Is Wayne Rooney the problem at Manchester United?

Wayne Rooney

This season though, with a new manager, things have changed at Old Trafford. David Moyes so far has pushed Rooney up with the Englishman playing far closer to the main striker. United appear to be playing something closer to a flat 4-4-2 this season than last season’s 4-2-3-1. The result is that Rooney is now back among the goals for United while the team’s midfield withers. The argument could be made that Rooney still drops deep and tracks back when its required, but its not the same thing. Its one thing for a striker to come deep, receive the ball, pass it once and run forward to be on the end of a move and another for an attacking midfielder to drop deep and be part of the transition of moving the ball forward, and not making a forward run till the ball is in dangerous areas. Last season, Rooney was looking to be part of what took the ball from deep to advanced areas, but now his focus is more of getting it from advanced areas to the net. Also him tracking back is helpful only in certain instances. In an instance where the opponent wins the ball from them and counters quickly, his tracking back may not be useful. Players chasing a breaking team while the only thing they have in front of them is the defense is a perfect situation for a counter attacking side. His tracking back could only be useful in the event of the defense managing to hold off the attacking players in time for back trackers to take their defensive positions. The fact that Moyes has looked to make the team play higher up has left them more prone to counters than last season.

Manchester United’s central midfield problems have been well documented over the past few seasons, but I don’t think they have ever been exposed down the middle as they have been this season. A combination of Rooney’s deployment, *the width of United’s wing players, and the fact that United are now playing a bit higher up the pitch have left Micheal Carrick, whoever partners him, and subsequently the defense looking like sitting ducks for the opponents to attack. The problem would not have been as pronounced if United fielded a at least one hardworking, high work-rate, dynamic player in the centre. But all they have is Marouane Fellaini (big, strong, but hardly dynamic), and Carrick (who is more of a passer than a runner). The closest thing they have to a hard worker in the middle right now is Tom Cleverly, but his work rate is about the only thing he offers. I don’t want to anger any United fan by mentioning Anderson. And Darren Fletcher is still unfit. To add to that, Van Persie could be suffering from the new arrangement as he has not exactly lit the league up so far this season. It could be his own form, but from what I have seen, its about him not getting as much chances as he would have gotten if he was alone.

*there were a few matches this season where United’s left winger (Kagawa and Ryan Giggs) drifted infield to help the midfield control games and bring the ball forward. The first game of the season against Swansea City and the Champions League game vs Bayer Leverkusen are examples.

All of these events beg the question, apart from Wayne Rooney’s from and return to importance atOld Trafford, what exactly has Rooney up front added to United? Its not like United were in need of goals, as Van Persie has continually proven that he is more than capable of getting them on a regular basis without having a strike partner. All it has resulted in is the team being dominated by teams that on a normal day should not stand a chance against a team of Manchester United’s calibre. The fact that the team has one player on form at the expense of the whole team’s balance and results is worrying. I refuse to believe that Moyes is as tactically inept as most assume. And think he is well away of the flaws of his system and trying to fix them instead of changing it. Its not like he was known to play with two seemingly unnecessary change and why can’t he adjust?

No one knows exactly. But Sir Alex on his book launch said that Rooney wanted to leave because he was not playing up front. Going by this, it would not be crazy to suggest that, despite interest from Chelsea, Moyes convinced Rooney to stay by promising him that he would be used mostly as a striker. If true this puts Moyes in a very difficult position. And shows the kind of character he has. He must play Rooney, Rooney must play up front and Van Persie must play. Which means the team must have two strikers. The solutions for Moyes are not easy ones. He must either man up and tell Rooney he wants him as a number 10 or bench him (and deal with his antics) or continue looking for ways to fit Rooney and Van Persie up front. And looking at the current squad, United may have to buy a lot of players for that to be plausible, they don’t really suit that. Its kind of the same thing that happened with Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea, Moyes is new to dealing with world class players and their egos, and is being bullied by the likes of Rooney. The difference could be that if Rooney dropping deep or benching really improves the team overall, he would have the fans’ support. So Rooney would have to wait till the transfer window to ask to leave if he does not want a positional change.

To me Manchester United should have sold Rooney. Ferguson’s final acts before retiring suggests he was of a similar opinion. His sale would have given Moyes a cleaner slate to build his team on. A team can get away with playing Rooney and Van Persie up front or Rooney in attacking midfield as the case may be against the smaller teams. But against the big guns, the midfield will be exposed, even though to a bit of a lesser degree if he is in midfield. Rooney was never going to be a world class 10, and Van Persie is a better forward than him, but his reputation makes him a “must play” for Moyes.

Selling Rooney and getting a new attacking midfielder would have been the best thing. While injuries have stunted him, Kagawa may probably be a better option than him at the number 10 role. Rooney’s quality and current form is undoubted, but the fact of the matter is that its bad for the team as a whole. However, a compromise between Moyes and Rooney to play in midfield against the stronger teams or when the occasion requires it could be the grey area between Rooney’s form and the team’s balance. Nobody knows how much time Moyes has. But he has to solve this problem before it runs out. All of this could be true or I could be seeing things that are not there. But the fact of the matter is that this exact squad (bar Fellaini) won the Premier League in May.