How would you feel if Rooney smashed it at Everton?

Blind

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Has any pundit on British TV ever called him out, I'm struggling to think of one.
 

Danny Roberts

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He was pretty woeful last night - just like last season. What I find strange is how his touch has deserted him. I can understand losing that bit of acceleration but no reason he should have developed the first touch of a donkey over the last 18 months.

His whole game has really dropped but I think the loss of his ability to surge past people is what made him go from a good to an average player. I would argue that is down to burn-out that is common with a player that started so young. His natural physique hasn't helped and the fact he didn't do his best to make the most of that is the only thing I would hold against him. Too many beers and kebabs!
 

Danny Roberts

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I actually kinda want him to play well. But after viewing last nights performance I think it's safe to say that the move to Everton isn't suddenly going to revitalize him. It just confirms what we've known for seasons now, that the Rooney of old is gone, and all they have is an old Rooney.
The sad thing is you can see he's trying hard, maybe too much so, to get into position and run around. He looks like he's desperate to get the ball, then when he has it his desperation to prove himself causes him to make these horrible mistakes.

I watched the entire 90minutes last night just to see how he was playing against championship level opposition and he still cannot perform the basic tasks required from a footballer, let alone one at this level. I wonder how long it will take RK to realise that this IS the real Rooney now. I imagine somewhere toward the tail end of the seasons when he realises he isn't playing himself into form that he'll be shifted over to the left or right side of attack after unsuccessful stints at 9 and 10 before eventually being benched. At which time the media may finally realise that he's no longer the golden boy they seem insistent on making him out to be.

One of the clueless pundits at half time described his performance as Kante-like. They seem to completely ignore all of his mistakes and concentrate on the fact that he tried to run around a lot. It should perhaps come as no surprise since we've heard the same rhetoric at half time from a dozen pundits over the last few years, despite what lay before their eyes.
They were referring to Gueye being Kante-like not Rooney. It was Kevin Campbell who came across like a bloke in the pub at best.
 

CassiusClaymore

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One of the clueless pundits at half time described his performance as Kante-like.
Seriously? :lol:

Edit: Oh thank Christ they were talking about Gueye.

Says a lot that it wouldn't actually surprise me. Gary Neville will probably refer to him as being Pirloesque at some point this season.
 

RedChip

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I suppose he has a better chance of a resurrection at Everton than at Utd, but I will be very surprised if it happens.
 

Dobbs

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Huh? I'd say he's been well schooled in that with us for the last few years.

Besides, he won't even be in the side by then. I expect this will be the year his media friends will have to stop making excuses for him although no doubt the hyperbole about his enduring class will surface every time he scores a goal/pings a diagonal ball out to Baines on the wing.
Last 4 seasons, working backwards, 6th, 5th, 4th, 7th!
Even with the disaster of the last few seasons we've still been competing and winning trophies, challenging for top four. Just the pressure and spotlight of playing for United is an incentive.

There's every chance this year that come mid season, for the first time in his career, the games will be borderline meaningless. Possibly out of international reckoning as well.
I can see Rooney really struggling with that.
 

simmee

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This has to be one of the most embarrassing threads ever on the caf, right? Not even bluemoon are as obsessed with talking crap about our ex players.
 

Djemba-Djemba

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This has to be one of the most embarrassing threads ever on the caf, right? Not even bluemoon are as obsessed with talking crap about our ex players.
It's a discussion forum.

This thread was bumped a week ago with people saying they thought he'd be a success because he'd scored a couple of goals in pre-season friendlies.
 

Gopher Brown

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He was pretty woeful last night - just like last season. What I find strange is how his touch has deserted him. I can understand losing that bit of acceleration but no reason he should have developed the first touch of a donkey over the last 18 months.

His whole game has really dropped but I think the loss of his ability to surge past people is what made him go from a good to an average player. I would argue that is down to burn-out that is common with a player that started so young. His natural physique hasn't helped and the fact he didn't do his best to make the most of that is the only thing I would hold against him. Too many beers and kebabs!
It's all to do with fitness. If you are concerned about not having the speed to get past the next guy you will be distracted and your ball control will suffer. If you are fit enough not to worry about conserving energy these things come naturally.
 

Dobbs

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It's all to do with fitness. If you are concerned about not having the speed to get past the next guy you will be distracted and your ball control will suffer. If you are fit enough not to worry about conserving energy these things come naturally.
Yep.

Said this before. Anybody whose kicked a ball knows that when you're knackered or the legs feel heavy the touch goes. The doubt it creates only exacerbates the problem.
 

Jig1234

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I rather focus on Utd and how we're doing. Not wishing Rooney to fail or anything, I'm just not fussed either way.
 

VeevaVee

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I don't think there's much chance of him smashing it unless it's out of the ground so I wouldn't worry too much.
How does that even happen? Most people could get a better shot off than that. It's perfectly set up for shooting. Almost looks like lazy body positioning.
 

Needham

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It was evident about 3 years ago that he'd lost his centre of gravity, the epicore of his balancium vitreus. Rooney should have gone to Forest and become a Robin Hood leg-end in the Championship. What Koeman is seeing in training must be turning his hair white and his face red.
 

Wiltord02

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Even if he scores 20 goals next year, it doesn't excuse his absolute garbage form for the past 2.5 years. In the last few years, he has been a non entity for the United squad and took up a valuable spot in the team for far too long. Once Sir Alex retired you hired managers who didn't have the balls to see his best days were behind him and who tried to shoehorn him into the midfield, something he was never equipped for.
 
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Cnaiür urs Skiötha

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To me he is a hero and a legend. Yes the fall outs where there but on the pitch he gave his all gave us alot more highs than lows..

may sound silly but watching the everton game earlier I still found myself supporting him.. I want him to do well like 99% of players who leave us..

love him or hate him he goes down as one of our greatest players ever.
Absolutely this. However, it cannot be overseen that he is not on the Level needed to win the big trophies anymore.
 

C3Pique

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I still remember the audacity he has claiming that he would retire from internationals after 2018. Fact is he is finished at the top level, just a matter of how long it will take for Everton fans blue-tinted specs to wear off.
 

AndyJ1985

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It's going to be funny seeing Everton fans slowly come to the realisation that Rooney is complete shite. I expect they will have the same sort of arguments we had on here, where there will be a few fanatics claiming he's still got it.
 

adexkola

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I still don't understand the hordes who urged Rooney to leave, as it would give him a greater chance of making the world cup.

Anyway, I hope he smashes it at Everton.
 

renatosanches85

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Why would you not want to see him do well? He was finished at UTD, he gave us everything he had. To be fair I've never not wanted a former UTD player to do well when they have moved on, except for Kanchelskis, I fookin' hated him when he left, purely because he was my favourite player as a kid.
 

renatosanches85

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Even if he scores 20 goals next year, it doesn't excuse his absolute garbage form for the past 2.5 years. In the last few years, he has been a non entity for the United squad and took up a valuable spot in the team for far too long. Once Sir Alex retired you hired managers who didn't have the balls to see his best days were behind him and who tried to shoehorn him into the midfield, something he was never equipped for.
"doesn't excuse"? You'd swear he was doing it on purpose, he's legs went. But as you say it was the managers fault, and the board for hiring Moyes, a stronger manager would have ushered him out that first post-Fergie season, as Mourinho did.
 

whatwha

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Nah I don't agree.

I think Rooney got away with his poor fitness by blaming his genetics for far too long. I'm sure it played a part but not as much as him eating shit and drinking too much did.

Genetics alone don't make elite footballers like Rooney used to be completely finished as a top level player by 29/30.
He started looking finished 3 years ago, at age 28 really, which is a little ridiculous.

I think it comes down to four factors.
* Genetics

* Too many miles on the clock, and too many injuries. He started playing at age 16 and played a huge amount of games ever since. He also had to adapt his game a little by changing his shooting style after his metatarsal injuries. Then he looked a bit different after he came back from the Bayern injury.

* Not taking good enough care of himself with his diet, extra training, staying away from cigarettes and alcohol etc. He's never been the model professional a la Ronaldo. A lot of players do some drinking and smoking during summer but they aren't paid 250k p. w. to be the best. Giggs took up yoga to deal with fitness issues. Don't see Rooney doing that. :)

* The mental side of it all. I don't think this should be underestimated. I get the impression he started thinking he had nothing more to prove after his last big contract. Then he came out and said exactly that last season.
And maybe he should never have been made captain for club and country. It's my impression that he was better suited as the second biggest top dog.
I also think he became a more like a jaded mercenary whose primary interest was money at some point, after the contract disputes, rather than someone who loved the club.
He let much of his anger and passion go out of him and started caring less about the results of games and his own performances. He became more buddy-buddy with the opponents on the pitch, which ties into the jaded mercenary thing where it's basically professionals vs. the world, rather than Rooney giving it all fighting for his own club and the Utd fans. But I'm rambling a bit here. :)
 

IRELANDUNITED

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I'm about as concerned about this as I am about him smashing my sister, and I don't have a sister.
 

whatwha

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It was evident about 3 years ago that he'd lost his centre of gravity, the epicore of his balancium vitreus. Rooney should have gone to Forest and become a Robin Hood leg-end in the Championship. What Koeman is seeing in training must be turning his hair white and his face red.
"the epicore of his balancium vitreus" :confused: If this post is a joke I'm not getting it :p
 

Needham

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Why would you not want to see him do well? He was finished at UTD, he gave us everything he had. To be fair I've never not wanted a former UTD player to do well when they have moved on, except for Kanchelskis, I fookin' hated him when he left, purely because he was my favourite player as a kid.
What about Tevez?
 

SoCross

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If anyone fancies doing a sweepstakes on when the first "We need a player like Rooney" thread appears, I'd be willing to put a score on December 2019. Just putting it out there.

Call me weird (I am) but there's a quasi-sadistic part of me that's really looking forward to winning Caf arguments in 2028, by quoting the last 18 months of angry Rooney posts at some VR addicted future tween, whose complaining about our £300m back up striker failing to live up to the unassailable standards set by the legendary Wayne Rooney.
I'd give it 5 years; 2022.

Although to be fair, a player with the traits of a young Rooney would be most welcome even now :D
 

Djemba-Djemba

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He started looking finished 3 years ago, at age 28 really, which is a little ridiculous.

I think it comes down to four factors.
* Genetics

* Too many miles on the clock, and too many injuries. He started playing at age 16 and played a huge amount of games ever since. He also had to adapt his game a little by changing his shooting style after his metatarsal injuries. Then he looked a bit different after he came back from the Bayern injury.

* Not taking good enough care of himself with his diet, extra training, staying away from cigarettes and alcohol etc. He's never been the model professional a la Ronaldo. A lot of players do some drinking and smoking during summer but they aren't paid 250k p. w. to be the best. Giggs took up yoga to deal with fitness issues. Don't see Rooney doing that. :)

* The mental side of it all. I don't think this should be underestimated. I get the impression he started thinking he had nothing more to prove after his last big contract. Then he came out and said exactly that last season.
And maybe he should never have been made captain for club and country. It's my impression that he was better suited as the second biggest top dog.
I also think he became a more like a jaded mercenary whose primary interest was money at some point, after the contract disputes, rather than someone who loved the club.
He let much of his anger and passion go out of him and started caring less about the results of games and his own performances. He became more buddy-buddy with the opponents on the pitch, which ties into the jaded mercenary thing where it's basically professionals vs. the world, rather than Rooney giving it all fighting for his own club and the Utd fans. But I'm rambling a bit here. :)
I'd agree with all of that yeah.

Combination of factors led to his dramatic decline.
 

The Cat

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He started looking finished 3 years ago, at age 28 really, which is a little ridiculous.

I think it comes down to four factors.
* Genetics

* Too many miles on the clock, and too many injuries. He started playing at age 16 and played a huge amount of games ever since. He also had to adapt his game a little by changing his shooting style after his metatarsal injuries. Then he looked a bit different after he came back from the Bayern injury.

* Not taking good enough care of himself with his diet, extra training, staying away from cigarettes and alcohol etc. He's never been the model professional a la Ronaldo. A lot of players do some drinking and smoking during summer but they aren't paid 250k p. w. to be the best. Giggs took up yoga to deal with fitness issues. Don't see Rooney doing that. :)

* The mental side of it all. I don't think this should be underestimated. I get the impression he started thinking he had nothing more to prove after his last big contract. Then he came out and said exactly that last season.
And maybe he should never have been made captain for club and country. It's my impression that he was better suited as the second biggest top dog.
I also think he became a more like a jaded mercenary whose primary interest was money at some point, after the contract disputes, rather than someone who loved the club.
He let much of his anger and passion go out of him and started caring less about the results of games and his own performances. He became more buddy-buddy with the opponents on the pitch, which ties into the jaded mercenary thing where it's basically professionals vs. the world, rather than Rooney giving it all fighting for his own club and the Utd fans. But I'm rambling a bit here. :)
Giggs took up yoga to make getting his leg over easier :)
 

Sassy Colin

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"the epicore of his balancium vitreus" :confused: If this post is a joke I'm not getting it :p
Guess what the top Google search is on this term:

It was evident about 3 years ago that he'd lost his centre of gravity, the epicore of his balancium vitreus. Rooney should have gone to Forest and become a Robin Hood leg-end in the Championship. What Koeman is seeing in training must be turning his hair white and his face red.
 

AXVnee7

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The reason why we let him go is because we feel he can't 'smash it' anymore. It's not like we had a falling out (this time) or he left for other reasons. He was sold purely because of his inability to perform at the required level. The chances of him rediscovering his form at Everton, an inferior team, are less because he's declined significantly. It'd take a huge turnaround for him to do amazing, but if he does then all credit to him. But realistically speaking he will be a bigger asset in providing his experience in the dressing room, rather than on the pitch.
 

Sandikan

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Stumbled across the Everton game on ITV4 last night, presumed it was some cruddy friendly.

Everton are in the Europa, at 3rd qualifying round? Talk about a real awakener for Rooney!