I like how they say it was a mutual decision. Like Rooney had any influence on it.
Wayne Rooney, The Midfield General? Mourinho Says No.
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We don't have wingers though, that worked for Bayern because Costa and Coman are pure wingers, Martial and Mkhitaryan in particular are not wingers, he's bought 2 players decidedly unsuited to playing with Rooney as a #10 as both like to float into that space.
I'd like to think Jose has thought everything through, right now if he looks at what we have in the 2 he's bought and his intent to bring in Pogba on top of Martial, Herrera and Carrick, we have players all suited to a 4-3-3 and in the case of the latter two reliant on it as neither are suited to the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1.
Rooney should be on his way out but for this season he should come off the bench if we are chasing a game and need to switch to a 4-2-3-1, but for the squad in general we should play 4-3-3 as our main formation and that doesn't fit Rooney as Jose sees him.
I'm glad he got Rooney's permission before he made a fool of himself in public.
A detailed conversation? Like Jose pointed to the formation sheet and said "You're here Wayne" and he went "errrr.......urrrrrm....ok boss"
We can debate what system we think he will play to the cows come home. We can speculate, but we'll not know until the start of the season, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Rooney should have already retired from international football, he's played in 6 major tournaments and only delivered in one of them. It would surely prolong his club career too.
Messi retired after another final defeat and he's not even in his thirties yet.
That. Was. Brutal.
And beautiful. And bold. Lots of B's in fact.
Nobody could have possibly hoped for something that categoric on day 1. No bullshit, just a statement and justification on what is going to happen. Removes all future chance of a sideshow being created.
Absolute clarity on the fact that Rooney will not be used as a midfielder.
He'll play if he's a productive footballer. Which is awesome. My prediction is that he'll start as a 10 in a 4-2-3-1 or wide in a 4-3-3, with the former being the most likely.
Pretty happy that this can be put to bed.
And beautiful. And bold. Lots of B's in fact.
Nobody could have possibly hoped for something that categoric on day 1. No bullshit, just a statement and justification on what is going to happen. Removes all future chance of a sideshow being created.
Absolute clarity on the fact that Rooney will not be used as a midfielder.
He'll play if he's a productive footballer. Which is awesome. My prediction is that he'll start as a 10 in a 4-2-3-1 or wide in a 4-3-3, with the former being the most likely.
Pretty happy that this can be put to bed.
That press conference just killed the Rooney Boom-Bust cycle from starting up again by removing the option of him dropping back into the midfield when his performances as a 9 and 10 are subpar. Jose is doing the next England manager a massive favor.
That's true, I am just going off the players we have in the squad, I think we all agreed we were best as a 4-3-3 last season and the one before, we've not bought anyone that alters the squad dynamic that I can see.
Most probably did agree that 433 is better for our players, but neither one of us are Jose Mourinho.
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I'll expand on what I said earlier in this thread - Jose is no mug and has spoken to Ferguson already. If there is any advice I could imagine Ferguson giving him it's find a way of ditching Rooney and build a new United. It's what Fergie was already trying to do.
So what has Mourinho done? He's taken away the one way Rooney could continue to get away with mediocrity for a little while longer. There will be no "well he played well against Burnley and Hull in midfield" and no transitional period for him to hide behind. He's going to be an attacker now and he will be judged on his statistics. If he's not scoring or assisting he's going to be held accountable and with that in mind I think it's nearly certain he will be finding a new club next summer.
A front four to be picked from Martial, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Rooney and Mourinho has already said he has big hopes for a Rashford - Ibrahimovic combination.
I really do think Mourinho has come to a similar opinion of Rooney as the majority of us on here have and he's not wasting any time marginalising him.
But will England hire someone with bollocks to make such a decision? I can easily see yet another gormless idiot being hired, who again panders to the fancies of Rooney
There's still worries what we'll do with Rooney, but I'm very happy that he won't be counted on as a midfielder.
Mourinho off to a good start in that regard.
Mourinho off to a good start in that regard.
Again that is true but he's not a fool, he signed Carrick to a year extension and if he studied us last season he will know Carrick cannot play in a double pivot and neither can Ander, so immediately not playing 4-3-3 renders two of our CM's ineffective, I just can't fathom a 4-2-3-1 being the choice of an astute manager, unless he has a couple of buys up his sleeve that will change the make-up of our options.
We'll find out soon enough.
Good post.
My thoughts, put more eloquently than I'dmanage.
Rooney's far away from Deco n Sneijder though. Those two were an actual playmakers who could score also.
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Regardless of what I think about Rooney, I'm still hoping a harmonious atmosphere in the team, and focus more on getting back to the top.
Having both Ibra and Rooney as our #9 and #10 offer a fear factor IMO but at the same time I can't see this happening in all games. There must be in some of the games that we need to drop one of them and add more pace like Rashford or Lingard. This happened before when we had Rooney and RVP, Rooney was dropped in some of our games for Welbeck.
You will be hard done trying to find a defender in the Premier League who fears Rooney these days.
Their reputation are the fear factor.
I don't think many prem teams field 64 year old woman in defence.
I'm getting the feeling that Manchester United fans are already creaming themselves over the fact that the club/team/fans have a southern European dictator in charge who is going to take them forcefully like a real man, be rough with them, lay down the law, and actually hurt them when he feels it necessary.
Of course his press buddies will say that.
Hah, I loved what Mourinho said about Rooney:
Looking back at the early parts of the thread, quite a few posters called it too, though I suppose it's not a surprise either. Still think you all are better off selling him.
Looking back at the early parts of the thread, quite a few posters called it too, though I suppose it's not a surprise either. Still think you all are better off selling him.
he was doing it in the Moyes season, pretty much since Scholes left the building. Its been highlighted more over the last few months as he has milked it in his midfield audition
Think I read somewhere that Mourinho played a diamond before at Inter? (very vague memory of this) Is this a possibility for us?
Carrick
Carrick
It is a bit mystifying and surprising to us all regarding the formation. Other than 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 are there any other possibilities he might use to solve this conundrum?
Mourinho literally said he doesnt see Rooney as an 8 or a 6. He said he sees Rooney as a player that has to play closer to the goal and not 50m from it because of his hunger for goals but because his playing style has changed he is not going to be an out and out striker aswell. He is most likely going to be a 10 or a 9,5 in the team.
Pretty certain now he will start with an attack with these 4:
Mkhitaryan Rooney Martial
Ibrahimovic
So much for Rooney's reinvention as a midfielder then 
The delusion of his fanboys is something else really.
For the record, he is not good enough to play as a playmaker/forward for United. He was looking good in midfield in some games because he had more space and time vs average opposition. Given his very average ability in tight spaces, unimpressive first touch, loss of explosiviness and flexibility, he will struggle as a No 10. Of course, he may have some very good games and score/assists few goals but over the course of the whole season he would be a disaster there.
Good start for Mourinho.
The delusion of his fanboys is something else really.
For the record, he is not good enough to play as a playmaker/forward for United. He was looking good in midfield in some games because he had more space and time vs average opposition. Given his very average ability in tight spaces, unimpressive first touch, loss of explosiviness and flexibility, he will struggle as a No 10. Of course, he may have some very good games and score/assists few goals but over the course of the whole season he would be a disaster there.
Good start for Mourinho.
OMG not this shite again. LVG played him as the main striker last season didnt he, how many goals did he score ?
Main point of us sacking LVG was his complete and utter failure to facilitate the team to score goals. His decision to use Rooney as a striker last season was a key failure.
We now have a new manager and you expect him to make the same key mistake that got the last one sacked ? Do you really never learn ? The Rooney that could score 30 goals a season is well and truely burried together with the Rooney that could score 20. We would be lucky if he gets to 10 goals these days and to do that hell have to play almost every minute as a striker. The guy is no striker anymore, neither is he a real midfielder, he is always been something in between and the position most suited for something in between is the 10. That is where hell play not the 9. We have Zlatan and Rashford for god sake, ofcourse he is not going to be the 9.
From what I've read, people only seem to be taking JM's comments in the context of how they effect Rooney... when in fact they were probably said for the benefit of any potential new midfield signing, and the genuine central midfielders already at the club. Until that comment, Morgan, Michael, Bastian, Ander, might have felt they were going to be competing with Pogba (or whoever ) for a single midfield spot, and the honour of playing beside Wayne Rooney 2.0.
He has just reassured them that they have something worth fighting for.
He has just reassured them that they have something worth fighting for.
I think its obvious that Rooney will be our number 10. Especially after Mourinho ruled him out of a 6, 8 and 9 role (ie centre mid or centre forward).
recollecting Mourinho's words re. a number 10:
With this in mind, I think Rooney will be playing a vital role for Mourinho and won't be dropped. Rooney's defensive efforts go unnoticed sometimes, and I think he'll certainly add better value in an advanced role with Zlatan infront of him. My only concern is that Zlatan prefers to drop into a number 10 role sometimes, and I hope Rooney has the mind to run into pace. I'm sure Martial would.. Mkhitaryan I've seen little of so not sure on his end.
recollecting Mourinho's words re. a number 10:
“With a system of two midfield players and one number 10, I demand a lot from a number 10.
“I like a number 10 to score goals. I like a number 10 to get in the box. I like a number 10 to score goals like Oscar's against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“A number 10 for me is an eight-and-a-half when the team loses the ball, and the number 10 is a nine-and-a-half when the team has the ball.
“Who is my perfect number 10? Wesley Sneijder and Deco. Because they could defend, get in the box and finish goals? Yes.”
“I like a number 10 to score goals. I like a number 10 to get in the box. I like a number 10 to score goals like Oscar's against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“A number 10 for me is an eight-and-a-half when the team loses the ball, and the number 10 is a nine-and-a-half when the team has the ball.
“Who is my perfect number 10? Wesley Sneijder and Deco. Because they could defend, get in the box and finish goals? Yes.”
With this in mind, I think Rooney will be playing a vital role for Mourinho and won't be dropped. Rooney's defensive efforts go unnoticed sometimes, and I think he'll certainly add better value in an advanced role with Zlatan infront of him. My only concern is that Zlatan prefers to drop into a number 10 role sometimes, and I hope Rooney has the mind to run into pace. I'm sure Martial would.. Mkhitaryan I've seen little of so not sure on his end.
So much for Rooney's reinvention as a midfielder then
The delusion of his fanboys is something else really.
For the record, he is not good enough to play as a playmaker/forward for United. He was looking good in midfield in some games because he had more space and time vs average opposition. Given his very average ability in tight spaces, unimpressive first touch, loss of explosiviness and flexibility, he will struggle as a No 10. Of course, he may have some very good games and score/assists few goals but over the course of the whole season he would be a disaster there.
Good start for Mourinho.
You are bashing the so called delusional fanboys for thinking Rooney will be a forward now. And praising Mourinho for saying Rooney wont be a midfielder under him.
Are you conveniently leaving out the rest of what Mourinho said or did you not see the entire conference ? He praised Rooney for his hunger of goals and said he needs to play much closer to goal. He never said he would drop Rooney.
In your own words Mourinho was sounding as a delusional Rooney fanboy more than anything else. He didnt break Rooney down as a midfielder or as a player, he just said he is much better as a forward and just set us up for a start of the season with Rooney on the 10. That should be clear as day by now.
Exactly, Mourinho has cleverly announced that Rooney is going to be on the bench, disguising it as a dig at Van Gaal. With his is salary, making a real midfielder out of him was worth a try, but it turned out he's not good enough for that either. As a midfielder, including 10, het might be good enough for a midtable side, as a striker, most bottom feeders have better options.
If we plan on playing Rooney as a CM, then we need to sign a world class DM to compensate for his lack of awareness, close-control and short-passing. We'd also need a no.10/winger(depending on where Mkhitaryan will play).
If we plan on playing Rooney as a no.10, then we need to sign a world class box-to-box midfielder to compensate for his lack of explosiveness and penetration.
If we plan on playing Rooney as a striker, then....HAH! Never gonna happen.
All in all, none of the options are even close to ideal. But if we were to get Pogba(for instance), then Rooney as a no.10 could potentially work. But I seriously doubt it.
If we plan on playing Rooney as a no.10, then we need to sign a world class box-to-box midfielder to compensate for his lack of explosiveness and penetration.
If we plan on playing Rooney as a striker, then....HAH! Never gonna happen.
All in all, none of the options are even close to ideal. But if we were to get Pogba(for instance), then Rooney as a no.10 could potentially work. But I seriously doubt it.
I am definitely hoping for that. It was lacking last season and hopefully Jose will bring back the old siege mentality into the team. Have them all fighting for each other. I think last season they were all too scared by the manager with regards to their own jobs that it stifled them to death.
Sneijder, Deco and Oscar are all technically miles better than Rooney. As is Mkhitaryan, who also scored more than Rooney last season despite the latter playing as a striker for much of the season.
I just hope he gets played on performance and nothing else. I'm sick of watching him shoved into different positions, like a sprout on a child's dinner plate. Sink or swim time, I hope!
Oscar has been pretty anonymous for a while imo. I don't know why he's so highly rated. He has his moments but never quite understood the hype.