I'd probably agree. I don't think he's turned quite as great as we hoped after Euro 04, but he's been pretty instrumental in the winning of 5 titles and a Champions League. Plus, if we hadn't have signed him, one of the other big clubs probably would have, and things could've turned out very differently.
I think he's probably suffered a bit from how well Ronaldo came on. Both Ronaldo and Rooney were at a similar level around 2006, but then Ronaldo pushed on really well and became the stand out player, so SAF pushed Rooney into a more structured role within the team. He may not be as spectacular, but he's been one of the most consistently effective players in the PL since then. And to be fair to Rooney, most young players with that much hype around them don't reach the heights he has. Look at the ten most expensive teenagers in the world: Pato, Lukaku, Mikel, Ramos, Cassano, Marquinhos, Anderson, Saviola, Rooney, Moura. Of those, Pato, Lukaku, Mikel, Cassano, Anderson and Saviola have done very little to justify the hype around them, and Marquinhos and Moura still have quite a bit to prove. He's done well considering the pressure and spotlight that's been on him constantly for the past decade.
Yep. When Ronaldo and Rooney supposedly fell out at Germany 06, most United fans would've rather kept the latter if one of them was going to leave. 3 years later, and Ronaldo had progressed almost beyond recognition, whereas Rooney had stagnated a touch. I think the general perception of Rooney has probably been harmed by his indifferent form for England too. But all in all, I think he's done a good job.
What does happen with Rooney is that when he has "family" problems, his form dips dramatically. some players can handle it, Rooney can't. It dropped when he decided on some extra marital horizontal jogging, which is hardly surprising, but it also went down when his dad was wrongly accused of a gambling fraud, and when Coleen's sister Rosie passed away. Keep Rooney out of any family strife, and you get the full deal.
