Time to drop Rooney

Insideafrik
SPORTS
By Mark Payne

Just last month we were celebrating the 10th anniversary of Wayne Rooney's Premier League debut and England's most talented footballer was given generous write ups all round. It has been a remarkable decade. He has won a clutch of trophies and outscored all of his England-based contemporaries in that period. As we head towards his 11th Christmas though, there is a fly in the ointment. For the first time, his place in Manchester United's starting eleven is genuinely under threat.

It is not his attitude or disciplinary problems that are threatening his starting berth. Nor is it the dalliance he had with Manchester City's pots of gold in 2010. It is simply that his current team-mates are outperforming him. 

Rooney's campaign did not start with flying colours. He returned to pre-season a tad plumper than he left and immediately injured himself. His month on the sidelines saw new boy Robin van Persie remind everyone why he was last season's player of the year and claimed one of the forward spots, indisputably. Danny Welbeck's habit for scoring athletic and spectacular goals also continued. 

Rooney's return to fitness, nonetheless, saw him return to the first eleven and start to build an understanding with van Persie. But this season, United have an abundance of riches up front they haven't had for years, especially considering Javier Hernandez's current resurgence in form. This has led to an evolution in United's playing style and, recently, Rooney has found himself at the front of the midfield as often as not. 

For such a fierce competitor, moving around the side presents no issue. In many ways it is a position that suits him more as he has extra freedom to bomb around after the ball and occupy areas a specialist striker never explores. It does, however, remove the most potent part of his game; the ability to unsettle defenders at close quarters. 

Rooney announced himself to world football by terrorising the defenders at Euro 2004. There are not many players who get compared to Pele, but the United number 10 has borne the comparison admirably. Under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, his competitive nature has matured into a willingness to do whatever is necessary for victory. Some days you get the impression he would go in goal if asked. 

Ironically, it is this selfless willingness that has now jeopardised his starting place. On Saturday in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa, Rooney was more subdued than usual. Every player is entitled to the occasional off day, but it seemed to be born of a deeper problem. He seemed crowded and ineffective when asked to play behind Ashley Young and van Persie in the first half. After the break, his brief was to drop off and allow Javier Hernandez to pressure the final defender. It was telling that, with the scores tied at 2-2, Rooney was taken off and not invited to try and win the match. 

In the end the spoils were taken by Hernandez. Having scored seven goals in his last five games the Mexican has earned every bit of his starting role. After his match-wining hat-trick (which Hernandez is claiming) manager Sir Alex Ferguson took the rare step of a guaranteeing the striker a starting place for the next match. 

It was Rooney who made way for him at Villa and it could also be he who makes way in the future, rather than Van Persie. One wonders if this is the shape of things to come. Has Rooney already peaked?