting on Jose doing that as well.

 

[Adisa]

Van Gaal also said he saw Rooney as a striker and that was his natural position instead of the midfield. 6 months later he said the opposite.

Yes. That is why Van Gaal is now unemployed.

 

[Amar__]

He'll probably start the season with him as a number 10, but I am just glad he said this:

This here tells me the difference between him and van Gaal immediately.

Hopefully people will finally learn what defines a good midfielder. I said that couple of times, I seriously don't get how people don't understand the midfield role and can't see that Rooney simply isn't made for it, he lacks so many things to play in midfield. Midfield isn't just running the most and spraying diagonal passes at every possible situation.

As for his position in general, I believe we'll again have the same problem with him behind Ibrahimovic as we had with him and van Persie, they simply don't complement each other, but only this time I don't see us dropping Ibrahimovic instead of him. Ibrahimovic is easily the better player and better striker, and if they don't fit together there simply won't be a place for him on the pitch anymore, but I can see Mourinho sticking with it for at least 2 months, but I doubt he'll wait much more for the two to work.

Of course, it would be the best if the 2 worked, so hopefully I am wrong regarding them not complementing each other, but watching them throughout their careers, I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

He'll probably start the season with him as a number 10, but I am just glad he said this:



This here tells me the difference between him and van Gaal immediately.

Hopefully people will finally learn what defines a good midfielder. I said that couple of times, I seriously don't get how people don't understand the midfield role and can't see that Rooney simply isn't made for it, he lacks so many things to play in midfield. Midfield isn't just running the most and spraying diagonal passes at every possible situation.

As for his position in general, I believe we'll again have the same problem with him behind Ibrahimovic as we had with him and van Persie, they simply don't complement each other, but only this time I don't see us dropping Ibrahimovic instead of him. Ibrahimovic is easily the better player and better striker, and if they don't fit together there simply won't be a place for him on the pitch anymore, but I can see Mourinho sticking with it for at least 2 months, but I doubt he'll wait much more for the two to work.

Of course, it would be the best if the 2 worked, so hopefully I am wrong regarding them not complementing each other, but watching them throughout their careers, I wouldn't bet on it.

It's his defenders on here who refuse to see his decline and insist he be played for the sake of it and accuse anyone of naysaying of having an "agenda". What about now retards? Hell I could probably name tag a few of them here but I won't.

He's definitely going to play Rooney up top with Zlatan. This time there is no wiggle room for his shit. If he doesn't perform, he's done.

 

[Amar__]

It's his defenders on here who refuse to see his decline and insist he be played for the sake of it and accuse anyone of naysaying of having an "agenda". What about now retards? Hell I could probably name tag a few of them here but I won't.

Yeah, that's what I hated too. His threads were impossible to read or discuss after his few "good games" in midfield.

 

[Adisa]

 

[phepheshane]

I am looking forward to seeing Rooney play upfront in a team that is not total crap. To me, that is what will answer if he's finished or just unable to perform well in the team we had.

Very true. Some of the excuses being made up for him were that he wasn't getting the service from the midfield.
I hope he does the business goal-wise because it will also mean Manchester United is doing well too.

 

[shamans]

It's his defenders on here who refuse to see his decline and insist he be played for the sake of it and accuse anyone of naysaying of having an "agenda". What about now retards? Hell I could probably name tag a few of them here but I won't.

Some posters definitely had, and still have, an agenda. I am talking about those posters that would say "ah good performance....but the opposition is shite, Rooney is shite, he gave away the ball once and he's shite" even when he had a good game.

So... your post really means nothing.

 

[Gio]

It's pretty clear Rooney will have to flank Ibrahimovic. There was going to be any space in a Mourinho midfield for Rooney - he wants them to be defensively diligent, compact, efficient on the ball (i.e. all the things Rooney isn't). Assuming a typical Mourinho 4-2-1-3, either side of the big man is going to be the only space in the team.

 

[devilish]

That's why we've got Martial and Rashford upfront and Herrera, Mkhitaryan and co competing for no 10

 

[JPRouve]

Just watch Rooney pull his fingers out and perform at a high level behind Ibrahimovic.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

The FA Cup Final was testimonial style?

Regardless, it seemed a bit of a power play by Mourinho to me. Letting Wayne know he is the boss, end of.

 

[WyoManU]

I don't think Rooney has been good enough for several years, and he will only continue to slow down. There is this myth that he is a great passer of the ball. If you count long balls out to the right every time great, fine...but he can't pick the passes in the middle of the pitch where it matters. He has a lot of heart and works hard but for me he is done.

 

[sullydnl]

Glad that we got a firm answer on this anyway. Good to know.

 

[Wolverine]

Technically Wayne Rooney is fine, but he's too slow. Cross field passes to Valencia don't mean much when he slows down our attacking play so much. Would much rather have sharper and pacier players around Ibrahimovic. It's the only way we'll break teams down. Will be interesting to see how Mourinho handles Rooney.

 

[Freak]

Just watch Rooney pull his fingers out and perform at a high level behind Ibrahimovic.

Think that was the message Jose was sending to Rooney as well - no more special treatment, pull your fingers out and start performing where I tell you to play.

 

[Hed Zitin]

Rooney better be on the bench. He's finished as a forward. Not dropping Ivanovic last season is concerning in that regard.

 

[Kill 'em all]

Technically Wayne Rooney is fine, but he's too slow. Cross field passes to Valencia don't mean much when he slows down our attacking play so much. Would much rather have sharper and pacier players around Ibrahimovic. It's the only way we'll break teams down. Will be interesting to see how Mourinho handles Rooney.

No, technically he's one of the worst. He would be able to cope with being slow if he was technically good but he can't make a good first touch if his life depended on it.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

I liked this line a lot.

Pundits always wank themselves silly when he makes one or two cross field passes and forget the 10 that he screws up.

 

[DanClancy]

Technically Wayne Rooney is fine, but he's too slow. Cross field passes to Valencia don't mean much when he slows down our attacking play so much. Would much rather have sharper and pacier players around Ibrahimovic. It's the only way we'll break teams down. Will be interesting to see how Mourinho handles Rooney.

Technically Rooney is very average, his pace and acceleration was a huge part of what made him a top player.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Glad that we got a firm answer on this anyway. Good to know.

Yes, i think its pretty telling that Mourinho gave such a clear and firm answer, when he could have easily said something along the lines of needing to evaluate options etc.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

Some posters definitely had, and still have, an agenda. I am talking about those posters that would say "ah good performance....but the opposition is shite, Rooney is shite, he gave away the ball once and he's shite" even when he had a good game.

So... your post really means nothing.

It actually doesn't. You refer to the people who do acknowledge a good performance whenever Rooney put in one but tempered it with criticism such as "but it was against poor opposition" or "still gave the ball away". Are those posters wrong for balancing their praise with skepticism? Have not they been proven right in that the further the competition went Rooney started to have little or negative impact? Can you blame them for being skeptical when Rooney has underperformed for the majority of the last three seasons? It's not like they didn't credit Rooney at all. It doesn't speak of an agenda when people still throw in skepticism when praising Rooney because he is more consistently crap than he is consistently good. Are they wrong to say he is still shite? When you look at the amount of games he HAS thrown in which are decent (and let's not even talk about the shiteously low standards for which Wayne is judged), it is fair to say that he is not a top footballer anymore. You sound like one of the crybabies who gets upset when Rooney doesn't get trophies for turning in a performance any other player would be expected to in his position.

 

[devilish]

Technically Rooney is very average, his pace and acceleration was a huge part of what made him a top player.

I think what he really lacks is brains. He always seem to drop too deep and chase the ball when he doesn't need to.

 

[Riz]

Or Zlatan at 10 and Rashford at 9. depends how Rooney does at 10

We won't play Zlatan as a 10.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Some posters definitely had, and still have, an agenda. I am talking about those posters that would say "ah good performance....but the opposition is shite, Rooney is shite, he gave away the ball once and he's shite" even when he had a good game.

So... your post really means nothing.

Maybe his post means he has an agenda. Don't pass it off as meaning nothing when you could easily label it an agenda. You're missing a trick there.

Basically what you're saying is that anyone who doesn't lower their standards to suit Wayne's performance has an agenda against him.

 

[DanClancy]

I think what he really lacks is brains. He always seem to drop too deep and chase the ball when he doesn't need to.

I'm lost to what his qualities are these days. When he was younger he could get away with running round the pitch and closing players down but he just can't do it anymore and he's noway near as technically gifted as Scholes or Giggs to change his game to remain a United player. This year will be his last if he makes it that far. Rooney wants to break the goalscoring record here, if he'd done it last season I think he'd have left.

 

[MoskvaRed]

Rooney better be on the bench. He's finished as a forward. Not dropping Ivanovic last season is concerning in that regard.

Ivanovic's form fell off a cliff last season IIRC - he had been highly dependable in 14-15 and so it's understandable that Mourinho showed him excessive loyalty. Rooney has been under par for so long that it's no longer a debate around his form but a matter of unambiguous irreversible decline. I don't think Mourinho will side step the issue.

 

[Devil may care]

Jose, the first man paid to work professionally in football to point out that a long ball out to the wing does not make someone a CM.

The worrying aspect is him playing as a #10 as that fecks up the 4-3-3 and will also damage Carrick's use as he can't cope in a double pivot, his best games last season were when we moved back to 4-3-3, plus Pogba, if he happens, is best in a 3 man midfield right now.

 

[devilish]

I'm lost to what his qualities are these days. When he was younger he could get away with running round the pitch and closing players down but he just can't do it anymore and he's noway near as technically gifted as Scholes or Giggs to change his game to remain a United player. This year will be his last if he makes it that far. Rooney wants to break the goalscoring record here, if he'd done it last season I think he'd have left.

In his first years with us he was at par with Ronaldo. Then Ronaldo bulked up, he learnt to control his nature in dribbling himself out of the game and became world class. Rooney was never able to improve to that pace and he actually regressed once his pace and his workrate started to falter.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Technically Wayne Rooney is fine, but he's too slow. Cross field passes to Valencia don't mean much when he slows down our attacking play so much. Would much rather have sharper and pacier players around Ibrahimovic. It's the only way we'll break teams down. Will be interesting to see how Mourinho handles Rooney.

Also what if it is a different type of RB, that is Rooney's signature pass gone for a burton.

 

[rcoobc]

What a quote

 

[Red Stone]

I liked this line a lot.

Pundits always wank themselves silly when he makes one or two cross field passes and forget the 10 that he screws up.

That does my head in. In the Iceland game he hit a long ball out to Walker while under zero pressure and the commentator on Norwegian TV was waxing lyrical about the fantastic pass before it had even touched Walker's feet. Even if he had fecked it up and grossly overhit the pass it would have been fantastic just for the vision and creativity alone.

Some random Icelandic player hit virtually the same pass later on in the game and not a word was said. Apparently only Rooney can turn a routine long ball into the greatest thin ever to happen in football.

 

[itso 7]

No it just means he will start upfront for the first half of the season until Jose sees it doesn't work out and finishes the season with him in the midfield.

You are delusional if you think in anyway those quotes would mean Rooney is an inch closer to the exit door. The contrary might be true.

Alot of people are setting themselves up for a big disappointment. Rooney will be a United player till the end of his contract, maybay longer after that and he will somehow be shoe-horned into the team. Changing the manager, doesn't change anything about that, it just seems to take awhile for any new manager to get used to the fact that Wayne isn't a striker anymore and they only see that after 6 months, after which they eventually turn around and play him in the midfield anyway.

Have we just hired a top manager or another pretender? If he is a top manager then he won't stand for the Rooney must play regardless of form nonsense and if he ain't and proceeds to shoehorn him into the side then he will follow the two pretenders that stunk up the place over the past three seasons.

 

[shamans]

Maybe his post means he has an agenda. Don't pass it off as meaning nothing when you could easily label it an agenda. You're missing a trick there.

Basically what you're saying is that anyone who doesn't lower their standards to suit Wayne's performance has an agenda against him.

I am saying anyone who can't call a spade a spade has an agenda. You can admit Rooney had a good performance without wanting him to be a part of Manchester United. That is my point.

 

[Dobbs]

Just watch Rooney pull his fingers out and perform at a high level behind Ibrahimovic.

I'm no Rooney fan but this isn't a question of effort. He gives it his all, he's just not physically capable anymore.

I'd say the No.10 spot is where he struggles the most. Having to work in small spaces at speed is impossible when you've got concrete in your boots.

To me this is Mourinho politely saying he's not good enough anymore.

 

[itso 7]

Maybe his post means he has an agenda. Don't pass it off as meaning nothing when you could easily label it an agenda. You're missing a trick there.

Basically what you're saying is that anyone who doesn't lower their standards to suit Wayne's performance has an agenda against him.

Well said, Sir, well said! It was the same trick that they used on the Giggs v Mourinho debate, if you aren't sentimental and have formed your opinion without being blinded by hero-worshiping you are a hater with an agenda.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Killed the thread, that unruly Maureen.