Wayne Rooney, The Midfield General? Mourinho Says No.

[Ecstatic]

What's with the newly promoted members thinking it's hip to defend our player and being the devils advocate to every consensus just for the sake of it.

We love our player, but in rooney case enough is enough. We will be having the same debate next year after he stinks up the midfield thinking he should be a striker.

He doesnt have the tools to become midfielder. A midfielder must possess and eye for pass, game understanding, good in tight spaces under pressure, long range / short range pass, ability to trap the ball, etc etc

It's irritating reading rooney defendee saying he'd be scholes or pirlo type as if all you need to do to become like them is being played in midfield

I don't defend him and there is no conspiracy here.

Rooney won't leave this summer and can't be fully ignored by the new coach like any trivial player (call him a burden if you prefer).

He will be involved from time to time and will request to move this winter or next summer.

 

[RedElf]

Would a Rooney playing for Jose be a better Rooney who played for Moyes, LVG, or Roy Hodgson? Hopefully Jose can get under his skin and push all the right buttons because I suspect Rooney has been in cruise control.

 

[Minimalist]

Would a Rooney playing for Jose be a better Rooney who played for Moyes, LVG, or Roy Hodgson? Hopefully Jose can get under his skin and push all the right buttons because I suspect Rooney has been in cruise control.

He was already fading under Ferguson. It's not impossible but I doubt it's much to do with the manager he's playing for.

 

[PlayerOne]

Watching Rooney play in midfield is the thing I'm least excited about next season.

 

[Lucifer Rising]

No way, I think Rooney's performance for England rather demonstrated the fact.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Wonder if he will get booed at away grounds for the England debacle? Then how he deals with it. In the past it would have driven him on. Now I am not sure he has the legs or bottle to respond the same way. If it is the former then all good for United. If the latter we are in trouble or at least he is.

 

[trevor newnham]

Im a great Rooney fan but to see him basically fall apart against Iceland fills me with a sense of foreboding for the coming season. Mind you, he wasn't getting much help there. Perhaps the prospect of playing with Ibra, Mkhitaryan and whoever else arrives might put lead in his pencil, so to speak

 

[PlayerOne]

Im a great Rooney fan but to see him basically fall apart against Iceland fills me with a sense of foreboding for the coming season. Mind you, he wasn't getting much help there. Perhaps the prospect of playing with Ibra, Mkhitaryan and whoever else arrives might put lead in his pencil, so to speak

It's not just that game though, he has been average or even below average for a while now. He's done at top level, yet he's undroppable for us

 

[BarstoolProphet]

It's actually embarrasing sifting through the comments in this thread. The hateful jibes and outright disrespect for a genuine icon of the club is so... dare I say it... plastic? Opposition fans could be excused for thinking there is an agenda for Wayne Rooney among certain members of this forum.

Jose will undoubtedly give Rooney a chance to prove himself, as he will with every player currently under contract with the club, whether you like it or not. If it doesn't work out, as a great many of you suspect, then I've no doubt in my mind that Jose will do what's neccessary for the good of the club. It's not like Jose will continue to play him in midfield, or anywhere else on the pitch for that matter, if he feels that Rooney's inclusion is actually detrimental to the team as a whole.

Why are people so opposed to the idea before the season has even begun?

Yeah, please use the 'plastic supporter' argument. It's usually the final sign that someone has ran out of valid arguments.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Even a blind squirrel finds the odd nut. Rooney is in no way shape or form a better midfielder or better player even than Ramsey.

I didn't suggest otherwise. Like someone else said, there should be no surprise that a natural midfielder in Ramsey, is better than a 30 year old striker converted to midfield.

My point was that I felt Rooney was better in that game.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

I didn't suggest otherwise. Like someone else said, there should be no surprise that a natural midfielder in Ramsey, is better than a 30 year old striker converted to midfield.

My point was that I felt Rooney was better in that game.

Apologies, I misunderstood.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Wonder if he will get booed at away grounds for the England debacle? Then how he deals with it. In the past it would have driven him on.

That's not true, he has never been in the becks/Ronalo class for dealing with abuse, look at the utter shit he serves up every time we go to Goodison. His default is to blame every one else, scream at the ref and act like the petulant little boy he really is.

 

[izec]

We have our own Gerrard in the team.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

That's not true, he has never been in the becks/Ronalo class for dealing with abuse, look at the utter shit he serves up every time we go to Goodison. His default is to blame every one else, scream at the ref and act like the petulant little boy he really is.

So we are in trouble?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

We have our own Gerrard in the team.

Rooney will prevent both United and England playing to their full potential. Which makes it even more irritating seeing the arse kissing from ex players and coaches.

 

[izec]

Rooney will prevent both United and England playing to their full potential. Which makes it even more irritating seeing the arse kissing from ex players and coaches.

I just wish he gets his record and either Mou sells him and/or he realises how shite he is and moves on. We cant carry him through games, either he offers good performances or he should feck off, United legend or not.

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

It would be interesting to see what a poll would result in. Should Rooney stay or be sold?

@Raoul
@Damien

 

[Raoul]

It would be interesting to see what a poll would result in. Should Rooney stay or be sold?

@Raoul
@Damien

Is there any doubt what the result would be ?

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

Is there any doubt what the result would be ?

I'm not sure it's that clear. Many still feels Rooney is vital for us or wants to give him another chance.

 

[liamp]

I'm not sure it's that clear. Many still feels Rooney is vital for us or wants to give him another chance.

Sell him will obviously win, but it's the least realistic option. You can't just snap your fingers and sell a player who's on a 300k per week wage.

 

[sunama]

If he can't bring himself to then Mendes should prepare for Mourinho's third exit package negotitions in four years because a Rooney that starts every game no matter what will drag the team and its manager down. Idiots like Moyes and Van Gaal still blame Woodward for their fate whilst remaining oblivious to the elephant in the room

100% correct.
LVG especially - he put all his eggs in the Rooney basket. Rooney failed to deliver and as a result we finished 5th. And LVG got sacked.
Had LVG bought a top quality striker last Summer (and lets face it, we had buckets of cash to do this), we'd have got 3rd or 4th and LVG would've still had a job with MUFC.

Mourinho got rid of Lampard.
He benched J.Terry.
So I am hoping that he benches/sells Rooney.

The counter argument was that he kept playing Ivanovic, while he was stinking up Chelsea's defence.

He's not even a leader - the worst captain United have had in 30 odd years (being conservative as I'm not that old).

Agreed.
We do now have Ibrahimovic, so the leadership and fight will return to our team. Hopefully, others will follow Ibra's example.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

So we are in trouble?

If the plan is for him to be a starting midfielder then very much so. His atrocious first touch and short passing will be a massive problem in midfield.

 

[itso 7]

100% correct.
LVG especially - he put all his eggs in the Rooney basket. Rooney failed to deliver and as a result we finished 5th. And LVG got sacked.
Had LVG bought a top quality striker last Summer (and lets face it, we had buckets of cash to do this), we'd have got 3rd or 4th and LVG would've still had a job with MUFC.

Mourinho got rid of Lampard.
He benched J.Terry.
So I am hoping that he benches/sells Rooney.

The counter argument was that he kept playing Ivanovic, while he was stinking up Chelsea's defence.



Agreed.
We do now have Ibrahimovic, so the leadership and fight will return to our team. Hopefully, others will follow Ibra's example.

I think there is more evidence of Mourinho being ruthless than there is of him being unquestionably loyal. If you consider the cases of Iker, Terry, Matic etc against Ivanovic. Past history suggests that Mourinho won't let a player get between him and success.

 

[Son Of Sam]

I'm not sure it's that clear. Many still feels Rooney is vital for us or wants to give him another chance.

Vital to us?

Like I keep saying, if Rooney isn't English, he would have been sold aeons ago because of his poor performance. He has gotten away with loads of bad performances in the last 3 seasons.

He's the only player in Europe allowed to play badly against Everton @Goodison Park. I feel sorry for our fans who have had to stomach this every season. If we want to move forward as a club, Rooney has to be cut loose.

He's too ponderous to play in the most important department of the team. His recent failure with England is not surprising to me, the only surprise is the way ex-players and the British media are scared to say the truth about him.

He has been a good servant to Man Utd. His contribution over hie first 8 seasons should be etched in greatness but I believe this is the point we should get a new dynamic creative player to get the best out of our youngsters in the attack.

 

[Sky1981]

100% correct.
LVG especially - he put all his eggs in the Rooney basket. Rooney failed to deliver and as a result we finished 5th. And LVG got sacked.
Had LVG bought a top quality striker last Summer (and lets face it, we had buckets of cash to do this), we'd have got 3rd or 4th and LVG would've still had a job with MUFC.

Mourinho got rid of Lampard.
He benched J.Terry.
So I am hoping that he benches/sells Rooney.

The counter argument was that he kept playing Ivanovic, while he was stinking up Chelsea's defence.



Agreed.
We do now have Ibrahimovic, so the leadership and fight will return to our team. Hopefully, others will follow Ibra's example.

My guess is that ivanovic behaves well and doesn't cause him trouble in the dressing room

Terry / casillas on the other hand

Mourinho is loved by his players, he must have done something right behind the screen. Probably he give ivanovic more leeway with him being supportive and all. He's human after all

 

[Kill 'em all]

We can't expect every player to be good at 35 like Giggs and Scholes. Rooney will be 31 in October and we have all witnessed his physical and technical decline during the past 4 seasons. We need to accept this, he needs to accept this and the best for both parties would be for him to move on. At the moment, he's just tarnishing the legacy of what was a great player for our club. One of the best.

Sir Alex was right when he was trying to push Rooney out using van Persie. We should have sold him at that moment. Sir Alex set him up to leave the club and Moyes did a very expensive mistake which we're still suffering from.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

I think this is the last season of Rooney here. He will start this season in the midfield, he might even play well for 2 to 3 matches, which will make a few idiots say how he is back again and English Pirlo etc, but with Mourinho and New signings, the good part will be that, he would be the worst of our front 6, which will make it easier to drop him and by half way into the season, he will start getting benched and then sold.

 

[Jaybomb]

When Rooney plays shit in midfield:
"You have to play him up front, he is a striker, not a midfielder!"

When Rooney plays shit up front:
"He can't do it on his own, he needs support! He should play deeper."

When Rooney plays in the CAM:
"They need to start him up top on his own, he has no chemistry with XYZ"

Rinse and repeat.

When will people realise that he's past it? We were all quick enough to accept it with Falcao who didn't play half as many minutes as Rooney did this season. He's not a midfielder, he's just a crap striker now. When he's not delivering the goods, he should be starting on the bench or sold.

 

[Jaybomb]

I think this is the last season of Rooney here. He will start this season in the midfield, he might even play well for 2 to 3 matches, which will make a few idiots say how he is back again and English Pirlo etc, but with Mourinho and New signings, the good part will be that, he would be the worst of our front 6, which will make it easier to drop him and by half way into the season, he will start getting benched and then sold.

If Zlatan fails to score in like, 5 games, he will be demoted to the bench like Falcao was.

Rooney can go half a season again without scoring a goal and he will remain the first name on the sheet. It's all politics.

 

[Amir]

It would be interesting to see what a poll would result in. Should Rooney stay or be sold?

@Raoul
@Damien

Shall we call it "Waynexit"?

 

[Art Vandelay]

Shall we call it "Waynexit"?

It's the WRexit referendum.

 

[sugar_kane]

Someone please change the title of this thread.. . It's so grim.

 

[spwd]

Someone please change the title of this thread.. . It's so grim.

I'm with you on that.

 

[r0663664]

Rooney is midfield, I really don't know if that is possible. Asking a player who play forward for all his life and then asking him to play midfield, that is difficult. Isn't that like Alan Smith? Guess how well that went. Shouldn't Rooney attend skill upgrade class first or re-training? Play midfield for the U21 for 3-6 months or so before we even think he can make it there. I think Rooney should still play as a attacker maybe somewhere forward and midfield. Anyway, I think Jose should slowly phase him out of XI like John Terry. I really don't see any bright future with Rooney in the current setup, he might as well go to a weaker league where he can still strike fear as a forward. Best thing to happen now is a Chinese team makes an offer that Rooney and United simply cannot refuse. That would be a best ending to Rooney career at United.

 

[Dans]

Shutters.

Thanks Jose.

 

[Shark]

Praise the lord for Jose!

 

[Amethyst]

Locks out.

 

[FlawlessThaw]

"Not a 6....Not even an 8"

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

Rip Thread.

 

[Needham]

Maybe Mourinho just has a different numbering system.