[entropy]

The fact he looked half decent says more about the opposition than him, Bournmouth were quite understandably half arsed in this game.

My worst nightmare is Rooney been given the midfielders role next season, and LvG staying....

Sticking Him in midfield isn't the worst idea. As long as we don't pretend that he can score 25+ goals for us and use him in a limited fashion we should be fine.

 

[Trizy]

Great game for him, hopefully this experiment continue in the Euros to see how he plays in a more fluid team.

 

[wiz4231]

Super game by our captain. Best passing display I've seen in a while from a United midfielder. Not only his switch of play to open things up, but the vision to get players in behind i.e. Young, Valencia. No one, bar Carrick, at times, does that for us.

If we're going to play him in midfield next season, we really need to think about what type of midfielder we need to bring the best out of him.

Agree, that was by far the best and most creative any of our CM have been this season. Hope he can continue next season. If he had started the season in CM we would have still had at least 1 of RVP or Hernandez and we wouldn't have needed to buy Bastian. I have to say the way Rooney played tonight was what I expected Bastian to do for us all season but he didn't ever influence a game like Rooney did. I'd still keep Bastian as we don't know what's going on with Carrick and who is available in the market.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Sticking Him in midfield isn't the worst idea. As long as we don't pretend that he can score 25+ goals for us and use him in a limited fashion we should be fine.

Just friggin sell him and get a proper midfielder to do the job, just beacuse Rooney can't play as the striker anymore doesn't mean we need to accommodate him elsewhere, fact is he is on too much money, and is too much of an 'icon' for the club for him not to play, so if he stays he'll play when fit, so I'd rather he went personally.

 

[paulscholes18]

Played well, but Bournemouth let us do what we wanted to do

 

[dichinero]

I can't take any performance from any of the players too serious. This was a dead rubber match against a Bournmouth side that had one foot in Vegas. Cue in the qualitative like great, magic, superb, magnificent, awesome after that match.

 

[worldinmotion66]

Think Rooney gets massively over criticised these days, even when he plays well it seems he's useless. I know one thing for sure, had it been Rooney tracking Grabban instead of Herrera, we would not have conceded that goal.

 

[entropy]

Just friggin sell him and get a proper midfielder to do the job, just beacuse Rooney can't play as the striker anymore doesn't mean we need to accommodate him elsewhere, fact is he is on too much money, and is too much of an 'icon' for the club for him not to play, so if he stays he'll play when fit, so I'd rather he went personally.

It doesn't look like he is going to leave though.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Just friggin sell him and get a proper midfielder to do the job, just beacuse Rooney can't play as the striker anymore doesn't mean we need to accommodate him elsewhere, fact is he is on too much money, and is too much of an 'icon' for the club for him not to play, so if he stays he'll play when fit, so I'd rather he went personally.

If he's doing the job as a midfielder, then why not keep him there? He put in a better display tonight than any of our 'natural' centre midfielders this season.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

It doesn't look like he is going to leave though.

Agree, and not sure Louis will either, so I'll expect more of the same old shoe horning Rooney in next season.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

If he's doing the job as a midfielder, then why not keep him there? He put in a better display tonight than any of our 'natural' centre midfielders this season.

Yes he did tonight but so what, Bournmouth were in their holidays already.

Unless my memory is failing me we have been here with Rooney before, and quite how he can be expected to become a top class midfielder just because he is not a top class striker anymore is baffling to me.

 

[entropy]

Agree, and not sure Louis will either, so I'll expect more of the same old shoe horning Rooney in next season.

I think a lot will depend on where Roy will play him in the euros. If Louis stays, I don't expect him to persist with Rooney as our main striker.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I think a lot will depend on where Roy will play him in the euros. If Louis stays, I don't expect him to persist with Rooney as our main striker.

No I don't either, so he'll be given the role in midfield, which is maybe why Carrick is seemingly going.

Not sure what Roy will do with him though, because Kane, Sturridge, and Vardy should all be ahead him as a striker. He'll no doubt find a place for him though.

 

[a_devil_inside]

Definitely man of the match, more of the same again on Saturday please.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Yes he did tonight but so what, Bournmouth were in their holidays already.

Unless my memory is failing me we have been here with Rooney before, and quite how he can be expected to become a top class midfielder just because he is not a top class striker anymore is baffling to me.

I personally think Rooney has done what he's had to do since being put in midfield. Shown a lot more ambition and bravery than all our midifelders put together. Sure, he may lose it at times, but that's down to him playing an optimistic pass as we saw tonight. I mean, I'd prefer that than a 5 yard pass that's not going to get us anywhere.


According to whoscored.com, Rooney has been rated 7.57 whilst playing in centre midfield. In my opinion, he hasn't looked out of place, and would be even better with better players around him.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I personally think Rooney has done what he's had to do since being put in midfield. Shown a lot more ambition and bravery than all our midifelders put together. Sure, he may lose it at times, but that's down to him playing an optimistic pass as we saw tonight. I mean, I'd prefer that than a 5 yard pass that's not going to get us anywhere.


According to whoscored.com, Rooney has been rated 7.57 whilst playing in centre midfield. In my opinion, he hasn't looked out of place, and would be even better with better players around him.

It's all a matter of opinion and I don't agree, he will always a few good games, and look world class at times, but overall he will get found out in that role, as he has done recently as a striker, the decline has set in and a change of postion doesn't stop that.

 

[Fer]

Do you prefer Rooney as: midfielder, #10 or striker? (China/MLS/Bench are not options)

 

[Samid]

Do you prefer Rooney as: midfielder, #10 or striker? (China/MLS/Bench are not options)

Retirement.

 

[soap]

Do you prefer Rooney as: midfielder, #10 or striker? (China/MLS/Bench are not options)

The only positive I can think of for playing him midfield is that at least it keeps him out of the attack.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

His numbers tonight, seeing as people are quick to post them when he has a poor game:

Passes: 100

Pass accuracy: 88%

Touches: 113

Shots: 2

Goals: 1

Tackles: 3

Interceptions: 3

Key Passes: 3

 

[Americano]

Can't wait for the testimonial!

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Assuming he can perform like that regularly and is dropped when he doesn't then no one will mind him staying/playing

 

[204Red]

Really... one decent game against throw away oposition in a throw away game and people are claiming he do well there next season?

Like the other 90% of the season didn't happen.

How may players in his pay range scored less than 10 league goals this season?

 

[Sb_16]

Goodbye and thanks for all the bliss!

 

[shamans]

Really... one decent game against throw away oposition in a throw away game and people are claiming he do well there next season?

Like the other 90% of the season didn't happen.

How may players in his pay range scored less than 10 league goals this season?

We've been hearing this since January. "one decent game and that's it?"

It's very obvious some of you just wont credit Rooney when he has good games. Why is it so difficult to accept he's been in pretty good form since 2016? Whether or not he should still be a part of our squad going forward is a separate debate but let's not take any credit from him for what he does.

 

[Pexbo]

Really... one decent game against throw away oposition in a throw away game and people are claiming he do well there next season?

Like the other 90% of the season didn't happen.

How may players in his pay range scored less than 10 league goals this season?

Yep.

Assuming he can perform like that regularly and is dropped when he doesn't then no one will mind him staying/playing

He can't.
He won't.
We will.

 

[Attila]

I hope Mourinho isn't stupid enough to continue the midfield experiment with Rooney and buys some proper ones

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

We've been hearing this since January. "one decent game and that's it?"

It's very obvious some of you just wont credit Rooney when he has good games. Why is it so difficult to accept he's been in pretty good form since 2016? Whether or not he should still be a part of our squad going forward is a separate debate but let's not take any credit from him for what he does.

He hasn't been in pretty good form since 2016. He had a decent January, and has been average since. That is not pretty good form.

 

[shamans]

He hasn't been in pretty good form since 2016. He had a decent January, and has been average since. That is not pretty good form.

I've seen him had a few average games. Other than he's been pretty good for me since 2016.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

I've seen him had a few average games. Other than he's been pretty good for me since 2016.

Well your standards and most other people's are very different, I expect a damn sight more from mr undroppable than what he brings.

 

[Devil may care]

I think the notion that he has been good this year is another signal of how far standards have dropped. My biggest issue with Rooney is his undroppable status. If he'd accept a squad role then great, but I'm sick of him being shoehorned in all of the time.

 

[Perrick Dubois]

One thing that has kept me entertained this season despite the on-field gash has been the amount of absolute drivel being spouted in this thread on a game by game basis.

He had an absolute banger last night. The goal typifies just how important he is when he isn't playing up front with his back to goal as a hold up striker. The intelligence to speed up the transition and take up space in the box to finish will be exactly what we need next season if we change the manager. Whether he plays from a set #10 position of plays just off the front striker and is allowed to drop, I think it will be important with just how good Martial is at dribbling. Getting Luke Shaw back will only boost our attacking creativity down the stretch. I envisage a lot of assists for Martial next season if we can use that as a go-to offensive weapon. Loved that little dink for Young, superb ball.

I'm buzzing for this final now, the whole squad has a reason to win this cup and the form Rooney has shown in the last month has been excellent. If he plays like he played last night then we'll have nothing to worry about in the final.

I'll go back to my comments from a month ago about his maturity. He's slotted into the team perfectly despite peoples fear of Rashford being dislodged. Fair play to him for noticing that he is on a good thing and not breaking it up.

Unless we are suggesting that a good portion of the forum randomly target and dislike a specific player, despite him contributing significantly.

Bingo. The system is flawed, right out of the gate.

 

[Golden Nugget]

brilliant today - unlike others, I actually felt he has been decent in midfield since his return - his worst games have been when he has played up front. His positioning can be suspect, but he has the ability to spread the play more and today he showed his desire to win the ball back.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

He was good last night but I'm not changing my stance off the back of a dead rubber fixture at testimonial pace. He's not good enough in any position (ie each position has 2 or 3 better than him), he earns too much to justify being around and he should be kicked out of the door to China or whoever gives money for him on Sunday.

 

[Treble]

Big game player. Stepped up in the right moment. Bournemouth were determined to stop him and pressed him all over the pitch but Rooney wasn't bothered and rode the challenges. Tell me, where would be in the table without his inavluable contributions?

 

[SteveW]

As the deepest midfielder playing the ball from deep, with two more mobile midfielders ahead of him.

If I remember correctly, Liverpool played Gerrard deepest with Coutinho/Allen and Henderson ahead of him as #8s.

As CMs go Rooney is quite mobile. He should be one of the more attack minded midfielders since that's where his talents lie.

 

[SteveW]

Just friggin sell him and get a proper midfielder to do the job, just beacuse Rooney can't play as the striker anymore doesn't mean we need to accommodate him elsewhere, fact is he is on too much money, and is too much of an 'icon' for the club for him not to play, so if he stays he'll play when fit, so I'd rather he went personally.

He's better than most of the proper midfielders we have.

 

[Treble]

He's a liability in midfield in high intensity games and it won't take long time for the next manager to notice it. WHam's midfielders dominated him without much problems.

 

[NoLogo]

Good game against a weak opponent. That's all.

But tbh it's more than he has shown for most of the season so I'm happy with that.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

How many other players in the league could put in that performance last night? I'm fed up of coming to this thread and seeing any mistake overblown and any good performance swept under the rug. Rooney has played well in 2016, yes he's had afew poor games but in general he been good and certainly showed that he can grow into the role under a different manager. Last night showed a glimpse of what a top form Rooney could do in misfiled for us next year. I agree that under high press he will need to step it up, but surely when he adjusts to the role that that will be achievable.

The other stupid comment I'm seeing crop up is that he's a striker so will never be able to play CM properly and that we have to buy a proper CM. Football isn't black and white where people can only play one position. Scholes started off as a striker but as he got older he moved from that role and dictated play from deeper, just because Rooney has played upfront doesn't mean he can't adapt to a new role now. That's just people looking through blinkers.

Forget the name, forget the wage, the player that we saw last night (and have seen the last month in my opinion) has the attributes that we are crying out for in CM and I'm sure that he will get another change to show that under Mounrinho.