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29th June 2009, 00:25
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#1 (permalink) |
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Reserve Team Player
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Wayne Rooney aims to join greats in World Cup year
 It takes a certain kind of holidaymaker to return from a fortnight in Barbados without a tan, but there has always been something magnificently English about Wayne Rooney. Sunbathing, he says, does not agree with his pale complexion, so instead he retreated into the shade, venturing out only to cool down in the swimming pool or, when he could find some suitable headgear, for a round of golf. Not for the first time, you are left with the impression of Rooney as the antithesis of Cristiano Ronaldo, the player who has left Manchester United behind to join Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million. Ronaldo has spent much of the past fortnight in Los Angeles, cosying up to Paris Hilton, wearing flowers in his hair, turning a darker shade of mahogany and parading a pair of shorts that are tighter than a coat of emulsion. By contrast, a baggy-shorted Rooney has been lying low in the shade, keeping an eye on his freckles, fetching water for his pregnant wife, Coleen, and mulling over and over United’s defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome a month ago. Life in the shadows has come to hold a strong appeal for Rooney, but, when it comes to football, he craves the spotlight more than ever. He is the star turn who was effectively shunted into the chorus line at Old Trafford by Ronaldo’s emergence into a prima donna. But even had United won in Rome, even had Ronaldo still been around next season, Rooney would not have been swayed from his belief that the time has come to reclaim centre stage and to be single-minded about doing so. Back in Cheshire over the weekend to attend the wedding of his agent and business manager, Paul Stretford, and to play in a golf event to raise funds for a maternity unit in Macclesfield, Rooney’s immediate response to questions about his wellbeing was that he was “still gutted”, even if three goals in two subsequent World Cup qualifying victories for England “softened the blow a bit”. But quickly the conversation moved on to next season, a campaign in which he has big plans not just for United and England but, significantly, for himself. “For me personally, next season could be the season that transforms me from someone who could be a great player into someone who is a great player,” Rooney said. “That’s what I’m hoping. It’s a massive season for the club and for me personally, with the prize at the end of it being the World Cup. It’s a season which I want to grab with both hands. “I want to play in the position where I feel I’m best. A lot of people think I’m best as a centre forward. I think I can fill the gap left by Cristiano and Carlos Tévez and I’m sure that, if I can play in my right position, I will do that. “To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege and it’s something I’m very lucky to be doing, but I don’t think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to.” In one sense, it seems remarkable to hear Rooney describe himself merely as “someone who could be a great player”, but, when pushed, he talks of room for improvement, of potential that has still to be fulfilled. Far more striking are his repeated references to being played “in my right position”, using that exact phrase four times over the course of the interview. It sounds very much like a young man trying to make a point to the boss. His respect for Sir Alex Ferguson is total, as he makes clear, but the United manager cannot have failed to hear this drum being banged with increasing force in recent weeks as Rooney’s long-awaited emergence as a goalscoring centre forward for England has continued. On United’s pre-season tour to South Africa last summer, Ferguson talked of the need to “define Wayne’s role better” and to “play fair” with him, which meant playing him “through the middle, either the front role or tucking in just behind”. Ferguson was true to his word for much of the season, but by the time the big matches came around in the Champions League in April and May, Rooney was resigned to starting on the left wing. It was a posting that seemed to have less to do with his ability there — no matter that the manager talked up the scope for drifting in, rather than starting in the centre and drifting out — than with offering more defensive discipline than Ronaldo could. Rooney is asked whether he felt like he had been asked to do Ronaldo’s dirty work, a drone to his former team-mate’s queen bee. “I wouldn’t say dirty work because Cristiano is such a talent, he can score from anywhere, so you try to accommodate him as a team,” he said. “As a team, we accommodated him because we knew he could win matches for us. Now that he has gone, we will have to score more goals between us, but I feel like I’m capable of scoring a lot of goals.” Scoring goals matters to Rooney, who hit 20 in 49 appearances in all competitions for United last season, but he is far happier with his total of ten in his past seven appearances for England. He may be a team player, earning praise from Ferguson for his willingness to sacrifice his own game for the greater good, but the soul-searching of recent weeks has led him to the conclusion that he needs, if not to put himself first, to be “a bit more selfish”. Ferguson should see the positive aspects of that. He is tremendously fond of Rooney as a player and as a person, even if the forward is far more likely to incur the manager’s infamous “hairdryer treatment” than Ronaldo ever was. Ferguson’s concern when he signed him as an 18-year-old was that the media wanted to turn Rooney into “your next Beckham, your next Gascoigne, your next George Best”, which is to say a figure whose life is played out on the front pages. But, if Rooney has been a disappointment to anyone, it is to the editors of tabloid newspapers, who reluctantly acknowledge that he and Coleen, his childhood sweetheart, are just a happy, normal, young married couple, albeit with a large disposable income. “As a professional footballer, you try to stay out of trouble,” Rooney said. “And the older you get, the more you try to set a good example rather than a bad example. My family and Coleen’s family both help us keep our feet on the ground. Becoming parents is a big thing for us. It’s something that you go through as you’re growing up and I’m delighted that I’m going to be a dad. We don’t know what we’re having yet, but we’re really looking forward to it. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m a quiet guy. After training or after a game, I just go home, play on the Xbox, watch TV or whatever, just stay out of trouble. On the pitch I’m a competitor and when you’re playing in the biggest league in the world, especially when I was starting at such a young age, there are a lot of emotions. “I’ve worked on that. Sometimes I get a booking or do something and it’s all over the papers or on the news or whatever. I see other players doing ten times worse and nothing is mentioned. But I understand it. “That’s the way I’ve been brought up. I’ve been brought up to try to do the best I can in everything I do. I don’t think I’ve ever come off the pitch and thought that I hadn’t done the best I could have done. Sometimes it goes to plan and sometimes it doesn’t, but I’ve never come off the pitch thinking I didn’t give my best and I don’t think I ever will.” Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle6597213.ece |
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29th June 2009, 01:05
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#9 (permalink) |
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Formerly RedAddict
Join Date: May 2008
Location: We can't stop here. This is bat country.
Posts: 8,761
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Wayne Rooney: I can be Manchester United's new Cristiano Ronaldo
Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent Wayne Rooney believes that he can fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United provided that Sir Alex Ferguson plays him in his “right position” as a centre forward rather than on the wing. In an interview in The Times today, Rooney acknowledges that United need to sign reinforcements after the losses of Ronaldo, who is joining Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million, and Carlos Tévez, who is expected to join Manchester City once his contract at Old Trafford expires tomorrow. Luis Antonio Valencia, the Wigan Athletic right winger, and Karim Benzema, the highly rated Lyons forward, head Ferguson’s list of targets, but, irrespective of who joins, Rooney firmly believes that he can “fill the gap” in goalscoring terms if given an extended run at the point of the attack. “We’ve lost two key players and obviously I hope we can get a few players in,” Rooney said. “Between them Cristiano and Carlos scored a lot of goals for us last season and the season before, but I would like to think I’m capable of filling that gap. I’ve said before that, if I can play in my right position, I’m capable of doing that.” Ferguson frequently played Rooney in wide positions in the closing weeks of last season, including the Champions League final defeat by Barcelona, and even suggested that the forward, like Thierry Henry, may be more potent operating in a wide role and drifting inside from the left wing. But Rooney, who has scored ten goals from a central role in his past seven appearances for England, hopes that Ferguson will restore him to his natural position on a permanent basis. “I want to play in the position where I feel I’m best,” he said. “A lot of people think I’m best as a centre forward. To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege, but I don’t think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to.” In one sense, Rooney could be liberated by Ronaldo’s departure, given that United frequently seemed to be built around the Portugal forward, particularly in big matches in the Champions League. Rooney’s diligence and work ethic often seemed to work against him, while Ronaldo was indulged in a role that effectively absolved him of defensive duties. Asked whether he had resented having to do Ronaldo’s “dirty work”, Rooney replied: “I wouldn’t say dirty work because Cristiano is such a talent, he can score from anywhere, so you try to accommodate him. We accommodated him because we knew he could win matches for us. Now that he has gone we will have to score more goals between us, but I feel like I’m capable of scoring a lot of goals.” Despite interest from Real, Ferguson expects to complete the signing of Valencia within days for something in the region of £15.25 million and is also trying to prise Benzema from France for a fee that may eclipse last summer’s club-record outlay of £30.75 million for Dimitar Berbatov. Lyons expect Arsenal to emerge as rival bidders for Benzema as Arsène Wenger, the manager, looks to replace the unsettled Emmanuel Adebayor, who is wanted by AC Milan, but Ferguson is confident of getting his man. Sergio Agüero, of Atlético Madrid, is regarded as a secondary target if the Benzema deal does not come off. Ferguson is also reported to have an interest in Alexis Sánchez, the Udinese and Chile winger, who operates on the left-hand side. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle6598637.ece |
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29th June 2009, 01:54
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#14 (permalink) | |
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First Team Sub
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,791
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But no I mean in the sense of depending on signings of course this could be the first season where we're really relying on Rooney to be the main man at United, so far in his United career he's always be able to play second fiddle to Ruud and then Ronaldo but now he's the talisman, he's the one that the team (hopefully at least) will be built around and now it's his chance to prove for want of a better phrase 'he's the man' Alas if we dont win the league/champions league and he only has a so so season where he's no more than on a par with someone else I think he'll struggle then to ever have a better chance to really cement himself as one of the worlds best |
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29th June 2009, 02:02
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#16 (permalink) | |
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First Team Regular
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Manhattan
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Ronnie is a better player on the pitch period. |
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29th June 2009, 02:07
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#17 (permalink) | |
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First Team Regular
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 I fucking love Wayne Rooney. Off the pitch, he and I are quite alike really (apart from I don't have the hot wife and kid on the way, or the money... but he is 18 months older so there's still time  ). Been my favourite player for years and this interview just enhances it all.
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29th June 2009, 02:12
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#19 (permalink) | |
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First Team Sub
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Football is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom
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29th June 2009, 02:18
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#21 (permalink) | |
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Suarez of the year
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Location: Cymru
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29th June 2009, 02:20
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#23 (permalink) | |
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Suarez of the year
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29th June 2009, 09:31
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#28 (permalink) | |
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Reserve Team Player
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29th June 2009, 10:02
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#29 (permalink) | |
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Officially Damned
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29th June 2009, 10:36
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#31 (permalink) |
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Doom
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,713
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I can't tell what position he's talking about wanting to play.
If it's a centre forward as in where he used to play, with someone leading the line ahead of him, then fantastic, I'm all aboard. If it's a centre forward like it was like for large parts of last season with Rooney leading the line and Berbatov in behind then I'm worried. |
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29th June 2009, 10:48
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#32 (permalink) | |
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RTA waiting to happen
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29th June 2009, 10:59
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#34 (permalink) | |
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I'm hungry
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Location: Berbatov has Cantona’s knack of being the man amid a stampede towards the door who stops to notice a side exit that nobody else has seen.
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Why do we have to make such disparaging comparisons between our own players? Can we not just accept that Nani had a very promising first season and then an underwhelming second season (as SAF felt he would), but nonetheless, he is a big talent? |
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29th June 2009, 11:19
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#35 (permalink) | ||
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First Team Sub
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29th June 2009, 12:00
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#36 (permalink) |
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Astrophysical Genius
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Asagan, for Sagat X is the true path. Sir Alex - you're an old dick, but I respect you.
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Funny that comparisons to his personal life have already been made to Scholes, I always get the impression both he and Scholes are very good friends, from what I've seen especially in the warm-ups etc. This is a good thing, I suppose Scholes and Rooney are very similar players in some respects. Great shot, great vision, passing, bit of a fox in the box.
Good stuff, Viva La Rooney. |
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29th June 2009, 12:02
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#37 (permalink) | |
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Doom
Join Date: Jun 2006
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For me if we do persist with Berbatov and Rooney then it absolutely has to be Berbatov leading the line with Rooney in behind. I'd love to see us try that but being realistic we never did it once last season so I'm not really optimistic we'll see it next. Here's hoping though, I think it could work if Fergie will just give it a chance. |
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29th June 2009, 12:33
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#39 (permalink) |
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Attention Whoring Common Crow
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Red till i'm dead..
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We've had Rooney and Ronaldo as the talismen behind our team for a few years now. Its to Rooney now to make this his moment. He is the current standard bearer of Manchester United, our driving force, our inspiration, our most outstanding player.
Hopefully next season he will be able to fully express himself within our team. His unselfishness and team ethic makes him valuable wherever he plays, but the side must be built around him now. He cant replace 2 important players by himself so its up to the others to step up and match his contributions. I hope we also secure the necessary talented signings we need to ensure he doesnt have to sacrifice his true ability again. |
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29th June 2009, 12:44
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#40 (permalink) | |
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First Team Regular
Join Date: Apr 2007
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Fair point actually
