Originally Posted by Allforone

Honestly the only thing in my opinion thats improved in Rooneys game this season played where hes being played is his goal return largely aided by a few penalties this season, now obviously thats important of course it is but his all round game i dont believe is of the level or anywhere close to the level it was when he was allowed to play off both Ruud and Saha a few seasons ago, i think thats where you see the best of Wayne Rooney and the player himself has said that himself many times, i do understand the reasoning behind fergie putting him further forward and trying to get more output from Rooney in the box especially with the sale of Ronaldo and all his goals but i dont ever see Rooney as a world class long term number 9 simply becasue he dosnt have the natural attributes to be so.

Hes not overly quick and nor is he a great finisher either to be fair which are probably the 2 main assests a world class number 9 has see the likes of Villa/Torres/Eto'o and co for examples of what im meaning....i think Rooney is a world class number 10, i think hes a far better player when hes allowed to drift from the front and run at defences from deeper positions crafting out chances with his vision and creative skill as well as providing a goal threat, thats where his best form for us has come from in previous seasons and where his form for England has been so good over the past 18 months, hes done well right up top for us this season in patches but i dont believe hes performances have been anywhere near as consistent nor as good as they have been in previous years when hes played in what i consider his natural role....

Add to that i think Berbatovs shown all throughout his carear hes a far better main front man than he is a withdrawn striker, his record for Bulgaria is nothing short of phenominal the best in their history with a goal to game ratio almost mimicking that of David Villas in a far better spanish side...his record for spurs in said role is also very impressive.

I just think we dont get the best out of either players natural qualities playing them the way we do.