Neville is right though. I just hope that his 'evolution' into midfield doesn't happen at United. He can go to the MLS to fulfil his dream of playing in midfield.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
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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?
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I think most of us in here can agree that Rooney is by no means the player he used to be - even in Fergie's last season.
Putting it as mildly as possible, his performances since then have been wildly inconsistent for the captain of a club like United. He would struggle to break into the other top teams across Europe with how he's played these past few years, and I think that is pretty fair and objective.
People can speculate about club politics and all that noise, but at the end of the day, Wayne Rooney has not been good enough for a long time and his constant inclusion has been rightly questionable.
Putting it as mildly as possible, his performances since then have been wildly inconsistent for the captain of a club like United. He would struggle to break into the other top teams across Europe with how he's played these past few years, and I think that is pretty fair and objective.
People can speculate about club politics and all that noise, but at the end of the day, Wayne Rooney has not been good enough for a long time and his constant inclusion has been rightly questionable.
I thought that was weird. Gaz seemed a bit disappointed Mourinho didn't let him continue in midfield. Was going on about how good he is/was on the left of a midfield three.
I'm not sure if it's blind loyalty or he's just delusional about Rooney's ability but I also cringed when he said that load of crap on MNF.
A player that only has one pass in his locker & struggles under pressure is never a midfielder. I thought that nonsense ended after he dropped one of the worst midfield performances in modern history against Iceland.
Well done Gaz, so you want to give a 30 year old player 3 years to learn a new position? Ok, lets just assume for a moment that in 3 years he is a good midfielder, the chances are he will be very close to retiring by that point if he hasnt already. So essentially you want to go three years with a substandard midfielder in the side while he learns the position, keeps an ACTUAL midfielder out of the side and will probably quit just as he could be decent at it.......... no wonder you are a crap manager 
The funny thing is that I doubt if he'd remained the manager of Valencia he would signed Rooney on a free. I've said so many times, Coleen throws massive Christmas parties and it is exclusive!Well done Gaz, so you want to give a 30 year old player 3 years to learn a new position? Ok, lets just assume for a moment that in 3 years he is a good midfielder, the chances are he will be very close to retiring by that point if he hasnt already. So essentially you want to go three years with a substandard midfielder in the side while he learns the position, keeps an ACTUAL midfielder out of the side and will probably quit just as he could be decent at it.......... no wonder you are a crap manager
I bet he would
Are you paraphrasing this? Or do you have a link to where he is quoted as saying this?
He was part of the England coaches who thought it would be best to accommodate Rooney in midfield right before the Euro. Stubbornness is a common trait of all successful people, whether they are right or wrong.
I'm sure a lot of clubs would want to sign Wayne Rooney on a free.
He just liked something very naughty on Twitter (NSFW)
Oh now it's gone.
Oh now it's gone.
Look at that ass!
Porn is healthy, Wazza, didn't have to delete it.
Porn is healthy, Wazza, didn't have to delete it.
Coleen will not be happy.He didn't sound like that much of a Rooney apologist from what I remember. Guy is probably paraphrasing.
Feck me. It was only on live bloody television and you're questioning it because you think we all have an agenda.
My tv set is a Rooney apologist!
Don't waste your time budFeck me. It was only on live bloody television and you're questioning it because you think we all have an agenda.
Correct. It has been made clear that he was paraphrasing the MNF analysis which is why I asked because I thought it was so far outside the realm of what Neville was explaining that it pricked my suspicion on whether or not Neville actually had said that (like the user intended to imply with his quotation).
Followed by the usual queue of smiley faces, back patting and "well in lads, deluded Gaz has no clue, aye?" afterwards which is par for the course on misinformation in this thread. So I questioned it.
Here is the full transcript of his analysis on Wayne Rooney.
Gary Neville on MNF said:
I really don't understand how you came to the conclusion that Neville thinks "Jose is stifling Wayne's evolution into midfield" from that video, hence why I asked if you were paraphrasing because he doesn't make mention of anything that even flies remotely along those lines. He even says "where his club manager plays him" (essentially my stance of let Jose manage the player first, get rid later). I thought there may have been some quotes or dialogue that I missed to make you come to that strange, well wide of the mark conclusion.
That analysis is mostly spot on, I believe him when he says that around footballing circles there isn't an acceptance that he can play in a deeper role. I personally think he could but there would be no reason to sacrifice his goals output. If you want him scoring goals and contributing then it makes perfect sense to play him at 9½ where he can drop and surge the box off the back of direct wing play.
The last few managers definitely have taken advantage of his versatility and ability to play a role in a lot of the attacking positions and he's absolutely bang on in saying that "one thing that will shut people up is getting on the end of his chances and getting goals" (or seemingly not, given the many pages of dirge in here).
I agree he won't play as a starting CF any more, especially in the PL where it has evolved in the last few years and you need proper power and a desire to muscle up defenders all day and wait for chances to come and I don't think Rooney has ever been that player. Not really sure about playing him in a midfield three though, that flies in the face of what he is mentioning above about his versatility but if Jose chooses that I think Rooney can provide a decent enough return. 9½ dropping to 10 is definitely his best position I don't really know how anybody could argue othewise, personally.
I'm not questioning Neville, I think it was fantastic analysis and spot on. It was misunderstood here, which is what I questioned. You aren't half paranoid at all.Feck me. It was only on live bloody television and you're questioning it because you think we all have an agenda.
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@Perrick Dubois do you think we are better off with or without Rooney seeing as we have better players in all the posititions he may be shoehorned into and how bad does he have to get for you to hold your hands up and say he's shite like 99% of us observe 99% of the time he plays?
I just don't understand how you can keep defending him unless your a wum, which I don't think you are, which is crackers!
I just don't understand how you can keep defending him unless your a wum, which I don't think you are, which is crackers!
He's just a huge fan of Rooney, there's a few of them on here that will fight his cause till the end. He could score 3 own goals in a single game and they'd still argue his case, probably something about him starting the season slow.
It's as if their love for Rooney is bigger than their love for the club. They'd rather have him around not allowing us to move on and be faster, more fluid and overall better, rather they'd have Rooney in the team talking about his one good cross and not the countless terrible pub standard first touches and multiple failed cross field hollywood passes that get dispossessed by his marker.
That being said, Jose is choosing him for now, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens on the Rooney front.
I could not care any less whether he plays or not. My stance has always been "let Jose sort it out, if he picks him and we win with Rooney contributing then kudos". I don't think every user who shares their opinion should be witness to a character assassination and be placed into a camp with whatever faction they support. At the end of the day, who cares? None of us are the coach and none of us pick the team so nothing we do will change what Jose does. Why waste energy whinging hyperbolic nonsense at fever pitch and then yelling at everyone else when they share their opinions? It won't change anything.
I didn't defend Rooney, I defended Neville for his comments after somebody had misinterpreted them.
This is my take on Rooney's situation as well. Most here believe he has past it, and at some level I do agree but he is not as bad as people make him up to be.
Every season/managerial change people predicted Rooney's demise, but so far this didn't happen. There must be something right he has done on/off the pitch which makes him picked. The idea of there are many players better than him is entirely subjective.
Some here laugh at posters who defended Rooney, but what's more embarrassing to see is those who keeps on insulting him. I'm not talking about the posts in Rooney's performance/general thread, but if you read through matchday thread it is very spiteful.
I dont think there is an agenda against/for Rooney, but to say he is a waste of space, etc just after 5 minutes of game played is quite funny to me. And what makes it even funnier is that, it is always the same poster.
Whenever I read a thread on Rooney, I only assume objective posters such as Pogue and Sparky Hughes who give proper assessments on him. The others are just the same shits (positive/negative) again and again no matter if Rooney is playing bad or well.
It's silent domination
I think Rooney is a better midfielder now than he is 9 or 10.
But I don't think he should be playing in midfield regularly for a side with serious title ambitions .
Disagree tbh, he is just not a good midfielder, his best position right now is as a second striker/no 10. Jose is completely right on that tbh
I never said he was a good midfielder though
I just think that he is less detrimental further backwards as his touch isn't good enough for a 9 or 10.
Come on that's just not true. Firstly you wouldn't defend him to the extent you do if you didn't care. Secondly all fans have an opinion on who should be in the team. It'd be wholly unnatural not to.
It's another peculiar aspect of the Rooney debate. Those who are big fans of his are reluctant to say so. Why? Nothing wrong in favouring a player, especially one whose done so much for the team.
I'd describe myself as a Rooney fan but I'm entirely nonplussed about whether he's in the team any more. He gets goals but plays a significant part in lots of our moves breaking down. If Mourinho wants to place him in a central role in the team then fair enough. I'm not sure I would but I don't have a strong view either way. The suggestion that it's an unnatural reluctance to have an opinion isn't true, in that sense. Some people just don't care that much.
Yeah I here you. I think having a bad touch is worse for a midfielder especially in the middle. Giving the ball away too is much worse in midfield than higher up the pitch. I get where you are coming from though
Playing Rooney in his least "detrimental" position is a crazy statement!
Sad thing is..... He's no longer good enough, but has some sort of hold on his place in the team, therefore.....It's accurate and true.
That's not true though, I mean you come out out flying for EVERY Rooney criticism game after game after game with your 'pathetic agenda posters' nonesense. @nick2004 I believe is a wum, but from your posts you seem genuinely hurt by every Rooney criticism. You even jumped on a guy yesterday for posting an article about Rooney in a Rooney thread yesterday ffs
google Neville Jose stifling Rooney in midfield, its every leading headline to this analysis. In this analysis you've gone to great lengths to point out word for word, where he does infact he say he needs a manager to play him for the next 2 or 3 years in a position, and while Rooney always saw himself a midfielder Jose has thrown a spanner in the works.
Now that in your eyes is clearly a world away from stifling his midlfield evolution and 'not even remotely along those lines' then fair enough. Regardless how you try and spin it, and you do with great earnest, it doesn't stop what people see for themselves. The only thing that sways people is his performance on a pitch
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I'm not sure he does get goals but that's a different argument.
I can understand some people don't care that much but I don't see that being the case with a fan who goes to the trouble of posting on a discussion forum and especially one who's a regular contributor to this thread. It doesn't make sense to defend Rooney so consistently but then claim to be impartial on his selection.
Someday he will be dropped.
But I'm not holding my breath that it will be anytime soon
Hull City 0:1 Man Utd
It's like dragging a dead body across the field.
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