The Wayne Rooney Thread - Part III

Last year there was a news release about how they wanted to get Rooney a 10 year contract that would take him to 2017, and would make him the highest paid player in the Prem, and I remember scoffing at it.

I said Rooney has shown that he is prone to injury and dips in form (especially after injury), and it would be ridiculous to offer him a contract that long, not knowing what kind of injuries and dips in form he has in store for the future. It would mean securing him on the payroll (as the highest paid in the prem, no less), even if he turns out to be an Owen and worthless to the team for a long period of time. I claimed that it would be much better to offer him a shorter contract (still high pay), as he had already publicly pledged his future to United and did not need to be tied up to the club because he wasn't leaving. Despite this, I was tore apart by a few of the supporters here who were irate and calling me names and insulting me to no end citing the same two reasons without any real response to my comments.

Alas, time came around and they didn't offer him the supercontract (I wonder why), and they only extended his then current contract by two years. And he turns out to be injured again. Can I just take the time to say I told you so?

***waiting for the same flaming shit to be thrown at me***

 

I think i pulled a rooney and got a hairline fracture in my foot in a match this morning. terrible day....

 

Please get better faster damn it...I am willing to suck the big toes....

 

You also have to take into concideration that according to FIFA rules a contract is only protected for 2 or 3 years after it's been signed depending on the players age. After that it's possible to buy out the contract, with difficulty yes, but it is possible. That's why it's quite useless to offer contracts longer than 5 years. I've also heard that 5 years is some kind of maximum length to a contract. But the fabregas deal suggests otherwize... however I Imagine that that deal is structured in a way to get around that because I can't remember any other contracts beeing signed the last few years beeing longer than 5 years.

 

Rossi signing a 6 year deal with Villareal off the top of my mind.

 

Man you guys have no loyalty. Rooney is the type of guy you want staying around for a while because he has the passion and commitment that makes players great. I heard Sir Alex say recently that Rooney is the first one to training everyday, and that is why he is a good player. It wasn't like his foot just broke the Reading defender cant remember which one (Bikey I think) stomped on it at full force. I am pretty sure that all of us would have had broken feet in the same situation.

 

Duberry it was. And it was pretty much a stamp after Roon went for a ball in the box.

Anyways, this is a bit of a wake up call for us. We've always had Rooney when we really needed him, if you think about it. His first injury was before he joined - we had Ruud. His 2nd injury was at the end of the season in that Chelsea match, when the league was over. This is the first time it's really hurt us, and now we realize how much we depend on him. I mentioned it, and others did too, this preseason about how horrid it would be if he wasn injured. But those were complete hypotheticals, cuz Rooney didn't get injured. Now he has and we know what it's like. If Tevez was fit, we'd be almost ok - I happen to like Rooney more.

Either way - can we really say it's gone all that bad? We've had 60 shots on target in our games, Rooney or not. And he's not the most clinical player.

 

Not the most clinical but he is the best striker we have by a country mile. For my money there are a handful of strikers that I would rather have than Rooney. Short list - Henry, Messi, Villa, Drogba and that's about it.

 

Oh no doubt, I wouldn't trade Rooney in for anyone but a very very few players, and that's only based on skill, not his dedication and work effort, which are unmatched IMO. But he isn't clinical, that's for sure. Ole is a better finisher. But Rooney makes so many chances for himself that being clinical is irrelevant.

 

I also think its too simplistic to talk about Rooney's lack of clinical finishing. When Rooney is on song, his effect on the team is significant enough that no one is worrying about his finishing.

 

That being said if he was more consisten he would be talked about as being one of the best strikers in the world. His main problem is that he will score a hat trick and then go 6 games without a goal. Another thing that people forget is that Wayne creates a ton of goals as well. Last year he had more assists (11) than Gerrard or Lampard.

 

Who cares, cut him Fergie.

 

Yeah, I didn't read the last thread but I'm assuming that no one seriously thought that Rooney should go . We have one of the games top forwards, that's that. He has a bad run with injury, yes, but this is the first time it's really affected us badly.

 

Yeah Rooney's just got some horrible luck eh....

You gotta feel for him, he must feel pretty low right now.

 

Of course until we lose or draw a game that he misses three or 4 clear cut chances. Wouldnt be the first time though.

 

When Rooney returns from his injury, how well do you guys think he will play on the field with Tevez? I don't pretend to be have more expertise in football than Sir Alex, but I was under the impression that Rooney and Tevez are similar types of players who benefit more from working with a "poacher" or "target-man" of some sort. I'm sure this point has been brought up many times already, but it seems that after the last few games (although it may be too early to judge) that Man U could benefit greatly from a "#9" (as people say), like Saha. Of course the problem with Saha is that he is too injury-prone, so why did Ferguson not purchase another striker not so different from Saha, but less likely to miss so many games?

 

Its more hard luck than injury prone. Hamstrings, muscles injuries, and sprains are associated with being inkury prone. He has broken his foot. Somebody stepped on his foot for hard enough to break it. Having said that, a player who plays with his intensity is going to be a bit more prone to putting himslf into more situations where he could break a bone. But I don't see that as making him injury prone.

As for dips in form after an injury. Thats true of most players, so obviously I am missing your point.

It looks like you really don't understand the impact he has. For instance Tevez is great player, but I would never take him over Rooney. For a player who did have a patch of bad form last season. He still was the highest scoring English player in the Premiereship.

Here are Rooney's stats as a Manchester United player.

League
Matches- 100
Goals - 41
Assists - 27

Domestic Cups
Matches - 23
Goals - 10
Assists - 7

Champion's League
Matches - 23
Goals - 8
Assists - 1

Add those numbers to the intangibles he brings to a match and his marketing power as the most recognized English player after Beckham.... and the fact he's only 21 and will still get better.... And I really wonder what the heck you are talking about. No flame intended. But somehow I think your missing the big flick.

 

Not having a go at you Benni, But I think all the talk about Rooney not being a good finisher is more perception for some people than fact.. I checked several times througout last season and his conversion rate was not that far behind many strikers that people would call clinical. But Rooney's main attribute as a finisher is that he can make a goal on his own with the match on the line. Many clincal finishers really can't do that. They rely solely on good service.

I posted his matches played, goals, and assists in the post above.

 

I wouldn't trade Rooney for anyone. I would take him as first choice over any other striker in the world. Period.

 

A bit off topic, But as part of this discussion involved "clinical finishers."

A bit of Trivia:

John O'Shea had the highest shots-to-goals ratio in the Premier League in 2006-07 whith 80% of his shots ending up as goals.

 

O'Shea >> Shevchenko

 

Just to add another note on Rooney's patch of bad form last season. During much (not all) of that period, Fergie was playing him out of position out wide. When he was moved back up top Rooney quickly regained his form.

 

The most over-rated player in the world. More over-rated than Beckham! Show's the state of English national football when the nation has to place their WC hopes on the shoulders of a teen.