He scored over 30+ goals twice, between 09 and 2012 it definitely wasn’t a run of 10 games. Plus he was playing in a team that got rid of Tevez and Ronaldo with no real replacements! Yet he still looked devastating during that time.
Wayne Rooney's legacy
- Thread starter El Jefe
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
It’s easier to look brilliant as the main man with Rooney and Tévez as your backups, than with Valencia and Nani.
Or the opposite....it’s harder to be the main man when you’ve got Tevez and Ronaldo in your squad. It’s easier to be the main man in an unsuccessful team.
Trippier did an interview recently where the said all the Atletico lot call him Rooney because that's the only English player they know
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...etico-madrid-tottenham-rooney-darts-interview
What I always felt Rooney should have done is started learning to play as a midfielder early on in his career - a bit like Scholes played like an advanced forward before learning midfield and mastering it.
He got in to it too late and never really got in to the rhythm of it.
He got in to it too late and never really got in to the rhythm of it.
One of the greatest players to ever play for United and England, a legend of the club. All time top goalscorer for club and country, scored some incredible goals, mixed with other great assists and contributions all over the pitch.
Rooney is one of my favourite players of all time. Adored watching him play for us, despite his inevitable decline at the end of his time here. His warrior mentality combined with his physicality and technique was incredible, certainly won't see another like him for a long time.
Amazed if anyone doesn't think he is a United legend. For me, he is the epitome of a United player.
Rooney is one of my favourite players of all time. Adored watching him play for us, despite his inevitable decline at the end of his time here. His warrior mentality combined with his physicality and technique was incredible, certainly won't see another like him for a long time.
Amazed if anyone doesn't think he is a United legend. For me, he is the epitome of a United player.
I can understand those who don't count him as a legend because they have strict criteria. Fair enough
It's those who place him below Ronaldo in the legend rankings that I don't understand
It's those who place him below Ronaldo in the legend rankings that I don't understand
It is easy to say years later but it was also easy to say at the time. I don't know what to tell you but for pure raw talent, there always seemed a significant gulf to me.
When you have a super talented inexperienced player or a less talented player who is mature beyond his years, I generally expect the inexperienced more talented one to develop into the better player. It doesn't always happen but it did with Ronaldo.Most of Ronnie's shots back then hit row z more often than not, his shooting technique was bizarre, his crossing was one great cross in about 8 attempts and he was maddeningly inconsistent, which as a young player he was entitled to be. I don't think anyone could have predicted the level of improvement that came in the 06-07 season. If you saw Ronaldo in his first few seasons here you hoped he'd get to the level of someone like Figo or Ryan Giggs but it wasn't a given. I remember the consensus at the time was that Robben and Reyes were bigger talents which obviously proved to be spectacularly false
Anyway, 2006-07 season saw all that change. Rooney actually equalled Ronaldo's tally of 23 goals that season but anyone could see who was the better player then. I'd go as far to say that I don't think I've seen any other player improve so much as Ronnie did that year. As I said, Rooney to most people looked to have the bigger future before then.
I don't mean 10 games his whole career! He did play more than 16 times for United!
Don't be ridiculous in saying these things. He was a great servant for us for over a decade and he played in the first team week in week out. That in itself is a mark of a great player. There are so many players who don't really score goals but their presence on the field is in itself one of the huge boosts in terms of scoring goals. Rooney's career is a testament to how good a player can be over a decade barring, of course, Messi and Ronaldo. He did have a few worrying times especially the problem we faced during his odd conversations with City but I don't think he did it to lure us into giving him more money but instead to stand up to the owners.
During his later half of the career, he put on weight and lost his legs but I think he was still important in the team and added hugely to the upliftment of the team. He was a total team man and did everything in his power to see United up there with the best. LVG even played him as part of the midfield and he went on to do pretty decently. So for anything who thinks Rooney didn't live up to the expectations, I only have one thing to say "RIDICULOUS"!
Rooney still rocks at DC UNITED!
PS: JUST so you know he's still on the list of the most assists in the PL, says more than I want to.
During his later half of the career, he put on weight and lost his legs but I think he was still important in the team and added hugely to the upliftment of the team. He was a total team man and did everything in his power to see United up there with the best. LVG even played him as part of the midfield and he went on to do pretty decently. So for anything who thinks Rooney didn't live up to the expectations, I only have one thing to say "RIDICULOUS"!
Rooney still rocks at DC UNITED!
PS: JUST so you know he's still on the list of the most assists in the PL, says more than I want to.
Yeah mate i'm 8 years old.If there was so many stories knocking about and so much speculation then it shouldn't be too hard to rustle up an article linking Rooney to City from before SAF went public. As i said i'm happy to be proven wrong, so can you provide links to any of this wild speculation linking Rooney to City from before then?
FYI SAF went public with the Rooney news in his MUTV interview around the 18th/19th October 2010. So anything from before that would do.
Rewrite it? Rewrite what SAF's book?As i said mate i suggest reading it if you haven't.
Do you have comprehension problems mate?
I said i don't know what changed Rooney's mind, i don't and neither do you. We can both speculate why he changed his mind but thats all it would be. It could well have been money but as i said i don't know what he was offered in the initial contract he turned down. Beyond that unlike you i'm not making any claims to know one way or another.
As do i mate, with the difference being i'm basing my opinion on actual evidence and direct quotes from those involved as opposed to tabloid speculation and 3rd party gossip.
You can keep repeating your opinion but thats all it is mate.
My ''story'' (jesus the irony) is not so much pro Rooney as it is anti-bullshit. Theres plenty of ammunition to dislike Rooney, god knows he's pissed me off with some of his antics over the years. But the Rooney/City story is almost certainly tabloid nonsense with no actual basis in reality. You are also entitled to believe whatever you like based on stories from tabloids mate, you seem the type.
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he's definitely a legend of the club. if we had a young Rooney playing for us right now he'd be our best player, comfortably.
Easily.
The complaints being made about Rooney in this thread echo the complaints made about Yaya on Bluemoon these days, which I understand - but this idea that transfer speculation and off-field antics can tarnish the memories of what they both achieved on the pitch just says to me that we take football far too seriously. To footballers, teams are just employers. Why wouldn't they think about leaving one employer for another once in a while? It's only human. I'm not sure they really owe us anything.
Admittedly Rooney was much worse on the pitch in his "twilight years" (I use the quotation marks because Rooney's arrived much earlier than anyone else's) than Yaya ever was, but I put that down to United still relying on him and failing to recognise a busted flush. Yaya was almost finished at the end of the 15/16 season and was miles over the hill in Pep's first year - that's why we limited him to precisely 17 appearances in all competitions during the Centurions season and flogged him after that. Rooney was still making regular appearances in Mourinho's first season!
In the end, with United, Rooney won five Premier League titles, one Champions League (and reached three finals), one FA Cup, four League Cups, five Community Shields, and the Premier League POTY award. Yaya won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, one Community Shield, all with City. Once players like Rooney and Yaya leave, I think it's better to remember what they contributed to. Football is 99% stress and misery and only 1% of clubs get to win trophies regularly. Rooney and Yaya helped United and City stay in that 1% while they played, which is more than most fans can ask for.
Admittedly Rooney was much worse on the pitch in his "twilight years" (I use the quotation marks because Rooney's arrived much earlier than anyone else's) than Yaya ever was, but I put that down to United still relying on him and failing to recognise a busted flush. Yaya was almost finished at the end of the 15/16 season and was miles over the hill in Pep's first year - that's why we limited him to precisely 17 appearances in all competitions during the Centurions season and flogged him after that. Rooney was still making regular appearances in Mourinho's first season!
In the end, with United, Rooney won five Premier League titles, one Champions League (and reached three finals), one FA Cup, four League Cups, five Community Shields, and the Premier League POTY award. Yaya won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, one Community Shield, all with City. Once players like Rooney and Yaya leave, I think it's better to remember what they contributed to. Football is 99% stress and misery and only 1% of clubs get to win trophies regularly. Rooney and Yaya helped United and City stay in that 1% while they played, which is more than most fans can ask for.
There should be no debate into Rooney's legacy or contribution to our club. Yeah, he peaked early and declined but he is still ours and our country's top scorer.
If he kept up his peak for for longer he could very well be considered our best ever player. For those lucky enough to have been able to watch him at OT, and not just when TV cameras were on him he was a monster.
If he kept up his peak for for longer he could very well be considered our best ever player. For those lucky enough to have been able to watch him at OT, and not just when TV cameras were on him he was a monster.
Rooney had a fantastic playing career, he's one of my all-time favourite players and I loved him when he was at United. However I can see the 'not lived up to expectations' argument purely because when he broke in at Everton at 16 he looked like he may have been heading for GOAT status alongside Pele and Maradona. His youth coach at Everton Ray Hall lays out just how extraordinary he looked at 8 years old and how he tore it up at 14 in Everton's u17 team:Don't be ridiculous in saying these things. He was a great servant for us for over a decade and he played in the first team week in week out. That in itself is a mark of a great player. There are so many players who don't really score goals but their presence on the field is in itself one of the huge boosts in terms of scoring goals. Rooney's career is a testament to how good a player can be over a decade barring, of course, Messi and Ronaldo. He did have a few worrying times especially the problem we faced during his odd conversations with City but I don't think he did it to lure us into giving him more money but instead to stand up to the owners.
During his later half of the career, he put on weight and lost his legs but I think he was still important in the team and added hugely to the upliftment of the team. He was a total team man and did everything in his power to see United up there with the best. LVG even played him as part of the midfield and he went on to do pretty decently. So for anything who thinks Rooney didn't live up to the expectations, I only have one thing to say "RIDICULOUS"!
Rooney still rocks at DC UNITED!
PS: JUST so you know he's still on the list of the most assists in the PL, says more than I want to.
Tellingly at the end of that clip (filmed in 2010) Hall says 'I hope he goes on and does what everyone thinks he can do and become the world's best player', which it's fair to say he never quite did. I think a combination of his patchy conditioning and the role Fergie envisaged for him in our team led him to become a fantastic team player who made huge contributions to great United sides without being that GOAT-level individual he had offered teasing glimpses of in his youth. My view is there's no shame in not matching the expectation of reaching the very top but it's technically accurate to say he didn't match those expectations as a player.
yeah, god forbid he didn't live up to expectations if those expectations were Pele and Maradona level. jesus. 99.99% of all players won't live up to that.
He never really got to play centrally until 2009-10, and boy what a season that was. Definitely one of the best strikers the club has had! #LEGEND
Who's saying God forbid?
I'm saying he was tipped for greatness and became great, which is a hugely impressive achievement, but in my view there is an argument about how great he could have been individually if he'd been more selfish, had the side built around him, not had a couple of bad injuries and had Ronaldo-level conditioning (NOT Ronaldo-level results, but it's fair to say Ronnie worked on his conditioning more than Rooney). In the same way we can talk about a world where Ronaldo Fenomeno was in better shape without the bad injuries we can wonder how much better Rooney could have been without diminishing his superb achievements with United and England.Good post, Rooney just doesn't get the credit he deserves.
not forgetting the long return from injury. It took him, as per SAF, a run of up to 10 games to get going again.
That 09-10 season was sensational, so unlucky to miss out to Chelsea by a single point! Then 11-12 by bloody goal difference.
So well put! Why doesn't anyone understand that it is the commitment and the urge to win that counts more than anything.
He is definitely a club legend. Young Rooney was unbelievable, integral part of one of our all time great squads.
I definitely had higher hopes for him. I know it sounds absurd when he is United and England's all time top scorer, but that is testament to how polished he was at 17. How much desire and aggression he had on the pitch. I thought he'd be winning balon d'ors.
We have been blessed with many world class players who looked after themselves, always respected the club and the gaffer and had long successful careers here. So i rank him below the likes of Charlton, Robson, Giggs, Scholes etc.. Loved watching him from when we signed him till around 2011. After that, i wished he'd just look for a different challenge.
I definitely had higher hopes for him. I know it sounds absurd when he is United and England's all time top scorer, but that is testament to how polished he was at 17. How much desire and aggression he had on the pitch. I thought he'd be winning balon d'ors.
We have been blessed with many world class players who looked after themselves, always respected the club and the gaffer and had long successful careers here. So i rank him below the likes of Charlton, Robson, Giggs, Scholes etc.. Loved watching him from when we signed him till around 2011. After that, i wished he'd just look for a different challenge.
I remember seeing a couple of pix from one Summer, there was Ronaldo, chiseled torso, jogging along a beach, keeping himself in condition, and then there was Rooney, having a paddle, with a pint and a burger in hand...
Rooney was a phenomenal player in his prime though...
He's an absolute legend for us in my eyes despite a few of negatives along the way.
It's only my opinion/perception but that injury against Chelsea in 05-06 just seemed to take something away from him, probably not helped by being rushed back for the 06 World Cup. His explosiveness just seemed to diminish more and more after that. I just remember times before- like his goal against Wigan in a league game, his assist for Ronaldo against Southampton in the FA cup, and his assist for Ruud against Charlton (i think) - where we would just bulldoze his way past defenders. I'd never really seen a player do that in such a way. The likes of Giggs and Messi could slip by 3-4 defenders with grace and skill but Rooney just smashed anything that stood in his way. I do think injuries limited him but he still ended up having an incredible career.
It's only my opinion/perception but that injury against Chelsea in 05-06 just seemed to take something away from him, probably not helped by being rushed back for the 06 World Cup. His explosiveness just seemed to diminish more and more after that. I just remember times before- like his goal against Wigan in a league game, his assist for Ronaldo against Southampton in the FA cup, and his assist for Ruud against Charlton (i think) - where we would just bulldoze his way past defenders. I'd never really seen a player do that in such a way. The likes of Giggs and Messi could slip by 3-4 defenders with grace and skill but Rooney just smashed anything that stood in his way. I do think injuries limited him but he still ended up having an incredible career.
Weirdly, probably my favourite Rooney goal. The guy was obviously in agony before sprinting to latch on to the pass.
why does it have to be before those dates ? There's articles from 18th October which is when it broke, As I've said already, it was a bolt out of the blue, it wasn't speculation like Pogba going to Madrid that rumbled about for months...it was one where you wake up one morning and it's everywhere. Out of nowhere he told SAF he didn't want to play for Manchester United anymore. He was adamant that was it. Sky sports news, talksport, every newspaper had the same story, It was even on national news. The whole of Manchester was talking about it. Felt like the whole world was. I'll repeat for the umpteenth time....there was no one else involved. Clearly the clubs hadn't spoke but for sure the agent had agreed with City. Unless you seriously think Rooney wakes up one morning out of the blue with no contact from another club and decides I don't want to play for united anymore?
If there was so many stories knocking about and so much speculation then it shouldn't be too hard to rustle up an article linking Rooney to City from before SAF went public. As i said i'm happy to be proven wrong, so can you provide links to any of this wild speculation linking Rooney to City from before then?
FYI SAF went public with the Rooney news in his MUTV interview around the 18th/19th October 2010. So anything from before that would do.
As i said mate i suggest reading it if you haven't.
Do you have comprehension problems mate?
I said i don't know what changed Rooney's mind, i don't and neither do you. We can both speculate why he changed his mind but thats all it would be. It could well have been money but as i said i don't know what he was offered in the initial contract he turned down. Beyond that unlike you i'm not making any claims to know one way or another.
As do i mate, with the difference being i'm basing my opinion on actual evidence and direct quotes from those involved as opposed to tabloid speculation and 3rd party gossip.
You can keep repeating your opinion but thats all it is mate.
My ''story'' (jesus the irony) is not so much pro Rooney as it is anti-bullshit. Theres plenty of ammunition to dislike Rooney, god knows he's pissed me off with some of his antics over the years. But the Rooney/City story is almost certainly tabloid nonsense with no actual basis in reality. You are also entitled to believe whatever you like based on stories from tabloids mate, you seem the type.
There's loads online....I'm not expecting Rooney or SAF to say anything more than what they said at the time. It never materialised because in the end he signed a new contract. But the tone of SAF's press conference wasn't about a fall out with Rooney, it was about where he was planning to go. The mob outside his house wasn't about him asking to leave, it was about where he was going. Didn't happen a couple of years later with Chelsea.
Looking at it ten years later and claiming because SAF hasn't said he was going to City, means he wasn't, doesn't change anything. You can call anything speculation unless it actually happens. Rooney isn't going to come out now and say he was, City aren't because it's embarrassing for them also.
But what you're suggesting is that Rooney said he no longer wanted to play for the club, even though he had nowhere else to go part way through a season. Then did a u-turn on a double your money contract but not for the money?
He was a little flawed but a lot of top talents are that way.
He might have got his head turned a bit either by his own thinking or his agent but at the end of the day he produced and often unselfishly in other positions from where he wanted to be.
Combine all the goals, the assists and the trophies and his legacy is there forever and nothing will shift that.
He might have got his head turned a bit either by his own thinking or his agent but at the end of the day he produced and often unselfishly in other positions from where he wanted to be.
Combine all the goals, the assists and the trophies and his legacy is there forever and nothing will shift that.
John O'Shea says there was no grudge from Manchester United players against teammate Wayne Rooney over his transfer bombshell last season.
In the end, Rooney signed a new contract and United went on to win the title.
United defender O'Shea recalled in Champ19ns, a book about United's record title-winning season by Steve Bartram, "It transpired it was just an interesting technique of getting a new deal," O'Shea said. "I think Wayne, if he could turn back the clock, might do things a bit differently, but both parties were happy in the end.
"He came [into the Carrington dressing room after signing his new deal] and apologised to everyone. He said he'd done what he had to do, basically, and he was sorry if he had offended anybody. Obviously there were a few comments that will stay in the dressing room. They were quite smart and funny, but all friendly."
either way, people are quite entitled to not particulary like the guy
In the end, Rooney signed a new contract and United went on to win the title.
United defender O'Shea recalled in Champ19ns, a book about United's record title-winning season by Steve Bartram, "It transpired it was just an interesting technique of getting a new deal," O'Shea said. "I think Wayne, if he could turn back the clock, might do things a bit differently, but both parties were happy in the end.
"He came [into the Carrington dressing room after signing his new deal] and apologised to everyone. He said he'd done what he had to do, basically, and he was sorry if he had offended anybody. Obviously there were a few comments that will stay in the dressing room. They were quite smart and funny, but all friendly."
either way, people are quite entitled to not particulary like the guy
Don't think Fergie ever quite forgave him tbh
I'm only going off what you said below mate, you claimed speculation about Rooney going to City was rife which is why Ferguson publicly commented on and confirmed what you say the world already knew.
Where as i've maintained the speculation came after SAF went public. So it's sort of important as to your entire recollection of the event. Is it not?
And if the speculation only came after SAF went public. Then it points to the tabloids needing to link Rooney with someone to generate clicks and where else would they link him but with the newly minted noisy neighbours.
I didn't suggest that at all mate either i've poorly phrased it or you've misinterpreted what i said. All i said was what was in Fergusons book. Which was that Rooney and his agent told Gill/SAF he wouldn't be signing another contract, in August and again in October. No one that i know of including Ferguson had suggested Rooney was looking to leave in the upcoming 2011 January window.
I assume with Rooney telling the club several times he wouldn't be signing a new contract as opposed to ''i want to leave now''(he said the same in his infamous press conference). He was probably planning to either run his contract down to one year for more bargaining power or just leave on a Bosman at the end of it. I wouldn't put trying to screw the club out of a transfer fee past him or his agent to be honest.
We're going round in circles at this point mate and getting no where. You believed the media speculation about Rooney going to City fair enough, i'd been through at that point many transfer sagas over 15-20 years and for me there never seemed to be anything concrete in the Rooney/City stories.
You don't think anyone would have commented on it by now fair enough. Where as i think if there had been any validity to the rumour eg, talks, bids etc. Then in my opinion there would have been someone involved who would have spilled the beans by now in an interview or to sell a book etc.
We just see it differently, and i don't think either of us is going to convince the other so i reckon we should just leave it there.
For whats it's worth here's my understanding of the timeline of it all, as i've interpreted it from Fergusons book if you're interested. If Ferguson is to be believed then it didn't all pop up out of the blue, Rooney had been refusing a new contract for months.
-Rooney's agent tells Gill he wont' be signing a new contract in early August, disappointed at the clubs transfer activity apparently.
-Rooney's agent reiterates that stance in October in the next round of talks, after not being given assurances on transfers.
-Rooney tells SAF in person a few days later he won't be signing a new contract.
-Shortly after SAF said he was worried about his form so said he was injured and left him out of a United game before the upcoming international break. With the thinking being he could play some minutes for England to get some confidence back.
-Rooney contradicts Ferguson in an England presser by saying he wasn't injured at all and plays 90 mins for England. This understandably annoys Ferguson.
-Rooney is again left out of the starting line-up vs West Brom, United were struggling with the fans chanting for Rooney to come off the bench. SAF said he was a bit annoyed by that as they didn't know what he'd said behind the scenes.
-SAF goes public with the Rooney news in an MUTV interview.
-Media speculation linking him to City goes wild.
-Ferguson reiterates the news in a CL press conference the next day.
-Rooney holds a press confirming he doesn't want to sign a new contract.
-Two days later he signs a new contract.
-Rooney's agent reiterates that stance in October in the next round of talks, after not being given assurances on transfers.
-Rooney tells SAF in person a few days later he won't be signing a new contract.
-Shortly after SAF said he was worried about his form so said he was injured and left him out of a United game before the upcoming international break. With the thinking being he could play some minutes for England to get some confidence back.
-Rooney contradicts Ferguson in an England presser by saying he wasn't injured at all and plays 90 mins for England. This understandably annoys Ferguson.
-Rooney is again left out of the starting line-up vs West Brom, United were struggling with the fans chanting for Rooney to come off the bench. SAF said he was a bit annoyed by that as they didn't know what he'd said behind the scenes.
-SAF goes public with the Rooney news in an MUTV interview.
-Media speculation linking him to City goes wild.
-Ferguson reiterates the news in a CL press conference the next day.
-Rooney holds a press confirming he doesn't want to sign a new contract.
-Two days later he signs a new contract.
No, he didn't. Results elsewhere meant that we would've gone down anyway. This myth needs to die.
Just catching up with this thread and, good grief, this is one of the worst takes I've ever seen on the Caff. RVP was basically great for one season. Ronaldo was fun, then good, then great for one season. And Yorke and Cole had an amazing team behind them. I love all of them but none gave as much to the club as Rooney.
Rooney has longevity, selflessness, goals, workrate, the whole lot. Time and again he was sacrificed for the sake of the team precisely because he was good enough to play anywhere. Rooney is a legend up there with the Trinity and Cantona without any doubt at all.
If even Rooney can't be called a Utd legend then who can? You lot better stop singing about Best then too since he was basically done for at age 26.
I'm not sure what to think of many utd fans who don't appreciate contributions made by the 2 most famous English Utd players abroad: Beckham and Rooney. They are responsible for a huge part of the international fandom of the club, they are superstars and damn good at football too.
I'm not sure what to think of many utd fans who don't appreciate contributions made by the 2 most famous English Utd players abroad: Beckham and Rooney. They are responsible for a huge part of the international fandom of the club, they are superstars and damn good at football too.
Not to be that guy but I saw it from the first minute, his talent level was insane and the fact he kept taking those shots on told me he was confident and hard working enough to back himself to get to a top level with the things he was attempting - no half measures, he was working on it being fantastic every time, and if he couldn’t do it with that power level he didn’t see it as worth doing. Didn’t predict him reaching necessarily the level he reached of course, but right from the start I was literally desperate to see him play again and I’ve never felt that way about another footballer.Most of Ronnie's shots back then hit row z more often than not, his shooting technique was bizarre, his crossing was one great cross in about 8 attempts and he was maddeningly inconsistent, which as a young player he was entitled to be. I don't think anyone could have predicted the level of improvement that came in the 06-07 season. If you saw Ronaldo in his first few seasons here you hoped he'd get to the level of someone like Figo or Ryan Giggs but it wasn't a given. I remember the consensus at the time was that Robben and Reyes were bigger talents which obviously proved to be spectacularly false
.
Reading a lot of these rather bitter sounding posters on this forum, you’d think only a handful of people who had ever played football were actually any good at the game. And Ravel Morrison was one who could have been better than them all.
Well said.
Thousand times this.
And I can't understand those who don't count him as a legend.
Totally understand that and I felt the same, he was such a brilliant entertainer and one of those players that just excited everyone but there were also genuine times when I struggled to defend him. I remember watching games where rival fans would literally burst out laughing as another shot landed in row z rather than anywhere near he goal. He'd get tackled fairly and then throw his arms up to the referee and it was a bit embarrassing to watch at times. His mental strength to keep picking himself up was immense.
0:23 was not an isolated incident with Ronaldo at this time in his development.
5:23 Is a great example of what Rooney was all about back then. I know he fecked up the finish but the pace and power in the run is just
That is the danger of jumping in mid conversation. You misinterpret the point. I never said any of those players contributed more than Rooney from a longevity perspective.
I said that one of the things that held Rooney back was that he didn't thrive as the talisman. When he was the main player United were less successful than when he was a main player. Cantona, Ronaldo, Yorke, Van Persie thrived as talismanic leaders of the team and fired United to major trophies. Rooney did not.
One of the biggest issues with Rooney was his portrayal as a world class superstar who would have been up there with the best in the world if only he hadn't been played out of position or selflessly sacrificed himself. Just to hammer it home, there you are bleating the same old nonsense.
He should be appreciated for what he was, not what the media decided he should have been (and would have been) if only the greatest manager of all time hadn't ruined him.