Lame Looney

Everyone has been talking about the £30mil useless piece of meat that is Andrei Shevchenko. I will do one better. Named by Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the 5 world-class players he has ever coached, alongside Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs and costing the club in excess of £20mil, Wayne Rooney has definitely been placed on a pedestal by both his manager and his fans. I will stick my neck out to say that Rooney is overrated, and Manchester United is better off with him not in the starting lineup. Here’s why…

Statistics that matter, Rooney has scored 7 goals in 28 appearances against credible teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Milan and Roma. This brings me to my first beef - Rooney does not perform on the big stage. Very often fading into obscurity when performing on the biggest stage, he certainly has failed to live up to the ‘world-class’ tag labeled on him. Granted, his role in the team is not one of being a natural goal-scorer, but then again besides Saha, Ruud van Nistlerooy and the now retired Solskjaer, there were not many of such players. This plus the point that he plays almost every game that he is fit to and the positions he finds himself in front of goal in matches, makes the lack of goals against big teams glaring. Cristiano Ronaldo can score more goals than Rooney, playing in a less forward and central position, on the big stage as well.

Known for his fiery and dogged playing style, he loses the plot too often and does unnecessary tackles or comes into confrontations with the opposition and the referee. He is certainly someone that does not lack confidence and he is very overt in showing it. He has improved somewhat in his relations with opposition players but he really has to check his tackles and less-than-subtle conversations with the referee or he will continue to be a disciplinary liability.

His playing style is another cause for concern. He has this habit of playing on his strength and determination, often running the ball into the wide and corner positions, very often crowded out by 2 or more defenders, and he will end up losing the ball. He loses the ball very often too, due to poor touch and awareness. He is unable to bring his teammates into the game (unlike Tevez), lacking the presence of mind and awareness that is vital for someone employed in that position. His finishing is inconsistent; he used to score spectacular goals and is able to put away easy chances, but he has yet to score in 10 competitive games 4 of which included slightly inferior teams. The only advantage having him on the pitch is his determination and physical presence, which could cause defenders problems and open up space for his teammates to capitalize on.

I find it quite an issue to name someone, who has just played 4 seasons for you and is only 22 years of age, alongside true greats like Cantona, Giggs, Schmeichel and Keane as being ‘world-class’. He has yet to achieve anything on the big stage and this brings immense injustice to a player like Paul Scholes. Perhaps this is another mind-game from the wily old Scot in an attempt to bring Rooney’s standard of play up another level to justify his price tag or to benefit the team, I don’t know. I do know he has to bring his game with him soon, if not Tevez and Saha should deservedly be in the first team and not Lame Looney.