As Manchester United approach the new season many questions are being asked. Primarily, the questions revolve around the loss of Ronaldo and the ability of the team to bridge that gap. A by-product of the ‘team’ stepping up to such a degree that United remain a threat in the Champions League and are serious contenders in the title-race, would be the emergence – or perhaps the re-emergence - of a new set of heroes.
Wayne Rooney
At the top of the likeliest pile of candidates we find Rio Ferdinand on the defensive end and Wayne Rooney on the offensive side of things. We all know that Rio’s role as a right-sided centre-back is set in stone. Anything and everything Rio will do for us this season will come from this position, but what about Wayne? Where is it that Wayne will play and how much of his talent reserves will this exhaust for us?
After the break downs of C.Ronaldo and Paul Scholes a few years ago, I’ve been asked on several occasions to put together a similar piece for Wayne Rooney. I’ve avoided doing so for a few reasons with the main one being the uncertainty of what Wayne was about to become, but as time has gone by, and essentially, with the relative failure of each attempt to extract all that makes him the player he is, I’ve come to the conclusion that instead of him being used to fit into the team as a functional and dulled component, the team should be built around him and his game, and that is the standpoint from which I will present this thread.
This thread is an attempt to break down what Wayne is and how and/or why we have struggled to get the very best out of him for the majority of his time here.
The Wayne We See.
There is no player at Manchester United who has to curtail his natural game and impulses more than Wayne Rooney. To have played a secondary role whilst the team was built to see Cristiano Ronaldo’s game thrive must’ve been frustrating for one who had carried us on his back for two seasons straight when he first arrived. To then not only have his spotlight shared, but to play a supporting role in someone else’s rise to prominence would’ve put a bigger ego than Wayne’s seriously out of joint. Can you imagine more than 5% of the world’s current elite accepting a player on their own team coming in and taking their firmly established shine away?
Seriously?
Wayne has reservedly got his head down and got on with whatever job he has been assigned since his halcyon seasons at this club (’05 and ’06) and although he has, and will continue to have, a big impact on the team and what we win, there’s no doubt whatsoever that he could have way, way more by being the man with the reins in hand. Being a role-player is all fine and good – for lesser skilled players – but Wayne has always been destined for bigger things than that, so much so that he has (or was at one time) been considered to be a potential all-time great since his Premier League debut. Many of those who once thought Wayne was nailed on to once set foot in the pantheon of greats now have their doubts, whilst some believe the fundamental development needed for him to truly reach his own heights on a permanent basis, has passed. I still believe it’s a case of utilisation and patience. Wayne’s greater scope is still apparent even if the lights that were once blindingly obvious have dimmed somewhat.
The Future Is Now.
What has essentially hindered Wayne’s individual development - or steered him away from what seemed like a set path three years ago – is the amazing success of the last three seasons for MUFC. For the greater good, a player can and will be sacrificed. Three Premier League titles in a row; a Champions League: semi-final, winning run and runners-up sequence and a defensive unit recognised as one of, if not the best in the world; accompanied by a wing-forward bringing the first ever WPOTY award to England and Old Trafford, are not accolades anyone but Rooney fanatics or England fans with no interest in MUFC whatsoever, can turn their nose up at, and for the majority of United support, they’d gladly take us winning the league every season and being a serious threat in the Champions League in lieu of some romanticized idealism that Wayne
can and
will truly fulfil his potential with the team altered to fit him.
The good thing for Wayne, then, is that the obstacles that prevented him from being the main man in the offensive chain of command have all but totally been removed.
With Paul Scholes truly declining now, and far from assured of anything but cameos in the bigger games, and Ronaldo off to sunnier climes, Rooney is left as the only pivotal and essential attacking component of the three from four players responsible for our greater successes over the past three years. Rooney is the only attacker left who is still in the team on a permanent basis. Rooney, by default, should be pushed right back into the spotlight he shared with only Ruud van Nistlerooy some five and then four seasons ago. Wayne’s time to be unleashed is now.
Perks & Quirks.
Coaches who work with Wayne tend to appreciate his atypical style of play and have their own opinions on how best he can be harnessed. Rooney is perhaps the most extreme example of a throwback-style player being shuffled into the proverbial deck of orderly playing cards and being given a number he is supposed to adhere to and act like. If Rooney were a playing card, I’d wager that differentiating him from the ace and the Joker would be difficult. As has been discussed previously on this board, the development of all-round box-to-box midfielders has been severely curtailed. If a youngster displays inherent ability to the positive or negative of the central midfield role, he will generally be procured and developed as either an ‘AM’ or ‘DM’ so too is this the case with the final third of the pitch.
A lot of very talented, naturally central-based players, are shuffled out to the wing and used as wing-forwards or wide-based playmakers or attacking midfielders where they are
afforded a freedom of expression most clubs will not allow them to have in the middle of the pitch. Ronaldinho, David Silva, Lionel Messi, Zinadine Zidane and many, many other players who would have once been regarded as
the core and hub of
every attacking move, now find themselves having to make relatively sporadic inputs into the game via a flank. Those central-based attackers who are incapable of doing this generally don’t get gigs at the very best clubs in world football. Riquelme is the most famous example of such a player in modern footballing history and he exemplified his inability to be anything but a throwback, centralised #10 during his stint at Barcelona where he was carted off to a flank and expected to perform with the same brilliance he had previously shown at Boca Juniors playing smack bang in the middle of the action. Granted, Van Gaal used Riquelme as a pawn in a football-politic game of cat and mouse, but the point remains that Riquelme was wholly ‘not himself’ whilst effectively annexed to a flank.
So Where Does Wayne Come Into All Of This?
I do feel that the decision to shuffle Wayne off to a flank for a season and a half was not only supposed to be to the benefit of C.Ronaldo, but also to that of Wayne himself. Having seen the effectiveness of a host of creative, centrally-suited attackers on a flank, it was obviously reasoned deduction that Wayne could have a similar impact from out wide as the aforementioned players whose niche earned them worldwide acclaim. The fact Wayne would work the flank in both directions like a
wing-back or even a full-back, at times, was obviously not missed on the manager either.
The problem again becomes the atypical nature of Wayne’s game essentially being the bane of him in respect to any singularity within a specific job description*. You put a Messi or Ronaldinho in the same nominal position and they will make damn sure that they do far more offensive work than defensive. The problem with Wayne becomes the fading of nominal positional lines – Wayne plays the wing-forward role like a two-way winger would. His eye for the whole rather than his
role in that which makes the whole again becomes the problem in assigning him a position where you want him to be both devastating with more impetus on attacking the opposition, and doing a decent shift in the other direction without his offensive game suffering.
Put simply, Wayne wants to be the whole no matter where he plays or what he is assigned to do. By keeping Wayne honest and attached to a single, linear position, you can never, ever exhaust the reservoir of talent in his possession. I remember when Wayne first burst onto the scene. Even then, defining what Wayne was in comparative terms was difficult. He fit to the ‘#10’ position, but at best, this was ambiguous as Wayne was always so much more than that. He wanted to be here, there and everywhere – all at the same time – he didn’t wait for the ball to come to him, he went looking for the ball; he didn’t hover in the typical #10 type position as he was too busy making a full-on sprint over the top to latch onto a distanced pass; he fought with CB’s in direct physical confrontations and then deftly, and rather suddenly, slipped back into the prototypical #10 role and played a sumptuous slide-rule through-ball; he would cover far more of the field than you’ll ever see a modern forward – and most from past eras – ever do.
That was almost seven and then five and then three years ago, and in truth, Wayne is still the same player he always was. The difference now, however, is that Wayne’s
considered positional discipline is infinitely superior; his expenditure of energy has been forcibly improved. Whether he is happy playing with restriction or not is a question for debate, but I think it’s a fair wager to say that if Wayne had his way, he would be playing in a free role ‘through the middle’ with little to no need to consider his actions or worry about crossing this or that positional border and encroaching on other players or their turf.
A Ten By Any Other Name
The predilection that Wayne’s ‘natural’ role is that of a #10 leads to a line of thinking where Wayne will, without question, ‘come alive’ from this almost mythical position, we’re supposed to see the real Wayne Rooney – well, at least the one he burst onto the scene as whilst still a teenager.
Problem is, I don’t believe Wayne is the best actual #10 at the club at the moment….
…This has previously never been the case during Wayne’s tenure at MUFC. Thusly, it has been very easy to presume this was
his role especially given that from this nominal position, and whilst supporting van Nistlerooy, Wayne carried us for two entire season with awe-inspiring football. Because Wayne has always been far more than ‘just’ a #10 - in my opinion - he has never needed nor learnt the more subtle nuances of the role. Damn near everything Wayne does from there is automatic and instinctual – the Wayne we see come alive and take over an entire game is
not usually playing in the fashion of a #10. The extreme nature of Wayne’s roaming and instinct means that giving it an associated number is nigh-on impossible and a futile exercise. Johan Cruyff gave himself the #14, which couldn’t be more apt as he was always a multiple role-player and would’ve belied any familiar nominal numerical classification. Wayne, left to his own devices, would definitely follow suit.
The demands of a top-class #10 in a support/second striker role are:
1. The creative hub of the entire team. All deeper and precise intricacies go through this player and he manipulates the ball, the opposition and his own team-mates to his own ends for the benefit of his team.
2. Expected to be the second/third best scorer in the team after the striker(s)
3. To be a
consistent threat with the ball at his feet – there is
always the promise of a moment of magic and inspiration from a top-class number ten.
4. A high level of retention until the final release of the ball. Top-class #10’s make the ball stick at all times.
5. The ability to hold up play for as long as necessary and bring others into a play when or where appropriate.
Now Wayne certainly ticks every single box there – at times. But
Dimitar Berbatov ticks them at all times. His level of consistency and his usage of the ball are certain and definite. You, by now, all
know that
any ball played into Berbatov that needs a quick takedown whilst he surrounded by a host of bodies, which he can get a decent foot to,
will always stick; Berbatov’s hold-up play is easily the best at the club. He rides an absurd amount of challenges whilst keeping perfect control of the ball and fending off two and three defensive-minded players at a time. This is reminiscent of all great tens through history, and many of the good ones currently playing. Berbatov’s considered brain is second only to Scholes in our squad. At all times he has a full grasp of what he wants to do with the ball and why. Wayne’s vision works in a very different way – his instinctive brain is easily one of the best in football, in an instant he has a picture of the pitch in his mind and will release the ball accordingly; sometimes to the benefit of the team and sometimes not.
In an attempt to simplify or make written sense of this, I’ll say: Berbatov’s passing ability, creative vision and hold-up play is a rock-solid eight at all times, sometimes going up to a nine or even a ten. It doesn’t deviate and in this way, those around him can always have an idea of how the play will unfold with Berbatov as commander in chief. From this base a platform for the entire team is easily developed and
structured improvement for everyone feeding off Berbatov is a given, especially so the more they familiarise themselves with his innate abilities.
Wayne’s approach is the antithesis of Berbatov’s. His brilliance, being impulsive, is unpredictable and awe-inspiring when it comes off. He is capable of plays that are solidly world-class that the likes of the ’04-’06 Ronaldinho or an on-form Riquelme would be proud of, but he is also prone to laxness in passing quality and dips in intricate pass completion rate when not at his absolute best. Uncertainty is Wayne’s certainty when played in this role.
Something amazing may well be on the tip of his boots at any given time, but when the amazing is not coming off for him, the fallback does not fall into the five categories mentioned above – Wayne’s ‘thing’ is the ability to go off and be top quality in another position, his way of working through a problem should be by working around it – someone with almost limitless scope has natural licence to find alternate solutions to problems that those confined, by their very nature, simply cannot. In Wayne’s case, if he were played free, it would be to drift off into deep midfield, or go up top or to a flank for a while. For a truer #10 that’s having a tough time of it, the general fundamentals of the #10 role will come to the fore. Even if they aren’t having a good game, they can still be superb at one or two of the five factors listed.
Berbatov’s first touch does not desert him – the ball will always stick. His ability to hold up the ball never deviates and because he thinks like a ten, he still plays with the consideration of a ten and will not drift out of position or lose his temper and so forth. Essentially, Berbatov is a
specialist with a skill-set that leaves you in no doubt at all that the #10 role is by far his best on the pitch, Rooney, by contrast, is an all-rounder, a superb one in the context of nominally playing as a forward. Rooney’s innate understanding of the pitch and where and when to go to one position or another is unrivalled in modern football by any other player active. If Wayne has a forte, then this it and it’s also what gives him the chance to thrive in any game against any opponent – if he is given a free role. If he is not given a free role, however, then only one or two sides of a hexagonal coin are ever being seen.
The Centre-Forward That Isn’t.
One of the greatest players of all-time had a number of similarities in his game as we see with Wayne now. Three very distinct differences between that player and the player Wayne is at the moment are:
1. This player was an utterly dominant personality both on and off the pitch who literally dictated play and where others should go during these plays whilst wearing the captain’s armband.
2. This player was both instinctively and conventionally aware of
everything going on on the pitch and his relation to it and most importantly, how to manipulate it to his advantage and whim
whilst filling others on his own team in on the lesser details – they were always both in his loop and out of it. i.e the conventional part of what he was doing could be understood by all, and they expected the unexpected due to his instinctual side and improvisations.
3.
His teams were all built around him first and foremost and were designed to get the best out of him, not necessarily before others were considered, but rather with them having to step into his world rather than he step into theirs.
This player, as some may have already figured out, was one
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff more commonly known as Johann Cruyff. Cruyff was nominally listed as a centre-forward for the major part of his career before moving back into attacking midfield as he was winding down. He was the point-man in a 4-3-3 for both Holland and Ajax, but, like Wayne, you’d be a fool to have ever bet money on him holding the position for anything but the briefest of interludes during the 90. For a centre-back instructed to hold position and not break rank, Cruyff was practically impossible to mark zonally, to actually track and attempt to contain such a player required the opposing manager to deploy a man-to-man marker whose only job was to follow Cruyff all over the pitch as Berti Vogts admirably and famously did in the 1974 World Cup final.
Cruyff, as a genuine free-roaming player, had licence to go wherever he wanted whenever he felt like it. Right flank, left flank, through the middle into a central midfielder’s position – Cruyff would have no hesitation in shuffling others into positions where they would cover him no matter where he went. To be fair, the concept of
Total Football also meant this was his right afforded by a brilliant tactician and system. It isn’t without grounding that Cruyff is often referred to as a
Total Footballer, as he, unlike anything but the minute – as to be one of three (with the other two being Franz Beckenbauer & Alfredo Di Stefano) from the five generally deemed the greatest ever by many could do this in such an extreme and effective fashion. For those wondering, Pele and Maradona were players who defined what a #10 is to this very day, something different to what is being discussed.
So once again, we come full-circle and return to the mortal realm in which Wayne and the regimented, modern game reside. My hope for Wayne this season is for him, like Cruyff, to be the centre-forward that isn’t. In some aspects I expect Wayne will follow the role to a tee – runs off the shoulder of CB’s, pace over the top, runs onto through-balls, but in many other aspects, Wayne will revert to type and do what he instinctively feels is the best thing to do, be it drop super deep, drop off to a flank, or drop into ‘the hole’ and supply onrushing team-mates.
The How
Alfredo Di Stefano’s nominal number was #9 – a centre-forward – but any learned persons who were asked to give him a traditional nominal number per the positions he played during a 90 could easily give you any one of these: #6, #8, #9, #10 (and #4 if Di Stefano hadn’t actually preceded the refined sweeper role.) See, Di Stefano was a central core player who would not only defend from the back but orchestrate play through the central midfield, link play in the hole and/or get on the end of balls played into the box as a forward to absolutely devastating effect. He could not be tagged to one position with any certainty because he was always more than any one position on the pitch. Formulating a system to afford him these freedoms was a non-issue as the game played in the 50’s wasn’t anything like as rigid as modern football. There are similarities between Wayne and Di Stefano in their stamina levels and ability to be any kind of pseudo-core player you want them to be. This again points to something I will cover later in this thread – Wayne would fit perfectly into Di Stefano’s era, but if Di Stefano was an up-and-coming player in today’s game, he’d have to conform to the system in place at whichever club he played for. In this way, it’s questionable whether all of what he was could be extracted. What should be done with someone who is
more than any one position on the pitch?
Johan Cruyff, as previously discussed, is perhaps the most similar to Wayne from the truest greats. He credited Di Stefano’s game as the inspiration for his own, and yet, he added to what Di Stefano did by also being brilliant on either flank. Cruyff could essentially be considered a: #9,#10,#11,#7,#8,#4 and possibly a #6 at any given time, but his defensive game wasn’t as good as either Di Stefano’s or Wayne’s. If Wayne should ever have an inspirational player whose game he could aspire to, it’s Cruyff. Alas, I have the feeling that the only Cruyff Wayne knows of would be Jordi, let alone realising the template of his game has already been scorched in the earth some 40 years ago. Modern football and Johan Cruyff’s approach to the game are not a mix; unless he had a subservient or understanding manager who would let him do what he wanted. Cruyff’s personality is such that I can’t see how he would have ever accepted conformity, rules or restriction. Again, Wayne in Johan’s time is a ‘go’ whilst Cruyff in this time is a ‘no.’
Franz Beckenbauer, the last of the select few of mention, played in a way that suggested he could’ve been a success in any nominal position assigned to him. As it was, and because of his genius, Beckenbauer was given the reins of the team from the now-defunct sweeper position. In modern terms Beckenbauer’s nominal position was just short of the sitting role a defensive-midfielder now plays. From there Beckenbauer would orchestrate entire attacks in a way that made him impossible to contain. Per positions on the pitch he would play in modern terms, he would easily be considered a: #6, #7, #8 and #10. Unlike Di Stefano and Cruyff, I think Beckenbauer would be given a comfortable
and agreeable role as a deep-lying playmaker with licence to do as he pleased in the modern game. The reason why? Because an attacker coming up from deep is easier to slot into a modern schematic without disrupting the rest of the side than a nominal central attacker who is not adhering to the rules of his position.
The reason for mentioning these players again is in trying to better understand why it is that Wayne is always stuck between a rock and a hard place. How do we get 100% out of a player we are always going to assign a
specific role? If Wayne is a #9, his briefing is to work his CB’s and always be in their vicinity, his wanderlust and effectivity whilst roaming is all but lost. If Wayne is a #10, he can’t wantonly abandon the position when he is needed to link the play and do the things a ten does. Without giving him the chance to circumvent problems in his own unique way we’ll probably never see the truly great player many expected he would become.
I've always thought Wayne was best in an actual free role with very loose parameters around the #8, #10
and #9 positions. When Wayne roams and does what he feels is right - rather than what he is told to do per system or game-brief - he comes alive. The game then naturally flows through him and he thrives under these conditions.
That's not to say he is performing solely as a #10 during these moments, because, generally, he isn't, being one or other part of a whole that knocks him out of
typical positional bracketing and solidly places Wayne as an
atypical forward who is a real throwback to a different era and a different way of thinking - the
way Wayne
likes to play is not dissimilar to a Di Stefano or a Cruyff, and players of such a broad and all-encompassing mindset simply do not 'belong' in the 21st century or the ideals managers now have of the game. Wayne is one of a kind for this era and almost wholly anachronistic because of it - this is where, in the case of most fans, the struggle to fully appreciate what Wayne is comes to a screeching halt. The usual cry is to just put Wayne in the #10 role, whereupon he'll provide nothing but magic and will, apparently, benefit the team to the best of his ability.
I don't think it's as simple as that with Wayne and it never has been. The intentional nebulousness and cryptic nature of Fergie's words when talking about Rooney tend to make themselves clear in every press conference when he is asked a direct question about where Wayne will play. If it’s through the middle as either a striker or a support-striker, "In the centre," is about the best you'll get out of the Auld man and even with that, it's hard to make a supposition as to what 'the centre' is in Fergie's grander scheme of things. Is that: as a 9? An 8? A 10, or all three roles rolled into one? To my mind, the ambiguity of 'the centre' is, for Fergie, a way of directly answering the question to the best of his ability whilst paradoxically hoodwinking us in the same breath.
In his younger years, Wayne just did whatever the hell he wanted despite the nominal rules of his position and that’s why he was so all-encompassing and a breath of fresh air with his game. Tactically this must have been difficult for our (and many other) manager(s) but his effectiveness was undeniable – it just needed to be harnessed, and by harnessed, I mean concentrated (read put into a single position.)
The question has to be: which parts of the whole are Wayne’s most dangerous if he is to be restricted? What is it that can be sacrificed from his game to force him into a square as a [pseudo] square? What also has to be asked is how good are those who surround him and is it worth him encroaching on their specialist roles with the reasoning he can offer more from there than they can? With regard to Berbatov, the answer is a resounding no – Berbatov is as good a #10 as you want playing the role. I said a long time ago that Berbatov feeding someone like Ruud would be lethal and the point remains for any quality #9 benefiting from Berbatov’s natural game. Beings as there is no certainty Scholes will be in our starting line up these days, the #8 is there – Wayne isn’t encroaching on anyone of any brilliance whilst taking up a pseudo #8 role unless Giggs or Scholes are actually on the pitch. We could go as far as to say that apart from Berbatov pointedly sticking to his task, every other attacker we have should make way for Rooney in a free role. It’s not like he’ll be in any one position for long enough to cause upset, but with the ball coming through him in a fashion where he can play with and off team-mates, utilise the offensive hub (Berbatov) and then run past him into the #9 position, you have a modern-day method to the madness for a player with as much scope as Wayne offers.
As with any unconventional system, the offset has to be balanced out by others. In every single instance, even for the great players mentioned above, others had to slot in to sensible and suitable positions to allow superfluous movement for more than just the gallivanting wanderer. In our case, it would be ideal if a flanker would be prepared to dart diagonally into the centre-forward vicinity and offer the confusion and notion of multi-positional interchange. I don’t know if we have a flanker with the smarts and skills to do this outside of young Welbeck or Ljajic being mature enough to be involved in the first team with any kind of frequency, but still, this kind of thing would be one of the major keys in fully unlocking Wayne’s potential without the manager feeling it compromises the system so much as to need curtailing and reining in for the more nominal and sacrificial roles Wayne is asked to play anyway.
Wayne nominally starting as the spearhead of the attack and then going off and doing whatever he wanted around the pitch, would be the ideal, I think. In this way the shape of the team is not disrupted at all and as long as a flanker does indeed encroach on Wayne’s nominal position, there is room for Wayne to wreak havoc as he reaps all the benefits of being the only player on the pitch with permission to go where he wants when he wants – the genuine leap of faith Sir Alex Ferguson would have to take in this scenario is wondering whether Wayne is intelligent and brilliant enough to do it as a full-time job, rather than the instinctive whim it was when he was a teenager. To be frank, there is no other player in world football who could even be put forward for such a role, and its demands, as a full-time role, would be tremendous.
Freedom
As referred to previously, it is much easier for a player to have a free role if he’s nominally positioned on a flank. Relatively, he’s still restricted as he does not have the 360 degree scope of someone who stands in the middle of the pitch, but within the structure of the modern game, the freedoms given to someone working off a flank are far superior and unrestrictive to those any player in a top team gets whilst playing through the middle. This is where we hit a wall with Wayne. How do you give him the freedom if he is playing centrally? Should he be given the freedom if he is playing centrally? Where should he play if he is put through the middle?
As we have very recent experience of giving a quality attacker absolute free rein with C.Ronaldo’s transition from actual out-and-out wing forward to the player he was the season before last, it should still be fresh in the memory that this process came at a price for the players who had the briefing of covering the defensive holes left by Ronaldo’s roaming. The right-back (Wes) and the right-sided central midfielder (Carrick) always had to cover. Their own adventure (if you could say those two had any) had to be sacrificed and our shape was maintained by them studiously holding position. As with any advanced nominal flank role, this caused minimal damage to our formation or tactical schematic. It’s easy to shuffle a man over, or have a man hold position at full-back, or at least, it’s far easier to do that than it is to cater to a man with a free role through the heart of a team, and even more so when that person is a pseudo-everything sans keeper at any given moment in a game. At least with Ronaldo, freedom was actually restricted to the attacking third and a bit of the pitch. With Wayne,
freedom means he will literally pop up anywhere on the pitch as the opportunity – or need, from Wayne’s POV – arises. You’re just not going to find any other player, especially a
forward like that in modern football. This is precisely why it’s so difficult to slot Wayne into modern systems
and get the very best out of him. You’re going to get parts – sometimes very good ones, at others, a rather quiet Rooney to what is expected every time he sets foot on a pitch.
The theory with Wayne should be that if he is being stifled in one area of the pitch he is simply given licence to solve the puzzle via true freedom of movement. Marking him out of the game should be impossible for anyone but a man-to-man marker imitating his shadow; with freedom I’d also expect Rooney’s frustrations to be reduced to a bear minimum given the shackles holding him place would, theoretically, be broken. I don’t believe any of this is possible should Wayne be held to any one position.
England
This is an addendum – not of much relevance, given it has only fleeting relation to MUFC. But anyway; for England, even if Fabio Capello was not the man in charge, this notion of a free role for Rooney would hit the same road-blocks as it would for us in any of the last three seasons. The only reason why it could be fairly advocated for us now is because, as stated previously, all of Wayne’s top quality obstacles (in both Scholes and Ronaldo) have been removed. For England, however, you essentially have a number of specialists in their positions playing in one eleven, and not only that, they, unlike Manchester United, do not have a better nominal #10 to play the position – for England, Rooney is the best #10 there is, and conformity is a necessity to enable the likes of Lampard (a true, top quality #8)and Gerrard (a brilliant attacking all-rounder) to function, not to mention that outside of Rooney as the link to Heskey (a proper centre-forward) the supply lines are tenuous.
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