In this special edition of player profile, we take a look at one of the most decorated names in world football, Wayne Rooney. Captain for England and Manchester United, Rooney is one of the most recognizable names and faces in the beautiful game, not to mention, an incredibly talented one at that.
Over the last three years though, he has provided only momentary flashes of that precocious talent that he first displayed at Euro 2004, his breakthrough tournament. Under David Moyes and later under Louis van Gaal, in spite of being captain for United and receiving almost undroppable status, Rooney has been, to put it curtly, awful.
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Also Read: Wayne Rooney - Road to Perdition
Over the coming weeks, we will analyze his (non) performances for club and country on a fortnightly basis, breaking it down in detail. Let us remind our readers that this is not an attempt to bash or defame Rooney. He has achieved a lot and has been brilliant throughout his career and there will definitely be brickbats as well as bouquets towards "Wazza" as we progress through the season.
Name: Wayne Mark Rooney
Position: Centre Forward, Support Striker, Attacking Midfielder, anywhere he pleases and finally...the BENCH!
EFL Cup Third Round vs Northampton (A):
After a horrendous showing against Watford in the humiliating 3-1 loss at the Vicarage, United fans worldwide and British media have begun to turn their back on Rooney. As any Rooney compilation from the Watford match last weekend would show, the first touch of a brick wall and turning radius of a tank aren’t exactly the attributes a manager would want from any player; let alone his top billing player.
Murmurs in the press suggested that he would be benched for the weekend’s Premier League fixture against Leicester City and Jose Mourinho added fuel to this fire by naming Wayne in the starting lineup to face League One side Northampton at the Sixfields stadium.
In his pre-match interview, Jose was asked what he wanted from Rooney, having named him as his starting striker; “Goals” was the gaffer’s reply. Anything else? “Goals”. A massive show of confidence from the new boss!
United started brightly. Rooney stayed up top and his big chance came early in the match. He did what he currently does best and missed an open goal. In all fairness, the ball from Ashley Young was moving across him quickly but then top players should bury such chances.
His next chance was when Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s header clanged the crossbar and rebounded to him. Open net, 2 yards out, he somehow scuffed his header into the ground and bundled into the net. That he was a couple of yards offside makes it worse.
Then came his big moment, a free kick in the box after the Northampton goalkeeper had picked up a back pass. Would not go as far as slating him in this case but he smashed the ball against Ander Herrera in the wall, it rebounded to Michael Carrick who struck home to give United the lead. A younger and in form Rooney would have found a way through, over or under the wall.
Michael Carrick showed he is a better midfielder, Herrera provided more of attacking threat than him, and Marcus Rashford came on to provide the goal that Rooney could not. There seems to be no place for Rooney in this United side and another poor showing against Northampton confirmed that.
Towards the end of the match, he was shunted to the wing to accommodate Zlatan and Rashford; probably symbolic of his current stature in the United lineup.
Premier League, Match 6 vs Leicester City (H)
"Wayne Rooney dropped.” This sentence was all over the media when the official lineups were announced for the Manchester United vs Leicester City Premier League fixture. What a majority of United fans were clamouring for over the last couple of seasons had finally happened.
After receiving almost untouchable status under Louis van Gaal, Wayne Rooney was left on the bench by current manager Jose Mourinho when the champions visited Old Trafford yesterday.
Poor performances against Watford in the League and against Northampton in the EFL Cup had set tongues wagging. Finally, even the British media was calling for Rooney to be culled from the starting lineup and the manager obliged.
It seemed no coincidence then, that Manchester United played some of their best football of the last three years in a 4-1 hammering of Leicester. With all four goals coming in the first half in a swashbuckling manner, reminiscent of the best days under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, United fans could not have asked for a better evening.
Rooney had to look on as, sans himself, this United side looked very fluid and dynamic. Finally and yes this is being very harsh, United looked like they were playing with 11 men on the pitch and not 10 men plus a passenger.
He was admirable in his behaviour though, celebrating all the goals with fervour and not sulking away. That was the best that he did all day in spite of receiving a 6-minute cameo.
This decision by Jose is a huge one. LVG dropped Rooney against Stoke City last season only to bring him on at the beginning of the second half and promptly reinstate him for all remaining fixtures. Jose gave him six minutes.
He can still offer something to the team, that is beyond question and he showed that against Hull City especially, providing the late assist. Jose could well put him back for the Europa League fixture but it is almost certain that Rooney would be phased out of the side sooner or later.
That's all for this week guys. From a Manchester United perspective, it was a superb one with two victories. From a United fan's perspective, it was an even better one with Rooney being benched and the side showing signs of returning to the flamboyance of the club's glory days.
From a Wayne Rooney perspective, it's time to step up Wayne. A massive step-up in performance is needed else there might not even be six minutes next time.
Verdict: Flop
