The Curious Case of Wayne Rooney

I still remember the ball being brought down by his right foot, the swivel on the ball, he shaped up to hit the shot and then, with the brilliance of a world class striker, he hit it. It looped over England's best centre back who could only look on in amazement as the ball struck the underside of the cross bar to beat England's number 1 'keeper'. 

This was of course Wayne Rooney, at 16, scoring a wonder goal from 30 yards out against David Seaman to stop Arsenal going 31 games unbeaten in the league. It was his first senior goal. I remember it so vividly, I can even remember the conversation about it the next morning at the Heaton Park football pitches before King David F.C took on South Manchester. And of course I remember the commentary.


Fast forward to modern day, Monday night to be precise, and the exciting youngster who defeated the then champions of England looked more like a washed up, out of shape and rubbish player- ironically against the now champions of England as Manchester United lost the Manchester derby to City. 

Rooney was not the only 'Red Devil' who looked below par but he was the most worrying. The ex-Evertonian is not exactly having an awful season, after all he has 12 goals and 9 assists for United in just 22 games whilst this year alone he has scored in all 3 of England's internationals. All in all it is a fantastic return for the 27 year old however what worries is how he plays when first coming back from injury and, most importantly, how often he's been injured.

Sir Alex Ferguson has gone on record on a couple of occasions this season about United's number 10 and his fitness; "Wayne is a boy that needs games, you can see that from the frame he’s got." said the Scot. And even more recently he repeated the idea "He's missed bits of games and I think Wayne is the type of player who can't miss games." In essence the United manager is saying that Rooney can't afford to miss games because it takes him several games to get back up to any decent level. 

Too often this season, Real Madrid, Chelsea and City at least, Rooney has been injured in the build up to big matches. He wasn't risked against either Madrid or Chelsea but, with United's recent performances being under par, 'Wazza' was thrown in from the start in the derby. 

That putting Rooney in from the start in the derby can be viewed as a gamble should be preposterous he is still, after all,  United's talisman despite Robin van Persie's added brilliance. Yes most player's might lose a step or two after a week out but Rooney looks unable to perform until 3 games after a 'come back'. 

I don't yet think the 'boy' from Croxteth should be moved on, nor do I think he will be, but something seriously needs to be done- either stop him getting injured or find a way of getting him back to his best quicker. Remember the name- because the brilliance may start to fade.


Curiosity Kills the Kag

I remember a lot. It doesn't help because it's never useful things. But I remember watching as City destroyed United 6-1 at Old Trafford. It was only last season, of course I remember.

On that day City were almost unstoppable, especially after 'The Reds' continued attacking at 3-1 down. After the match pundits poured over the game and everyone came to the conclusion that the biggest difference between the two sides was David Silva. The small but hugely talented attacking midfielder got in the gap between United's defence and midfield and ran the show with brilliant off the ball running and excellent passing. His creativity is what United lacked, not only in that match but also for the season.

With City going on to win the league United looked to find that spark of inspiration and, with the season barely over, they announced that Borussia Dortmund's own attacking midfielder, Shinji Kagawa, would be joining. The Japanese player was named Bundesliga "Player of the Season" in Dortmund's title win. 

Players often struggle in their first season in the Premier League but, despite a slowish start, Kagawa has shown himself to be an extremely promising signing- especially with his hat-trick vs. Norwich in March. With this in mind and Rooney's inability to come back from injury it seemed ridiculous that the man from Kobe wouldn't start. 'Kag' didn't even get onto the pitch till the 92nd minute when Ashley Young went off injured.

United will go onto win the title, not because of their small but hugely talented attacking midfielder but because of Robin van Persie. Next season City will look to sign their own RvP, perhaps United can just find room for their own world class attacking midfielder.