It's almost like some posters were waiting (hoping) for their first chance to comment on a poor performance.The posts in this thread after a short cameo..
Wayne Rooney, The Midfield General? Mourinho Says No.
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Are you saying Rooney has not done/can't do anything useful with the ball playing in midfield in general? Or are you just talking about his cameo tonight?
Rooney forums on the caf nowadays are mental. The praises and the criticisms are both so over the top. He has a good game and he becomes a potential general. He has a bad game and he's a pub player. He's like the John Cena of our team. Let's go Rooney, Rooney sucks!
That's true but let's be fair. I am a Rooney fan and I am always waiting for him to have a good outing so I can post on here. It's only natural to want to be proven right. That said... it's ridiculous to praise him this much after a cameo. It would be like me saying Rooney deserves to be undroppable again after the Russia performance.
That's why we're stuck with Rooney. Too much exposure to the media = ideal poster boy and commercial cash cow. Any kind of performance of Rooney can get attention.
Strangly enough the player he reminds me of most is Shelvey, they don't run much, are a bit too aggressive, easy to wind up, shout at the ref a lot and like to show off their range of passing with constant pinged cross field balls, occasionally show a flash of class.
Just saying that the option is taken unless...The captain shall always play.
What exactly, he hardly offered anything at all. No threat for the goal, while Rooney was very much unlucky against Russia with his shot hit the bar after a GK save and then had come decent tries against Wales. Did Wilshere created a single chance? A single shot on goal by team-mate? No. Not one. If you look at his passing, it's neither too accurate, nor it is too diverse, it's no wonder he failed to create even a single chance.
In defence his presence was weak with just one tackles, it's not any better than Rooney's. Without Rooney on the field England failed to create almost anything at all, i mean with Wilshere in the center of it or somehow involved. What England did create is Clyne's runs (crosses and chances from them) with Wilshere as a bystander and this Vardy run, from Hendo's pass i think it was. Everything worthwhile kind of went around him, rather than through him. Of course he probably was involved in a couple of good moves, but certainly not enough to leave any sort of mark.
The posts in this thread after a short cameo..
That's part of the problem, I saw him try to run around the outside of some tired Slovak with 11km in his legs and he got comfortably out paced. He should be in his prime at 30 but he looks far, far from his best.
In general pretty much, for the level we should require. Apart from the occasional run that he does succeed, or the occasional creative pass that does create danger, he has no use on the ball, except for losing the ball because of his very poor technique, over and underhitting passes or just spreading it out sideways. He cant dribble himself out of a situation, he isnt creative, and even if you'd use him as a ball retention player, his inconsistent touch and passing would make him quite useless for that role as well. The only thing I can give him, is the fact that he works hard, tracks back, defends, but in possession he has basically no use at this level.
"What a delightful cross field ball from Rooney. Superb technique, amazing vision"[/OrgasmVoice]
Well if he were at his best he'd still be up front scoring goals. But he's been in decline for years. When he realised his days up front were numbered he's somehow managed to convince people he's a naturally brilliant midfielder. The Emperor's new clothes springs to mind.
And when everyone can see that he's nowhere near good enough to play in midfield, he'd be best up front again and we have to play him there and he'll be world class again.
I thought he was fantastic tonight. If he can get into better forward posistions next season I reckon he'll do a Lampard like in Jose's early years at Chelsea - decent 20-30 goals from misfuels and a bag load of assists.
If you don't agree, fine.
Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Portugal. We're going to have to beat at least 2 of those teams to get to a final.
Does anyone truly believe that Rooney would get near any of their midfields? Or even make their squads as a midfielder?
If he's going to grow into a great central midfielder, great. But he's not going to do so over the course of an important international tournament. He had a decent game against a Russian side that's just been smashed out of sight by both Wales and Slovakia. The only team that didn't beat them was England. Make of that what you will.
He can still change a game with a moment of inspiration. But that's not what your central midfielders are for. You don't win International tournaments by carrying a central midfielder 'just in case' he produces something. They need to be on it for the whole 90 minutes.
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I feckin hate Moyes.
Someone has spiked your food/water
No white text?
I don't think Lampard ever got 30 in a season, and I don't think Rooney will ever get near that number again in England. I think he's only got 30 once in his career when he was at his peak?
Apologies if your post was sarcasm. Over my head.
He cannot do it alone. The players around him were static.
The entire team was so slow.
Just terrible football.
The entire team was so slow.
Just terrible football.
He looks like Gerard used to look when asked to play alongside Lampard for England in a midfield two.
On the ball you get convinced he's doing something. Then you see him picking the ball up off the defenders, then he's wide, then he's an auxillary forward, then he looks like a standard ten, then he's back stopping an attack down the right. He gets dragged around everywhere.
He has zero tactical discipline. That was apparent under Ferguson.
He has a skill set. If you can find room in a team for him that plays to his strengths, you'll get solid performances and a few moments of magic. But he moves away from areas that he could be threatening. He NEEDS the ball. he goes hunting for it.
This England side cannot afford to have him doing that. Unless that is Hodgsons plan I guess. Would be an odd call though.
Rooney got 30 twice, the only two seasons he played as an outright striker. No chance he'll do that from midfield. Lampard was also playing as a second striker when he was putting big numbers up.
True true. Just consulted Wikipedia. 34 twice.
Lampard was playing as a midfielder with almost zero defensive responsibilities. But he also took penalties and was a fine free kick taker. Plus he was never injured. I'd be amazed if Rooney ever scored 25 in a season again.
He's been England's best player in the Euros he came on as a sub last night and was no worse than the guys around about him. If he was shocking I'd state it but come on a subs appearance and suddenly he's dreadful?
But it was against teams that sat back and gave him all the time in the world. How does the tactics of the opponent matter when he plays shit but not in the first two games? But no he hasn't, Dier and Walker and now Clyne have been much better. You're looking for reasons to praise him, he's acheeived sod all on midfield in the first two games as the creative midfielder.
If he plays like that for Jose he won't last long, he's been done for a long time. He's lost all the things that made him a good player.
Well Germany has Khedira in their midfield while a good player, certainly not special or anything. It's not like their midfield with Kroos, Khedira was dominant in game against Poland, an average team. And the only difference between the way Kroos played in his 2 games and Rooney is that one of Kroos set-piece deliveries was scored. Apart from that, they have been doing almost the same thing. Italy has a De Rossi as a DM, almost a half-CB judging by Belgium's game and Giaccherini, Parolo as a CMs. Who exactly from those two you want as England's or United's starter ahead of Rooney? Sundersland's flop?
And it's not like i've been impressed by France or Portugal, who also include such a stellar players in midfield as relegated Sissoko or Cabaye.
This has got to stop, you're now comparing him to De Rossi and Kroos!?
You honestly think Rooney and Kroos had played to the same level? Just bloody watch the game, Kroos isn't passing in front of their side the entire time, playing the same passes again and again. Kroos is picking the right passes, he's playing in between the lines, much like Carrick had done for us. Kroos has been on another level entirely to Rooney. It's ridiculous to even make the comparison, are you that desperate for him to succeed?
Rodney's attempts to break the defensive line with a splitting pass makes me think of the line from The Wire, "If you don't play, you can't lose".
Rooney playing in midfield will win us the the league IF we get a great right back and a lethal striker.
I have been very impressed with Rooney's long passing to Kyle Walker in the Euros. Imagine if we get a great right back that can cross and assist our striker.
I missed Van Persie so much. We need a striker that can finish like Van Persie. Personally, don't think Rashford and Martial is ready to lead us to the league title. If we can bring back Hernandez that would help. But we need a great striker to get us back to the top of the league.
I have been very impressed with Rooney's long passing to Kyle Walker in the Euros. Imagine if we get a great right back that can cross and assist our striker.
I missed Van Persie so much. We need a striker that can finish like Van Persie. Personally, don't think Rashford and Martial is ready to lead us to the league title. If we can bring back Hernandez that would help. But we need a great striker to get us back to the top of the league.
This is far from obvious though. He hasn't done enough to make it sure that England would have been a worse team without him. Yesterday, England played well in the first half, certainly not worse than vs Wales or Russia in terms of creating clear chances. They had total dominance in midfield. When he came in nothing changed. If anything, England's play became more chaotic. Rooney doesn't make any significant difference to this England team. The CBs, Dier, Walker are more important than Rooney. Dier has been excellent in his defensive role, very solid in his passes and scored a goal. Why on earth should someone think that Rooney has been better than Dier? Right now, Dier is closer to making the ideal team of the Euros than Rooney. Walker too.
In the first two games, Rooney was among the better players, last night he was among the worse players. One of the reasons is that he played in a more advanced role vs Slovakia and there wasn't enough space and time for him to controll the ball. Generally, the forward players have looked worse than the defensive players or the CMs because they do not have enough space and time and are closed down quickly.
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His long-range passes are slow, predictable and he needs about 2 minutes to be able to control the ball to be able to pull the pass off in the first place. If his flaws start becoming apparent against Slovakia how do you think he's going to fare in the fast paced PL?
You don't think any team may figure out that our tactic is basically floating balls out to the right and crossing it? Other players can play those diagonals better than him and it's way less predictive and repetitive than what Rooney does. We've got a player who isn't good enough as a striker now but because of who he is and how much money he's on we're trying to pretend he's now a midfielder, despite him lacking several of the attributes needed, rather than having a proper striker and a proper midfielder.
Ivaldo I have watched all the England games (euros) this summer. Imo he has been their best player. I have no agenda for or against Rooney. He played well in the first two games alongside Walker. Goal apart I thought Dyer was decent but not a stand out. Clyne was excellent last night but I'd stick with Walker as he's played well over 2 games. Rooney came on as a sub yesterday and wasn't any worse than those around him. He tried a few things that never came off big deal. On the Euro so far Rooney has had a good tournament. That is my take on it. My opinion on him is he's been a great club player who is now on the slide but his level is still better than the vast majority at United right now. If we sign better then get rid but up until that point Rooney should play. What he's like as a midfielder I have no idea but time will tell and so far West Ham and Euros I have nothing but praise for the way he's played and I'm not going to chuck that away for a sub cameo.
The title question must be a joke?
He is an average central midfielder, his passing range is solid, but not spectacular, I rarely see him splitting defenses.
He doesn't have the legs to be a top CM, and he's not agile enough to be a Scholes/Iniesta type.
Squad player at best IMO, but on his wages I'd move him on. Great servant mind.
He is an average central midfielder, his passing range is solid, but not spectacular, I rarely see him splitting defenses.
He doesn't have the legs to be a top CM, and he's not agile enough to be a Scholes/Iniesta type.
Squad player at best IMO, but on his wages I'd move him on. Great servant mind.
We won the league with Van Persie playing that way. Look up at the amount of assist Rooney, Evra, Valencia, and Rafael got that season. It has always been the Manchester United way to switch the play quickly and make the wide players one on one against opposition.
Like I've said. Rooney can play a huge role in midfield for us. We can invest the money in the wide areas where we are seriously poor.
I'm nowhere near Rooney's biggest fan, but he has been decent for England this tournament. I'm hoping that working under Mourinho, with the chance to change his game (a la Scholes/Giggs in their later years), will reignite the fire in him again. When he's on form, he does possess most of the attributes required to be a handy premier league midfielder.
The sad thing his, he's probably one of United's better CM options at the minute within the current squad. Without dipping into the transfer market yet again, who else is there? The ageing Carrick/Schweinsteiger? The inconsistent and sometimes ineffective Herrera/Schneiderlin/Fellaini?. Obviously Blind is also another option, though it will be interesting to see how José will utilise him.
The sad thing his, he's probably one of United's better CM options at the minute within the current squad. Without dipping into the transfer market yet again, who else is there? The ageing Carrick/Schweinsteiger? The inconsistent and sometimes ineffective Herrera/Schneiderlin/Fellaini?. Obviously Blind is also another option, though it will be interesting to see how José will utilise him.
More like General Custer
You say that but there is no defending Rooneys performance last night, no defending. As poor as Henderson and Wilshere were (and they were incredibly poor) they still managed to create and contribute more to our play than Rooney did, he gave us absolutely nothing. He consistently got in other players way due to his tactical nativity, at one point he picked the ball up behind our left back and beside our centreback to play that infuriating crossfield pass, he steps on other players toes because he demands too much space to operate in.
England are better with him than without him, that is for sure....
No, he's been dreadful for years.