Rooney silence worrying for Manchester United
Many now believe that the dust has settled since Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson left Wayne Rooney out of his team for the crucial Champions League clash against Real Madrid in March.
Several pundits agreed with Mike Phelan’s post-match assertion that, until Nani was sent off, the tactic had worked brilliantly. But other onlookers saw the decision as the beginning of the end of Manchester United’s European assault. And, ever since that night, things just haven’t seemed right at United.
It seems preposterous to suggest that Rooney would be allowed to leave the club. But the same could be said about Keane, Van Nistelrooy and Beckham, before their departures.
Even half fit, Rooney is Manchester United’s best player, so the decision to leave him out of that massive, season-defining game is surely the biggest oddity of the whole affair. When that team was announced, and a fit Rooney was excluded, it sent shock waves of negativity around the club and must have given Real Madrid great confidence. It just didn’t make any sense. Fergie clearly knows more than most about football but any casual supporter can see how Rooney stands head and shoulders above most on a football pitch. In any position.
And, since then, Rooney has been largely absent from public interviews. It seems ridiculous that his services could no longer be required at Old Trafford. But, until he wholeheartedly confirms his continued loyalty to the club, many fear a summer storm.
So, has something gone on behind the scenes to rile the Manchester United boss? Rooney has courted his fair share of controversy, but appears to have matured over the last 2 years. I just wonder whether his rather loose comments about RVP ‘not being the brightest’ were the catalyst for recriminations.
Because it’s so hard to imagine that any decision to leave a fit Rooney out of your team for a crucial game is a purely footballing decision.
Until those reassuring Rooney soundbytes do come, Manchester United fans will be exceedingly anxious, about the future of this sublime talent.
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elem okechukwu.
Apr 6, 2013 at 6:35 am
As a united supporter, i think rooney is manchester united best player, and also one of the best player in europe, also in world football. sir alex should not allow rooney to leave, because he is the pillar in any united game, the game is built around him in a united shirt.