How does LVG solve the Rooney problem?

We can't drop Rooney because the press will have a field day and him and his agent will start running their mouth. It will be all kinds of attention we do not need.

We'll have to sell him at the end of the season, and as long as we've got someone else lined up I'd be happy with that move.
 
Spielmacher said:
You think Giggs is the reason why Rooney plays every game?
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Nope. That was the reaction LVG had after Chicha missed a sitter (or was it a pen). So the poster, is saying that LVG should have the same standards and do the same for Rooney.
 
Revan said:
Nope. That was the reaction LVG had after Chicha missed a sitter (or was it a pen). So the poster, is saying that LVG should have the same standards and do the same for Rooney.
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I know where that is from, but most people think the look came, as Giggs was the reason Hernandez got a second chance, as he rates him, hence my question.
 
Rooney is paid nearly a quarter of a million pounds a week. He won't be dropped any time soon. Nobody will want to buy him whilst his form is so bad, besides which he's nearing 30. Albatross.
 
simonhch said:
There's a lot of nonsense in this post to be honest. Rooney has obviously declined as a player. The question is whether this decline is temporary or permanent. He needs to spend some time on the bench and fight his way back into the team. I think the whole undroppable captain angle from LVG is counter productive. All this said, some of the criticism he gets is unmerited and reactionary.

Firstly, you say we lost control in the last 25 mins because we had two midfielders on yellows, but BFS wasn't on the field for the last 20 mins. Secondly, Rooney didn't play well at all, but his work rate was excellent as it always is. He closed down opponents constantly, and tracked back over and over again. His block in front of goal saved an almost certain equalizer. If anything one can criticize Rooney for playing too deep, but not for not offering midfield protection. I know of very few no.10's who offer as much work rate and defensive contribution as Rooney.
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De Gea would have dealt with that effort. It was straight at him. Rooney's stop cant go down as a definitive goal block when everyone would have backed De Gea to save an effort right at him. There is no way its a temporary dip in form considering its obviously been on the wane now for a few years. His goals tally was only due to Penos and the odd free kick goal. Spade is a spade. He doesnt offer as much as he should being A) the captain of this club, B) the highest earner and C) the status of undroppable.

You say we play him for his closing down and work ethic, yet herrera would be as good if not better at closing down and working all over the pitch, difference is he would also make things happen from central i.e through balls etc. Ok so he wasnt available last night, but he has been missing out to a well below par Rooney all season.

"unmerited and reactionary" this makes it sound like Rooney has been world class all year, had his first poor game last night, then gets the same stick. He has been very very poor for quite a while. hardly reactionary.

Yes Schweinsteiger came off but my point was that it was a like for like swap, i.e Scwheinsteiger and Morgan......Blind and Morgan. It wasnt personnel in there that was the problem it was the lack of. We need 3 in there against the better European teams. 4-4-2 may work against some of the poorer teams in our league but as we saw against tougher opponents, we struggle badly because we lose control of the game, starting from midfield.

PSV effortlessly countered against us because we went from having only 2 bodies in there, to having effectively 1 after subs when we were then chasing the game. Same happened last night to a degree.
 
Those hoping he'll be sold in the summer will be disappointed, he won't even get half his current contract anywhere else, and i think he knows that very well, even if he's benched he'll still finish his current contract here.
 
Someone said:
Those hoping he'll be sold in the summer will be disappointed, he won't even get half his current contract anywhere else, and i think he knows that very well, even if he's benched he'll still finish his current contract here.
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Well, RVP got 200+k/week in Turkey. I guess that Rooney can do the same there, or Qatar or US.

Rooney doesn't look like a player who is content to stay in the bench just to get money.
 
Revan said:
Well, RVP got 200+k/week in Turkey. I guess that Rooney can do the same there, or Qatar or US.

Rooney doesn't look like a player who is content to stay in the bench just to get money.
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I can't see Rooney going to Qatar, definitely not Turkey. US is a possibility though - perhaps just what the MLS needs as a marketing vehicle.

Let's explore this angle. We could swap him for Giovinco at Toronto! Problem solved.
 
We will have a new captain next season. Either Mike or DDG. Muller will replace Rooney.
 
Most people here should know he is a confidence/form player. He could have done with taking that penalty last night.

There's no doubt he is a freak of nature, he peaked at 17-24 whereas most peak at 25-32. He's not quite the player he was when he was 20, because of his build.

Fergie always said - he needs to play every week to stay fit, so I suspect he will play every week.

We all know he won't play as badly as last night every week, the goals will come, even if he is past his best.
 
Jonno said:
Most people here should know he is a confidence/form player. He could have done with taking that penalty last night.
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He took a pen for England a couple of weeks ago.
 
Jonno said:
Exactly, I don't understand why Rooney would be dropped as pen taker. He needs goals more than anyone.
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He was dropped because he misses a lot of penalties...he's missed about 12 for us ..and was dropped by Fergie from penalties for the same thing..imagine he takes one yesterday and misses, the negative effects on the team and us probably losing..People are just grasping at straws now .

Mata has been first choice taker since RVP lost that prvillege after the WBA game, he then took one against Palace and its him and Herrera who are the top 2 takers now at the club. Rooney will know this too beforehand.
 
Jonno said:
Most people here should know he is a confidence/form player. He could have done with taking that penalty last night.

There's no doubt he is a freak of nature, he peaked at 17-24 whereas most peak at 25-32. He's not quite the player he was when he was 20, because of his build.

Fergie always said - he needs to play every week to stay fit, so I suspect he will play every week.

We all know he won't play as badly as last night every week, the goals will come, even if he is past his best.
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Is this still a thing? He scored last match and was still shit today. He scored a hat trick against Brugge and was still shit the next match.

No, he shouldn't have taken the penalty yesterday. Cause, even a Rooney in form was quite crap at penalties. Meritocracy hasn't ever applied to Rooney, and it is the time it starts applying. Like for every other player in the world. Rooney is alredy keeping the team back, we cannot sacrifice even more to let him take penalties when we have better penalty takers than him. Especially, not in important matches.
 
Someone said:
Those hoping he'll be sold in the summer will be disappointed, he won't even get half his current contract anywhere else, and i think he knows that very well, even if he's benched he'll still finish his current contract here.
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If Asamoah Gyan is allegedly paid £200 000 for Shanghai, then I'm sure somewhere some obscure team will be willing to pay Rooney quite handsomely. Don't think Rooney will leave for a non-European powerhouse though and I don't think any of them will even be in for him.
 
Jonno said:
Exactly, I don't understand why Rooney would be dropped as pen taker. He needs goals more than anyone.
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I don't think a penalty or two going in is going to make much difference. His game is being shown up now for what it is as he ages and loses pace: nothing special, but relatively hardworking, albeit lacking in football intelligence. For a long time now I have bemoaned his cross field flighted balls that slow the game down - especially when he sends it to Valencia who then inevitably passes it to anyone behind him.

Rooney doesn't have the football intelligence and quickness of thought to play in midfield as anything other than a guy who runs around putting a bit of pressure on the man in possession. I don't need to pay 250k a week for that.
 
crossy1686 said:
We can't drop Rooney because the press will have a field day and him and his agent will start running their mouth. It will be all kinds of attention we do not need.

We'll have to sell him at the end of the season, and as long as we've got someone else lined up I'd be happy with that move.
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How can we sell him though? He still has three years to run on his contract after this season and is on massive wages to boot. It is simply not going to happen unfortunately. He'll be here til the end of his contract and we have to phase him out as a first choice player after this season.
 
Jonno said:
Exactly, I don't understand why Rooney would be dropped as pen taker. He needs goals more than anyone.
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Hasn't he missed 10 out of 34 or something. He's dropped because we can do better and I was delighted to see that from van Gaal.

Sereques said:
We will have a new captain next season. Either Mike or DDG. Muller will replace Rooney.
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I admire your optimism, re. Muller. I would expect Schweinsteiger to be the obvious captain as soon as Rooney has been sold or demoted.

Also, some suggest we cannot drop him because he's earning too much money. It's like eating your food at an expensive restaurant even if it's absolute garbage. Cognitive dissonance.
While others suggest we cannot drop him because the press will be on us, since when does the club cater to the demands of journos? That's a terrible reasoning.

He should be dropped if he's not performing or if he's not helping the team, full stop.
 
Bastian said:
Hasn't he missed 10 out of 34 or something. He's dropped because we can do better and I was delighted to see that from van Gaal.


I admire your optimism, re. Muller. I would expect Schweinsteiger to be the obvious captain as soon as Rooney has been sold or demoted.

Also, some suggest we cannot drop him because he's earning too much money. It's like eating your food at an expensive restaurant even if it's absolute garbage. Cognitive dissonance.
While others suggest we cannot drop him because the press will be on us, since when does the club cater to the demands of journos? That's a terrible reasoning.

He should be dropped if he's not performing or if he's not helping the team, full stop.
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I don't think anyone disagrees that the reasoning is terrible - but one has to be realistic.
 
At the question who will buy Rooney? There is a potential answer, it's probably unrealistic but we should buy Bernardo Silva and give Rooney to Monaco, foreign players don't pay taxes in Monaco, so they should be able to afford his wage.
 
Ironic thread title, given that one of Louis' middle names is Maria.

Tune in next time for more boring trivia from me.
 
Dans said:
I don't think anyone disagrees that the reasoning is terrible - but one has to be realistic.
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Why though? Better to lose 300k/week than to lose 300k/week and play with 10 players each week.
 
Needs to make Schweinsteiger/Smalling captain too after he benches him. He's comfortably one of the worst captains United have ever had.
 
Minimalist said:
Needs to make Schweinsteiger/Smalling captain too after he benches him. He's comfortably one of the worst captains United have ever had.
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The weird thing is, LVG calls Rooney the best captain he's ever had. Must be doing something behind the scenes because I'm not seeing it on the pitch.
 
Rozay said:
Don't think that should be particularly relevant. So what if he is club captain?. He is club captain simply because LVG said, 'you are club captain'. Van Gaal has been here just over a year, and Rooney would struggle to have a claim that he has been in his top 5 performers since he has been here. That is what should matter. Herrera, for example, is probably in that top 5. So what message is it sending out to him that regardless of better performances, you cannot play ahead of Rooney. Because he is the 'captain'.
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It seems very relevant to the man who's opinion matters much more than mine or yours. He even said it himself his captain always plays.

Rozay said:
Yes, Falcao was a loanee, but he was also a better striker than Rooney before his troubles I'd say - so the most important thing should be that he is at his best. He was a loanee, but could have been signed easily if we wanted to.
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How exactly is Falcao relevant to this discussion anyway? He was fecking woeful all last year for us only scored 4 goals, worse than Rooney has been this year and has been fecking woeful this year for Chelsea and all. Rooney scored 16 goals last season despite playing half the season in midfield.

Rozay said:
Every player has had bad periods of form in the past, it is not a signature thing of Wayne Rooney. That he has come through them by playing is because he has always been played. He has never been dropped regardless of his form - so of course any return to form would have been following a run of games.
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Ferguson like LVG kept faith with him and continued to play him during his last period of form this poor back in 2010 when he didn't score from open play for 9 months, perhaps just maybe both of these men know a little bit more about football and Wayne Rooney than you or i?


Rozay said:
The issue is, the 'good form' that he returned to, was last seen 4 or 5 years ago. Any run of 'good form' he has had in the last 4 years, has not been good to an extent that our team cannot do without it at the expense of any other player.
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Stop being ridiculous mate, Rooney's period of poor form keeps getting longer and longer on here as the revisionism reaches fever pitch it seems.

He scored 35 goals in 2012, was good in Fergusons last year in 2013 and was the best outfield player for many under Moyes in 2014.

Rozay said:
At what stage would you accept that he is finished? How much longer does he have to perform like this? Even if he isn't finished, that's tough, we need points on a week to week basis, and Rooney is of no use at the moment. We have other players for a reason. Must his leg be broken before he doesn't play?
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If he is still playing this badly at the end of the season then it's probably safe to say he's done as a top player. Until then i will assume the last few months have just been a period of poor form that most players go through at some point in their careers, and one that he will hopefully come through.
 
I'm a big fan of Rooney and always have been but it's time he is dropped. LVG seems to love him and doesn't want to upset him.
 
Raw said:
The weird thing is, LVG calls Rooney the best captain he's ever had. Must be doing something behind the scenes because I'm not seeing it on the pitch.
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maybe he's trying to build up Rooney's confidence or something like that. He can't exactly go out and say he's the worst player and i'm taking the captaincy off him even though that's what perhaps should happen.
 
stevoc said:
Rooney scored 16 goals last season despite playing half the season in midfield.

He scored 35 goals in 2012, was good in Fergusons last year in 2013 and was the best outfield player for many under Moyes in 2014.
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Rooney did not play 20 games in midfield last season and he was so good in Sir Alex's last season he was benched and asking for a transfer by the end of it.
 
Ixion said:
Rooney did not play 20 games in midfield last season and he was so good in Sir Alex's last season he was benched and asking for a transfer by the end of it.
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So are you saying he didn't play mostly in midfield up until Xmas last season?
 
Rooney has it too easy. There's no competition for his place. He walks into the team no matter what. Perhaps 2 or 3 games on the sidelines might waken him up a bit. Or, like the last time he was benched in favour of more effective players, he will ask to leave.

Both of those scenarios are win-win really, because he can't continue to be a nailed on starter in this form.
 
stevoc said:
Rooney scored 16 goals last season despite playing half the season in midfield.
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he scored just as many goals from midfield as he did up front last season. so it's BS that he'd have scored double the goals if he played up there all season.
 
The problem is that Rooney rightly or wrongly wields a lot of power now. LVG has placed a lot of trust in Rooney and Carrick as the leaders in the dressing room especially after a lot of long timers have left recently. Dropping him is not the same as just dropping any other under performing player. He needs to keep Rooney happy and in good spirits to keep the spirits high in the dressing room.

Maybe he should be shunted out to the wing for a few games. Its a position that doesn't require as much discipline and Rooney can run up and down the pitch with a degree of freedom as he likes to play. I think in central areas LVG wants disciplined players and maybe that is clouding Rooney's mind a little bit. Memphis isn't exactly doing great at the moment so having Rooney on the left wouldn't be the worst idea. Doubt it will happen though.
 
stevoc said:
It seems very relevant to the man who's opinion matters much more than mine or yours. He even said it himself his captain always plays.



How exactly is Falcao relevant to this discussion anyway? He was fecking woeful all last year for us only scored 4 goals, worse than Rooney has been this year and has been fecking woeful this year for Chelsea and all. Rooney scored 16 goals last season despite playing half the season in midfield.



Ferguson like LVG kept faith with him and continued to play him during his last period of form this poor back in 2010 when he didn't score from open play for 9 months, perhaps just maybe both of these men know a little bit more about football and Wayne Rooney than you or i?




Stop being ridiculous mate, Rooney's period of poor form keeps getting longer and longer on here as the revisionism reaches fever pitch it seems.

He scored 35 goals in 2012, was good in Fergusons last year in 2013 and was the best outfield player for many under Moyes in 2014.



If he is still playing this badly at the end of the season then it's probably safe to say he's done as a top player. Until then i will assume the last few months have just been a period of poor form that most players go through at some point in their careers, and one that he will hopefully come through.
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Fergie dropped him in 2013, and many think he was going to be sold if Fergie stayed on. Remember Fergie gave that interview in one of the last games saying Rooney wanted to be sold. Rooney just confirmed it in his latest interview too, he asked to leave if he wasnt going to be in the team.

Fergie knew Rooney was on the down, its a shame we never got rid sooner.
 
The obvious and only way is to drop him. It may upset the media who only care about him as an England player, but if you're not performing.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
The problem is that Rooney rightly or wrongly wields a lot of power now. LVG has placed a lot of trust in Rooney and Carrick as the leaders in the dressing room especially after a lot of long timers have left recently. Dropping him is not the same as just dropping any other under performing player. He needs to keep Rooney happy and in good spirits to keep the spirits high in the dressing room.

Maybe he should be shunted out to the wing for a few games. Its a position that doesn't require as much discipline and Rooney can run up and down the pitch with a degree of freedom as he likes to play. I think in central areas LVG wants disciplined players and maybe that is clouding Rooney's mind a little bit. Memphis isn't exactly doing great at the moment so having Rooney on the left wouldn't be the worst idea. Doubt it will happen though.
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Yes, cos playing where he is playing now is the reason for his shit form.
 
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