This and only this. I don't give a feck anymore about the past shite stories and/or choices. What I do care about are the present ones.
Wayne Rooney is a Manchester United great - so why is he not more loved?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
This and only this. I don't give a feck anymore about the past shite stories and/or choices. What I do care about are the present ones.
"but Ronaldo" is directly relevant to article in the OP.
Gary Nev retired the day he saw he couldn't keep up. That's something to massively respect.
He was playing for Alex Ferguson. He was beyond idiotic to question his ambition.
You did. Right there.
Isn't not trying hard enough basically the same thing as playing badly deliberately?
Not really. He was just use as an example of a player more 'loved'. One of many. The article even said as much. Can you defend his actions?
Great point.
Rooney will be 30 tomorrow... time flies, people get older but football club needs to be always on top. Cantona was in similar age when he knew his fire and will to play are slowly going out, hopefully that's not the case with our beloved scouser.
LvG needs to perform similar training magic he did with Young or I really don't know what's the solution here.
The day he saw he couldn't keep up was several months (years?) after that was apparent to everyone watching him.
No I didn't. Nobody plays badly deliberately. Plenty don't display the effort they once did. Were you accusing Van Persie of playing badly deliberately last season?
Ronaldo went and Rooney stayed , therefore Rooney is loyal. That is nonsensical.
The honest truth is that Rooney did want to move, and so did Ronaldo. It was their destination that was the problem. To sell Rooney, a year after Ronaldo had left , to City of all clubs would have been like a dagger through the heart of the club, and they was zero way we would sanction that move. Man United selling their best player at age 25 to Billionaire and noisy neighbour city would have sent out a terrible message .
Sir Alex never really sold a player to a direct rival either( Silverstre aside), and we took an out of form Heinze to court for daring to force us to sell him to a rival.It was obvious that we would never sell Rooney to City. If Rooney had wanted to go to Madrid, Barca or Bayern, and they wanted him too, I am sure Fergie would have never stood in his way. Begrudgingly, yes..but we are not slave drivers, and we would have granted him his wish and moved on.
The honest truth is that Rooney did want to move, and so did Ronaldo. It was their destination that was the problem. To sell Rooney, a year after Ronaldo had left , to City of all clubs would have been like a dagger through the heart of the club, and they was zero way we would sanction that move. Man United selling their best player at age 25 to Billionaire and noisy neighbour city would have sent out a terrible message .
Sir Alex never really sold a player to a direct rival either( Silverstre aside), and we took an out of form Heinze to court for daring to force us to sell him to a rival.It was obvious that we would never sell Rooney to City. If Rooney had wanted to go to Madrid, Barca or Bayern, and they wanted him too, I am sure Fergie would have never stood in his way. Begrudgingly, yes..but we are not slave drivers, and we would have granted him his wish and moved on.
In as many words, yes. I imagine the Fenerbahce fans are saying the same thing this season.
well, not quite that quickly, it was the February of the season he retired in, after a few months of shock fests.
It's a yes or no question. Do you think he played badly deliberately? If so do you think Rooney works as hard as he used to? Is he planning on playing badly when he doesn't take care of his fitness?
Yep. The 'agenda' stuff is the most subtle & latest in a long line of excuses.
He wasn't just "an example". He was the main example. Hence the one I focussed on.
Can I defend Rooney's actions? No more than I can those of Roy Keane or Rio Ferdinand, or any other player who played hard-ball over a new contract but was fortunate enough to do so without it all becoming so public. I would rather it didn't happen but I think he had some reason to be concerned about what was going on at the club after the Glazer takeover. God knows the majority of United fans had similar concerns. This is what he's being pilloried for, at the end of the day. For thinking like a fan, concerned about the direction United was going in the post-Ronaldo era.
You got a yes answer. Right there in the post you quoted.
I do think Rooney is working as hard as he used to, yes (that's another yes answer) His issue isn't a lack of effort, it's a lack of quality (and an obvious crisis in confidence)
This is one of the infuriating views I hear so often, the idea that he has underachieved.
Almost as if the titles, contribution to one of the top teams over a decade, the goals record, the England goals record etc are just the minimum he should have got.
Look at your Collymores/Gazzas and other such wasters for players who really did achieve next to zero of what they could have ability wise.
The problem with EPL fans is that they can't distinguish between hatred and thinking that a player is passed it + he shouldn't be at the club anymore. There's too much sentimentality in the game. No wonder Ingerlund cant win the WC.
I understand that to a point - but we could have done so much more. After we lost Ronaldo and Tevez who was the next great player? RVP for 1 season?
Why didn't we win FA Cups? Or Do better in Europe? When City signed Silva & Aguero I thought to myself, why aren't we signing them, or at least been linked?
To say that playing for SAF meant that you can't question his ambition is silly, we built up a team stacked with deadwood, aging players and unfulfilled potential.
As noted, he burned a lot of bridges in the way he conducted his contract neogiations. It's strange that this isn't such a sticking point for 'Pool fans and Slippy G openly flirting with Chelsea a few years ago, or does that taint him in their eyes and I'm reading that wrong?
The kind of open disdain many have for him now is purely down to his form, which has been nowhere near good enough for years now. A 'big player' being in such a rut is more detrimental than usual, as he's now a 'talisman' that won't be dropped by management.
The kind of open disdain many have for him now is purely down to his form, which has been nowhere near good enough for years now. A 'big player' being in such a rut is more detrimental than usual, as he's now a 'talisman' that won't be dropped by management.
Gary Neville should have retired 1-2 years before he actually did. He retired when he went on the pitch and he ridiculed himself.
He did the right thing. Football is a short term career and if he doesn't care about his future no one would. Having said that, football = a business cuts in both ways. Once on top a player should maximise his revenue but once he's finished he can't expect the club to cuddle him. No business would cuddle a 200k+ a week employee who underperform.
I loved Rooney in the past because he was exciting, wore his heart on his sleeve, had flaws, was good to watch, was a great player who scored and created goals. He had pace, skills, a good mentality and played like one of us.
Today he is slow, dull, repetitive, not so great, has more flaws, not scoring and not creating, pace has gone, skills are gone and plays like an old fart.
The sprit is there but his body is shot and i think the last 18 moths have made it hard to judge rooney well as he has been out of form for most of them
Today he is slow, dull, repetitive, not so great, has more flaws, not scoring and not creating, pace has gone, skills are gone and plays like an old fart.
The sprit is there but his body is shot and i think the last 18 moths have made it hard to judge rooney well as he has been out of form for most of them
Rooney's become dislikable (for many fans) for several reasons. The contract issues back in 2010 are only part of the story and not a very big one at that. He is dislikable mostly because he's been treated as one of the very best players in the world, say, top 5, but he hasn't been even close to that since 2012. Currently, he isn't even top 150. When you are supposed to be a talisman of one of the greatest clubs in the world but play like a very average player you are in trouble. He's perceived as holding United back because of the conspicuous discrepancy between his status and his level of performances. United deserve forwards like Aguero, Neymar, Müller, Sanchez, Silva, Lewa, etc. etc. and not this Rooney. This Rooney is not good enough to play for Spurs or even Soton let alone for United.
Its very simple. He is now actually an awful player. He really has absolutely nothing to his game anymore.
I really hope the management team realize this soon. It doesnt help that we have no other options up front. We dont even have a third striker for feck sake.
I really hope the management team realize this soon. It doesnt help that we have no other options up front. We dont even have a third striker for feck sake.
He can still score the odd goal so he does have something to his game. He is very much past his best though.
He is a United great, and I will love him more if he leaves or go to bench. At the moment, he isn't loved cause he is a complete liability on the pitch that makes us play worse.
Oh and by the way, re this idea that Rooney isn't trying any more, he's covered the second highest distance per game of any United player this season (14th highest in the league)
He's covered more ground per game than any other striker, at any other team. He's also running further than he did last season (where he played a lot of games in midfield) presumably in an effort to make up for the poor performances by working that bit harder. So yeah, his effort clearly can't be faulted. At least it shouldn't be. Yet, somehow, it is.
@acnumber9
He's covered more ground per game than any other striker, at any other team. He's also running further than he did last season (where he played a lot of games in midfield) presumably in an effort to make up for the poor performances by working that bit harder. So yeah, his effort clearly can't be faulted. At least it shouldn't be. Yet, somehow, it is.
@acnumber9
Fair. He is good enough for a midtable team, yes.
The most important thing is...has he kissed the badge yet?
He wouldn't start on merit for Everton, right now. When his contract finishes (assuming that you meant he'll join them after this contract), he won't be able to run, let alone play in EPL.
I think the best thing for everyone is if Rooney goes to US in the end of this season. He probably will be crap there too, but he would still look like a player, and get a lot of money from marketing. United will not need to sepnd 300k/week for him and more importantly, we'll be playing again with 11 players each match.
It's called fanboy syndrome.
In a nutshell.
Jesus.
Where would you put this Rooney? Top 50? (I mean all players, not only forwards - bear in mind that only in the top 5 leagues in Europe play about 2000 footballers) Top 100? Is he any better than Vardy, Pelle, Benteke, Gomis, Eriksen etc etc?
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It happens all the time. One can't criticize a manager's decision or a player's action without being accused of hating them. Why should I hate someone who had done good for the club?
If you genuinely think that Rooney isn't a top 150 player in the world, without exaggeration, then there's no point having a discussion about it.
You're entitled to your opinion.
Or he could blame SAF and the club for leaking his discontent in the hope of intimidating him into moderating his demadns. It's often forgotten that as little as the players have loyalty to the club these days, the club usually has even less loyalty to the players. They're both at the end of the day commercial operations selling a fantasy to the fans.
I think that's the general feel. His moody shit attitude on the field when out of form, he's not taking care of his body (just like that 'lovable' Mr. PieMan), that City thing, the letter, and playing for England even risking his injury are among things that you know he's never taken as United player seriously.
I can't understand how United fans can love that kind of United player. He might be liked when still delivered, but never loved.
He's 30.
Declining as if hes 35. Seriously he's not going to get any better. These 'bad form' stints are going to happen more often and lengthy. He could go down as a legend but currently hes keep young players out of the squad with a career ahead of them. I guess we'll see in a few years if hes still here underperforming. But no player is bigger than the club, what hes done for us in the past should not decide on whether he plays or stays.
Thing is Rooney isnt gonna be the one to say ' yeh im not good enough anymore, stop paying me 300k a week ill go elsewhere '. Which sucks balls since it feels like the club/coaches/manager just ignore the shocking performances and never criticise...
Declining as if hes 35. Seriously he's not going to get any better. These 'bad form' stints are going to happen more often and lengthy. He could go down as a legend but currently hes keep young players out of the squad with a career ahead of them. I guess we'll see in a few years if hes still here underperforming. But no player is bigger than the club, what hes done for us in the past should not decide on whether he plays or stays.
Thing is Rooney isnt gonna be the one to say ' yeh im not good enough anymore, stop paying me 300k a week ill go elsewhere '. Which sucks balls since it feels like the club/coaches/manager just ignore the shocking performances and never criticise...