da fazobetai： Three or so years ago, it would have being abominable contemplating this question but such has been the decline of Rooney that it is no more a question of if he should be benched, but why.
da cassino： The decline of one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers of all time has been nothing short of spectacular. Most keen observers of the Premier League, and the striker in particular, will have noticed his decline began last season. For most of last term, Rooney was deployed as a midfielder and so escaped a lot of flak from fans who felt it was not his natural position, even though his performances were dire.
Could it be that his time in midfield last season has, in a way, contributed to his slackness and loss of sharpness this term? Who can really say?
For a man who, for the past decade or so, dazzled, bamboozled and caused fear and panic among even the most accomplished defenders to suddenly look so poor and blunt up front, is nothing short of mind boggling. During Man United’s 0-0 stalemate with rivals City last weekend, United’s attack, led by Rooney, was as ‘sharp’ as a wooden spoon.
And to think Rooney just turned 30-years-old. I mean, it’s understandable for footballers to lose a yard or two of their pace when they are in their 30s and approaching the twilight of their careers, but Rooney hasn’t just lost some pace, he has virtually lost most of the qualities that got him to where he is now.
Players like Xavi, Pirlo and Schweinsteiger who are older still ooze class when they are on the ball, but nowadays even a simple control of the ball is a huge problem for the Rooney.
I think it’s about time Louis van Gaal drops him from his starting XI and sticks summer signing Anthony Martial upfront. The young Frenchman showed a lot of hunger, verve and skill in the match against City. For a young man with a huge transfer fee hanging over his head garnered a lot of criticism and attracted a lot of skeptics, including myself, following van Gaal’s decision to make him the most expensive teenager in history.
I don’t want to be playing devil’s advocate here, but sometimes I struggle to think where Man United would be right now had they not signed Martial. Rooney seems to be getting worse with each passing week, so perhaps a rest on the bench would be the best way to force him back to his former self.
This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]