Rooney tonight

the difference between young and memphis is that young is a bit shit, but plays at 90%, whereas memphis is solid gold playing at 40%.

Originally Posted by tetrisblock

Would Rooney be best off in a midfield three? Last season he played more in a 2 man mid-field, as a sitting type player when in midfield. He'd get more space there and with an actual defined role, he could possibly adapt a bit better. His touch and lack of precision is not suited to player as a number 10, but he does have the technical skills and physicality to play in midfield, but not in a two. Playing in a three could give him that bit more freedom.

Van Gaal can clearly see it, the idea that we know more on here than LVG is laughable. We saw Van Gaal give him a %@#$&!ing on the sideline during the Southampton game. Rooney started the season as our main striker and as soon as martial arrived and was better suited, Rooney is no loner our first choice striker. Wasn't afraid to let RVP go either!

rooney is not a midfielder. so no.

Thought he played ok tonight and was full of running for 90 mins.

Missed his one real chance mind you...

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

Memphis is a huge goal threat which Young isn't

Again tonight he's end product wasn't great but he was a constant threat especially with his movement
Once he went off we really struggled as we had no out ball

It was a shame he was taken off as there were a few breaks when the game got stretched and Pereira didn't have the physicality to profit.

Originally Posted by jem

the difference between young and memphis is that young is a bit shit, but plays at 90%, whereas memphis is solid gold playing at 40%.

And that Depay is 21 and has been playing here for a couple of months whereas Young is 30 and has been here all his life of course.

Originally Posted by tetrisblock

Would Rooney be best off in a midfield three?

Yes.

For Everton.

Originally Posted by atticusgrinch

And that Depay is 21 and has been playing here for a couple of months whereas Young is 30 and has been here all his life of course.

that is part of the reason for the difference. and that's why I always pick depay.

Originally Posted by tetrisblock

Would Rooney be best off in a midfield three?

I feel that's where he played tonight.

If I were him I'd do the records then move in jan/summer...maybe to a lesser side where they play him upfront.

I'm a big fergie apologist but fergie £#%&!ed him up.

I don't know what he brings to us at this stage. He's not scoring goals - at least not against any decent football teams, he's not assisting, he doesn't hold the ball up, he doesn't dribble past people, he doesn't win the ball back.

Aside from wear the captain's armband and shake hands before kick off his contribution to the game tonight was less than nothing. Awful.

Originally Posted by jem

the difference between young and memphis is that young is a bit shit, but plays at 90%, whereas memphis is solid gold playing at 40%.



rooney is not a midfielder. so no.

I don't think he's a natural midfielder either, but he's not good enough for the other two positions he's currently deployed in. He doesn't score goals, panicked when given that chance tonight too. I think he could be a decent( not great/world class or anything) if he accepted his limitations and actually tried to convert to a midfielder. He'd still contribute to to the team. He still has it in his head that he's a striker!

He looks very confused to me (yeah, dozy scouse @#%&! etc.. )
He's lost all confidence in an attacking sense. It's really odd.

He's (seemingly) happily given over freekick duties (regardless of his success rate, he'd never have given that freekick to Pereira this time last season) he bottles the chance to get a shot away from distance when the chance presents itself.

I don't sense a lack of effort, just a loss of self belief.
He's in the side for his experience & popularity amongst the lads. Which is understandable with such a young team, but he needs to play better & he needs to get that single mindedness back.

He's bound to score on Sunday mind you

Originally Posted by MJ Ramone

He looks very confused to me (yeah, dozy scouse @#%&! etc.. )
He's lost all confidence in an attacking sense. It's really odd.

He's (seemingly) happily given over freekick duties (regardless of his success rate, he'd never have given that freekick to Pereira this time last season) he bottles the chance to get a shot away from distance when the chance presents itself.

I don't sense a lack of effort, just a loss of self belief.
He's in the side for his experience & popularity amongst the lads. Which is understandable with such a young team, but he needs to play better & he needs to get that single mindedness back.

He's bound to score on Sunday mind you

I think you are largely right MJ, he looks utterly lost, as though part of him thinks he's finished. However, whatever the reason for his shocking form I don't think it gets better before he is dropped for someone who brings more to the team- surely it can't go on forever- and then, as Scar said, he will be one foot out of the door. He may never break Charlton's record at this rate. He doesn't even take the penalties anymore.

He's now shit. It's patently obvious. Just the Rooney crew and LVG to be convinced now.

Originally Posted by armchair

I feel that's where he played tonight.

If I were him I'd do the records then move in jan/summer...maybe to a lesser side where they play him upfront.

I'm a big fergie apologist but fergie £#%&!ed him up.

id love to be able to blame Fergie for ruining Rooney but i am convinced the injury v Munich in 2010 did him in..

he is shot

With the amount of analytics United (and all teams) use, there's no way Van Gaal isn't aware of how poor Rooney has been. He'll have a computer-mapped version of every pass he's received and played, every time he's lost a first touch, every shot, and GPS tracking of every step he takes in a game, not to mention actual video of all these. I can only surmise that his plan is to let him play through it and hope he has a good game or scores an important goal to get his confidence back.

It's hard to think of a player of this age (and maybe more importantly, mileage) being in a protracted loss of form, and then getting back to his best (Pirlo maybe, after a couple of bad years at Milan, before being revived at Juve?). Rather, this looks simply like the natural decline of someone who has been playing first-team football for 13 (!) years.

Originally Posted by utd99

Excluding every other consideration from the equation except performance this season, our front four should be Young left, Mata right, Herrera ten, Martial nine. End of £#%&!ing story...

Looks right to me. At the very least Young and Depay should be splitting game time.

If I wanted to be super creative and wanted more team balance. Martial left, Mata right, Herrera 10, Depay 9.

Originally Posted by Grimson

With the amount of analytics United (and all teams) use, there's no way Van Gaal isn't aware of how poor Rooney has been. He'll have a computer-mapped version of every pass he's received and played, every time he's lost a first touch, every shot, and GPS tracking of every step he takes in a game, not to mention actual video of all these. I can only surmise that his plan is to let him play through it and hope he has a good game or scores an important goal to get his confidence back.

It's hard to think of a player of this age (and maybe more importantly, mileage) being in a protracted loss of form, and then getting back to his best (Pirlo maybe, after a couple of bad years at Milan, before being revived at Juve?). Rather, this looks simply like the natural decline of someone who has been playing first-team football for 13 (!) years.

Perhaps, but it goes against van Gaals philosophy somewhat to pick players on their performances - he's never dropped him or even subbed him from memory despite the roo patently being garbage for an awful long time now. I'm 100% sure this isnt a 'play him into form' issue anymore and I'm surprised van gaal has not acted more defiantly before now. personally I'd ship him out of the club asap.

Imagine what we might be like if we had an effective player (a 2008 Rooney) in there. bizarrely, he's still considered by the football world to be a top class player - a leader of our team with wages to match - but the reality is now so far away from that, it's eye watering.

Cba reading as every post should br calling time at least on his automatic selection. Assume someones mentioned 300k a week and the fact that when he thought the club wasn't performing ambition wise he was happy to see it dropped for the berts

All's fair etc

Rooney is done.

He's been way way way below his previous standards for a few seasons now, and if anything is getting worse. He turns 30 this month, he's already played nearly 600 games for club and country. There may be a few more flashes of his old self, but in the grand scheme of things he's 100% done.

Originally Posted by JakeB

Rooney is done.

He's been way way way below his previous standards for a few seasons now, and if anything is getting worse. He turns 30 this month, he's already played nearly 600 games for club and country. There may be a few more flashes of his old self, but in the grand scheme of things he's 100% done.

Thought I saw that flash in the Sunderland game, but didn't build on that last night. TBH, didn't think he was that bad but he faded hugely in the 2nd half. When the game opened up after the 2nd goal and more of the ball was coming through Rooney, his weaknesses were more apparent.

Of course, saved a goal, etc., but the wider view is that he looks poor, especially compared to martial who ironically looks like a 19 year old Rooney.

I would suggest the only reason he's not being dropped is because of the fact he is club captain and his attitude in training/towards Van Gaal mean it's become a trust thing, rather than what's best for the team/our style of play. But surely it can't go on for much longer: his control and passing continue to be so irratic and unreliable it's insane. And one goal in open play in the last 17 months, away from home, tells us how potent a goal threat he has become.

I certainly don't think we should sell him, though, at least not until the end of next season. Drop him to the bench, use him as a super sub, and give Bastian the armband.

Must be something Moyes had put into his contract or something... He really is £#%&!ing gash.