[GloryHunter07]

It was a bad decision, because he squandered the chance.

Normally Rooney would just side foot that into the bottom corner first time.

I hold no serious doubts about his finishing ability though, he'll be fine when he's gotten rid of the ring rust.

What worries me more is the lack of competition and his overall game as a lone striker.

In hindsight yes, but theres no way he couldve seen Walker coming. Hopefully he burries the next one.

 

[Amar__]

Then Kyle could finish his meal for him.

Insert joke about Rooney always finishing his food quickly.

 

[SteveJ]

His mother was a hamster, and his father smelled of elderberries.

 

[NessunDorma]

Currently on the same amount of goals as Costa, Giroud, Benteke, Ozil, Kane, Hazard, etc, so i'm not worrying yet. If after 5 games he's only scored once, and after ten games has only scored three times, then maybe we can start to question whether he's still capable of being a 20+ goals a season striker.

But after one appearance? No.

 

[Sammyjunn]

Currently on the same amount of goals as Costa, Giroud, Benteke, Ozil, Kane, Hazard, etc, so i'm not worrying yet. If after 5 games he's only scored once, and after ten games has only scored three times, then maybe we can start to question whether he's still capable of being a 20+ goals a season striker.

But after one appearance? No.

You know he played striker almost every week since RVP got injured, with just a few midfield performances.

 

[NessunDorma]

You know he played striker almost every week since RVP got injured, with just a few midfield performances.

And as I said, if he still isn't looking like scoring after 10 games this season, then maybe we can question.

 

[Escobar]

There is also no proper play around him. With that system, most strikers would be lost.

 

[FacerTheRed]

After that spurs game, will he get 20+ goals this season? too early to say i know but that own goal by walker has showed that goal instinct, that hunger for goals isn't there at the moment. Like i said, too early to judge him just yet if he can fill as the main striker as he used to back in 11/12 season. But at the moment i'm not convinced.

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Is there any place which has Rooney's assists broken down into open play and set pieces?

A bit longer than 10 days, but here it is...out of 135 assists Rooney made, 13 came from set pieces. I expected more actually.

Beckham is the King of set piece assists, Cantona of non-set piece ones, while Giggs is a CEO of every fekin' type of assist! More here.

 

[Varun]

A bit longer than 10 days, but here it is...out of 135 assists Rooney made, 13 came from set pieces. I expected more actually.

Beckham is the King of set piece assists, Cantona of non-set piece ones, while Giggs is a CEO of every fekin' type of assist! More here.

I'm shocked tbh. Expected a much higher % to come from set pieces.

 

[Trigg]

He was poor, but then so was Mata, Young and Depay. You do wonder where the creativity is going to come from with what we have at the moment.

 

[Bobcat]

Going to make a bold prediction here: Rooney peaked a long time and we've seen the best from him a long time ago. In his early twenties he was an absolute force of nature and would just wreck defenders for fun, but it's a long time since we've seen that from him

I don't question his goal scoring ability, and if he does get chances he will convert them, but if that is the only demand we make then we might as well have Hernandez up there. All the best teams out there have strikers that not only convert chances, but also make chances for themselves and that ability seem to get worse and worse with Rooney.

I really hope he proves me wrong, but i have a sneaky suspicion that we will struggle this year unless we get a new top quality striker.

 

[United again!]

A bit longer than 10 days, but here it is...out of 135 assists Rooney made, 13 came from set pieces. I expected more actually.

Beckham is the King of set piece assists, Cantona of non-set piece ones, while Giggs is a CEO of every fekin' type of assist! More here.

Personal plaudits in this thread for you @Mrs Smoker absolutely incredible work. Rivalling Giggs' assisting ability.

 

[Drifter]

Average performance from him . Maybe it will take him a few games to get up to speed.

 

[Dex_Utd]

Average performance but far from being as bad as some are making out. His hold up play was alright. I think the main problem was the weakness behind him in the Young-Memphis-Mata line and we just didn't create enough chances for him. Mata was really good with his passing (but he is not a winger) and Young and Memphis didn't provide enough creativity and width. Hard to fault the striker. I doubt any other striker would have made a big difference.
For the goal he should have done better, no doubt. I think he didn't see Walker and played safe with the extra touch. However Rooney has scored plenty of similar goals over the years with first touch so I would take it as a one-off for the time being unless he starts missing a few from close range. And lets not forget he was at least in the right place with plenty of space.

 

[devil in me]

Going to make a bold prediction here: Rooney peaked a long time and we've seen the best from him a long time ago. In his early twenties he was an absolute force of nature and would just wreck defenders for fun, but it's a long time since we've seen that from him

.

I've said this for years mate. Rooney has always been a good few years ahead of his actual age in terms of his development, and hence his peak was probably 23-24 rather than 28-29 like most players. Look at him when he burst onto the scene at 16 - there was no way he was a typical 16 year old. We benefitted from that when we first had him but now it's the opposite. He's still a good player, but it's like having a 33 year old up front these days. That explosiveness is long gone. He's certainly not a player who you would expect to play well into his 30's.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Going to make a bold prediction here: Rooney peaked a long time and we've seen the best from him a long time ago. In his early twenties he was an absolute force of nature and would just wreck defenders for fun, but it's a long time since we've seen that from him

I don't question his goal scoring ability, and if he does get chances he will convert them, but if that is the only demand we make then we might as well have Hernandez up there. All the best teams out there have strikers that not only convert chances, but also make chances for themselves and that ability seem to get worse and worse with Rooney.

I really hope he proves me wrong, but i have a sneaky suspicion that we will struggle this year unless we get a new top quality striker.

Don't think that's a bold prediction, I think that sums up about 80% of the fanbase.

 

[Speak]

Not great, but when Ashley Young is the most creative player in the trio behind you, you're never going to get chances galore. Rooney's no Aguero or Suarez, but our creativity is shocking.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I think because over the last few years we've been used to seeing Rooney behind the striker, he's been involved in games a lot more and has seen a lot more of the ball.

The way Van Gaal likes his strikers to play means Rooney will see a lot less of the ball, and because of that, people will automatically say he hasn't done anything, but to me, he played like any other striker would play up top on their own and did what he had to do. When the ball came to him, he held it up, linked up well, he pressed and ran in behind, although no one, other than Bastian in the 63rd minute, found him, which resulted in a shot on goal by Young.

I think in order to get the best out of Rooney, and I've said it before, is to get wingers, who are willing to keep the width and run in behind. At the moment, with Mata on the wing, when he cuts in, which is often, he closes the space for both, Rooney and Memphis. Rooney is also a player who is great inside the box, and strives off crosses from wide, but we didn't get in nowhere near enough the other day. The crosses I can remember is the one which resulted in an own goal and Rooney's attempt of a bicycle kick.

 

[Sunny Jim]

He was poor, but then so was Mata, Young and Depay. You do wonder where the creativity is going to come from with what we have at the moment.

it could help if they were played in their postions and had a box to box cm to support them.

 

[Born2Lose]

I think part of the problem with Rooney is he has had it far too easy at United over the past few years and he's been playing every week regardless of the quality of his performances. He's also a player for me who needs regular game time, and I think he's someone who could have benefited from another friendly before the start of the season.

To be fair to him even if he didn't actually score the goal on Saturday, he was in the right place at the right time.

Part of me is really curious to see if a switch between Memphis and Rooney's current positions would work any better, albeit even slightly.

 

[Witchking]

Honestly, having him in the team is bugging. Maybe i am nitpicking but it is very frustrating for me to watch him earn his fitness at the start of every season and he has one of the worst first touches for a footballer.

Plus the best striker we had was sold to play in the Turkish league for not being in top form. This makes me bitter. For me it should have been Rooney who should have been sold.

Why can Rooney never hit the ground running from the start of the season? Why is he afforded to play himself in to form every season? Why can he not take players on anymore (haven't seen him do this consistently since the 06-07 season)? Why can he not stop taking stupid free kicks that are always the same?

I would actually like to see Hernandez given a fair amount of time if Rooney fails to contribute to the team in a meaningful way. He promised 20 goals this season playing upfront.

I know that only 1 game has finished but i feel that we are lightweight with him as the main striker and he won't score 20. I hope he gets in to form for the sake of United's season.

 

[ChaddyP]

Honestly, having him in the team is bugging. Maybe i am nitpicking but it is very frustrating for me to watch him earn his fitness at the start of every season and he has one of the worst first touches for a footballer.

Plus the best striker we had was sold to play in the Turkish league for not being in top form. This makes me bitter. For me it should have been Rooney who should have been sold.

Why can Rooney never hit the ground running from the start of the season? Why is he afforded to play himself in to form every season? Why can he not take players on anymore (haven't seen him do this consistently since the 06-07 season)? Why can he not stop taking stupid free kicks that are always the same?

I would actually like to see Hernandez given a fair amount of time if Rooney fails to contribute to the team in a meaningful way. He promised 20 goals this season playing upfront.

I know that only 1 game has finished but i feel that we are lightweight with him as the main striker and he won't score 20. I hope he gets in to form for the sake of United's season.

i think he actually was right on form at the start of the last two seasons personally. Agree with most of what you say though

 

[Cutch]

Been awful this half

 

[theyneverlearn]

His touch is embarrassing.

 

[Mr Anderson]

Not at the races at all.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

Has he had a skinful with Paul McGrath before the game? Pub Rooney was out in force in that 45 mins.

Keep it simple, actually control and pass the football and turn it around please! My FF needs it already!

 

[Amadaeus]

He is playing like he is 50. I do not understand how he keeps getting away with this type of below par performances.

 

[soap]

Undeniably shit so far

 

[Untied]

"Can Rooney be our No.2 striker?"

 

[Kill 'em all]

He is so fecking bad. He's not even premier league material right now. Villa would bench him the way he's playing.

In this form Rooney is just a liability.

 

[Mister_Stubbs]

Appalling thus far.

 

[Getsme]

He's been shocking.

 

[Stringer]

Offers nothing whatsoever. Touch is awful and his movement is non-existent.

 

[dannyrhinos89]

And people think he will score more than 15 goals haha he's actually rubbish

Rooney off Hernandez on at halftime

Or Rooney off and januzaj at ST and Herrera at 10 would be an option

Either way take the liability off

 

[Rado_N]

Right. I'm gonna take him out of my FF team.

You can thank me for the hattrick next weekend.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Should be dropped if he keeps playing this poorly, he's just not good enough to lead the line on a consistent basis.

 

[soap]

Has he had a skinful with Paul McGrath before the game? Pub Rooney was out in force in that 45 mins.

Keep it simple, actually control and pass the football and turn it around please! My FF needs it already!

Not only that, a couple of times he was extremely slow to close villa defenders down. Same vs Spurs

 

[ottosec]

20 goals my ass

 

[Mojo_]

Terrible