We did 5 reasons why we shouldn’t sign Rooney earlier, now it’s time for the counter argument – why we should look after him. I’m not saying he’s the greatest option available, but he is a good one despite the universal hate/dislike for Manchester United and most of it’s players that Chelsea fans have.
Chelsea have recently been linked with a move for Manchester United start Wayne Rooney. Reports suggest that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has personally sanctioned a stunning £30m move for the unsettled Manchester United star – who had a plea for a move rejected by manager Alex Ferguson a fortnight ago.
There has been growing speculation about Wayne Rooney’s future at Manchester United, pre-dating news of Ferguson’s departure, and the 27 year old has certainly played a less pivotal role in the club’s Premier League title success this term as he has in previous campaigns.
Let’s begin with the 4 points/reasons –
1) Creativity :
The most complete footballer in the Premier League is also one of the game’s most creative.
Wayne Rooney can do everything on the pitch, and his versatility is a spin-off from his incredible athleticism as a player.
His manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, often plays him wide, behind the striker, as striker or in central midfield. His incredible power as a player provides the very foundations for all his good play, regardless of position.
It speaks volumes of how much we expect of the Manchester United star that we are disappointed with his return this season. He has contributed 12 goals, nine assists and 41 goalscoring chances from 21 games, with a pass completion rate of 84 percent.
Whether it was playing as striker, second striker or as a winger, Rooney has always liked to get down and always appreciated his good at ball control while hitting the target, his sense of timing and his vision.
2) Balance (in the midfield) :
He looked fit enough to play that role consistently, which is one of the more physically demanding roles for any player in any team because of the constant movement which is required throughout a match.
It’s also a role which plays to all of Rooney’s natural urges in this current United team and compliments all of his best attributes.
His vision and his passing have always been two of his biggest assets and he was able to play balls into feet and into space, behind the Stoke defence as well as Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs could have done.
The central midfield role is also something which allows Rooney to be the main man in the United team, with most of the play going through him. This could have been a shrewd decision by Fergie, to show Rooney that he is still a very important player for United when stories have started to appear relating to his future.
He’s always been a goal scorer and some of his best work comes in the attack of the United team but he looked very at home playing a central midfield role yesterday and it’s something he should definitely do more.
4) Statistical Data :
I collected statistics of Rooney’s performance in the selected games below :
|
% POSSESSION OPPONENT
|
36
|
|
OPPONENT SHOTS
|
9
|
|
PASSES
|
67
|
|
% SUCCESS PASSES
|
85
|
|
PASSES OPEN PLAY
|
5
|
|
SHOOTING PASSES
|
3
|
|
SUM defensive actions
|
0
|
|
% POSSESSION OPPONENT
|
42
|
|
RIVAL SHOTS
|
10
|
|
PASSES
|
61
|
|
% SUCCESS PASSES
|
79
|
|
PASSES OPEN PLAY
|
3
|
|
SHOOTING PASSES
|
3
|
|
SUM defensive actions
|
2
|
|
% POSSESSION OPPONENT
|
49
|
|
OPPONENT SHOTS
|
16
|
|
PASSES
|
36
|
|
% SUCCESS PASSES
|
89
|
|
PASSES OPEN PLAY
|
5
|
|
SHOOTING PASSES
|
1
|
|
SUM defensive actions
|
6
|
|
% POSSESSION OPPONENT
|
52
|
|
OPPONENT SHOTS
|
7
|
|
PASSES
|
61
|
|
% SUCCESS PASSES
|
82
|
|
PASSES OPEN PLAY
|
8
|
|
SHOOTING PASSES
|
2
|
|
SUM defensive actions
|
11
|
|
% POSSESSION OPPONENT
|
40
|
|
OPPONENT SHOTS
|
13
|
|
PASSES
|
69
|
|
% SUCCESS PASSES
|
88
|
|
PASSES OPEN PLAY
|
13
|
|
SHOOTING PASSES
|
1
|
|
SUM defensive actions
|
4
|
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Once again, I’m not saying he’s the best option, but he’s a good option and he’s worthy of pursuing, in my opinion.
Any comments or questions? Feel free to post them below in the comment section.
Wayne Rooney would indeed be a very useful asset in the Chelsea squad his work rate and commitment will bolster many of the more light weight (in bulk) squad members in addition his no nonsense approach will help lead the team like John Terry has been doing but further up the field an opportunity not to be missed
well while his versatility and fantastic all round game is an asset to have, in all honesty we would not be purchasing him for his ability to be versatile and play in midfield. United were lacking in that area this season, someone who can spot a pass and provide clever movement and delivery from between the lines given the firepower they possess up front with rvp, chicha and danny. We would obviously be buying him to fulfil a role as the spearhead of the attack, and a great spearhead he is when on song. The stats for his passing and workrate etc are good to know but aren’t necessarily what we need from him. We need goals and i know he was playing mostly in midfield this season or injured, but a return of 12 goals and 9 assists is not what we would want from a potential 30 million pound signing. We need someone to get 25+ goals to be a contender again in the league, and if rooney can provide that, the other parts to his game will just be a byproduct of him doing what he does best which is score.
I think the fact that he is a united man would not be the greatest problem because whilst chelsea and united have a fierce rivalry, its not historically embedded like city nor liverpool, much like when torres came in 2011. It would cause a stir but over time it won’t matter too much. I personally don’t think we should be going for him as a priority, lewandowski or cavani would be more ideal given they are younger and would be around the 30 million pound mark or less (the buyout clause for cavani of 50 million or whatever it is, is just a publicity stunt, they would accept anything in the region of 35 just a classic case of sensationalism). Rooney is a great player but i think we need to look abroad and build our own team and stop poaching rival stars or else with rooney and torres we will get a reputation for stealing rival stars. There are better alternatives. The only advantage of rooney would be his status as an english player where we need at least 7-8 in the squad as a min requirement due to league regulations. Inevitably losing terry and lamps and cole in the future is a massive chunk of our english contingent.
i would have signed him two years earlier, not now…
he is our needdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
i prefer converting torres than buying rooney nor i prefer buying shurrle,lewandolski,bony than the england flop man
Chelsea should avoid the star from coming to stamford..
the fact that he has EPL experience will do just like RVP but am concern of the age and the price.
Stay with this guys, you’re hepling a lot of people.
Waste of transfer money and wages he’s is on something like 200-250k at man u!!!! So not worth a w**k now.
would be a mistake to sign Wazza. 30 mill can be spent on a certain Lewandowski, Rooney will want 270k a week at least, and I knw Lewandowski will ask gor wages around 150k, Lewandowski is also a more complete CF than Wazza, he can play Poacher better than Rooney.
Forget the stats. Its very simple. He is world class, a winner, a leader, versatile and the best is his work rate. Every match, be it Chelsea or Wigan, he plays like ther is no tomorrow and wants to win… he is a once in a generation kind of player. Get him if we can.
if Fellaine has been mentioned than Wayne is a no brainer. Wayne is worth a strong midfielder a winger and a Striker combined and shouldnt be compared to Lewandowsky or most strikers because Strikers are only good if midfield supplies. Wayne is just simply good regardless any service as he can do most jobs. Why not ewandowsky and Rooney?
Real Madrid already got one of the best goal scores of all times CR7 and wants Lewandowsky they are trying to persuade neymar have been linked with Falcao. Chelsea at the moment has nothing at world level when it comes to goal scoring and we are mentioning Fellaine and worried about buying Wayne Rooney. When Mourinho puts Ronaldo Lewandowsky together and more, they will say he is the best in the world