The Wayne Rooney Thesis

Pimpy the Magic Elf

He's actually declining since his debut.

Discuss.

PTME

Raven_Blade

You have just opened a can of worms my friend.

A1Dan

a) Presumably, after last night's performance, this is a wind-up.

b) The above point doesn't matter much, you're going to get crucified anwyay.

Forever Red

Same old topic

cw1984

Disagree. He improved immensely for a year or 2 and has declined since then imo.

Still a top top player though and has suffered because of where he's been asked to play.

If we get Berbatov i think Rooney and Tevez will get even better.

p_ps_sock

enjoys stirring it.

Discuss

jgraham

he scored a hattrick on debut - do you expect one from him every game?

ciderman9000000

Well, if this apparent 'decline' continues to coincide with an increase in major trophies, the lad can steadily decline indefinately for all i care.

Lot 49

I basically agree, up until his injury against Chelsea at the end of 05/06 he was just getting better and better.

paulthesinger

if he had improved game after game, he'd be scoring a hattrick every minute by now!

cw1984

Very true. He was brilliant that season.

I remember how gutted i was when the news came that his foot was broken too

IhabX7

His ball control and dribbling ability have declined, his shooting too. He was much more explosive. But thats not saying he's not playing well now, just not as good as I wouldve expected after his first two seasons. His passing can be very good at times, but its erratic. His workrate is unquestionable.

Trippin_Stoned

He's matured. If thats declining then yes I agree with you.

Brwned

He's a better player now than what he used to be. He can lead the line now as well as anyone in the league imo, which is something that very few can just learn to do after playing in the hole for most of his career.

He may be less explosive but he is much better. If he finished some of the countless chances he created for himself because of his top class movement we would be talking about him and Ronaldo fighting it out for the WPOTY this year.

I don't think I agree with the whole idea of making him stop running around so much and forcing him to play like we want him to, I think it'll turn out to be a bad idea. I'm sure hardly anyone will agree with me on that but it worries me.

Pimpy the Magic Elf

His performance against Newcastle will go down as one of the worrst performances in recent United history.

cw1984

In his defense though, he shouldn't have really played in that game. He was rushed back and you could tell.

A different character would have just said no, i've been ill and i'll come back when im ready. But we were thin on the ground and he stepped up. He should be credited for that.

Besides, had Campbell scored Rooney would have had a glorious assist as that cross with the outside of his boot was sublime.

Plechazunga

His overall game has improved. His passing, reading of the game and decision-making are absolutely fantastic for someone so young.

What he has lost, it's true, is some of his explosiveness. I think the repeated foot injuries have cost him a small amount of pace, but he may get that back. It's more psychological than that... he's become less individualistic and slightly less confident than he was when he first came through. One thing's for sure, when he thinks he's an excellent player, when he relies on natural instinct he's an incredible player.

I'd love to see him pick the ball up, turn, just barrel through a couple of defenders and spank it from twenty-five yards, like he used to. But these days he's much more likely to look for a sensible option. Maybe he idolises Scholesy too much? Or maybe it's all the games played out of position that have blunted his natural exuberance? Or maybe it's just a normal part of a great player's learning and development.

Pimpy the Magic Elf

In all fairness, I'd have to agree.

RedSky At Night

If Rooney plays like he did last night then the explosive Rooney will be back shortly. There were signs last night that he is starting to refind his form from a few seasons ago. He just needs more matches and that bit of luck to open the floodgates.

Last night was one of his best performances for months. We haven't seen him striking thunderbolts because his confidence has dipped. Is he declining? Actually I think he's on the tip to becoming our most important player this season. Mark my words, United 08-09 will be Rooneys season.

Pimpy the Magic Elf

I actually don't think he's "so young" anymore. Footballers nowadays tend to peak much earlier than they used to.

I think what might have tarnished Rooneys reputation was the fact that Ronaldo turmed into a godlike player in the past two years. After all their progress was compared a lot back in the days...

Eyepopper

Scored a hat trick in his debut didnt he? Sort of hard to equal that in every game I suppose..

Pimpy the Magic Elf

I thinks he's falling behind Tevez.

A1Dan

Raven_Blade

I will just echo the thoughts that we have come up with before. He needs to play regularly in his position, he needs to be more selfish at times and save some energy for his finishing. Other than that he is the ultimate team player.

KingEric7

Tevez is improving at an absolutely collosal rate, so even if this were true, it would hardly be a disgrace.


It isn't though...

Pat_Mustard

It happened to Giggs. He lost some of his explosiveness as he became more rounded, but he rediscovered it as he entered his prime. Hopefully Rooney follows the same trajectory.

RedSky At Night

I disagree. Theres no denying that Tevez is a good player, but what has he done pre season or last night? He drops far too deep during matches and that always leaves our main striker isolated (Rooney last night).

But don't worry, i'll make sure I bring this thread back up in a few weeks time when Roon has beaten Chelsea and them Scousers.

Pimpy the Magic Elf

A quick look at the MoM thread proves that a lot of Caftards think that he was the best man on the pitch agains Pompey.

Lot 49

Second best player in pre-season after Scholes and was most people's man of the match last night. He's absolutely flying at the moment and I can see him stepping up above Rooney into the Ronaldo/Ferdinand level this season.

RedSky At Night

Which I think is wrong. Apart from dancing around in midfield what did Tevez do last night that actually threatened the Portsmouth goal? The only end product I can think of is the lay off to Evra that setup Fletchers goal.

As for pre season, he was our experienced striker throughout (Rooney injury) yet how many goals did he score? I can't see where the plaudits are coming from, i'm actually disappointed as Tevez seems to be in form yet his end product is still poor.

Rooney however has end product! Rooney is still the better player.

Nanison

Well both Tevez and Rooney aren't dangerous enough in front of goal, they hardly take a shot.

I would agree that Rooney declined a bit. He was phenomenal in his first 2 years. Now he is just a very hard worker.

He did okay yesterday but definately no MOM appearance.

Still got hopes to see the old Wayne