Wayne Rooney: Manchester United's talisman

Ever since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the onus has been on Wayne Rooney to step up and deliver for Manchester United. He is the kind of player who is always willing to take on more responsibility than most players. He embodies the never-say-die attitude that Manchester United have stood for, for over a century.

He was exceptional in the season after Ronaldo left the club, scoring 34 goals and setting up his team-mates nine times throughout the season. He went on a heading-spree in the middle of the season, where he scored an incredible 9 consecutive goals with his head before finally finding the net with his boot against AC Milan.

Last season

But then followed the ugly summer saga where he publicly turned his back on Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson and demanded a move to City (rumored) citing lack of ambition within the club as his primary reason. But Fergie managed to convince his most prized asset to stay and offered him a new five-year contract. But despite that, Rooney struggled to settle in and the only goal he scored in this period was a penalty against an ailing West Ham side.

The United fans were thankful that a certain Bulgarian, Dimitar Berbatov, was finally coming good and starting to score a few goals. Add to that the emergence of Nani from the shadows of Ronaldo, and Manchester United looked like they were clicking into gear. But the lack of goals from Rooney persisted. He had lost his touch and his head just wasn’t in the game. Ferguson sent him to Nike HQ in the USA and he came back a changed man.

By this time Javier Hernandez had announced himself as a first-team player and how did Rooney benefit from playing with the young Mexican? Chicharito was the perfect foil for Rooney, as he kept making brilliant off the ball runs that allowed Rooney to pull the strings from behind. Rooney managed to finish the season strongly despite a poor start and helped United seal, a record breaking 19th league title.

2011-12 Season

United have took off in barnstorming fashion, with Wayne Rooney leading the goal scoring charts with 9 goals to his name. But his absence was felt at Stoke, where United dropped their first points of the season. Berbatov and Owen looked like two strikers well past their prime and struggled to find their rhythm during the game. Then against Basel, United managed to score three but that was mainly down to some awful defending which you don’t normally see in Europe.

Rooney is the man who likes to roam between the opposition midfield and the back four and stretch the play. He has an almost telepathic understanding with Ashley Young and the two have already formed a deadly partnership. On the other hand, Nani has looked sharp this season and stepped up to share the goal-scoring responsibilities with Rooney. But without Rooney, United looked lost in the last two games without him. Their central midfield is an area of concern, with Michael Carrick too static most of the time. Anderson still has a lot of potential but he needs someone like Rooney in front of him to link up play and spread the ball out to the wings.

Wayne Rooney is the most essential element in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, because without their talismanic forward, Manchester United look like a side missing the most important cog in their purring machine.