Ouch! What a year that was. Manchester United have been so used to winning for so long that this aberration must have hit the fans particularly hard and reminded many of them just how complacent that they had become with success.
In reality Fergie’s tenure was a 25 year freak – it’s quite likely that no team will ever dominate this league to such an extent again. But there is genuine hope under Louis van Gaal that Manchester United can compete with the very best once more. In twelve months time we expect them to be preparing for the knockout stages of The Champions League with a very strong team indeed.
But what of the last 12 months? Who was the best performer? Well, most would immediately give the accolade to David De Gea. He’s been amongst the best keepers in Europe in 2014 and he’s just such a joy to watch, making a usually functional position exceedingly exciting to witness.
But has he been the team’s most valuable Manchester United player over the last year? We don’t think so. For us, that award goes to Wayne Rooney. Last season wasn’t his best. But he was still the pick of the players when they took batterings off the likes of City and Liverpool – the one player who looked as if he wasn’t having it.
And this season he just pips De Gea again for overall contribution. Rooney has had something of a checkered career at United. But can you imagine where the club would be without him? Recently he has become the goalscoring midfielder that the team has lacked for so long. It’s yet another reminder that Rooney isn’t just one of the best forwards in the world but one of the most adaptable players on the planet. And he almost always gets at least 7/10, even when the team is playing terribly.
If Manchester United had 11 Rooneys they would be the best team in the world by some distance. And that includes a Rooney in goal – he’s not bad between the sticks either!
So our player of the calendar year of 2014 is that managers’ dream, Wayne Rooney. Give us your address Wazza and we will send over the magnum of champers.
Let’s see some Rooney magic.
maroa from kenya
Jan 1, 2015 at 5:49 am
wazza is everything at man u iwish my team all best this year amen.