Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck - Deadly duo revitalise Manchester United?

“The first one was a really good piece of forward play between Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, and it’s good to see Danny scoring another goal,” David Moyes gushed following Manchester United’s 3-1 home win over West Ham United. After going four games without a win, failing to net in two of them, United have now won their last two fixtures, scoring a total of six goals. Welbeck has three of them.

Looking at the quality of finishing on those goals, it finally seems as though the 23-year-old is comfortable, confident in front of goal. What’s more, with his finishing gradually improving, the missing piece needed to make the partnership between him and Rooney complete is finally falling into place. The first goal, which Moyes highlighted, reflects that.

Their exchange in the build-up to the goal was good, but it’s not as though the two haven’t combined well before. Welbeck’s deft flick of the ball into Rooney’s feet, his subsequent run into space, and Rooney’s well-weighted return pass into Welbeck’s path isn’t exactly a rarity. What has been, however, is the incisive finish from Welbeck following the superb link-up play between the two.

It’s something Moyes sought to fix by instructing Welbeck to follow Rooney’s lead by doing some extra training to improve his finishing and, ultimately, his goal return. But any hopes that that suggestion is the reason behind Welbeck’s sudden finding of goal-scoring form were dashed when the striker recently said that he has always done extra work on his finishing, but that the Scot just hasn’t seen that, given he has been injured. So, then, what’s responsible for Welbeck’s eye for goal? Tom Cleverleymade an interesting point post-game.

“Danny’s goal was a great finish but he also brings pace, power and he works incredibly hard for the team,” he told MUTV. “That’s an area of Danny’s performances which people outside the game don’t see. He’s a great team member.”

So, more than simply a poacher. Welbeck is a striker who is actively involved in more than just the attacking phase of play. His averages of 1.4 attempted tackles and one interception per game so far this season gives proof of that.

Sports psychologists advise strikers who are experiencing a goal drought to put in committed, well-rounded displays–closing down the opposition off the ball as well as dropping deep to link up with team-mates and trying to play them in on goal, rather than simply staying up top all game waiting for opportunities to score.

Once they play with that level of commitment, the goals will eventually come. Welbeck has played with such commitment, even despite being out of position more often than not, and he has as a result become a case in point. And the timing couldn’t possibly be better, with Robin van Persie ruled out of the hectic Christmas period at the very least through injury.

The Dutchman himself enjoys a fruitful partnership with Rooney, so much so that he considers them both to be “9.5?s” rather than one being the No.9 and the other the No.10.

In other words, they complete each other on the pitch. Both are able to drop deep or drift wide to get on the ball and play others in as well as push up in order to grab a few goals themselves. Throw in the fact that they have a great understanding to go along with their similar styles, and it’s easy to see why they play so well together.

Welbeck is slightly different in terms of style, preferring a shorter range of passing compared to Rooney and van Persie (Welbeck’s average pass length this season is 12 metres, while Rooney and van Persie average 18 and 17 metres respectively), making him more effective when closer to goal as far as link-up play is concerned, but he can still complete Rooney like van Persie does. And given the 28-year-old has really come into his own up front, displaying a level of maturity that has aided his return to form, Rooney can complete Welbeck too.

“Do you know what I see more than anything in Wayne? I see leadership,” said Moyes. “I see somebody who wants to take responsibility for the team. I see somebody who cares for how he plays and how the team plays.”

Eight goals and eight assists in the league this season, the best tallies of any player in the team in both regards, accurately reflects the huge responsibility Rooney has taken on for the sake of the team.Two of those assists came versus the Hammers in what was a game that Rooney, who earned a game-high Performance Score of 80 points, displayed more of his creativity than anything else, stroking the ball with precision (85% pass accuracy) across the field as he dropped deep to pull the proverbial strings.

As Welbeck looks to continue his hot streak in front of goal, this kind of performance–this kind of attitude–needs to keep coming from Rooney. Now, seeing that both strikers have gained something vital over the course of this season, it seems that their partnership may finally be ready to go the distance for United and, by extension, for England. Given the circumstances regarding the club and van Persie as well as with Roy Hodgson’s team, it’s happening just in time.