Wayne Rooney is a superb all round footballer. His superb techincal ability and skill is backed up by a fierce determination to succeed and an unquenchable thirst to be involved and influence a game of football from anywhere on the pitch.
This makes it no surprise that Wayne Rooney has been able to put in two solid performances from the middle of the park, against Otelul Galati in the Champions League and then on Saturday against Sunderland in the Premier League.
For me, these attributes mean that you could put Wayne Rooney at centre back and still get a decent performance from him.
But they don’t mean that he is in any way the long-term fix for United’s problems in the middle of the park.
In fact I find it rather condemning that United are sacrificing their best, and he is undoubtedly their best, attacking outlet so that he can pull a few shifts in the middle of the park.
In two games, Wayne Rooney has proven that he is more than capable of putting in a good display in the middle of the park, as one might have suspected since Rooney’s evolution into a deeper, more constructive forward.
But beyond that, I don’t think he has proven much else. Don’t get me wrong, Rooney has played well, but has he played effectively?
Has he changed the fact that United lack that cutting edge, that creative influence in the middle of the park?
I would suggest that he has not.
As I watched Rooney put himself about, I couldn’t help but feel I was simply watching United’s best forward do what he normally does (which was still of excellent quality) from a much deeper position, where he offers very little goal threat.
In that way, I don’t think anything really changed about the way United went about their football, besides the fact that their best goalscorer was about 20 yards further away from the goal than what they would have liked.
Wayne Rooney’s passing percentages remained at the usual high standard that he has set over the years, but there was still very little penetration through the middle.
The ball movement was still slow in general, giving both Otelul and Sunderland plenty of time to get numbers behind the ball, and by that stage it is always going to be difficult to find players running behind the defenders.
In that way, Rooney offered little difference going forward through the middle than what United have been getting from the usual midfielders.
That’s not neccesarily a criticism of Rooney, more so a statement that Rooney better serves United as a forward, not a midfielder.
By now, it is common knowledge that his best football comes up front, and we know that that is where he would rather play.
That is not to say of course that Rooney can’t be utilised in that role.
I thought he was the best player on the pitch on Saturday against Sunderland and the idea of being able to play Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck all in the same starting eleven is a very exciting one.
Tt is an avenue perhaps Sir Alex sees as worth exploring further before writing it off completely, particularly as the most advanced as part of a three man midfield.
I think at this point though, it is safe to say that it is as a forward that United will get the best out of Wayne Rooney as he quickly approaches his peak years.
Wayne Rooney is a viable option, and one you can depend upon to give you a good game in the middle of the park, but despite impressing on Saturday in particular, he is not the long term answer to United’s midfield woes.
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