Very impressed by him today, especially in the first half. Passes he was pulling off were sublime.
Is this the start of Rooney's transition into midfield?
- Thread starter Carl
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
was hoping he and kagawa would swap positions throughout the game, didn't happen though. CM is not his long term position imo, he is far from comfortable in this position especially when he is inside our own half. concentration could be another problem too.
Showed the arguments for why he should and shouldn't be a center mid, he had a very good first half though.
I thought he was great as well. That pass on RVP's second goal was absolutely ginger-esque. Very exciting prospect the fact that he could work well in that position with Kagawa, an in form Valencia, RVP and another top line striker like Lewandowski or Falcao, backed up by a this year's version of Carrick. It's easy to forget that he's a really good defender as well.
Seemed to lose concentration during the second half, but his first half was very, very good. Of course he doesn't look settled there and those saying 'I'm waiting to see him against a real midfield' are a bit harsh, he wouldn't be played against a 'real' midfield straight away if we really intended to make him into a CM, he'd go through a transition phase against easier opposition to get used to the role (which would be the sensible choice by the coaching staff and SAF), but I think he could be very good in that position. Doesn't really matter though, we'll see.
Once again, Rooney thrives in midfield when he has time and space. However his inconsistency came to the fore once again. Didn't help his concentration dropped either. Played some excellent balls in the first half. Namely the pass for RvP's second was just 
I think it's worth putting his performances on midfield into perspective. It's not like he's been given much time to adapt or even had a run of games there. If he was to make the transition fully next season and get 50 games there alongside Carrick and Cleverley, I think he'd really grow into the role very fast.
His pass to RVP was a beaut. As a side note, did anyone see Rooney going to his seat when he got took off? Not seeeln it myself, but heard he snubbed Fergies handshake!?
Aye spot on, some people are being really unrealistic in their expectations. He has barely played 5 games there, of course he isn't going to have the intricacies of centre mid mastered yet, so criticising his movement is harsh IMO.
Man of the Match against Stoke and he was one of the best players tonight especially in that first half where he out performed Carrick, our player of the season. All in all it's been extremely promising I think, but obviously a long way to go before he is fully comfortable there.
Not seen it myself but he looked disappointed. Fergie was on his case for what I think was not making himself available for a pass when we were being closed down deep in our own half.
I think Sir Alex's handling of Rooney going back to the Madrid game, is going to be a stroke of genius that will pay huge dividends next season.
Sometimes Rooney can get complacent and alot of that has to do with the fact that for the longest time, he hasn't really had competition for a starting place and knew that he'd start the next game even if he was terrible. That's now changed with Kagawa and Welbeck showing themselves capable to step in and now that forces Rooney to make the most of his opportunities and should bring back that fight and competitive streak that has been missing from his game.
I don't think we'll be moving him into midfield permanently for at least a couple of seasons, I think now its more of a case of playing him to keep him happy while we go with players who are in better form at the moment.
Sometimes Rooney can get complacent and alot of that has to do with the fact that for the longest time, he hasn't really had competition for a starting place and knew that he'd start the next game even if he was terrible. That's now changed with Kagawa and Welbeck showing themselves capable to step in and now that forces Rooney to make the most of his opportunities and should bring back that fight and competitive streak that has been missing from his game.
I don't think we'll be moving him into midfield permanently for at least a couple of seasons, I think now its more of a case of playing him to keep him happy while we go with players who are in better form at the moment.
Yeah that's what I meant about people being harsh with their 'he hasn't faced a real midfield yet' comments, he hasn't been trained as a CM, he's been an out and out striker for all his professional career and CM is maybe the hardest spot to get right on the pitch. That he is nonetheless capable to put in a shift there and not look like a fool is pretty impressive and I don't think he's given much credit for it. You could take most forwards in the game and put them in a midfield two, and it would be dreadful.
What I was really looking into last night was his positioning, and it was very good during the first half, both during our attacks and our defensive phases. I think he can be tactically astute and understands the requirements of the position, but I agree that he was a bit lackadaisical during the second half (though, to be fair, most of the team took it down a notch which was annoying). His pass completion was fine, he was involved in our two first goals (directly for the second) with brilliant passes, there's definitely potential there. But of course he won't turn into Pirlo after playing 5 odd games in the position, I don't know what people are expecting.
Instead of thinking that we have a straight choice between playing him as a midfielder or a striker, I think it may make more sense to see his role as somewhat flexible in the coming years. For example if Van Persie were to become seriously injured at some point, Rooney would likely immediately step back into the number 9 role. Even in games like yesterday where he starts alongside Kagawa and Van Persie, there could also be the option of allowing him and Kagawa to freely switch places over the course of a match (i.e. when Rooney pushes up, Kagawa drops or vice versa). We've seen this type of thing in the past with Ronaldo, and I wouldn't be totally surprised to see it happen again.
I feel that often when he plays the simple lay-off type passes in midfield, it's not actually for any reason, it's kind of because he knows that's what midfielders do. He has a good sense of when to play the Hollywood ball, but he doesn't really know when to lay it simple, when to hold it and when to move forward himself.
In other words I suppose, he plays like a centre-forward who's been put in midfield.
In other words I suppose, he plays like a centre-forward who's been put in midfield.
Agreed. No real picture of the game there. Dont see why we want to convert him now.
It's got to be good for him to get a few games a season there for now, if the intention is for him to transition there when he's in his 30s. The only way to learn is to play there.
Couldn't agree more and when pressured Rooney's close control lets him down too much to make a top class centre midfielder. This flaw of Wayne's is fine when he looses the ball in the final third because the opposition still have to work their way through two banks of four to score. However, when Rooney dallies on the ball in front of our defence it becomes very dangerous. Even against Villa he got a rocket from the Boss because of the way he was dawdling at times.
Wayne Rooney is at his best playing off the front somewhere, be it inside forward or in the hole. That is where he should play. Now and in the future.