A name thread is needed as we haven't had one in ages and I thought one on our Wayne would be quite pertinent given that the rumour mill has started again that he's leaving. So, what do we think? Do we think he is/isn't going? Was it tactical or a punishment? If he goes where to and who to replace? etc. etc. Do we think he's simply an idiot who should be replaced by Anderson? My man in the know reckons Fergie is getting tired of his beer drinking and tab smooking so dropped him as a warning. (ironic given that his Shwan mooted replacement Anderson is a fat, lazy unfit waster!)
I think it was purely tactical and those tactics were actually proved right up to the sending off. Welbeck has more pace which is what we needed for this game and was far more disciplined in tracking Alonso. If Rooney wants to spit his dummy out and leave then it would be a loss but we'd move on.
I don't even think he has to be honest. I don't see it that Wellbeck was picked ahead of him, I think Nani was. Which given Nani's recent level of performance was the big surprise. I would also have been pissed off if I were Rooney because of that but as you say it was working well up to the sending off. I personally see this as just the usual media bollocks and that he'll fall into line and pick up his performances as a result. He should give up the tabs though, terrible habit!
I think he'll be gone in the summer. He'll be 28 at the start of next season, and is on £200,000-£250,000 a week, with 2 years left on his contract. His development has stagnated. Look at how Ronaldo has developed in the last few years, both game wise and physically. Rooney hasn't, at all. Ronaldo is a physical monster, as is Rooney..but for all the wrong reasons. If Fergie feels Rooney isn't living the life a professional footballer should be (let alone someone on the amount of money he is) then he'll get rid. If he's smoking and drinking regularly, then it speaks volumes about his professionalism. He still suffers these massive inconsistencies in his form, which is acceptable when you're 21/22/23, but when you're turning 28 then it's clear things will never change. Fergie has past in shipping out players who he feels are past their prime. Robson, Stam (which he later regretted), Kanchelskis, Ince, Ruud and Beckham to name a few. Rooney isn't too big a name for Fergie to move on. Beckham was left out against Madrid, then sold on that summer. Ruud was left out of the League Cup final, sold in the summer. I don't think United will go out of their way to offer him to clubs, but they'll release a few snippets of encouragement that given the right price then he's available, and I expect PSG to make a move for him in the summer. Who knows, maybe the performance of Welbeck over the 2 games has made him think that Rooney is expendable.
This one decision to bench Rooney won't be important, though it is possible Ferguson will look to cash in on Rooney before his value starts to decline. I think Rooney will not last the same length of time as Scholes and Giggs because of his lifestyle, and his energy to defend and create as well as attack is a huge part of his value.
- his form at not at his best since 2 years and he admitted that himself - Sir Alex sure still never completely forgiven him over his contract saga - he is getting older and he will lose his key assets which is energy all above is why Sir Alex may be tempted to sell him meanwhile, to assume he is leaving based on one game, is ridiculous though Sir Alex picked right formation and it worked nothing to do with Rooney but will i sell him? hmm who you will get at same quality ? bcz i can't see anyone atm
Would anyone be talking about Rooney leaving if he had started that game? I don't think so. So why now because he didn't start one game, it's a squad game after all. I think it's a mountain over a mole hill and don't expect him to be going anywhere too fast.
If Fergie hadn't forgiven him he would of been gone by now like many big names before him (Stam, Keane, RVN, etc), and energy is far from Rooney's key asset, it's a bonus, but not key.
If he leaves he will be considered by the majority to be world class and irreplaceable in contrast to his current status of overrated.
I think it was a combination of tactics and punishment. On the one hand, if he's drinking and smoking and not staying fully fit then he doesn't deserve to be picked for big games like this one, full stop. On the other hand, picking Nani ahead of him was quite a good tactical call - he was regularly the target man on the counter and him and Wellbeck turned the Real defence a couple of times. Maybe SAF decided that pace up front and a solid three in the middle was better for the job than funnelling play through Rooney and making him a target for Alonso and Khedira. Particularly without Jones to cover across the back. It was actually working very well up until the sending off - Alonso was anonymous with Welbeck on him and Khedira effectively had nothing to do defensively. Either way, I think it's a signal to Rooney that he's not indispensable, whether that's due to fitness, attitude or the quality of the players around him. I think we get a bit used to him playing well when he's not at his best, but that's not something SAF will ever find acceptable. Hopefully this will kick him up the arse and get him playing again. Wouldn't like to see him sold, unless we get a really good replacement to make the team tick in the attacking third. Tho' maybe the plan is to move Kagawa to number 10 once he's had time to adapt, and have Lewandowski up front. Worked pretty well for Dortmund!
those players who left, were kind old (>28) .. Rooney was in his peak .. sure much more difficult for Sir Alex to sell him especially if you don't have a replacement available .. and I think Rooney work rate is one of his best assets, sure he tick many other boxes too .. but he don't have the skills and ball control of messi, or pace of CR or the finishing of RVP or the instinct of Chicha or creativity of inesta .. I think he is all round player who has all above skills (in good/v good rating) but who work hard and sacrifice himself for the team .. this type of players are rare... and tbh he is still our best striker behind RVP, but if Sir Alex want to sell him, he need to bring in a big quality just like him
can't agree more could be tactical or a signal i know Rooney is capable of doing better .. hope that motivate him and bring the best out of him
Age is irrelevant if they are good enough (Giggs for example), Stam was still a rock when he went (and he was replaced by an even older Laurent Blanc) and RVN was scoring goals for fun when he fell out with the management, 150 in just over 200 appearances or something like that, you don't sell those type of players without a good reason and age is not that reason if they are still fit enough to play, which both of those were when they moved on.
Because it was Uniteds biggest game of the season & for Ferguson to consider one of his 'star' players (& probably the biggest earner at the club) not to fit into his starting XI, speaks volumes. You can talk about tactics etc, but would Ferguson have left Rooney out of a fixture of equal importance a couple of years ago? Not a chance. imo he's never fully forgiven him for lifting his skirts to City & his transfer request nonsense. He'll be off in the summer, assuming someone is prepared to fund his whopping contract that is....
I would for Ronaldo and Wilshere. Not the rest, in fact no chance for Carzola and Suarez with a mild temptation with Bale. I'd want Bale, but to play with Rooney.
