Quote:
Originally Posted by Pogue Mahone
I'm a bit confused here. Are you talking about this season? Because this season he's already broken a metarsal and badly sprained his ankle (playing fecking head tennis). On each of these occasions he was out for at least a month (I think the MT fracture kept him out a good bit longer)
Last season's "poor form" is a bit more difficult to explain. Playing the World Cup half-fit didn't help and the early suspension just compunded this. But it's still relative. Despite this "problem" he ended up racking up 23 goals and more assists than any other player at the club.
This season he already has more assists in the league than anyone else (can't find the equivalent stats for all competitions) and a decent amount of goals. All this despite missing large chunks of the season.
The thing about Rooney, IMO, is that when'e not firing on all cylinders he can sometimes look like he's having an absolute shocker. He relies so much on having a perfect first-touch and playing without thinking that if it's not working for him he can look all over the place. Despite this, he (usually) influences every game he plays in and has the uncanny ability to make things happen for the team, just by being on the pitch, even when he's not playing well. And that, IMO, is what makes him such a special player.
|
I still think too much is expected from him though, relative to the level he's currently at. I'm not sure he's yet a 'special player' as you put it, but again, that would depend on definitions. I think Berbatov or Scholes are special players, i think Anelka's a very good player, for instance. Like Rooney. If his odd 4 or 5 game run was to be taken as his general level of performance, then i'd say yes, he's special, but for now, he's 'good' in my books. Basically, with consistency, he can get there.